In the past month alone, your babysitter went wheat-free, your nephew was diagnosed Celiac, and your grocery store expanded to create a new gluten-free section.

What is all the fuss about? Is it something we all need to worry about? Or is gluten-free just a fad?

Gluten sensitivity is, in fact, on the rise. Celiac disease is at least 4 times more common today than it was 50 years ago (1), and that doesn't even include the increases in reported sensitivities and intolerances. Some reports show that 40% of Americans suffer from gluten-related health problems (2).

There is not one widely accepted reason for these skyrocketing gluten sensitivity rates, but there are several theories that may explain this rise:

• The Hygiene Hypothesis. Some experts claim that our love affair with Purell has created an environment that is too clean, resulting in weaker immune systems that can't handle gluten (3).

• Wheat processing. We've been changing the ways we use and eat wheat. Many of the foods we eat today didn't exist 50 years ago. So while wheat may not have caused a problem for our ancestors, it can be argued that these new 'foods' and processing methods are to blame for the rise of gluten sensitivity.

• Wheat hybridization. Today's grains have been modified to contain much more gluten than ancient strains (4). Why? Because gluten gives breads & pastas a lighter, fluffier texture, and that's what consumers want.

• Earlier exposure. Children are exposed to glutinous grains earlier than ever before (for example, cereal grains) (5).

• Lack of bacteria. Despite the popularity of probiotics, this theory maintains that we still aren't supporting our beneficial flora enough. Studies show that oru intestinal microbes can mitigate reactions to gluten - but only if we have a healthy community of bacteria living in our gut (6). 

• Lack of breastfeeding. Nowadays, we know that breastfeeding helps inoculate babies with good bacteria, provides protective antibodies, and helps babies develop immunity. One study found that babies who continued to breastfeed after their first exposure to gluten were more protected against gluten sensitivities (6). In general, nursing helps prevent allergies of all kinds. Unfortunately, people didn't always know about these benefits. Adults who were bottle-fed may be more susceptible to gluten allergy and intolerance.

• Less variety in our diets. We're busy people. And sometimes a freezer pizza or 9-minute pasta is all we can bear to whip up after a long day at the office. Problem is, when we don't get variety in our diet, we are more susceptible to developing food sensitivities (7). And with all that bread, pasta & cake in our day-to-day diet, wheat is one of the foods we seem to be eating all the time.

• Humans were never meant to eat grains. Some nutritionists argue that grains were never meant for human consumption. Looking back to our caveman ancestors and their paleolithic diet, these researchers contend that we were meant to eat meats and vegetables, and our health problems only arose after we switched to grain-based diet (8).

Whatever the reason behind the rising rates, it appears that gluten-free isn't going away anytime soon. And that may be for good reason. I've personally watched patients lose weight, banish heartburn, and manage autoimmune conditions just by eliminating gluten for 2-4 weeks. While not everyone's health will improve by going gluten-free, my practice has proven it to be a worthwhile experiment.

-Emily Wade Adams, author of Natal Nutrition

Sources:

I recently attended a very inspiring wellness event that discussed the importance of plants not just in our diet, but as ingredients in our make-up, hair products and cleaning supplies. These products should and can be made with food grade ingredients vs chemicals. Yes, snack on your lipstick, stir-fry with your lotion, and clean your windows and mirrors with vinegar - they're organic! The message delivered was, "If you wouldn't eat it, why would you put it on your body or spray it in your home?" So, so true!

Rather than feeling totally defeated and throwing everything out from my medicine cabinet and from under the sink, I first focused on what I was doing well; Yay! I do use coconut oil religiously as my lotion and love it! Second, I hopped online to research recipes for cleaning supplies. Third, vowed to never buy another bottle of Windex. Small steps that make a huge difference for our bodies, minds, and for our planet.

Very easy, incredibly cheap and without a doubt tastier (I'm not suggesting you drink it, but you could!), here is my recipe for a homemade cleaning solution. Works awesome on counter tops, glass, mirrors, stainless appliances, sinks, etc. I've never been so excited to clean!

Happy, healthy cleaning!

Homemade Lemon Herbed Cleaning Solution

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup white vinegar
• 1 tbs corn starch
• 2 cups warm water
• 1 sprig of thyme (removed stem, finely chopped)
• 1/2 sprig of fresh rosemary (remove stem, finely chopped)
• rind of 1/2 of a lemon

Other Supplies:

• (2) Spray Bottles

Preparation:

Soak lemon rind in vinegar for 24 hours (or 2 weeks if you can wait that long). Remove rind and discard. Mix infused vinegar, corn starch & water until corn starch is dissolved. Add thyme & rosemary. Shake well. Pour solution into spray bottles and store. Shake before use.

