Changing the Oil

I'm about to embark (quite seriously, mind you) on a herbal detox. In all possibility, I have been on a one way road to the city of Toxicity most of my life. I have endless childhood memories of McDonald's Shamrock Shakes, angel food birthday cakes, and a glorious stream of cheeseburger deluxes with rootbeer floats at the Co-op cafe counter whenever I was sent to visit my grandmother in Olds, Alberta. Then there were the rounds of grilled cheese sandwiches with Campbell's Tomato Soup and a tall glass of milk masquerading as a nutricious and well balanced lunch of my youth. While seriously enjoyable in all their glory as an adolecent, these dietary staples probably have instigated my descent into nutrition hell.

Oh, I exaggerate, don't I?

But seriously, my high school years were spent feeding my brain with slushies and chips from the 7-11 at lunch, peanut butter and jam sandwiches for dinner and not much for breakfast. Water has been disguised variously as juice, coffee and pop. Later on there were bouts of steamed broccoli and other vegetables, brown rice, salads, and real water, but these were sandwiched between eggs, fried potatoes, sausages and espresso.

So, tonight I carefully bagged up $20 worth of almonds, washed carrots and cut up celery. Stocked the cupboards with brown rice, quinoa, lentils and herbal tea. Bought fish, apples and broccoli. I hid the jam, mayonaise, chutney, honey, pickles and other condiments. I wrote out what I wasn't allowed to have, what I could and put the toaster up in the cupboard and brought down the juicer.

I'm ready. I'm set. I'll be using you, dear annoymous reader, to blog my turning off the well travelled highway of accumulation and onto the rainy side road of elimination.

Wish me luck..