The Results are In

By Slim   |   57 Comments

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I survived The Week of Extreme Healthiness!

It truly wasn’t that difficult. I had plenty of food (‘ceptin for dinner-which was just 1 cup of light soup each night)

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All the breakfasts were good

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Buckwheat-millet pancake with stewed fruits (ya, I couldn’t wait to take a bite before I took the photo)

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Drinks were wonderful and lunches were the heartiest meals of the day, as you can see below

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Cabbage wrapped spring rolls with tahini sauce-totally yummy for lunch

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There was none of this. Nada, zip, vapor.

 aaah, can’t you just smell what you’re missing??

and

I don’t want to say that going 7 entire days & nights without wine was hard…

but going 7 entire days & nights without wine was hard.

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Saturday was interesting.

After starting with breakfast at The Cafe I ambled upstairs to a morning meditation class followed by Sound Healing, which might have been one of my favorite parts of the week.

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The Staircase at The Alchemy Arts Center

The lovely Rose sits ramrod straight in front of two extremely large and beautiful gongs and beats not so gently away at them with a large cloth covered …gong beater.

The sound is resonant, intense, and feels as if it’s reverberating  into your very core. With your eyes closed and your heart open, it’s quite an amazing experience.

I would definitely like to do that again. In fact, I’d like to have my own set of gongs for all sorts of reasons, but we won’t go into that.

After The Gong Show

I treated myself to the infrared sauna at Alchemy Arts

(this is not the actual unit there)

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These are NICE! Pretty much like a traditional sauna except  dry (no water poured over coals) and you really don’t start “glowing” until towards the end of a 30 minute treatment.  As most of the infra red saunas I’ve seen on the internet appear to be portable, this would definitely make a luxurious and easy enough addition to a home spa!

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Out of the sauna and into the Isopod;

Slim Paley photo

The flotation tank was fun and not at all claustrophobic, which was my one big concern. Much larger than I’d imagined, you pull the “roof” up and down from inside so you are always in control. I’ve never been to The Dead Sea but it must be a similar sensation- you actually have to fight against not floating. That being said, it takes awhile to relax your neck muscles and “trust” the float, if you will. It took clasping my hands behind my head (like men on a sofa watching football-not a pose I find myself in often) to really relax. The moment I adopted that pose, my entire balance changed and I was able to fall into the experience.

Strangely, I also started to root for The Patriots.

Did I enter into a meditative state? No. Alas, the endless lists that cycle through my mind don’t have an “Off” button.

But I did enjoy feeling a little bit astronaut, a little bit Mary Poppins, a little bit  Gaga…

All in all a good time was had,

and here are just a few things I learned from this experience;

-that I can easily go at least a week without any animal protein

-vegetables are truly delicious and creatively limitless recipe wise-

They’re the Karl Lagerfeld of the Food Pyramid.

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-I can easily manage a week without carbs.

-no bread, no problem.

-that lo and behold, I love like freshly squeezed Wheatgrass shots

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They really grow on you.y

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-That simply adding a single exotic element to an otherwise ordinary ritual (lemon grass in your tea, essential lemon grass oil in your bathwater) can transport you off to Calcon Land after a taxing day.

-But… wine is good.

How about Lemon grass wine, damn it??!

Lemongrass Martinis?!

I might be on to something but…

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back to shopping for just a moment;

The adorably happy tableware  at Alchemy Arts that several of you inquired about  is made by Pip Home

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Perhaps a couple of sweet heart shaped plates for Valentines Day?!

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And lastly,

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I rounded off My Week of Health & Fitness on Sunday with a lovely yoga session with the Divine Denise Zeverdes , yogini extraordinaire and owner of MoYo in Montecito.

As you can see, she brought me a little gift, that just so happened to match the colors of my yoga mat and accoutrements  (sooo Denise!)

And NO it wasn’t candy or chocolates!