Amid today's onslaught of fad diets, superfood fanaticism, food allergies, and - yes - even cleanses, sometimes it's easy to forget two of the most health-promoting basics: oxygen & water.

The body can't store oxygen, which is why we must breathe continually. With each breath, oxygen travels through the lungs to the bloodstream and to every cell in the body. Inside the cells, oxygen is required to produce energy so we can think, move, see, feel...in short, so we can live. Without oxygen, brain damage or death can occur within minutes.

According to Dr. Andrew Weil, "The more air you move, the healthier you will be, because the functioning of all systems of the body depends on delivery of oxygen and removal of carbon dioxide." (1) Research support his statement, which is why aerobic exercise is so important.

During aerobic exercise, increased oxygen helps remove more waste products (like carbon dioxide and lactic acid) and release more feel-good endorphins. Over time, aerobic exercise helps us reduce the risk of many health problems, lose weight, boost immunity, feel good, and it can even help us live longer. (2)

Deep breathing exercises are another way to get more oxygen into the body.

When it comes to water, you've probably heard that you should drink 8 glasses a day.

Water accounts for roughly 60% of body weight. A healthy person may be able to survive for 3-5 days without water, but more fragile compositions (like those of babies) might only survive a few hours without water.

In the body, water is essential for detox because it flushes dangerous compounds from our bodies. In addition, the same energy production cycle that requires oxygen also requires water. "Even mild dehydration can drain your energy and make you feel tired," according to the Mayo Clinic. (3)

Water also helps make nutrients more accessible for the cells. For example, Vitamins B & C are "water-soluble," meaning that they can't be absorbed or used without water to help dissolve them.

The easiest way to measure if you're drinking enough water? Your urine should be almost colorless.

In short, while you may be able to live without tasting the latest superfood, you simply can't survive - or thrive - without oxygen & water. What's more, you can easily increase your health as you increase your intake of oxygen and (in many cases) water. So go ahead and fill your lungs & your water bottle. It might just help your health even more than that cabbage soup diet.

-Emily Wade Adams, Natal Nutrition

Sources:(1) Dr. Weil  (2) Mayo Clinic (3) Mayo Clinic

We've been busy-busy here at CAN CAN! We love what we do so it's easy for us to dream up and then execute on our mission; helping provide honest, whole food, feel-good experiences that encourage and support overall better health and wellness for you! That's quite a cause! We're not only thankful for the support and feedback we've received from our clients, but we continue to be inspired to provide you services to fuel your bodies with the "right stuff."

What is the right stuff to buy when a carton of good old fashioned cow's milk just won't do?

Which rice, soy, hemp, almond, coconut, original-almond-coconut, chocolate, naturally sweetened, vanilla sweetened, vegan, low-fat, no-fat "milk" do you buy?

We also like to keep stuff simple.

If you didn't have a chance to read, Janny Hu of the San Francisco Chronicle's piece on Nut milk alternatives pour it on piece that ran in Sunday's paper, please do. 

If you hop, skip and jump down to the bottom of the piece, Janny announced our new service, CAN CAN Nut Milk - Yay! Launching April 23rd. We're oh-so-thrilled to offer our clients as well as friends and families abound fresh, small batch, organic nut milks direct to your doorstep. In true old-school milkman fashion. Our simple, short-list ingredient nut milks handmade in our kitchen and delivered yours so you and your family may enjoy a healthy, tasty, dairy-free alternative anytime of day!

Please join CAN CAN Nut Milk's mailing list to receive more info & updates.

Cheers to honest nut milk!

I'm pretty excited about this one! And, I hope our clients who love to workout and hate to miss a beat at the gym when cleansing, will be too :) Delicious Chia Fruit Juice and Sunrise Nut Milk jump into the mix of our seasonal CAN CAN Cleanse following the same format, but with additional healthy, dense, pure whole-food goodness (albeit in liquid form). The Power is crafted to support your body and excite your palate as you CAN CAN! 

Introducing The (New!) Power cleanse, Yay! Yay! Try it!

I believe that those cheery little leprechauns are glowing not just from discovering a pot of gold (or drinking a pint of green beer). Such long, healthy looking beards have me believing that these jolly little men are getting their veggies somehow. Wheatgrass shots? 

