I am a resident of the world. This year I've already put my feet in five different nations other than my home country and with this wonderful, adventurous privilege, I also get to partake of the abundant and diverse cuisine around our world. However with this privilege comes a bit of adversity.....the world soon becomes a resident of me in many different microscopic and parasitic forms.
I'll spare you the gory details of my last few years but suffice it to say, I've become an expert on parasitic symptoms in every day life and can identify a case of giardia from a mile away. After my travels this year, I've realized that I've had some new tenants that neglected to inform me that they signed a rental agreement with my intestinal track.
So, all this to say, this month I am doing a cleanse to rid myself of these tiny invaders and claim the territory that is rightfully mine. The cleanse I'm doing is one that was recommended by a homeopath that I knew back in Colorado and has been good for me before. But, it means no sugar, no dairy and no wheat for a month.
The sugar thing I'm discovering is quite difficult. In a world full of convenience foods and sauces and hidden sugars it's not easy to avoid and I'm finding that most of my cooking I have to do at home. (although Taiwan does provide other great healthy convenience foods like tea-eggs and baked sweet potatoes at the local 7-11!)
So here's one of my latest adventures and experiments: veggie smoothies. I've never gotten into the green smoothie thing but this one I saw and wanted to try--a carrot, ginger, avocado smoothie.
I'll spare you the gory details of my last few years but suffice it to say, I've become an expert on parasitic symptoms in every day life and can identify a case of giardia from a mile away. After my travels this year, I've realized that I've had some new tenants that neglected to inform me that they signed a rental agreement with my intestinal track.
So, all this to say, this month I am doing a cleanse to rid myself of these tiny invaders and claim the territory that is rightfully mine. The cleanse I'm doing is one that was recommended by a homeopath that I knew back in Colorado and has been good for me before. But, it means no sugar, no dairy and no wheat for a month.
The sugar thing I'm discovering is quite difficult. In a world full of convenience foods and sauces and hidden sugars it's not easy to avoid and I'm finding that most of my cooking I have to do at home. (although Taiwan does provide other great healthy convenience foods like tea-eggs and baked sweet potatoes at the local 7-11!)
So here's one of my latest adventures and experiments: veggie smoothies. I've never gotten into the green smoothie thing but this one I saw and wanted to try--a carrot, ginger, avocado smoothie.
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| a bunch of carrots, half a large avocado, 1 small lemon, 1/3 inch fresh ginger, salt and cayenne, water to cover the ingredients |
It turned out to be pretty yummy--though next time I'd decrease the ginger just a bit, it can be overpowering and I went a little crazy with it. Also, I'd consider steaming the carrots first so they blend better (I don't have a juicer). And I'd add more avocado. But overall, a good adventure.
Today is Day 6 without sugar (and dairy and wheat) and I'm feeling pretty good. But day 4 found me craving a mango like it was the only thing on planet earth to eat (I'm cutting out fruits except lemons/limes, fresh cranberries and granny smith apples because of their sugar content--which parasites feed on). I could picture me eating the mango, cool and juicy on that hot day...the juice running down my face. It was bad.
Yesterday I kept imagining dark chocolate.
But the adventure continues. I'm hoping my health will improve with this little full-scale attack on my intestines. They joys of international living.
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