An Interview with Natalia Rose: On Navigating Uncharted Territory & the Extremely Green Detox™

Natalia Rose

Certified Nutritionist Natalia Rose is without question one of the world’s experts on detoxification and cleansing. Since the 2005 publication of her first book, The Raw Food Detox Diet, Natalia has been teaching the purest, most effective diet and lifestyle methods to promote regenerative health and longevity. But lately, her work has emerged from its roots in classical Natural Hygiene principles and entered a new realm of liberating, uncharted territory.

These days, Natalia views cellular purification primarily as a means to an end, a vehicle whose purpose is to carry us into the discovery and embodiment of what it means to be truly human. Fully awake, unconditioned and free, hers is a path of personal sovereignty, of reclaiming control over one’s entire being on every level, body, mind and spirit.

One of Natalia’s most attractive qualities—beyond her radiant physical beauty, of course—is her authenticity. This is a person who clearly practices what she preaches. And she has been brave enough to evolve her message, to change and to grow, in full view of her public. Each new detoxification program has developed naturally and sequentially from the one before, in step with Natalia’s own personal journey towards ever-deepening degrees of transformational self-purification and awareness.

Extremely Green Detox is the next step in Natalia’s journey. Founded upon the removal of our deepest-seated obstructions and enabling uncompromised freedom from prevalent mainstream, health-depleting ideologies, this brand new program is being introduced to the world with a unique opportunity: participation in a month-long, fully supported group cleanse led by Natalia and members of her Detox the World team.

Chef Doris Choi's raw green papaya salad.

Complete, detailed diet instructions and recipes, bi-weekly video lectures and phone conferences, food prep demos with top chefs Doris Choi and Ana Zaharia, and personal consultations with senior detox counselor Joanna Novick, CN, are all included in the Extremely Green Detox package. Beginning on July 1st, the program offers all the perks of going on a luxury health retreat without having to leave home (and for a fraction of the cost!!).

I spoke with Natalia earlier this week about Extremely Green Detox, the fully supported group cleanse, and why she believes we need to turn the detox dial way up in order to prevail over the assaults of living in a toxic world.

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Natalia, tell me about the Extremely Green Detox. Why did you develop this program, and what is it designed to do?

The best way to describe it is this: we are living in extreme times that are taking a toll on people’s health in a way that has never been seen before. Between the pathogens that are running rampant in everybody’s body, the endocrine system being so dysfunctional and the organs being so weakened, there’s this extremely slippery slope into illness that is hard to escape. What ends up happening is that most people are having a debilitating life experience. It’s either going to be rectified by the right protocol, or it’s going to bring you all the way down, slowly or rapidly, depending on what, if anything, you do to address it.

Essentially, we have three options for dealing with a deteriorating life experience: 1) just let it go down and deteriorate all the way, 2) try to slow the deterioration by doing a few things right, or 3) correct things 100% percent.

Option three is the only way to achieve an optimal life experience. Otherwise, it’s just various shades of doom. The Extremely Green Detox is a call for us to put aside our path of least resistance—our crutches, our addictions—and correct things 100 percent. The beauty of it is that if we can follow the protocol long enough and steady enough, we can win the war, as it were, and bring our bodies back to great strength.

Where does the Extremely Green Detox fit in relation to your other programs?

It’s definitely a progression. The Raw Food Detox Diet gets people out of the mainstream way of eating. Detox 4 Women—which I want to emphasize is also for men—pulls people out of pathogenic problems such as yeasts, molds and fungal issues. And the Extremely Green Detox brings people out of the quicksand and on to the mountaintop. It’s for those of us who want that peak experience, who want our blood to be the blood of youth, and our bones to be the bones of youth. This is what we use to get to the top of the mountain. Once you’re there, if you want to do some of the other things once in a while you can, but it’s not the daily experience any more.

I noticed that many foods you allow on your other programs—low-sugar fruits, goat cheese and baked sweet potatoes, for instance—are missing from this program. What is the reason for this?