PS. I’m loving my ‘tagged’ personal yoga mat! It makes me so happy every time I unroll it, and it comes in handy for instruction too;

“Put your big toe just to the left of the “OM”, “Place your hands on either side of ‘DO NOT COVET YOUR NEIGHBOUR’S DOWNWARD DOG”

I highly rec. graffitiing one of your own.

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So now, all that’s really left to make things perfect is one of these;

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God only knows I have enough marsupials around the property!

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Namaste All

xox

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57 Comments

  5. I would love to have the recipe for those cabbage rolls…..yummy! I’m with you on the wine thing too….a bit of the red might not have been a bad idea, but it was a cleanse, after all.

  6. I feel like I experienced your week of healthy eating…and the good news is I didn’t have to. I admire your discipline and appreciate knowing the details of a healthy start to the new year sans the wheatgrass.

    You never said, did you lose weight too? That would be a benefit that I could use.
    Karen

  10. What a way to end a post – the animation caused a giant smile! Hey, your raw food cleanse was much more filling and yummiful than mine! Next time I’m calling Alchemy! I can’t believe I had half the food you did! Yours looks much more scrumptious too. Sighhhh….Mine is over and I had my first TJ’s chocolate croissant today…yet, I’m sticking with the mainly healthy live food. I had to drink my green smoothie before eating the croissant.

  11. Making a new recipe for a
    vegetarian stew that has molasses, and cinnamon, paprika and…wine in it right now. Smells swonderful.

  12. Would love that place, the staircase! Wheatgrass–love! Already don’t eat meat, and love your pix of the artful, fresh cuisine. Drinks can do without, light soup for dinner, down with that, no bread–no problem, but no wine….um, a week ok, but forever? We have to support our Golden State wines, right?

    Beautiful!!

  13. You’ve got some serious dedication. I could not go for a week without wine, my evening unwinding ritual. Shame on me. Namaste back to you. An inspirational post!

  14. So glad you’ve made it to the other side, Slim! I’m sure you’re gorgeous and glowing. But please say you’ve had a glass of wine by now so I won’t feel so lame! I also think the lemongrass martini is worth exploring… Can you tell it’s after 5pm in Boston?! Enjoy your new found health!

  15. Fantastic Slim. All the meals truly look delicious,I think i would love it all. HOWEVER only soup for dinner and no more picking after that? I could not go to bed hungry, sleep is hard to come by. What a lovely thought and gift from Denise. I simply love the tableware. Very happy prints. I could do the chamber, I think.
    A week flies doesn’t it? Easy for me to say.

  17. Ohhhh……. died and went to heaven. I’ve been meaning to stop in at Alchemy Arts when I’m in the area. Did you see big benefits from the 7 day food cleanse?
    Have a wonderful week.
    Sincerely,
    Miranda
    SF Bay Area

  21. I’m so glad to hear your week went well. The breakfast and lunch looks amazing – kind of the way I try to eat anyway but much more artfully conceived. I love the staircase and would like to use the idea on the staircase to my third floor studio to get my head in the right place on the way up. Thanks again for sharing in an interesting, beautiful and funny post. Inspired again, Ruth.

  22. Congratulations! You did it! I’ll raise my wine glass to you tonight! And those cabbage rolls look wonderful. I’ll take a plate of those with my wine, please.

  23. The little squirrels at the end caught me by surprise, lol!
    Well, you did a great job! Can’t imagine going with out meat and carbs, but i certainly could lose some weight. The cabbage spring rolls look fabulous! Did they give you a recipe?
    Congratulations, Slim!
    Teresa
    xoxo

  24. A “gong beater???” OMG..I died laughing (good for my soul!) I so look forward to your next episode… franki

  27. That pancake looked yummy…Speaking of Mr. L, I wonder what he did to lose all the weight he lost a few years ago?

    • yeah, and what a short memory he has that he made that nasty comment about Adele
      today saying “She is fat”. Like he wasn’t most of his life?