We too love an excuse to celebrate and sip green beverages! Our celebration - you & your health! So take advantage of your special discount on our Green Cleanses (1, 3, or 5-Day) and raise a CAN CAN jar of green juice!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Juice fast programs are quickly growing in popularity, so it is no surprise that cleanses are popping up on grocery store shelves nationwide. The extended shelf life of these grocery store juices is made possible by a new juicing pasteurization technique called High Pressure Processing (HPP). 

Traditional pasteurization is a relatively new technique designed to kill bacteria and microorganisms in order to prevent food-borne illness. It became popular in the US in the 20th century, around the same time that urbanization, processed foods and mass food production became the norm.

Until recently, pasteurization used heat, which decreased nutritional content. This made it unsuitable for juicing programs - after all, getting those nutrients is the whole point of embarking on a juice cleanse. With the new technique of HPP, however, bacteria are eliminated without altering nutritional content (for the most part). 

HPP functions by applying high pressure to liquids. "During HPP, foods are subjected to pressures up to 100,000 psi. which destroy pathogenic microorganisms by interrupting their cellular functions," according to High Pressure Dynamics, Inc. (a producer of HPP equipment). 

So what's the catch? Well, since it's still a pretty new technology, there isn't a ton of research on HPP processing or its potential side effects. But some studies show that when HPP kills the harmful bacteria in juice, it also deactivates beneficial bacteria and enzymes.

Unpasteurized, unprocessed, raw fruit juices (derived from a cold-pressing process) are a rich source of live enzymes. And these phytonutrients offer a plethora of health benefits, from aiding digestion and reducing inflammation to sinusitis relief and wound healing. In other words, they're a crucial component of any detox program - or healthy food.

So what's the bottom line on this new juicing technology? Well, on the one hand, nutrient-rich juices can now be made available in places that might otherwise not have access to them. That's a great thing! And HPP seems like an improvement over traditional pasteurization in that it preserves more nutrients.

On the other hand, it's still a form of processing and pasteurization. If HPP kills bacteria by interrupting cellular processes, it's doubtful that all of the juice's holistic benefits can remain intact. There haven't been enough credible scientific studies to unequivocally prove otherwise - that's one of the risks of using new technology.

As a nutritionist, I tend to err on the side of caution. Better safe now than sorry later. So when I refer my clients to a juice fast program, I point them towards a cold-pressed local option whenever possible.

-Emily Wade Adams, Natal Nutrition 

Additional Sources:

• http://www.wellandgoodnyc.com/2013/02/26/still-fresh-a-shelf-life-extending-technology-creates-a-rift-in-the-juice-world/# 
• http://ohioline.osu.edu/fse-fact/0001.html 
• http://www.pressedright.com/http:/www.pressedright.com/2012/juice-presses-2/what-is-high-pressure-pasteurization-hpp 
• http://www.avure.com/food/applications/default.asp
• http://www.chipsa.com/gerson_juicing.html

Today CAN CAN is kicking off a contest with Cuppow! Cuppow's inventive lids allow you to easily drink from your CAN CAN jars. We know many of our CAN CAN'ers cleanse on-the-go and these lids are the perfect solution to help you sip your delicious juices without worrying about spills.

To be entered to win, follow these quick steps:

     1. Follow CAN CAN on Pinterest

     2. Create a board that contains "CAN CAN Cleanse" in the title.

     3. Add at least 5 pins that you think embody the CAN CAN brand.

     4. Be creative and have fun!

We'll giveaway a 1-Day CAN CAN Cleanse and Cuppow lid to the winner!* The contest runs through Friday, March 8th at 5pm and we'll announce the winner shortly thereafter.

Happy CAN CAN'ing!

*please note that due to our local distribution, this giveaway is being offered to SF Bay Area friends and fans. However, if you're not in the Bay Area and you wish to participate and gift the prize to a Bay Area friend or family member, please do!

Hearts and roses aside, there is perhaps no better representation of Valentine's Day than chocolate. There bittersweet confection has a rich history, artisanal tradition, and even enjoys superfood status. So whether you're enjoying chocolate-covered strawberries with a sweetie or treating your single self to truffles, rest assured that an occasional indulgence offers a host of health benefits. 

Romantic Origins

Cacoa beans - the source of all chocolate - have long been a venerated crop. In parts of Central America, cacao beans were even used as currency as recently as the last century.