A big part of it has to do with eliminating the pathogens that still have a hold in people’s systems. We have to kill them, and for this to happen, things like sugars, fermented foods and dairy all have to be left out of the equation unless one is a true beginner.

There’s also another piece. The key to successfully moving forward in this technocratic society, which is in decline, is to have the fewest needs possible. Of course having a sense of interconnected compassion trumps all. But the person who needs the least, who is the least dependent on outside substances, is the one who will survive with the most success.

Green Juice = Liquid Sunlight

That’s why we are focusing on the raw green foods. Green food is primordial food. It’s synthesized sunlight—chlorophyll, plus the living enzymes which you just don’t get with supplements and green powders. When the majority of the diet is coming from live, vitalized green foods like wheatgrass juice, juiced greens, dark green leafy vegetables and salads, amazing changes start to happen. For one, the palate changes. Even after just a few days, the palate starts to readjust so that you actually enjoy the taste of simple, unadulterated food in its natural state. The indigenous state of tasting is regained, and this has a profound, transformational influence over the perception of what we think we need to feel satisfied and fulfilled. 

So, as the palate shifts, the craving for sub-optimum substances is reduced and addictions lose their hold?

Exactly. And when addictions fall by the wayside, you become empowered. So we’ll be dealing with this during the guided cleanse. We’re even going to look at the shadowy addictions, the ones which we may not be aware of, or don’t want to admit. Even stevia can be an addiction. But as the palate readjusts, addictions fall by the wayside.

Once that happens, if we want to dabble in the less than optimum choices, we can bring those things back on an occasional basis and still maintain balance. Somebody who does the Extremely Green Detox protocol long enough to truly strengthen themselves will be able to do what we call “safe poisons” once in a while without a problem, but it will be less of a daily experience—not out of a sense of forced deprivation, but because the desire to make it a daily experience will be gone. Once the body is strengthened, the safe poisons won’t bring you down if you just do them periodically.

So raw goat cheese, for example, is a food that can be reintroduced down the road?

Raw goat cheese is a good substance that the body can utilize. If the system is in good working order and the body is clean, something like raw goat cheese is not going to undermine the system. It’s something a strong body should be able to manage. The same goes for things like wine, or a piece of fish.

The problem, though, is that our bodies are not strong. We need to find a way to maintain the highest levels of human health at a time when the world is so acidic, and we are constantly being bathed in chemicals and radiation. That’s what the Extremely Green Detox is for.

What else is different about your new program?

One big addition is the daily wheatgrass juice, which is going to be treated like a sacred meal. And green juice is also going to become a sacred meal, consumed consciously, with a sense of “I am taking in my true nourishment now.” Both of these green drinks are loaded with chlorophyll, which makes them optimum foods for the blood, the brain and so many body systems. But the wheatgrass juice in particular has another role. It will make it easier for people to do the program, because it provides a sense of fullness and satisfaction on a subtle level. It functions psychologically as well as physiologically.

So, starting with 1 ounce a day, wheatgrass juice will be included as much as people can tolerate it—five days a week if possible. And they’ll be encouraged to build on the quantity every week, so that by end of four weeks, some will be up to 4 ounces every day. Others may still be doing just 1 ounce and making a face, but they’ll be doing it!

I know that face! Wheatgrass juice can take some getting used to in the aftertaste department, but it is an amazing healing substance.

The idea is that people will come to enjoy it as essential. This has been my experience. Your body takes on the qualities of whatever substance you take in, and as your body takes on these qualities, it begins to desire those substances more. This happens with negative substances, too. The body gets used to whatever you are feeding it, and creates a habitat for that.

So, when we take in super nutrient-rich and high vibration substances, such as the wheatgrass juice, which is pure living chlorophyll, our body becomes made of that, and it craves that. Over the past few years, I have worked up to drinking 4 ounces of wheatgrass a day. Now the experience of taking it in has become one of the highlights of my day, but it was a process to get here. So this is something we will be doing together on the cleanse that I am really excited about sharing.

