for those who follow me on instagram, you know that last night i made these:

turkey lettuce boats with avo-ziki sauce.

turkey lettuce boats with avo-ziki sauce. an adapted recipe from practical paleo and the makings of a delicious and satisfying thursday dinner. and i could just end the post here, adding in the recipe and preparation instructions so y’all could recreate this for yourselves. but instead, i’m going to give you a little insight as to how this whole dish came to be.

you see, now with this whole cooking for myself thing, my nightly routine has had to shift a bit. while i try to prep as much as i can in the morning to make assembling dinner a breeze upon my return at night, turns out, being all gourmet takes a little longer than just typing in 10:00 on the microwave.and pushing “start.” so in an effort to minimize the time it takes from garage door to dinner table, i’ve been experimenting with the order of events of my evening. do i prep the food before getting into the shower? do i wait until after? when do i curl my hair? i know, it’s a rough life.

because despite what i might have you believe, i don’t just wake up with these curled locks. well actually i do. that’s the point, i put the hot rollers in when i get home, take them out right before bedtime and then sleep with them up in a bun so that when i release them in the morning, it’s as if i just woke up with this hair.

ANYWAY, on this particular evening, i decided to get myself cleaned up and curlered before i prepped dinner. meaning there i was haphazardly chopping an avocado in the middle of my kitchen in my terry cloth bathrobe and a full head of hot rollers. i mean, i’m pretty sure this is how martha stewart cooks, right? but as i attempted to remove the pit so i could scoop out the rest of the avocado meat, my shaky hands lost grip of the fruit (or vegetable, pick a camp) and the creamy green deliciousness flew through the air only to find a temporary home on (and in -it really lodged itself in its fibers) my sandpiper-adorned kitchen rug. perfect, i thought. i’m just trying to make dinner, must it be such a production?

i knelt down to scrub the rug free of the green goo and salvaged the remaining portion of the avocado for use in the avo-ziki. thank goodness i was able save some of the avocado, because hi, it’s half of the recipe. without the avo, it’s just ziki. what’s ziki you ask? i don’t know, but it sure is fun to say.

this was the moment where i floated above myself, scrubbing avocado out of my rug in my hot rollers and bathrobe, and thought, man, if someone were to walk in right now, what a sight i’d be. obviously i have a long way to go before i reach domestic goddess status. but hey, at least i’ll have some perfectly coiffed ringlets when i get there.

and i guess that’s one of the awesome things about living solo (among other things). you can make dinner in your bathrobe and curlers, fling avocado across the kitchen and no one is any the wiser. (until of course, you blog about it and everyone knows all of your secrets). you can trial and error your way into domesticity. and when things don’t go as planned, no one is there to judge your methods. no one is there to share a good laugh either, but that’s why i blog these kind of stories, so you can have a good chuckle, too.

so as i get a better handle on my new nightly routine, i foresee many more bathrobed and curlered-sponsored meals. only next time, i’m going to try to keep the avocado-throwing down to a minimum.

if you’d like to enjoy a meal of lettuce boats of your own (don’t worry, you can make these fully clothed and without the curlers), just follow this recipe from practical paleo. i substituted turkey for the lamb meat, but you can use any protein you’d like. i’d like to think chicken and shrimp would also be delicious. bon appetit!

lamb lettuce boats with avo-ziki sauce 
yields 2-3 entree-sized portions

ingredients for meat and lettuce boats:
1 lb lamb stew meat
sea salt and black pepper to taste
1/2 tsp. dried or fresh oregano
1 tbs. coconut oil, melted
4-6 large romaine lettuce leaves, cleaned
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved (or regular tomato, diced)
1/2 cucumber, finely diced
1 lemon, cut in half

ingredients for avo-ziki sauce:
1 ripe avocado
1/4 cup grated cucumber
1 small clove garlic, grated
juice of 1 lemon
2 tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
sea salt and black pepper to taste
1 tsp. fresh dill, finely chopped

instructions:
in a small mixing bowl, season the lamb with sea salt, black pepper, and oregano. in a skillet over medium-high heat, melt the coconut oil, and then place the lamb pieces in the pan. cook the lamb approximately 2-3 minutes or until it is browned on one side, and flip to brown the other side for another 2 minutes or so.