But cacao has a sensual side, too. Chocolate became known as an aphrodisiac in the 17th century - a quality that today's scientific research justifies. Two particular neurotransmitters found in chocolate are known to create euphoria and mimic THC in marijuana. Maybe that's why it feels so good to bite into a bar!

Money, love - and a delicious flavor? It's no wonder Americans love chocolate. In fact, we eat about 12 pounds of chocolate per person annually. This year, we're projected to spend $1.6 billion on Valentine's Day candy alone. Even US Army rations include chocolate bars, and US astronauts take it to space with their supplies.

Creating Chocolate

Surprisingly, chocolate is a fermented bean product at its core. White cacao beans are harvested, fermented and dried, turning brown in the process. Chocolatiers buy the dried beans and then clean, weigh, blend, roast and shell them using their own secret recipes. The shelled cacao nibs are ground, melting into chocolate liquor - the (non-alcoholic) liquid form of pure chocolate. Poured into mold and cooled, chocolate liquor hardens inot unsweetened baking chocolate. To make cocoa from these blacks, cocoa butter is removed. For chocolate, cocoa butter is added, along with sugar and other ingredients.

Nutritional Highlights

Chocolate is rich in plant sterols and flavonoids, compounds that support healthy cardiovascular function. Chocolate, therefore, may help lower cholesterol, prevent blood clots, and protect against arterial damage. Flavonoids also have strong antioxidant capabilities that help fight allergy, inflammation, and even cancer. 

Selecting Sweets

Despite appearances that may suggest otherwise, not all chocolate is created equal. When choosing your chocolate, label reading is a must. The purest, healthiest chocolates include ingredients such as cacao, unsweetened chocolate liquor, cocoa butter, sugar, vanilla, salt, or milk.

Avoid chocolates with additives like corn syrup, partially hydrogenated oils (PHOs) or flavoring. Sometimes, it's not even real chocolate in those heart-shaped boxes; many pre-packaged confections are simply "chocolate-flavored candy." Read the fine print and be picky!

Also, the healthy nutrients in chocolate increase with its cocoa content, so select the darkest chocolate possible to take full advantage of its benefits.

A Final Reminder

While pure chocolate is one of the healthiest kinds of sweet treats, it still contains sugar, caffeine, and potent natural compounds that may be addictive. Moderation is always advisable.

Happy Valentine's Day!

-Emily Wade Adams, author of Natal Nutrition

photo credit: Amber Kercmar

Murray, M., Pizzorno, J., & Pizzorno, L. (2005). The Encyclopedia of Healing Foods. The Healing Power of Miscellaneous Foods. New York: Atria.  

Weil, A. (2004) Natural Health, Natural Medicine. New York: Hougton Mifflin. 

What would we do without online communication with our clients?! We'd be lonely. We welcome you to join us, watch us, follow us, friend us, tweet us, pin us! Wow, that's a lot of keeping up with us! If you're a friend, fan, supporter and CAN CAN enthusiast, we welcome you to find us online as we share CAN CAN news, updates, secrets, inspirations, goodies & specials with you.

Not to mention social media allows each and every one of you to share cleanse stories, celebrate, commiserate and ultimately commend one another on your cleanse victories! Yippppeee!

Facebook

Pinterest

Twitter

YouTube

See y'all on the www!

So you've completed a juice fast, sworn off sweets for the month and lost a few pounds, Congratulations! Now keep that good health and weight loss going. Maintain your momentum by incorporating a few of these simple tips into your new healthy lifestyle.

• Eat Lots of Vegetables. Per the FDA, half of every meal should be vegetables and fruits. Perhaps that translates to a big salad for lunch and a mostly-veggie dinner. At restaurants, order a salad before your meal to commit to eating lots of veggies. A good variety of different kinds of seasonal vegetables will ensure you get a broad spectrum of nutrients.

• Consumer Organic & Grass-Fed Meat, Dairy & Eggs. Conventionally raised animal products contain hormones, antibiotics and pesticide residues. These compounds have been linked to weight gain, endocrine/hormone disruption and breast cancer, among other health problems. Grass-fed or pastured animal products have higher levels of anti-inflammatory omega-3 fatty acids so they are more heart-healthy. Finally, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) calls antibiotic resistance one of the world's most pressing health problems, so reducing your exposure to antibiotic-laced animal products may help stop the spread of antibiotic-resistant "superbugs" like MRSA. 

• Hunger is the Enemy of Healthy Eating! Always make sure you make a plan and have healthy snacks on hand. Dedicate one day a week to plan, shop and prep your food.