Can you talk a little about the Detox the World community, and why you decided to introduce your new program, Extremely Green Detox, within the context of a fully supported cleanse?

Our goal is to create a place where people can heal, strengthen and retain their human qualities on this bizarre stage. We need to keep on finding solutions as we navigate being a human being in a non-human world.

Ultimately, the goal of a fully supported cleanse is about giving people the ability to stand alone. The bottom line is, you wake up with you in the morning. No matter who you went out to dinner with the night before, no matter what temptations were there, how are you going to feel in the morning? Will you look in the mirror and say “I guess I gave up because everyone else was doing it,” or will you feel grateful that you honored your body’s true needs, and your deeper desires to take your life experience and your health to the next level?

As long as we don’t relapse and fall back into the false notions of what “civilized people” need, we are in new territory. That can be a little scary. With the supported cleanse, we have the guidance of the leaders, along with the built-in support of the group structure, to helps us cross the bridge to get there.

It looks like you’ll be providing a lot of support during the four weeks of the program.

In addition to all the emails, there will be group calls once a week, plus a weekly video with a live chat feature. We have a private Facebook page where people can interact, and a hotline is in the works. We’ll tackle the social-emotional-mental challenges. We’re going to dismantle all of the social pressures, like a kid who wants to dismantle a computer. We’ll take it apart. This is the power of the group.

It sounds like a fantastic opportunity! People must be getting so excited.

Every day will be a whole new experience and as a result, there will be an overwhelming sense of well being from doing this program—visceral experiential knowledge, rather than textbook. Extremely Green Detox is geared towards experienced cleansers, but we’re bringing in all levels, and making modifications for different needs, so everyone will get the best out of it. Already more than 100 people are signed up! It’s almost like a small country with a new vision.

There’s still time to join the fully supported Extremely Green Detox,
a group cleanse with Natalia Rose, beginning on July 1, 2013!
To register or learn more, go to www.detoxtheworld.com.

The Rose Cleanse - Day 3

I learned something today about doing The Rose Cleanse: BE PREPARED!

I wasn't. OK, I did have two juices leftover from Day 2 to get me through the morning, twelve ounces of Green and eight of Red. But the morning included a big 3-hour hike and photo shoot through the woods at Amethyst Brook, and by the time I got home, I was hungrrry! If there had been a juice waiting for me in the fridge (or someplace to buy one between Amherst and Montague) that would have taken care of things. But there wasn't. If only Juice Bars were as ubiquitous as coffee shops...

But alas, they are not. So, I got home and couldn't wait for juice. Instead, I made a smoothie, which is way faster - at least with my beloved juicer, which is a gentle, slow, single gear model.


I kept the smoothie light: one young coconut, water and meat, half a pint of blueberries and a few leaves of kale, plus a little lemon juice, cinnamon and ice. I'm a whiz at opening a young coconut so the drink was ready in no time. Phew! Hunger emergency abated.

I learned something else today. Blueberries can really thicken up a smoothie! By the second glass, my drink was glop! Even with some water added I ended up eating it with a spoon, like pudding. (Mental note: interesting dessert potential there...)

Anyway, the smoothie did the trick and I was able to continue through to dinner: Steamed Kelp Noodles and the last of my Rainbow Salad with a little Thai hot sauce for kick. Wonder what's on tomorrow's menu...?

The Rose Cleanse - Day 2

It's a hot summer day and I'm deep into day two of The Rose Cleanse here. All going well. I got some nice beets at the coop to make my rooty juice today, which ended up being a sweet beet-carrot-ginger-lemon-apple-celery-cuke combo. My green juice was the same as yesterday. So far, I've consumed about 32 ounces of fresh juice.

It's late afternoon and I find myself feeling both a little tired and...a little empty! I was thinking earlier how easy it is to turn empty into full. There's really no harm in sitting with emptiness once in a while. Nothing bad will happen to you if you don't eat the second you experience hunger.

