Juice Cleansing

This week I’m embarking on something I thought I would never do: A juice cleanse. Yes, a juice cleanse. I’ve gotten a small amount of scorn over this, and a decent amount of skepticism. And I’m willing to grant that I’m not sure how much actual detoxing is going to go on, or if that’s even why I’m doing it. I’m doing it because the last month was really difficult for me, physically and emotionally. I haven’t been able to cook, I haven’t been able to be physically active, and, well, broken bones are kind of painful. I wanted something that would give me an emotional jumpstart, and make me feel mentally refreshed, if not physically refreshed.

A few weeks ago, I read about Tracy’s experience with the Blueprint Cleanse on her blog Shutterbean. It sounded kind of awesome. It sounded like it would be just what I needed. I did a little research, to find out what cleansing is all about, what its benefits, and potential harms, might be. I contacted a few other people who’ve done it, and I finally decided to bite the bullet and order some expensive juice. I decided to start the three-day experiment the day before my cast comes off, this week.

So right now I’m getting into “pre-cleanse” phase: eating a lot more fruits and veg, and cutting out the caffeine, sugar (wait, I just baked cookies!), meat, and dairy. I had my last cup of coffee for a week this morning, and made myself a nice breakfast of melon.

I do plan to share my experience with the cleanse here, before I get back to talking about real food (my forced absence from the kitchen has given me a ton of inspiration). Before all that, though, I’d like to tell you about that melon I had for breakfast. Because it was incredibly delicious, and might just be my new favorite breakfast.

This is actually another idea from Tracy; I have been loving her blog lately. It is super simple, but the flavor combination is amazing: melon, mint, and lime juice. I could even prepare this one with my cast hand, it’s that simple. Just chop up some melon, sprinkle with a bit of chopped fresh mint, and squeeze half a lime over the plate. A-maz-ing.

Whether or not you’re stuffing yourself with fruit in preparation for some potentially crazy juice cleanse, this is a great breakfast (or snack, or dessert). Melons are in season here in the Bay Area, and we’ve been getting some lovelies from our CSA. Any melon you can get your hands on will likely benefit from this simple dressing, so give it a shot.

I’ll be back with real! live! cooking! in a week, folks. And if you’re interested in hearing about this juice cleanse, check back later in the week for my sure-to-be-gripping first hand account.