• Read Labels. Even the prepared vegetarian sushi rolls at Whole Foods contain added sugar. Reading labels can help you avoid unnecessary and potentially harmful additives like sugar, MSG, and synthetic fillers. In the words of Michael Pollan, "If you can't say it, don't eat it."

• Avoid Processed & Refined Foods like Sugar & Flour. Choose whole grains in order to consumer fewer calories and keep your blood sugar levels stable. Even flours made from whole grains, while slightly more nutritious, can lead to insulin resistance and diabetes over time. And artificial sweeteners are even worse than real sugar. If you have a sweet tooth, reach for whole fruits, dried fruits, or - if you must - natural sweeteners that are minimally processed (think: honey, maple syrup, or blackstrap molasses).

• Drink Lots of Water. Lots! The solution to pollution is diution. At least 64 oz a day. This will help your liver and kidneys filter out toxins even when you're not cleansing. Get a water bottle, fill it up in the morning, and sip away.

• Cook with Saturated Fats. Butter, lard or coconut oil. Use olive oil for everything else, but don't heat it. Here's why.

• Relax! Stress raises a hormone called cortisol, produced by our adrenal glands. Cortisol can cause weight gain. Taking a few minutes everyday to consciously relax and breathe deeply can help bring cortisol levels back to normal.

• Exercise. People with more muscle burn more calories, even at rest. And, since muscle tissue burns more calories than fat tissue does, building lean muscle mass is a key factor in any weight loss plan. Do something - anything - to build lean muscle mass daily. 10 push-ups, taking the stairs. Make it easy, fun and just do it.

• Keep a Food Journal. Pay attention to what, when and how much you eat. In one study, women who kept a food journal lost 6 pounds more than those who didn't. 

• Sleep! Getting enough good-quality sleep is essential for weight loss. In addition, adequate sleep it crucial to stress reduction.

As you can see, it's not just what you eat that impacts your health and weight. Various nutrition and lifestyle factors influence well-being. A holistic approach can help you continue your journey towards good health even after making changes to your diet.

- Emily Wade Adams, author of Natal Nutrition

There is no better time than while on a cleanse to relax and watch a movie. While it's absolutely ok and encouraged to exercise if you're energized (the skin is the body's largest detox organ, so sweat it out!), it's also a perfect time to invest in your health in another way by relaxing. Take this time to practice slowing down and checking out from the go, go, going that our lives embody - all the time. 

If you're like me, sitting down to watch a movie from start to finish can be tough. The movie has to be extremely captivating otherwise I quickly lose interest and fall asleep. You can bet on it. Just shy of the half an hour mark, I'm out. I call it the 28 minute rule.

The 100% exception to the rule is food documentaries. I love them. There are so many out there that deliver powerful, eye-opening messages about the state of our food. They raise awareness and in doing so, further the benefits of a cleanse by offering information that can influence your own life decisions and actions immediately - as well as long after the cleanse has finished. 

Here is a list of my recommended docs:

• Forks Over Knives
• Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead
• Fast Food Nation
• Super Size Me
• King Corn
• Future of Food
• Food, Inc
• Food Matters
• A Cow At My Table
• The World According to Monsanto

In the mood for lighter viewing? My recent favorite is Portlandia. Hilarious. Laughing is definitely a wonderful stress reliever and very health promoting, too! 

Happy Movie Watching!

I've been dying to blog about my New Year's Resolution, but I didn't want to jinx myself. Yesterday marked one week; no ice cream, no desserts. Sayonara sugar! 

It's my biggest weakness turned-hobby last year during my pregnancy. Steve and I became best friends and at $6.99 per pint, it's a relationship I'm happy to see go. 

How does the CAN CAN girl kick her bad habit? To be honest, I'm not one to go cold-turkey and while I've replaced Steve with Will (power), I'm not swearing off ice cream or sugary desserts for life. That my friends is bound to backfire and life is too short not to indulge - once in awhile. 

But, I do feel a sense of accomplishment already. My determination as well as my level of happiness have risen in just one week. 

How'd I do it?

Here's my approach:

1. Set one realistic goal 

2. Find someone who will share the same goal (strong-willed boyfriend of mine!)

3. Map out a way to measure your goal

4. Put a large sign on your frig with an inspirational quote or a giant red 'X'

5. Healthy alternatives. For me, incorporating fresh juice (beet, carrot, apple for sweet cravings)

5. Snap a photo and blog about it

This photo captures my last near-polished-off pint of ice cream purchased and enjoyed on NYE. I scooped three more spoonfuls on New Year's Day (it's my B-Day after all!), but as a true test, I'm leaving the leftovers in the freezer and I'll post updates throughout the year.