I sure am looking forward to dinner at six, though! Tonight's menu includes a leafy green salad, baked buttercup squash and more of the tasty dish I made for last night's potluck dinner, pictured above and below. I had planned on making Cheezy Cauliflower, but since the farm stand did not have any cauliflower, I changed course and purchased some beautiful organic broccoli instead, which I used to create a nice Rainbow Salad with Creamy Lemon-Hempseed Dressing.


To make this salad, start with a nice big bunch, say, a pound and a half of fresh green broccoli, chopped small and drizzled with lemon juice, tamari, olive oil and a sprinkle of Himalayan crystal salt. Toss and let that marinate while you dice one large or two small sweet red bell peppers and thinly slice a nice big (is there any other kind?) white daikon radish after quartering it lengthwise. Throw in some halved sungold cherry tomatoes and mix all your colorful veggies together. Then... pour on a cup of Creamy Lemon-Hempseed Dressing, which is basically Kristen Suzanne's Cheezy Hemp Nacho Sauce with extra lemon juice, one or two tablespoons of clear agave nectar and a handful of fresh chopped oregano added. Sprinkle with cayenne if desired, stir well and eat. Very yummy!

If you still haven't tried making Cheezy Hemp Nacho Sauce for some reason, maybe this video of Kristen Suzanne making her signature dish will inspire you:



Doesn't that look good?!

Meanwhile back at the potluck last night, I was glad to find some raw baby carrots to munch on, along with basil pesto and raw peanuts to complement my crunchy Rainbow Salad. I also enjoyed a few cooked veggies from an amazing, spicy Chinese dish made by our multitalented host, Cai Silver. Cai is an incredible painter, artist and chef who operates the C.X. Silver Gallery in Brattleboro with her husband Adam. The potluck was held at the gallery, which showcases Cai's oil paintings plus features a variety of Asian and Tibetan arts. All this meant we guests were treated to some luscious visuals and a private tour on top of all the good food and company. What a delight!

When I got home, I still felt a little hungry so I ate a few blueberries and baby peaches. Technically one wouldn't put fruit on top of cooked veggies, but since most of my dinner was in the raw veggie or seed/nut category, the fruit settled fine. And it made me feel happy. Which is what really matters, don't you agree?

My potluck experience shows that it is possible to "have a life" and cleanse at the same time. I might not plan a detox during a week that I had a wedding to go to, mind you! But for everyday outings, The Rose Cleanse program is super doable.

The Rose Cleanse

Today is Day One of a seven-day cleanse I've decided to do in honor of summer's final quarter. The program is called The Rose Cleanse – developed by one of my favorite nutritionists, Natalia Rose. Natalia is the author of the popular books The Raw Food Detox Diet and Detox For Women among others, and her website detoxtheworld.com is not to be missed by anyone interested in cellular cleansing and high life force living.

The Rose Cleanse is quite simple. You enjoy between two and four 16-ounce fresh raw vegetable juices during the day, and then feast on a well-combined, cleansing meal of raw vegetable salad PLUS unlimited steamed or lightly sauteed low-starch veggies (if desired) AND your choice of a starch-based entree (baked sweet potato with organic butter and sea salt, winter squash, roasted red potatoes, avocado) or a protein-based entree (raw goat cheese, fish, free-range eggs or raw sprouted seed cheese or nut paté).

The Rose Cleanse is similar to doing seven days of the final day of my Maine Detox, which I wrote about last April. Feel free to check those posts for some tasty juice recipes if you are interested in trying The Rose Cleanse for yourself.

Speaking of juice, the picture above may look to you like three bottles of kombucha but, in fact, it is my juice intake for the day–less the glass of green juice I already drank. (I've got a nice stash of glass kombucha bottles saved from the research phase of my soon-to-be published Kombucha booklet, so why not put them to good use?!)

When juice fasting, I like to prepare all my daily juice at once, in the morning, to make life manageable. I prefer storing juice in glass rather than plastic, and make a point to fill jars or bottles almost to the brim to minimize contact between the juice and the air, reducing the opportunity for oxidation to take place. Kept cold in this way, I find that fresh-pressed juice stays lively for 12-24 hours.

