bedside reading and cleaning shop

I'm off to Florida for a few days and have packed some books to help me stay on track with my eating during my trip. While my parents' kitchen there is fully equipped to cater to a full dinner party, we typically eat out, and I've been known to partake in a poolside wine cocktail or two (in a shatterproof glass, of course).

I've been following the guidelines in Kris Carr's Crazy Sexy Diet for a couple of weeks now, but just got over a surprise three-day bender that has left me feeling puffy and tired. If you've never heard of Kris Carr, just check out her YouTube channel. Her positive spirit literally jumps out and slaps you in the face, and that's saying a lot coming from someone who was given an incurable cancer diagnosis seven years ago. To give you an idea for Kris' disposition, she sometimes spells it canSer, just to poke fun at it. And how cute is her pink hair? The general idea of the Crazy Sexy Diet is to eat more fresh vegetables and other healthful foods as close to their natural states as possible, all while eliminating (or eating very little of) animal products - this includes dairy and fish -, caffeine, alcohol, sugar and gluten. Pretty simple.

What I like about Kris, and particularly her book, is that she doesn't expect anyone to be perfect. Instead, she just recommends that you "lean into" this lifestyle. Try to eat 50% more of the good stuff, even 40%, or 30%. You'll feel better, sleep better, look better, and your body will thank you for helping to reduce inflammation and the toxins flowing through your system. I don't know how far I'll take the Crazy Sexy lifestyle, but if the timing is right sometime this spring I am going to try to do the CSD 21 day adventure cleanse.

The Crazy Sexy Diet also inspired me to invest in a juicer, which I've been having a lot of fun with. I plan to share a few of my successes and (many) failures with this new appliance soon.

My second book is Jonathan Safran Foer's Eating Animals. I've only made my way through the first chapter but I'm already hooked. I'm a fan of his fiction writing, but since this book is a memoir, the family anecdotes he tells really add a special, personal tone. I can't wait to dig into this on the plane.

Have a healthy Tuesday!