Planet RAW! Yuummmmyyy....

Yesterday found Curt and I taking a beautiful drive through the mountains near Malibu - saw a few shacks the size of castle's along the way - and the pictures we took just do not do it justice. Especially since I passed on trying to dig the camera out of the bag in the back seat as we wound our way up switch-backs with drop offs straight down on my side with no guard rails. I just kept saying "Oh, it's so pretty!" followed instantaneously by... "Keep your eyes on the road!"

Here's a pic as we snake our way down the slopes and get a shot of the ocean (our brakes smelled AWFUL... and then Curt decides to tell me he remembers the time his brakes got so hot in his truck in college that they stopped working. Perfect.)

Once we got down to the 101, it was smooth (and for the most part, brake-free) sailing on our drive along the coast south towards Santa Monica. Saw a few more "shanties," and stopped at one of the state beaches for a couple candid shots (love those yellow flowers!):

We continued our drive....
After a little shopping at REI (our favorite!) we had dinner at Planet RAW.... I was SooooOOO excited. It did not disappoint! We sipped the best smoothies either Curt or I have ever had (by his own admission)... a mocha "milk"shake for Curt, and a coconut one for me.... Though I failed to snap a pic of these, shoot! For the main entree we dinned on the AVO Honey Mustard Sandwich on flax "bread" (me) and Curt on the Fat Cheese Sandwich on "wonderbread." Unbelievable! I kid you not, the honey mustard on mine was the best I have ever tasted. And nothing on the menu is made with anything other than fruit, veggies, nuts, seeds, spices, and honey... all RAW, and all super delicious!

I'm happy with my own tasty raw concoctions too..... Like the cherry, strawberry, almond, vanilla smoothie I made yesterday morning... mmmm. :0)

'till next time.... later alligators!

It's OVER! Yiippppeeeeeee!

Well, the cleanse is over people! THANK GOODNESS is all I have to say. :) And in case you caught it, yes, technically it shouldn't be over until tonight at midnight, but yesterday put me over the edge. Let's just say my digestive stimulators caught up with me, and I felt like I was dying by night's end. I decided to throw in the towel, and gleefully fixed some raw, homemade, cinnamon applesauce this morning in my Vita-mix, and savored delicious guacamole for lunch. Eating solid food is the best.

I will still do cleanses in the future, but this Blessed Herbs one was rough! It definitely cleans house, per say, but it's a little harsher than I like. I feel great doing the lemonade cleanse, but the satisfaction of getting rid of some old junk-in-the-trunk isn't as good. At any rate, giving your body a rest from digesting food is never a bad idea - if even for a day - and I feel really good having done it for a solid 7 days.

And how's my skin you ask? Well, that's another story. Of course now I begin the 6-8 week anti-inflammatory diet. Aka, it will mildly suck, but no where near the cleanse! :) My skin is doing OK. Of course I forgot that cleansing usually draws out and helps your body eliminate impurities, so naturally my skin as been worse than ever! Perfect. That said, I am hopeful that it will slowly start to improve over these next few weeks as I fail to ingest dairy, wheat, processed sugar, etc... I will certainly keep you updated.

On a small note, I may continue eating tomatoes and on the rare occasion, corn - but only in the form of the spicy corn salsa at Chipolte... I just can't enjoy my chicken bowl without it! But chocolate, peanut butter, and rest of it will go.... at least for now. :o)

Tomorrow Curt and I head to the beach and Santa Monica for some fun shopping and dinner out at a raw restaurant. I am way excited. Curt, sort of excited - but a trooper to be sure after what I have put him through in complaints, wicked cravings, and stomach episodes this last week! I will have to buy him some trans-fat laced pizza rolls as a reward, haha. Well, maybe...
Until next time. :)