once the meat is cooked, chop it into 1/2-inch pieces.

place the romaine lettuce leaves onto serving plates and top with the chopped lamb, cherry tomatoes, and cucumber. squeeze lemon over each lettuce boat, then top with the avo-ziki sauce.

for the avo-ziki: combine all ingredients in a small food processor or with a hand blender.

p.s. i’m still tasting the garlic from the avo-ziki, even hours later. it’s safe to say that the vampires will be held at bay tonight. so if you plan on eating this before spending a prolonged time period with other humans, make sure to pack an extra pack of gum.

Two years ago, I was afraid of wanting anything. I figured wanting would lead to trying, and trying would lead to failure. But now I find I can’t stop wanting. I want to fly somewhere in first class. I want to travel to Europe on a business trip. I want to get invited to the White House. I want to learn about the world. I want to surprise myself. I want to be important. I want to be the best person I can be. I want to define myself instead of having others define me. I want to win and have people be happy for me. I want to lose and get over it. I want to not be afraid of the unknown. I want to grow up to be generous and big hearted, the way that people have been with me. I want an interesting and surprising life. It’s not that I think I’m gonna get all these things. I just want the possibility of getting them. College represents this possibility. The possibility that things are gonna change. I can’t wait.

tyra collette, reading her college essay, friday night lights (source)

i realize my college days have come and gone, but i rediscovered this sweet moment from my beloved show yesterday and haven’t been able to shake it since. aside from the last two sentences, i think this could be my new manifesto.

also, texas forever.

white skirt | anthropologie (very similar)
white tee | gap
navy & white striped blazer | j.crew factory (similar)
over-sized flower pin | anthropologie
pink pumps | irregular choice via flashbacks

hellooooooo three-day weekend! well, almost. the only thing standing between me, a baby shower, two pure barre workouts, a honey’s breakfast, some fun home repairs, a mani/pedi, and an abundance of free time that will probably be spent writing and/or food shopping and menu planning for the week are these eight little work day hours. but with a full list of items on today’s agenda to occupy my time, my hopes are that the next time i come up for air, it will be time to pack up my things and fight traffic with everyone in san diego on the I5 head homeward.

i hope your memorial day weekend is spent with good friends, devouring good food, wearing good outfits (always important), and relishing in good quality time spent outdoors in the socal sunshine. i also hope it involves guacamole.

happy (three-day) weekending, y’all.

i received an email from a dear friend today. in it, she described how she and her husband had been singing and dancing to the latest josh turner album during last night’s dinner when the song “as fast as i could” came on:

I heard this song and actually listened to the words….I thought of you. Eventually, this will be a song that your husband will sing as his life’s banner song. Hope the link works and that you love it and it makes you smile.

and then she provided a link to a youtube video.

after looking up the lyrics for myself, turner’s song really does go with that whole “he’s just stuck in traffic” metaphor i’ve been using for years with relation to the location of my future hubs.

Baby, I know that you’ve been waiting patiently
For a man to give you all that you need
And love you like he should
Stickin’ to your guns
Lookin’ for the right one
Just somebody who treats you good
It took me a while, but I got here
As fast as I could

I ran full speed ahead
Without stoppin’ to rest
No knowin’ where I was headed to
Now that I’m here
It’s perfectly clear
That I was makin’ my way to you
I can’t believe how long it took
But I got here as fast as I could

I’ve ended up on at least a hundred dead-end roads
Where my heart and I just wound up broke
Lost and misunderstood
I tried to rush
Findin’ true love
It didn’t pan out like I though it would
It took me some time, but I got here
As fast as I could

