How excited are you that Spring is FINALLY here?!?

The farmer’s market is buzzing and alive with fresh flowers and produce and the air gives your skin those tingles that summer is on its way.

With the sweet smell of renewal in the air you begin to ask yourself, “Should I do a cleanse?”

OH-HOLY-MOTHER-OF-HEALTH COACH QUESTIONS, if I had a dime for every time I get asked this question!  And of course you can’t walk 2 feet without someone telling you about the life changing, juice cleanse they are on, and how they’ve never pooped so well in their life. “Yeah”, you say. “Um, thanks for sharing,” as you back away, thinking you never need to know about Penelope’s bathroom habits again. But it still gets you thinking…should I do a cleanse?

Granted you may be hitting the wine & chocolate a little hard lately and though you eat kale and broccoli, you could always eat a little healthier, right?

Well maybe, but here’s the thing that pisses me off: so many of those “cleanse” programs out there that shout: “Lose 8 pounds in 8 days so you can wear an eency, weensy bikini and become a new YOU!”

First of all if you lose 8 pounds in 8 days, most likely you’ll be starving yourself and feeling very “BUNGRY” -Translation=bitchy AND hungry as one of my favorite clients (you know who you are Miss. Funny and beautiful) calls it – which totally sets you up for failure. AND eency, weensy bikini wearing is simply not a good & sustainable motivator in all truth, especially if it means going around seriously BUNGRIED out all day.

AND finally, YOU are just fabulous exactly the way you are, so this whole “NEW YOU” thing really E-NNOYS me. Come on, lovely smarty pants you deserve better and you know better than to buy into that kind of “But wait! There’s MORE!” talkity talk.

However, the reason those headlines can grab you, is that it may be true, that you would like to feel better…maybe a whole lot better. And perhaps you sincerely do want to drop some weight, and the idea learning a new way of eating that feels really great in your body, sounds pretty well…awesome…but we both know, there is no such thang as a new you in 8 days.

OK, off my soap box..NOW WHAT you say?

Well, as you may know: I’m no stranger to cleanses. In fact, last year I ran my Clean & Clear Cleanse in local group programs and with my private clients with fabulous and brilliant results, so I’m obviously a proponent.

So, here’s the deal, if you are going to do a cleanse it has to be the right one for YOU and at the right time for YOU.

IF, this sounds like you:

I’m just not feeling that great. I can’t seem to lose the extra weight that I’m carrying around. I want to exercise, but I’m just not that motivated. I’m tired and yet I don’t sleep well. I read up on and hear a lot about diets, but they all seem to contradict each other. I just don’t know what to do to lose weight and get my energy back. I’ve been feeling this way for too long, and I’m definitely ready for a change.

Maybe you are running wired and tired from too much caffeine & sugar.

Or maybe you’re drinking a little too much wine more often than you’d like to admit. Or maybe you have been putting yourself last for so long you don’t even know where to start.

Your body could be asking for a break…a reset…a cleanse.

SO how do you know if this is right for you?

Simple. There is no need to hem or ha or go round and round with the “should I” or “shouldn’t I.” Right now take a big deep breath and ask yourself:

• How am I feeling in my body?  
• Do I currently feel how I want to feel?  
• Am I eating for nourishment or am I numbing out with wine & chocolate, OR….?  
• Am I ready for a clean slate around food so I finally know what foods fuel me best?
• Am I ready to look and feel my best, MORE than I want to eat the way I’ve been eating?
• Have I been honoring myself or throwing myself under the bus saying I’ll take care of myself tomorrow, or next week?

In coming clean and getting clear on these questions, you will know if the Clean & Clear Cleanse is a good fit for you NOW. All I ask is that you give yourself permission to say YES to you feeling fabulous. If your true desire this May is to sip on Chardonnay & eat nutella with a spoon, go for it my sweet sista’. I’m serious. Dig in and savor every bite and enjoy every sip. OR, if your true desire is to feel light, grounded, energized, strong, fully present in your body and to be eating delicious whole foods and deeply nourishing your body with amazing supplements that heal, then the Clean & Clear Cleanse might be exactly the jumpstart you’ve been craving.

So, what should you do?

No one can answer this but you. Trust your gut-your inner voice, she will tell you if you listen. If you look over my program and if feels right to you, by all means I’d be honored to guide you on this cleanse. I’ve shared this program with hundreds of women, and it’s FABULOUS.

IF you are ready and the timing is right…

Click here to check it out and decide if this is the right cleanse at the right time!

Either way, Get out there and Enjoy this time of year!

Peruse the farmers market, eat lunch outside with a friend. Let that vitamin D soak into your skin! You’ll love your life more for doing it!

Take care of your beautiful self,

Ciao for now,

I LOVE HALIBUT- And I am always playing with ways to enhance the flavor of fresh fish without killin’ it with a bunch of what have you.  This is my new favorite way to prepare fresh Alaskan Halibut:

3 cups sliced leeks (white & light green part only) (approx 2 large)
1 cup red bell pepper, roasted, seeded & skinned
1/2-1 tsp saffron threads
3 tbsp olive oil
2 cups low sodium chicken broth
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 Cup mild pitted olives in brine
kosher salt & freshly ground pepper
1 1/2 lbs Alaskan halibut fillets skinned & cut to 4 portions:

Put leeks, peppers, saffron & olive oil in a large saute pan.
Pour in chicken broth. Cook over medium heat until leeks are very soft & the broth boils down to about 1/3 of the volume you started with-about 12-15 minutes. Stir in the lemon juice & olives.  Add a somewhat generous sprinkle of fresh ground pepper.  Season halibut with a little salt and place in pan.  Ladle some of the sauce over the halibut so it is covered both top and bottom. Cover and simmer/poach gently until halibut flakes apart slightly when nudged with a finger – 8-10 minutes depending on thickness.  Don’t overcook! FABULOUS!

What is this thought

that stops you in your tracks

Hey Sugar Pie,

When I was younger, couple of years ago, I had this cute little habit of going to the grocery store and swooping up a glorious array of different candies from the candy bins.  I’d just get 3 or 4 of this or that with a couple of dark chocolate malt balls as a chaser and call it a day.  I did this maybe once a week or so, no harm done.  Well, THOSE DAYS ARE OVER sistahs and bruthas! For some reason once I get my mitts on a little pure candy I go into some sort of crack head mode that takes some wild horses and super strong self dialog to STOP me from falling prey to my drug of choice. That’s why I call sugar- crack. Believe me, I know what sugar does to the bod pod.  Holy Mother of Sweetness, I went to school and learned all about how sugar affects our insulin levels, our mitochondria…and all that jazz, but I’m also a huge advocate for all things in moderation.  So I experiment with things to see what they feel like in my bod pod.  Well, apparently sugar is not one I can handle or enjoy on a regular basis.

Why I walk

I can think sitting down
but if I need to make a decision
I must walk

some say they do it for the fresh air
clear the mind

but it’s the gravity that works for me
stomping my synapses
into my belly
that fire pit of resolve

halfway around the trail
my flailing mob of thoughts
is incinerated
and there in the ash
is the plainness of
yes or no and where to go

it’s voice is clear
and the choice loses fear
with a few gentle messages
from up above

and an agreement I have
with that source of love