Banchan/Fromage/Fusion Goodness

Because why work on things that are on deadline or pay when you can photograph this?
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All cheese raw milk, French,

 triple creme, brie, mourbier, chevre from Whole Foods 

as are organic red grapes from CA and cornichons.

Hummus from Jerusalem Gardens

Kimchi and rice crackers from Noble Fish.

Frano Korean Japanese Lebanese goodness. .

Sigh.

PS Vegan attempt fail and can't really count raw milk cheese as raw food diet. So relishing vegetarian goodness

Day Two: the hidden Sprite and other surprises.

So the vegan/raw generally 'heathy' kick is surprisingly harder than I anticipated. Or at least for certain things. 

Dairy has been near to impossible to give up - perhaps it didn't help that I had splurged in several price raw milk cheeses from Whole Foods (yup, Whole Paycheck) the weekend before starting this. Perhaps also because my stomach curdles at the thought of black coffee. And perhaps because as a good Turkish-American, not being able to eat yogurt makes my ancestors roll around in their grave. 

Morning latte machiatto with Lavazza Espresso. Without which I am catatonic.

However other things have been very, very easy - cutting out meat, butter, sugar, refined flour, processed foods and bad fats a breeze. I think it helps that I am still enjoying a glass of good wine (just jacked up grape juice really) as I please. And that my diet is already pretty typically Mediterranean, which means it is pretty healthy on its own. 

Late lunch with the very Turkish combo of  tomatoes and cucumbers drizzled with Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Corn Tortilla chips, hummus mixed up with some pico de gallo (surprisingly good). 

and a far less healthy light dinner of fried beets - golden and red and lovely Rose from my friends at Vellum

Okay, so I also had the fries. But they were hand cut. And I'm sure the potatoes were local, organic, etc., in the back you see Sonya's amazing pea soup (she got a vegetarian version)

So overall, I do feel better, have more energy, etc., etc. I don't feel hungry (though let's be honest, even skinny Ebru never did) (call it an embrace of gourmandise lifestyle). And there are a few changes that I want to incorporate on more permanent basis. 

Back. Healthy. Day One.

It has been too long. Too many posts started, mulled over, and never posted.

Also unhealthy far too long and a bit sick very recently. But as I'm on the mend - decided it was time to do a small cleanse. Not just in terms of what I eat, but also in terms of overall 'stuff,' people, things, mind clutter, etc. Here is hoping it goes well...and here are some pics of my last indulgences, and (very) newly formed healthy habits :

Saturday morning double affogato at Zingermans with Burnt Sugar and Coconut gelato. Breakfast of champs.

Saturday afternoon beef brisket at Biercamp

Sunday mornings breakfast - note the fresh figs from the Produce Station (first of the season!) and raw honey from the AA Farmers Market, which apparently has very good anti-allergen health properties. Va voir. Regardless it tastes good.

Afternoon cheese plate - all raw milk (unpasturized)  with fantastic red from Corsica. You can see the blue d'auvergne, vieux gouda, mourbier (which has the ash in it) and a tiny bit of the triple creme on the bottom left. As donuts are for Homer, is French cheese to me.

Sunday night dinner of local Pierogies (with cheese and chives) and some yogurt. 

First day - sliced avocado and heirloom tomatoe with lime juice, sea salt and extra virgin olive oil from Bari

Cornichons from Whole Foods, Sauerkraut from Biercamp. Note to self, must learn how to make both.


Lunch - long, long curly pasta, basic tomato sauce and teeny, tiny bit of shredded asiago. (not sure I'll ever be able to fully give up dairy, but am thinking raw milk products are better? or not as bad?)



Dinner - basmati rice cooked stir fried with sauteed button mushrooms. I ended up having it with the San-J Thai Peanut sauce (as a side note, is gluten free)  and lots of lime juice.



And what made the day so great - watching Les Amants, Coco Before Chanel, and Poupees Rousse on DVD and getting these treasures in the mail from Bruxelles and Paris.

So if anything, these posts are just to keep me on track and motivated to get through July. Doing vegetarian 100%, not smoking at all (and probably, slightly sadly, never again), moderate wine, no processed foods, no added sugar, no butter, limited caffeine, and hopefully lots of sleep and sanity. Done juice fasts before, especially while living in Germany, and 2-week detoxes but this will be the longest by far. Fingers crossed.