Winter Recess (A Diet Change Rebrand)

The beginning of the year, my husband and I do a "fast." For six weeks we take things out of our diet. Sugar and alcohol are always included and sometimes other things.

The first year we did this, we were insanely ambitious: sugar, alcohol, dairy, most meat, all wheat, in fact anything that rhymed with "eat", particularly if it was brown, looked like the moon, or had been blanched. That's my memory at any rate, and no, it did not go well. (Lotsa cheats.)

Subsequently, we've been more modest. And generally it has gone better. (I won't lie. There are still cheats.)

At the end of this detox, sure, you go back to a retox. But each year (Is it ten years we've done it now?), you go back less. Your tastebuds actually change. You get more sensitive to sugar and stop wanting it so much. You start truly liking and desiring the things that are good for you.

It's incredibly valuable. But it is a negation. We take things away. It's hard not to feel that it's a denial. And from there, it's a short hop to feeling like it's a punishment.

So, this year, we're going to try to change that, starting with what we call it. I never liked calling it a fast, but we couldn't come up with a better word, so that just stuck.

We're also going to focus more on what we add than what we take away. Yes, we are still avoiding sugar and alcohol but we're going to frame it more as adding in delicious, healthy things. More vegetables. More whole grains. More energy. More joy. More fun.

It's a break from what we've been doing: it's a recess. I love that word because it takes me back to one of my favorite parts of school. We had a play ground with a giant old tree in the middle and loads of swings along one edge. I would go way, way up in those swings and when the bell rang, I would jump out. That brought about lots of scraped knees and ticked off teachers but sometimes you gotta fly a little.

I'm going to try to concoct, find, post as many food adventures as I can this month. Follow along and feel free to chime in.

Let's swing high, my friends! Lentils and kale and bone broth are actually amazing. You just need to see it from a different angle, with a light breeze and a little less G.