I ran full speed ahead
Without stoppin’ to rest
No knowin’ where I was headed to
Now that I’m here
It’s perfectly clear
That I was makin’ my way to you
I can’t believe how long it took
But I got here as fast as I could

I ran full speed ahead
Without stoppin’ to rest
No knowin’ where I was headed to
Now that I’m here
It’s perfectly clear
That I was makin’ my way to you
I can’t believe how long it took
But I got here as fast as I could

Yeah, I got here as fast as I could

“as fast as i could” | best of | josh turner (source)

such a sweet sentiment from an even sweeter friend. j, if you’re reading this, thank you so much again for passing this along. you obviously know my heart.

and yes, let’s hope that special gent is on his way just as fast as he can.

neon yellow broken-in khakis | gap
navy peter pan collar blouse | j.crew (on sale!)
leopard skinny belt | j.crew factory
brown suede pumps | h&m

can you see it? if you squint your eyes and tilt your head to the left, you can make out the slightest outline of it. it’s the THREE-DAY weekend, and she’s coming up over the horizon and boy oh boy does she look beautiful, y’all.

but before i kick off my shoes and slather on the sunscreen for some pool time (come on warm weather!) and long overdue house-sprucing (i don’t need sunscreen for the house-sprucing, just the pool time, though the sun coming through the skylight has known to be strong to quite strong), there are still two days standing between me and the weekend. so with that said, i best muster up some energy to make it through today and tomorrow’s 9-5 grind. but something tells me these neon pants, and a healthy serving of iced coffee just might be the trick to aid in all of that mustering.

happy friday eve, everyone!

i wrote this on mother’s day but forgot to post it. so ten days later, here are some reflections i had on that sunday afternoon.

it’s mother’s day. a day to honor the one who brought us life. the lady who rocked us quietly in the wee hours of the morning, who kissed our boo boos and took us to swim lessons, who read us bedtime stories and taught us how to drive. the woman who should be celebrated both on this day and the next 364 of them, too. the woman, in short, we would be nothing without.

now i know i’m nowhere near motherhood (i am however, on my way to auntiehood and i feel as though that will provide great training), but on this day, i can’t help but pause for a moment to think about when i might have the privilege to be celebrated in this way.

and rather than harbor jealousy or sadness over my distance from this life stage, i am realizing that this is the time to collect the wisdom for the future. to tap into the minds and the hearts of not only my own mother, but of the ladies in my life who have become mothers themselves. this is the time to grow in myself a sense of nurturing, of sacrifice. to prepare my heart and my mind for the gift that motherhood is and will be. this is the time to pray for the future, to dream and wish and hope for the little one to come.

i oftentimes wonder what type of mother i’ll be. if i’ll be the neurotic kind, with methods and schedules, or if i’ll be more laid back (me? laid back? ha!), a go with the flow, “it’s okay if he/she misses naptime by 30 minutes or so” kind of mom. maybe i’ll lie somewhere in between. it probably depends on what kind of baby i have and what kind of husband i marry. i can’t help but to think that both of those variables more than factor into the equation, too. but however i conduct myself, i know one thing for certain -i will that little human with every part of me. i don’t know if you’ve ever had a feeling to do or be something so overwhelming that it all but brings you to tears.

but i have. in fact, i can’t remember a time when i haven’t felt this sense of yearning. of longing. for motherhood.  and i think that’s greatly due to the fact that i want nothing more to recreate the bond i have with my own mother with my future child(ren). i know it will never be replicated in its entirety, but the relationship i share with my momma is worthy of duplication. it is true and honest and filled with an overwhelming sense of comfort, love, and pride. it surpasses a mother/offspring relationship and moves right on into best friendhood. it has been and continues to be one of my most prized possessions. and this love is the reason i know it in the depths of my soul that i was made to experience this on my own.

