The Last Supper

I cannot believe I visited South Beach, ate wonderful food, drank amazing cocktails...and didn't get a single photograph. That's what happens when you only take your crappy cell phone camera and dine al fresco on the beach.  Anyway, that trip included the best paella ever cooked anywhere on Earth. Saffron rice, squid, shrimp, scallops....mmmm....chased with a margarita served in a glass the size of my head.

That is a glorious memory to have stored in the vaults to get me through the next few days as I do battle with the Master Cleanse. I am doing this fast for several reasons...

1. I have an unhealthy relationship with food. While I am not overweight (though I could stand to drop 10 pounds or so), I think I derive an inordinate amount of joy from cooking and eating. And drinking. Which brings me to number two...

2. My alcohol tolerance is through the roof.  I mean, like, I can knock back drinks like a 20-year-old frat boy and not feel a thing. As a result, I drink A LOT (we won't go into details on exactly how much...suffice it to say that if I open a bottle of red at 6:00 in the evening, I feel compelled to finish it by midnight so that it "won't go bad"). For the sake of my liver, kidneys, and pancreas, I need to get some balance back in my life.  I pine for the days when I was tipsy at the bottom of a glass of wine.

3. Food and cooking take up a large amount of my time. I can spend an entire lunch break surfing the net for recipes and devising my shopping list. Then I can spend an hour in the supermarket and another hour cooking my meal. Yet...I can't find time to work out on a consistent basis because I am so "busy". Really?  So, I am gaining a couple hours a day by doing this...I just need to use them productively.

4. I believe in the power of cleanses, when done responsibly. I've never done a long-term cleanse (I am aiming for 10 days, though I will be really happy if I can make it through five). I have some major decisions that I need to make  in the near future (work, relationship, possibly making a move back to the east coast) that I've been putting off. Fasting, cleansing, and exercising give me a degree of clarity of thought that I desperately need right now.

That said, I will chronicle this experience on my food blog since lemons, water, maple syrup, and water will comprise my "food" over the next few days.

Wish me luck!