Hello again!

...and I am back!

Not much happened for me in the way of food events this summer...everything seemed to be in the Hamptons and I, well, was not. However, I did try the master cleanse (for 1.5 weeks) and a 3-day Cooler Cleanse earlier this summer - along with a number of equally useless diets - to try and erase the effects of attending all these food events, but naturally they did not work. But I guess you could say my summer was still spent exploring food (or lack thereof), so I in fact did not take a break from my food ventures! I'm not sure that I want to post about these cleanses because, well, they were kind of boring, but below I have listed out some recap highlights:

• The master cleanse is pretty unappetizing, especially if you don't like cayenne pepper. And the grade B maple syrup does not make it sweet.
• I did not follow the exact amounts of the recipe because I figured it would drive me insane, but I decided either way you'll get similar effects (after all, you ARE only drinking liquids...I'm sure a little more or less maple syrup won't really make or break you).
• Cayenne pepper really does squash those waves of hunger pains, if only for a few minutes...
• It is really hard to do the master cleanse while you're at work and surrounded by people eating delicious things, especially if these people eat all. day. long.
• I cheated and ate some watermelon each day. Whatever, close enough.
• I did not do the salt water flush because way too many people have posted unpleasant things about it.
• At the end of it, I did not feel all that clean. Lighter - sure. But detoxed? I don't know about that...
• After 1.5 weeks of the master cleanse, you find that a 3 day cleanse like Cooler Cleanse is a breeze and in fact, quite indulgent. In fact, I'm pretty sure I gained weight from that...
• I drank about half of the juices on Cooler Cleanse because, well, I was so incredibly full. That and green juices still gross me out (even though theirs was a LOT better than ones I've had in the past).
• The Cooler Cleanse coconut water tastes a lot like water that you've boiled corn in + cane sugar. But I also don't like coconut water.
• The grapefruit and mint juice tasted...very herby. Not at all a gentle dose of mint.
• The lemon cayenne juice scared me (see above)...I think I drank a sip.
• The beet juice was absolutely delicious. SO incredibly sweet. What a treat! Too bad by the time it was beet juice time, I was exhausted and did not want to drink juice.
• I thought the almond nut milk would be my special treat for the day; so many people had described it as being this rich, indulgent, almost ice cream-esque drink. But guess what, I drank a sip and knew I could never touch it again. It was indeed rich. It was so incredibly rich. And sweet. And it makes up for half of the total daily calories of the cleanse. Not to mention, it looks extremely gross when it separates.

 In summary, I don't think I will ever try any of these cleanses again. Not that the Cooler Cleanse wasn't good. It was pretty good - much better than the Joulebody cleanse that I had previously done. The juices were refreshing, they (mostly) looked appetizing, and they came in these cute bottles with beautifully refreshing pictures splashed across the label that just inspired you to want to feel clean. But given that I apparently don't even drink half of the juices included in the $58 per day cleanse, it was extremely not worth it financially.

The Master Cleanse, on the other hand, was very economical. It was also extremely hard to maintain. If I were at home for 2 weeks and did not have to go out and eat with friends or be in public or be anywhere near food, I would totally consider (maybe) doing it again...for like a week. But seriously, if you don't have great self control, DO NOT do this cleanse when you're at work and/or around friends who are eating...it's torture.

And now for more upbeat and appetizing news, I will be attending various NYC Wine & Food Festival Events this weekend, so stay tuned!