i’ve always answered “three, boys” when asked the age old question, “how many children would you like to have eventually?” i’m not quite sure when i decided that three was the magic number, and that all of their genders had to be of the male persuasion, but somewhere along the way that seemed like a logical number and the logical gender to raise given how difficult i know teenage girls (i was one, and not the best one at that) can be. but then i think about the moments i have shared with my mom, just us girls, two peas in a pod, looking for prom dresses and discussing silly boy behavior, belly laughing and crying, too. and i think that the bond a mother and her daughter share is unprecedented in its own way. and that maybe i would love nothing more than to have that with my own daughter.

whatever the future holds, i hope it holds motherhood. of a boy, or a girl, or maybe both at once! (twins run in the fam). and i know when and if that day comes, i’ll have years of logged wisdom from the mommies around me, most notably, of my mommy who shows me on the daily what the love of a mother is truly all about.

chartreuse pencil skirt | j.crew factory
black & white striped tee | j.crew
black tights | target
black pumps | enzo angiolini

so i’m kind of a walking bumble bee today, but i’m totally okay with it. i mean, aside from kind of being terrified of them due to the fact that when i get stung i blow up like a balloon, i’m a big fan of bees. in the sense that they make honey and i love honey. and honeycomb. more so honeycomb cereal and not so much honeycomb honeycomb. and this is how my mind works ladies and gentlemen.

so on that note, i’m going to buzzzzz on out of here and find myself some coffee. have yourselves a lovely little hump day.

no literally.

after an approximate 15 year hiatus, i’m eating bacon, again. and i’m pretty excited about it. and since i didn’t want the other meats to feel left out (though some may argue that bacon is all the carnivorous treat one needs in life), i’m also re-incorporating chicken, turkey and maybe just maybe the occasional hamburgler back into my life. yes, ladies and gentlemen, thanks to my new adoption of the paleo diet, in addition to a lot of fresh organic veggies, my fridge is currently housing quite a few caveman offerings.

now let me be clear. i don’t want to make this into “here’s what shawna eats and drinks everyday” blog because hi, you get enough of me in the form of “here’s what shawna wears everyday.” but because i like to share my life with y’all, i figured a change in diet eating habits, and a pretty drastic one at that, should perhaps to documented. so in case you, say, invite me to dinner (how kind of you!), you won’t be shocked when i decide to order something off of the “poultry” section.

so after nearly an hour in trader joe’s and another 20 minutes in sprouts on sunday, and lots of monies spent at both, my kitchen is stocked with the likes of coconut oil, every spice from the baking aisle, meat, meat, and more meat and lots of leafy greens. there’s also a jar of almond butter in there which is testing my every last bit of will power not to devour in one sitting.

if anything, paleo has gotten my booty back into the kitchen for things more than just steaming vegetables and microwaving a baked potato. sunday night, i actually MADE MY OWN SALAD DRESSING. and then proceeded to make a crustless quiche, turkey burgers, and cooked up nearly a pound of bacon. i mean, forget ina garten, just call me the espadrille-wearing contessa.

and i realize this is only technically day three of my paleo pursuits, but i’m kind of loving this whole domestic/i make a meal plan for the week and actually kind of stick to it thing. it feels good to have fresh produce in the fridge and spices on my spice rack. that’s a lie, i don’t have a spice rack, they’re just kind of strewn about on a shelf in my cupboard. they aren’t even alphabetized. i know, how can one live like that? anyway, cooking and recipe testing and eating delicious and flavorful foods is pretty great. it only took me nearly 28 years to figure that out.

so if i make a recipe (from practical paleo, which thanks to instagram and the barnes and noble employee who was very helpful during my saturday visit comes very highly recommended) that i think you should also make and/or congratulate me for, i might just share it here. but as for more in depth details about my daily eats, i’m going to keep those to myself and to whoever comes across me in my office and/or employee dining room stuffing my face. just know that i eat bacon again, and that in many people’s eyes, is probably the most important thing about this post.

my guide to all things bacon (and paleo-related).