The green juice is a cucumber-celery-lemon-comfrey-green apple-jalapeno combo and the orange juice is a cucumber-carrot-ginger-lemon-fuji apple combo.

Altogether, I'll be ingesting about 48 ounces of juice today, followed by a dinner of my choice. I'm going to a potluck so we'll see what I can rustle up. And what am I bringing to the potluck, you wonder? Cheezy Cauliflower Delight, of course, made with marinated raw cauliflower, red bell pepper and the ever-popular Cheezy Hemp Nacho Sauce, highlighted in my last post!

Tomorrow, I'll be posting again with an update, so stay tuned...!

3-Day Mini-Cleanse: Day 3!

Ah the joys of a 3-day mini-cleanse! On Day 1, motivation is super high. On Day 2, you only have one day left to go. And on Day 3, you're done!

I know many people who set out with the best intentions to do a week-long juice fast or a long detox program only to fall by the wayside when cravings strike. But THREE days? It's easily doable, because the end is always in sight!

Day 3 was actually a few days ago as I write this but I remember: Breakfast Juice was the leftover Pineapple-Apple-Collard-Celery juice from the day before. (Day old juice is not as alive as freshly-pressed juice, true. But it is still pretty darn clean and healthy - not to mention already made!) Lunch Smoothie was a basic Ultimate Green Smoothie, a la Teri Kerr's Ultimate Detox Diet's Breakfast Drink plus greens. Dinner was divine: A beautiful Sprout Salad with fresh lentil sprouts, two kinds of lettuce, grated carrots, black olives and cherry tomatoes, served alongside of Kelp Noodles warmed in Organic Marinara Sauce and topped with grated Raw Local Cheese.

This Kelp Noodle dish was the first (and only) non-raw food of the cleanse. My Community Superfoods store (where I sell kelp noodles at cost, btw) was open that night from 5-7, and I was very hungry and chilled when I got home. Convenience raw foods like kelp noodles come in quite handy in such situations, and I am not averse to eating cooked foods from time to time, especially in winter (hence my "HIGH raw foodist" moniker. Not to be confused with monocle, lol).

Anyway, the dish came out quite tasty. I sauteed some red onion and garlic in a little coconut oil first, then added the marinara and Italian herbs, simmered a few minutes, then added the kelp noodles, turned off the heat and stirred till coated. Transferred to two bowls and garnished generously with grated raw cheese. It was delish. Even Zack approved (much to his surprise - his dubious expectations for the kelp noodles pleasantly reversed upon tasting).

So that was it. The 3-Day Mini Cleanse had come to a close. Kudos to Zack for hanging in as long as he did, and I feel happily lighter and alert. This is good, since many deadlines and responsibilities have convened at once in my life, including two talks in two weeks, the first of which was today!


This morning, I gave a free talk and taste at Green Field's Market on Energizing Raw Breakfasts. I brought soaked almonds for everyone to peel (so easy!), freshly made Almond-Chia Milk, Sprouted Buckwheat Cereal with Cinnamon-Coconut Oil and assorted dried berries and superfoods for people to try. At the end of the talk, I made some refreshingly alive Ginger Green Juice in my Omega 5008 juicer - and of course, everyone loved it! Lots of fun.

My top recommendations for energy-boosting raw breakfasts are any one of the following options. Eat or drink as much as you need to feel satisfied but remember: the lighter the better for maximum energy to carry you to lunch. (FYI, I don't take grains in the morning, but the sprouted buckwheat makes a wonderful dessert, especially when stirred into a mix of raw cacao, coconut oil and stevia or sweetener of choice, as shown me by my raw friends Jude & Jontz Johnson!)

Raw Breakfast Suggestions (choose one)

Fresh Fruit as desired
Raw Vegetable Juice
Fruit or Green Smoothie
Bananas or Dried Fruit with raw nuts/seeds or raw nut butter
Nut Milks and Nut-Milk Based Smoothies
Sprouted Oatmeal or Buckwheat

If you'd like a copy of the recipe handout from the talk, please let me know!