So here I am; sugar clean the first week of the year. Feeling good and in competition mode - with myself!

I'm winning this one!

Best of luck to you and your resolutions this year! You CAN do it!

Today's workout: 25 minutes on the treadmill. Today's news: McDonald's spicy wings hit Chicago (after debuting in Atlanta last year) and worse flu season - delivered in that order. My exercise high turns off. My concern and the monologue in my head take over. More bad news for our nation. I wish I could turn off the TV overhead.

Is there a correlation between what we eat and our health? Yes. I'm not charging McDonald's for causing the widespread flu, but that's just how my mind works. I see two sequential news clips and it seems all too powerful of a message.

I'm very, very fortunate to be able to wake-up in the morning and feel good about the hours I put into my work. CAN CAN is trying to improve health by offering perspective on the detriments of poor food choices, calling out the consequences of food and drink vices & bad habits, bringing awareness to how nutrient-deficient food makes us feel, and - if only for 3 days - trying to remind people what it feels like to feel good and inspire them to give more thought to what they eat after the cleanse.

Amidst the flurry of New Year cleanses, a frenzy for limited time, $2.99 mighty wings.

Imagine what you'd feel like after spicy wings for 3 days? 

Hippocrates needs to up his a campaign, "Let food be thy medicine..."

Raise your hand if you've eaten or sipped on kale this week? Once a day? Twice a day? 

Post-holidays, my bet is most have upped their intake of greens this week. Good for you! See ya later sugar; 'tis time for more of Nature's candies!

With New Year's resolutions abound, kale is front page news in just about every health and fitness magazine and wellness blog I've read. And you know what, I hope it stays there. Media has a powerful way with words. They create a buzz and the public listens. And this time, I hope you're listening loud and clear. Kale is worth the hype!

                                                                                   photo credit: Amber Kercmar

One of the most highly nutritious vegetables, it is a fantastic source of carotenes (beta-carotene and lutein), vitamin C, B6, B1, B2, E, K, manganese, calcium, copper, and iron. And, as a result offers powerful anticancer benefits. Wow! We all should be eating and sipping kale regularly. 

How do you get your kale?

Me? I sneak it into almost every soup, toss it into any salad, high-speed blend it into fruit smoothies and juice it.

Cheers! To health, happiness and more greens in 2013!

Throughout history, cultures across the world have partaken in fasts that promote the idea of cleansing. Given the increasingly toxic world in which we all live today, periodic detoxification has become even more crucial to health maintenance. Juice fasting in particular is an excellent way to help your body detoxify and heal.

A good juice fast consists of a well-selected variety of vegetable, fruit, and spiced beverages, which give your body and instant boost of minerals, vitamins and phytonutrients. Detoxification requires B vitamins and antioxidants like vitamin A, C and E so a smart cleanse program will include these crucial compounds. 

Juicing removes fiber, which gives the gastrointestinal tract time to rest and heal. Since the digestive organs are the largest in the body, their routine operations consume large amounts of energy. Fasting rests the system and frees up energy for the body to use towards healing and building stronger immunity.*

Dr. Andrew Weil, MD suggests fasting as a "good home remedy for colds, flus, infectious illnesses, and toxic conditions of all kinds."* In addition, naturopathic doctors Michael Murray and Joseph Pizzorno acknowledge that fasting is "one of the quickest ways to increase the elimination of wastes and enhance the body's healing processes." Scientific research further demonstrates the value of fasting in the treatment of chronic conditions from obesity to rheumatoid arthritis, allergies, skin disorders like eczema and psoriasis, IBS and mental health issues like depression and schizophrenia.**

Juice fasts are the preferred form of fasting because they contain nutrients to support the body throughout the detoxification process. Toxins are stored in our fat cells and can be released during fasting. Since juices offer such a potent nutritional cocktail, they are a better option to support detoxification than water or "dry" fasts. Juice cleanses also reduce the side effects of circulating toxins and low blood sugar.**

A wonderful time to give your body a break and try a fast is after the indulgent holidays. We may not be able to completely undo our sweets and cocktails, but taking a few days (or more!) to cleanse can detoxify and rebuild our nutrient profile. Now that's a resolution you'll actually want to keep.

Happy New Year! 

