We are here! We made it! The last day of the cleanse! And I feel….a little sad.Three weeks of dedication, and for what? To inevitably and slowly slip into my old lifestyle of occasionally binging on Kraft macaroni and cheese with a side of double-stuff Oreos? (Don’t act like you haven’t done it.) With a little more recipe research and intentional grocery shopping, I am hoping to say “adios” to the days of powdered cheese for good.
Being on a cleanse was the perfect excuse for me to turn down those opportune foods I knew I really didn’t want, but was probably going to put into my mouth anyway. But with the cleanse at its end, what excuse do I have now? “Oh, I’m sorry, I was on a cleanse once and I learned ALL about how awful that thing you’re about to eat and enjoy is for your body sooooooo, I will have to pass.” Yah, that won’t make me seem pretentious at all.
On the rare occasion I am not on a cleanse and still turn down a slice of my coworker’s birthday cake, it seems there is an invisible but heavy baggage attached to my healthy choice: guilt. Guilt for not taking part in the celebration everyone else is having, guilt for turning down a dish into which someone put thought of effort and, last but not least, guilt for making everyone else in the room feel like fat asses for accepting that same slice of cake without much thought. Trust me, I hear how messed up that sounds (I feel bad because I am healthy and not everyone around me is), but it’s the truth. If you don’t believe me, pack a bell pepper in your lunch, pull it out in front of your coworkers and start eating it like an apple. You’ll be made fun of more for your healthy choice than encouraged.
On a more positive note, my last official detox dinner was fantastic. We baked a salmon filet on a bed of lemon and thyme skin side up at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes. We also baked sweet potatoes and steamed asparagus for the side dishes. Normally, I would serve this dinner with roasted redskin potatoes rather than sweet potatoes, but the rich flavor of the sweet potato eliminates the urge to cover my starch with butter. We steamed the asparagus rather than baking it so as to keep the entire meal oil free. Simple, time efficient and well-balanced flavors. It was an excellent way to close out January’s intention: detox.
My next post will address several of the comments I have received from readers throughout the cleanse, why I chose this cleanse and how cost-efficient my new cooking lifestyle has been this month. Stay tuned (and healthy)!