In love and light, Diana

3-Day Mini Cleanse

Here in Western Massachusetts, January is the coldest month of winter. Yes, we had one blissful, delicious forty degree day last week. Felt like Heaven. Otherwise, temperatures have not risen much above freezing since Christmas. All just to say there's been lots of bundling up and staying in going on. (Aside: gotta love those prepositions - am I right, people?!)

Anyway, as chilly weather drives us inside, this seems to me like the perfect time to "just say no" to the temptation of dense, heavy foods and lighten up my diet for a few days. So, today I began a 3-day mini-cleanse.

What is a mini-cleanse? Well, it's just a relaxed, short-term program that gives the digestive organs a break for most of the day. My plan looks something like this:

Upon Arising: 10 oz water with lemon and MSM (boosts detox by donating precious sulfur ions)
Breakfast: fresh pressed vegetable juice with apple or other fruit to sweeten
Snack: Herb tea (gotta have that warmth!) and water
Lunch: Green Smoothie of choice or another juice
Snack: herb tea or lemon-water with MSM
Dinner: Raw Salad with choice of: seed cheese, raw goat cheese or baked sweet potato
After Dinner: herb tea

Today, my mini-cleanse meals featured a superb carrot-beet-dandelion greens juice and an outrageously tasty red grapefruit-blueberry smoothie (thank you, Cathy!), both left over from the weekend. (That was easy!)

Dinner will be a fresh sprout salad (homegrown lentil and alfalfa-clover sprouts plus locally grown sunflower greens) with red onion, raw feta cheese and organic black olives. Dressed with Jordan's famous lime-pink pepper dressing. I feel so nourished by my dear friends and family. Thank you all!

What's great about a mini-cleanse:
It's easy.
It gives your digestive organs a break.
It boosts detox.
It doesn't last too long! (Did I mention it's easy?)
It's delicious and satisfying.
At the end, you'll feel way better than when you started!

Sounds good to me. Will keep you posted on days 2 and 3!

In light and lightness,
Diana

Juice Fast & Raw Fudge

As promised, here is the update on my New Year juice fast, now behind me (making it a fast in the past).

I went with a 3-day rather than a 5-day fast, due to logistical issues. I also have to say 3-days is a good length for a short fast - easy to complete and very rewarding/renewing! Each day I drank up to three tall glasses of fresh-pressed veggie juice with apples and ginger, plus plenty of herb tea (sometimes with raw honey) and plain water. I also had miso soup at dinner time on days 2 and 3.

Fasting is most definitely a natural high. I got a little spacey and the miso soup help ground me. Veggie broth is often "permitted" on a juice fast; this was like instant veggie broth. Miso is a wonder food, providing immune-boosting probiotics in addition to yummy flavor. I like the mellow/sweet white miso from South River Farms best of all.

Breaking the fast is always the challenge. After resting the digestive organs, we don't want to stress them with too much quantity of, or too dense quality of food. Fresh fruit, salad, avocado are recommended, which is what I did, although I must confess some of my homemade Christmas Rosemary Spiced Nut Mix did slip in there... whoops! And truth be told, it gave me a little tummy ache, just to prove that light foods are better than heavy when breaking a fast. (I knew that would happen...!) They are delicious, though - made in the dehydrator with tons of fresh rosemary and just the right amount of cayenne pepper and agave for the hot & sweet effect.

Anyway, other than the nut thing, the fast breaking went really well, and today I am ready to jump into 2009 with a clean body and energized outlook. In fact, I like this feeling so much that I've decided to do a once-weekly fast day for the month of January. If that goes well, I may commit to continuing through to Spring. (You see, rather than making a mammoth New Year resolution, such as "I'm going to fast once a week for the entire year," I'm going with a shorter, "renewable" resolution to up my success potential - a little trick given to me yesterday from my wise mother. Thanks, Mom!)