black & white dress | gap (similar)
gray over-sized flower pin | anthropologie
ruby red slippers | nine west via dsw (very similar)

looking at the forecast this morning, the mid-70′s temps discouraged me from donning my habitual black tights. so i threw caution to the wind and opted for bare legs as i got in my car en route for la jolla. but as what usually happens when you live 10 miles from the coast, the weather patterns in my neck of the woods were quite different than the ones i encountered as i drove toward the shore. case in point, the foggy fog that is currently residing over the 92037 zip code and the non-bare-leg appropriate temperature that is a byproduct as a result. so let this be a lesson to me -perhaps i should travel with an emergency pair of tights. some people carry emergency spare tires or first aid kits, me, i carry tights.

happy tuesday, y’all. i hope it’s warmer wherever you are this morning.

you know that saying that “man cannot live on bread alone?” well, i’m here to tell you that “(wo)man cannot live on juice alone.”

well actually that’s a lie. because i did in fact live on juice alone. for three long days. and what do you know? i survived (unless i didn’t and in that case, this is my ghostwriter typing this recap). it almost cost me my sanity and a co-worker, but i did it. and i’m really proud of myself. i’m also really excited that it’s over. because despite how much fun it is to feel cleansed and detoxed and light and rejuvenated, i’ve also realized that there are many other things that are fun in life. like chewing. on food. sweet glorious solid food.

but in all seriousness, i think it was good for me to do something as extreme as this in the name of vanity health. and i would recommend this particular cleanse to anyone looking for free torture (it’s far from free, actually) to give their body a kick-start, especially on the eve of sum, sum, summah-time (i’m not going to call it “bikini season” because not everyone opts for bikinis when venturing to the beach, some sport tankinis and others, one-pieces).

i chose to do suja’s 3-day cleanse. while i’d like to pretend that i’m all domestic-y and would totally buy all of the produce myself to prepare my juice on the daily, i’m also very much into convenience, so you know, the whole ease of having the juices prepared and ready for me to just grab and go was way more appealing. therefore on tuesday evening, i dropped some coin (all in the name of clean insides) at jimbo’s and purchased myself 18 juices, six for each day, said a little prayer and braced myself for the next three days. i probably should have chosen more than a salad from lotus as my final meal until saturday, but i underestimated just what i was getting myself into.

here’s what the schedule looks like:

i’m not gonna lie, the first day was hard. having no reference as to what these juices would taste like, i feel like i totally shocked the daylights out of my taste buds with each passing “meal.” and the lack of coffee (and the headache that followed due to said lack of coffee) didn’t bode well for my energy levels and/or morale. but i powered through, drank at least five trenta ice waters with lemon and prayed for grace at almost all hours of the day. “dear Lord, please don’t let me snap at a colleague and/or member. it’s not me, it’s the hanger. give me patience and grace and let saturday come at lightning speed. in Jesus name i pray, amen.” i never actually got ravenous. which is strange for someone who is basically a bottomless pit. in fact, by the end of the day, i had a hard time finishing my last juice without feeling as though my insides were floating. i kind of think my body was just trying to figure out just what i was doing to it. “um, excuse me? where are the brussels sprouts we look forward to every evening?” it was asking. instead it got some liquefied leafy greens. not the best exchange, i imagine. but i went to bed satisfied and proud of myself for making it through day one (mostly) unscathed.

day two i woke up feeling pretty good. alright, i thought, i GOT this thing. wrong. so wrong. i think the hardest part of my journey hit me around lunchtime and lasted until pure barre class ended at 6:30 pm (yeah, i went to barre class in the middle of the cleanse. it wasn’t nearly as bad as i thought it might be considering all i had in my system was juice, but i was also 15 minutes late due to traffic and skipped the entire warm-up section, so maybe it wasn’t as rigorous of a workout as it could have been…). so for a good five hours i questioned everything. and stared creepily at my co-workers as they ate lunch in the employee dining room. get out of here with your delicious sandwiches and pastries. just leave me here with my beet juice. but first, can you describe in detail how that cookie tastes? i finished out my day with my green supreme (which by day two i had oddly taken a liking to) and the dessert (aka my saving grace) concoction -vanilla cloud. i’m pretty sure the cleanse wouldn’t have nearly as good of results if i just sustained on six vanilla clouds daily, but if i could, man, i would have done that in a heartbeat. after a full day of carrot and kale flavorings, sipping on the cinnamon, coconut, vanilla, almond goodness pre-beditme is like a little present from heaven.