-Emily Wade Adams

*Weil, A. (2004) Natural Health, Natural Medicine. New York: Houghton Mifflin. **Murray, M. & Pizzorno, J. (2012). The Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine: Third Edition. Detoxification and Internal Cleansing. New York: Atria.

Now everyone can cleanse with us! For those of you who have been asking about cleansing over the weekend with us, now you CAN -starting Friday, January 4th. Weekends really are an ideal time to cleanse. In addition to being able to sleep in and never get out of your pjs, cleansing over the weekend allows you to 100% focus on the practice; truly relax, rest and recover from the work week stresses and give your body and mind the much needed, much deserved time-off. 

Not to mention the timing of our weekend cleanse launch couldn't be more perfect. We welcome the opportunity to help you recoup after the holidays and reinvigorate you for the promising, prosperous year ahead!

I had the pleasure of meeting Satori when I started CAN CAN Cleanse in 2011. She's one of those people you meet and feel an instant connection. In a few words, Satori is a compassionate person. I asked her if I could share her personal sediments on cleansing, she said yes. I hope her words resonate with you as much as they did with me. 

Why cleanse?

Hard to believe 2013 is almost here! A big year ahead as I will hit the half century mark - What? 50 already! No doubt time is moving faster; and I know like me, many of you are feeling it more with each passing year. Ironically, the longer I live the more I want to slow down. I have come to value the importance of BE-ing still, in the moment, and fully present - As it is the only place where we can effectively create change. Cleansing, like meditation, is a regular part of my healing practices.

When I reflect back on my 30 plus years of cleansing, it has been the one mainstay which time and time again affords me greater clarity and renewed peace of mind - thereby allowing me to listen to my inner guide and trust more deeply. Most of my adult life I have lived in major metropolitan cities, adding to the overburdening of most, if not all, of the body's eliminatory organs. The body has an original blueprint at the cellular level that holds memory, and when well nourished it has an instinctive ability to heal itself. Cleansing gives me the opportunity to de-clutter and de-stress my body systems, especially digestive and lymphatic. My skin takes on an amazing glow, and my tummy looks and feels really yummy.

When my diet is primarily high green and living foods, by no means is it an "I only eat this" or "I would never eat that" existence. Knowing the body is comprised of close to 70 percent water, quality hydration is the staple of my diet, especially on days I am not nourishing myself as well as I would like. My philosophy is simple: I bring attention to what not only tastes good to my tongue, but what my body is asking for as well. With each passing year, it has become more imperative to listen, I mean REALLY LISTEN to my body. This communication is key in determining the body's need vs. want. My nourishment teacher, Hale, call it fueling vs. feeding. I became so tired of feeding this emotion and that wound, at times even popping a pill when I really didn't feel well. I learned when you don't put hte right fuel in your body, you can't get the right information to your body, which creates a breeding atmosphere for dis-ease. Slowly I began to rely more and more on Mother Nature's pharmacy for my healing. Eating living foods forces me to do just that - live in the present, and as a result I feel more centered and grounded....and in many ways, courageous!

In the busyness of life, it has been perhaps the mental emotional that often gets out of whack first, which then can lead to poorer food choices and less daily self-care. For me when this happens, my body increasingly begins to feel robbed of its passion and vitality. My creativity becomes stifled, my sleeping pattern is off, and even my ability to make decisions which support my highest and best is influenced. No matter how off track I get, my body has this innate compass, which also serves as a point of reference, that brings me back to higher vibration. For me cleansing has been that vehicle, as it provides a gentle means of detoxing and purifying the body.

Seasonal cleanse, or wellness tune-up as I like to call them, are something I look forward to with each passing season. My cleanses can vary from one week to three and usually consist of smoothies and juices. In the 90's The Master Cleanse was my fa, however for the past several years most my cleanses have had a high octane of greens. Greens are just divine!

Dark leafy greens are loaded with minerals and the high nutrient content keep food cravings at bay. The alkaline energy of greens (collard, kale, chard, spinach, sprouts, to name a few) feels like a blood transfusion.  Green smoothies tent to work well for me when I have busy days or long days at the office. Smoothies keep the fiber intact, allow for slower absorption and more sustained energy. Green juices, affectionately called liquid sunshine because of their high chlorophyll content, are incredibly detoxifying, and just so happens to be the most digestible form of protein bar none. 

For me, cleansing in this way has truly been paramount to my mental and spiritual well being. My energy and creativity are off the charts, less cravings, more restorative sleep, and my digestive system has reclaimed her soulmate.