In honor of eating again. I made a special treat for dessert last night: Raw Cacao Walnut Fudge. OMG - was this ever yummy! And so quick to make, adapted from the brownie recipe in Jennifer Cornbleet's excellent uncook-book, Raw Food Made Easy. I'm planning to experiment with this one, adding coconut to the next batch, or maybe currants or mint extract or goji berries or.... but I digress. Here's the recipe in its pristine purity:

Raw Cacao Walnut Fudge

This almost-instant recipe makes eight squares of rich, chewy, chocolatey inch-high fudge.

1 cup raw walnuts
5 Medjool dates
1/3 cup raw cacao powder
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch Himalayan pink salt (or any high quality sea salt)
additional walnuts for topping (optional)

In food processor, pulse 3/4 cups of the walnuts into a fine meal. Pit the dates and add to food processor with salt and vanilla. Process until smooth and transfer to bowl. Finely chop remaining 1/4 cup walnuts and mix by hand into walnut-date blend. Press the fudge into a small rectangular container (about 4"X6") so that fudge is about one inch tall. If desired, press additional chopped walnuts, about 1/8 cup, into top. Or press in 8 small walnut halves, one for each future serving. Refrigerate to help fudge set, then slice into eight squares and enjoy!

Solstice Cleanse

I awoke early this morning - from a short sleep on the longest night of the year - and saw dawn rise pink upon the new season. Yesterday was winter solstice, the first day of Winter and a time of turning around for planet earth. For me, the shortest day of the year is a time for contracting, looking inward, conserving energy and waiting... waiting to open again.

In honor of solstice day, I fasted on liquids including: plain water, chlorella, detox tea (dandelion, licorice, burdock), young coconut juice and for the evening meal, a purple smoothie made with frozen blueberries (picked on my birthday last July), the young coconut meat, lemon, cayenne and mesquite powder. (The smoothie was my comfort food, sipped in solidarity with my sons who enjoyed their own: baked sweet potatoes and whole grain macaroni and cheese casserole.) My body must have needed a break because I didn't feel hungry all day, nor this morning, though I do feel refreshed and renewed.

The new year is a time to begin again, which is what our body can do after taking a break from solid food, even just for one day. Many people fast for one day every week, an idea which has always appealed to me. Taking a food break helps the body rest and deal with some of the old internal waste and excess. Especially if you have been overindulging, it can be very helpful to just STOP and let your body calm down for a day - at least by taking only light liquids until dinner - to allow for a reset. If you can make it one whole day, even better. The next morning, you will wake up empty, calm, energized and inspired to be more in control of your choices around food.

My solstice cleanse has not been limited to my body - I've also been cleansing my kitchen of old and unecessary items that seemed to have practically grown into shelves and cupboards. Maybe those jars and bottles were just trying to blend in, as if on a strategic camouflage mission, knowing their days were numbered... but I finally noticed and boy - what fun it is to get rid of stuff you don't need! I went through the freezer first, unearthing numerous rigid containers of forgotten soup stock and mystery mash, the oldest dating back to 2006 - yikes! Chuck! Then I tackled the "supplement shelf" and tossed at least a dozen bottles of expired magic pills. Good bye! It always feels good to clean out, scrub down the shelves and start fresh for the new year. Inside and out. More housecleaning and a one-week juice fast is planned for after Christmas. Will keep you posted on that.

Winter didn't just come in name this year: it's been snowing for three days straight, so I'm out to do some shoveling. As much as I prefer sun and warmth, I must admit the brilliant whiteness of snow and the bite of cold air is purifying for my brain and body, especially lungs. Breathing deeply is something I am trying to be more conscious about - taking the time to breathe and be quiet and feel love. Lately I am inspired by Nick Good and the ideas he puts forth in his Success Ultra Now programs. We are what we think! Taking the time to breathe, just three deep conscious breaths, allows me to pause, relax and alter my state of mind for the better. I'll take that clarity out into the pure wonderland of snow.