day three. i made it, i made it. the final day of my cleanse and friday. glory hallelujah. not to get all hippie dippie, i use petruli oil and don’t bathe regularly on you, but what a difference 12 hours makes, y’all. i woke up feeling the best i have felt in a good long while. so this juice thing really does work? i thought. this was the feeling of euphoria and clarity i had been waiting 48 hours to experience. i mean, don’t get me wrong, i wasn’t like YAY JUICE. but i also wasn’t like GIVE ME ALL OF THE COFFEE AND NO ONE GETS HURT. so improvement, i’d say. the rest of the day was fairly easy, mostly for the fact that i could finally see the light at the end of the tunnel, and well, after two full days of cleanse mode, i knew what to expect. after finishing my mid-morning bottle of fuel, i actually called a co-worker to tell her how much i enjoyed it. and then immediately quipped, “WHO AM I?” the beet awfulness at lunchtime was still awful, but like i said before, at least i knew what to expect. i treated myself to a little retail therapy on the way home, hoping the abundance of clothes would distract me for the lack of abundance of food. and by the time i got home that evening, i knew my two favorite flavors of juice awaited me. as well as a few episodes of say yes to the dress and an early bedtime. basically it was my christmas eve so i figured that the earlier i went to bed, the quicker saturday (and coffee) would come.

all kidding aside, this cleanse made me realize something. and yes, something more than my unhealthy reliance on caffeine and gum. for so many years i refrained from eating due to distorted body image and a desire to control a world that was crumbling around me. i felt power from the dizzy, woozy, i think i might faint and/or cut someone if i don’t eat a bagel now feeling. honestly, thinking about how badly i fared on day two, i have no idea how i not only passed, but even managed to make the honor roll (humble brag) in eighth grade, when my anorexia was at its peak. completing this cleanse made me realize just how amazing the human body, how amazing my human body, is and how subsequently i owe it so much gratitude for all it has been through with me. for so many years i’ve taken it for granted, paying no mind to the things i put into (or refrained from putting into) it. and while i can’t guarantee that i won’t experience a minor slip-up here or there in the future, i will say that it’s high time i stop abusing its resilience. because one day it won’t be so resilient. and i’ll probably be put on a strict diet of beet juice. because God has a sense of humor and because beet juice is probably one of those super foods.

okay enough seriousness.

so if my aforementioned recap of my three-day cleanse doesn’t scare you off and you do decide to follow in my juicing footsteps, here are few observations-slash-pearls of wisdom i had/have throughout the course of my 72-hour juice cleanse:

one. do not, i repeat, do not under any circumstances watch the food network while on a eating solid foods hiatus. actually, you probably just shouldn’t watch tv in general. i saw a dominos commercial and i swear i all but leapt from my couch to snatch a slice of pizza right off the screen. and y’all, i don’t even like pizza that much.

two. of the six juices, about 3/4 of them are the opposite of delicious. you do the math on that one. so to ensure the contents of the bottle made it into the contents of my belly, i would employ the whole mind over matter principle. i kid you not, i chanted “vanilla milkshake, vanilla milkshake” the entire time i chugged my fiji juice in the late afternoon. you may love the taste of liquefied kale and cucumber. i, on the other hand, love the taste of things like peanut butter, oreo cookies, and cookie dough ice cream. which is precisely why i counted down the hours until my “dessert” juice. so as to survive the other 12ish hours of the day, i used my imagination. if your purify (that’s the beet one) doesn’t taste like a wendy’s frosty (i think it’s trademarked, you obviously need to work on your imagination skills.