  29. I have nothing but admiration for you! I do like the stewed fruit pancake, cabbage rolls (recipe?) and the squirrel massage. Did you ever know Douglas Campbell in Los Angeles? He gave great Hollywood parties in the 1950’s and 60’s. But half the time he’d leave his guests in the hands of his major domo/butler and he’d retired to his attic to soak in his floatation coffin, what it looked like to me.

  32. Love the squirrels!
    I agree on the can do without bread and meat…but wow, it’s hard to give up the
    alcohol!!! Sigh. I finally was able to incorporate 5 fruit/veggies a day but have to get
    to 9 and really don’t want to eat salad all the time. Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives just showed
    this last week a restaurant that does steam-baked brussel sprouts…so gonna try that
    tomorrow as a side dish to veggie enchiladas!
    Keep up the good work! Just think how healthy you are now!
    By the way, NEXT here in Chi-town just released their three new themes for this year…
    just saying.

  34. When I think you cannot be funnier, you are!
    The squirrels are hysterical and so are you.
    You must not have taken in more than 800
    calories a day, if that. Having a physician as
    a husband who monitors every nutrient he puts
    in his mouth and exercises six times a week,
    I ran your program by him. He said you should
    be very careful with “diatary cleansing” because
    it is easy to damage your kidneys if done to excess.
    Take care,
    k

  36. . . . veggies are the Karl Lagerfeld of the food pyramid.
    Fantastic! 🙂 🙂

    The food looks gorgeous, especially lunch. .

    If anyone has a recipe for the perfect green monster feel free to shoot it my way. I am desperate. The more it tastes like the Whole Foods green monster, the happier I will be.

    The dishes are adorable.

  40. Hey Slim, I think the diet you went on this past week looked very well balanced nutritionally. I didn’t see everything you ate, but your description seemed to indicate no refined sugar and no refined grains which they say aren’t very good for us anyway. You also refrained from all animal products and doing that for one week wouldn’t cause a problem for anyone. In fact, many people do so for their entire lives and suffer no adverse consequences. You did, however, take in the best forms of carbohydrates in the whole grains, nuts, seeds, fruits and vegetables that you ate. When you combine grains with nuts, seeds or legumes a complete protein is formed. So, for instance, the buckwheat grain and millet seeds in your breakfast pancake combined to create a complete protein and you got protein that way.
    You didn’t do an extreme cleansing regime like the Master Cleanse which consists of a combination of lemon, maple syrup and cayenne pepper and really isn’t a good idea .
    I know I would like to eat more like you did last week and I would probably be healthier, feel better and look better. I might need to eat more than you did though. I might need a treat now and then to help me stay the course. But all in all, it looked like a pretty good diet to me and I sure would love it if someone would deliver it to my door!

  42. Congratulations! This really sounds like one of the nicest cleanses available. And while I cannot speak for wheatgrass juice, I do find that the Chinese herbs I take for migraines do become almost enjoyable after a spell. So maybe there is something to eventually beginning to like what is good for you. (Wine is good for you, too, right?) Thanks for another terrific and inspiring post.

  45. Loved the post. I’m dreaming of a trip to cali to visit Santa Barbara, so envious of this lifestyle! I always enjoy your posts and look forward to them. They are always a source of inspiration.

  46. My adorable daughter Alexandra LOVES Alchemy Arts! She was stressing so bad yesterday studying for physics and philosophy tests, I insisted she leave campus and catch the shuttle (freshman can’t have cars at Westmonts campus) and head to Alchemy (my treat of course), she loves absolutley everything they make (she does not like the campus grub at all), yesterday she had a mega-filled concoction with iron as she has been feeling a bit tired too..she then proceeded to “walk” all the way back to Vons/Montecito to clear her head….I must say I am smitten with AA’s “glassware” and need their source…..sounds like an amazing adventure you had, I saw their flotation device and I am claustrophobic, I might be convinced to try it now!..no wine for 7 days? NOOOOOO!!!! Gotta go the squirrels just made me breakfast 🙂 sans wheatgrass shot………

Would love to hear from you!