Oh my goodness, food has never tasted sooo good. Today was the first time I actually had to chew something in 15 days to get it down. And it was glorious!
Day fifteen
I wake up and I’m almost a little bit nervous. I finally get to have some warm, and kind of real food. What to expect? Will my belly handle it? Will I feel sick? Will I spew? So I come out of my room and Amzi already has some veggie broth soup simmering on the stove. I have to say right here that Amzi is a total sweetheart. She really didn’t have to do that, and I’m so grateful that she did! But I’m not ready to eat yet. I almost have this feeling of it needs to be just right.
So I down a glass of water, go take a shower and shave for the first time in about five days. Then I pick out some nice clothes. Some nice grey pin stripe slack, a great dusty evergreen shirt, silver cuff links, black and white floral tie with tie-clip. The whole deal. I want to look good and feel good for this meal.
I come out of my room and sit down for my first cup of soup. I could probably just drink it out of a mug, but I really want to use utensils again. So into a bowl, with a soup spoon on the side. Mmmmm hmmmmmm. It is good. Power packed flavour! That’s for damn sure! It tastes sooo salty. Wow. That must be because I haven’t had any salt in a long time! Time for another helping!
But this time I don’t want the spoonful size sips to slow me down, so I go straight for the coffee mug. Amzi comes in and tastes the soup. Yup, it is actually super salty. I cut the broth with some water and keep drinking. But the damage has already been done. About 15 minutes later the soup acts exactly like a salt water flush! Dammit! I don’t care though.
Come early afternoon Amz and I head over to the Buzz Berry to get ourselves some smoothies. This is something I’ve had my eyes on since the first time I drove passed it five days ago. I order the four-berry with acai, pineapple and flax seed. Oh no! They are making it out of pre-bottled, commercial mix stuff. What a bummer. Well whatever, I’m here now and I’m so excited for it. The smoothy is still tasty, but clearly not fresh. That’s easy to tell.
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Back home I finish off the smoothy and make myself a half-caf coffee. Yum yum. I missed that. I have a Nespresso machine that I haven’t used in about four months, and so I’ve been anticipating using Amz’s since I got here. It’s delish!
For dinner I meet up with another friend of mine, Tiffany, and we go to True Food. This is a little excerpt about the concept (from Dr Weil’s website):
Concept: All True Food Kitchen locations feature dishes that closely adhere to the principles of Dr. Weil’s anti-inflammatory diet. They are intended to be a new kind of restaurant: one in which delicious flavors, healthy nutrients, environmental awareness and an inviting atmosphere come together to create an unforgettable dining experience.
Boy was that a great choice. I order their well known Miso Soup, a delicious drink called The Medicine
Best Lentil Soup EVER!!!Man, and a stunning Lentil Soup. Best decision EVER! I can’t remember the last time I had a dish create that type of impression on me. It was absolutely remarkable! I was unaware that lentil soup could taste like that. Now I must admit, there was just a little dab of cheese on the top, but I ate it anyways.
My belly was slightly unsettled, but I made it through dinner with with visits before and after the meal. Afterwards we meet up with Amzi and her friend Alex for some bowling. As we walk out of the restaurant and across the parking lot, I finally feel warm. In fact, I have warm-soup-belly. One of the best feelings in the entire word!
How do I feel?
Energy-wise, just great. Mentally, I have two over arching feelings. Number one, a sense of relief that I can eat freely again. I don’t need to monitor, and discriminate, and say no to things I actually want. I no longer need to plan well in advance for things like going to the mall, or visiting a friend. The second feeling is a new burden that I need to start buying groceries, and planning meals, and set aside time for eating. Talk about two sides of the same coin!
My outlook going forward?
Just being at True Food makes me realize how important it is to make wise choices about where we choose to eat. Specifically making the decision to find places that feature fresh, local, organic ingredients, and ordering dishes that are low stress on my digestive system (low or no processed foods).
Question of the day
For people who have done TMC or any other cleanse in the past. What dietary changes did you make after the cleanse was over? Were the changes permanent?