three. turns out, i won’t die if i don’t drink coffee (though it was pretty touch and go there on the morning of day two), but man oh man did i miss it. and may or may not have used a visit to starbucks on the morning of day four as motivation to make it through the cleanse. but i also realized that i drink a lot of it. a LOT. and maybe i should be a bit more mindful of my intake. i think i need to practice that whole “savoring” thing that people talk about, instead of the usual “shoveling” and/or “gulping” thing i tend to do when it comes with food and drink.

four. thanks to the overwhelmingly immense desire to mask the taste of some of the juices, i have successfully drank my weight (and then some) in lemon water. my trenta cup from starbuck’s has certainly been logging overtime this week. so if you need me, i’ll be in the little girl’s room, again. along the same lines, all of this water has definitely made me realize how i still can stand to up my intake outside of the cleanse realm.

five. i’ve been blessed with flat(ish) abs (i got it from my momma). if i gain a few pounds, they usually collect around my upper thighs and milkshake (which does bring all the boys to the yard) regions. my while i may look 17, i’ve seemed to misplaced my 17-year-old metabolism. in other words, over the last few months, i have noticed a nice little pocket collecting under my belly button. kind of like a skin fanny pack or what your stomach looks like right after you’ve eaten a chipotle burrito. anyway, after completing the cleanse, i did notice this nice little pouch-o-fun collapse almost completely. i’d like to think that bloated baby buddha belly contained all of the toxins that have since been flushed from my system. that, or it was water weight and it’ll be back in 3-5 business days.

six. being on a fruit and veggie only diet really does re-set your taste buds. by day three, i really started to appreciate the fresh and pure flavors each juice had to offer. upon finishing the cleanse, i had this overwhelming desire to upkeep my intake of unadulterated whole and real foods. my first meals hardly needed the copious amounts of condiments and sweeteners i had been so accustomed to using. i even use less stevia in my coffee (i know, who AM i?). it’s kind of like i’m experiencing eating for the first time all over again. and this time around, i’m going to make it count.

seven. i tried to think of ten things, but i got tired (lay off, i’ve lived on only juice for the past three days). so we’re ending with seven…bottom line, y’all. you can do this. it’s three days. 72 little hours. and i can tell you from experience, it does get easier as the plan goes on. while i may appear to be the type that’s uber healthy (have y’all fooled on that one), a juice cleanse was never something i even entertained for the fact that i figured i’d be so dang hungry, i’d probably pass out and die. obviously that was not the case (again, unless i did, and this is a ghostwriter). and considering what i usually try to sustain on, this cleanse offered more opportunities to “eat” and kept my blood sugar levels nice and steady throughout the day. sure, the lack of coffee did me in on the afternoon of day two, but even when i treated myself to that sweet nectar once again in the form of a tall americano pre-pure barre bright and early saturday morning, i noticed just how much i didn’t need to voraciously slurp it down as i once had. i, instead sipped it like a civilized adult and felt completely satisfied afterward.

so if you’re looking to hit “re-set” on the old habeus corpus and aren’t able to juice at home, i highly recommend the suja 3-day juice cleanse (there are also 1 day and 5 day options, so pick your poison). sure, it’s kind of on the expensive side, but can you really put a price on good health?

(technically you can, it’s about $8 per juice).

suja juice is sold at most health food stores like whole foods and jimbo’s. i purchased my 18 bottles at jimbo’s in del mar. they were very helpful and even sent me home with a few bags of ice to keep the refrigerated juices nice and cold until i got home later in the evening. i may or may not have flirted with the guy at the meat counter to make that happen.

also, all above opinions are strictly my own. suja offered me no beet bribes to compose this post. for more information about their juice and about the cleanse, visit their website: sujajuice.com.

happy juicing!

all 18 juices lined up and ready to go on the morning of day one.