As a colon hydrotherapist in San Francisco, it's been refreshing over the past couple of years to see so many clients coming in on a three or five day juice cleanse. This is awe inspiring as there is no greater "Thank You" gift one can give their body and mind!

Cleanse and live well,

Satori

Satori holds an MA in Counseling and Human Development and has over 15 years of experience in the health field. She is a colon hydrotherapist at Body Harmony - a San Francisco colon hydrotherapy practice CAN CAN Cleanse comfortably and confidently recommends. Please contact Body Harmony (415-563-6630) for more information or to schedule an appointment.

Planning your January calendar already? It's the perfect month to commit to a cleanse and set the tone for the New Year. Be healthier, feel happier! We'd like to make the commitment easier for you ~ especially those of you who have expressed interest in cleansing with us over a weekend. We understand!

We're pleased to announce Friday start dates for the month of January. Now there is no good reason to put it off any longer. You can kick back with a good book, catch up on a favorite TV series, soak in the tub for hours and sip herbal tea and your Winter CAN CAN beverages until your heart is content. We invite you to fully experience the physical and mental benefits of a cleanse by calendaring a weekend cleanse with us in January. Relax, recover, reset - it's a date!

Weekend cleanses availabe to start on Friday, January 4, 11, 18 & 25.

Pumpkin pie. Hot toddies. Stuffing. Cookies. Cocktails. More than any other time of year, the holidays pose the greatest challenge to our willpower - and our waistlines. But fret not! Try a few of these simple, easy tweaks to enjoy the holidays to the fullest without sabotaging your health.

• Keep it clean: Can't manage to squeeze in your regular week-long juice fast during the holiday frenzy? Not to worry! CAN CAN's founder Teresa Piro recommends a 1-Day Cleanse every week in December to refocus and keep toxins at bay. Giving your body even just one day off can allow its detox systems to catch up & function better.

• Think before you drink: People who drink more than 1-2 alcoholic beverages per day increase their risk of developing cancers, diabetes, heart disease and more. If that's not enough to slow you down, consider this: most forms of alcohol have the caloric equivalent of a scoop of ice cream - and that's before adding mixers! Set a limit for yourself and drink slowly. Savor that champagne! You might also dilute alcohol with club soda or ice.

• Stay hydrated: Drinking enough water throughout the day can curb your appetite. And drinking a glass of water between each holiday cocktail helps your kidneys filter toxins - and prevents hangovers. All the more reason to make water your new favorite holiday beverage.

• Get your greens: Eat a salad before lunch & dinner. This way, you're more likely to fill up on the good stuff - even if you indulge after your salad.

• Adjust your additives: Baking treats for your holiday party? Try halving the sugar in your recipe. Most baked good hold up just fine without the extra sugar and taste just as sweet.

• Gift yourself some exercise: Park at the back of the lot when you go gift shopping, and avoid using a cart to return your bags to the car. It's not much, but the extra exercise may help negate that candy cane you nibbled on at the office today, and fresh oxygen can aid your metabolism & energy.

• Eat before you eat: Headed to a party? Eat before you go. That way, you'll be able to control what you eat and ensure it's healthy. And the more full you are, the more unlikely you are to make bad food choices when you're there. In fact, if you're not hungry, you might not visit the hors d'oeuvres table at all!

• Try the turkey, skip the stuffing: Eating proteins & healthy fats will keep you satiated, whereas refined carbohydrates can leave you hungry for more. Eat eggs for breakfast and you may not even miss Grandma's famous coffee cake.

• Beware holiday beverages: A venti Pumpkin Spice Latte while whole milk from Starbucks has as many calories as a McDonald's Quarter Pounder with Cheese! Enough said.

• Re-gift: If you receive a box of chocolates, you don't have to eat them. I'm giving you permission to re-gift them or toss them to the compost bin. It's the thought that counts!

• Indulge - but don't binge. It's OK to have a small treat or a few bites of dessert every day. If you're about to grab something mindlessly, drink a glass of water and wait 20 minutes to see if you still want it.

Bottom line? It's the holidays! Don't beat yourself up. Enjoy! Here's to your health!

- Emily Wade Adams, author of natal-nutrition.com

Oh the holidays are here! Yes, a fun time of year indeed, but don't less yourself go. "It's the holiday season!" Wasn't that last year's excuse? From now until the New Year, practice willpower. I too will be exercising willpower. I make it through Thanksgiving with a gold star, but the challenge I face are my Mom's chocolate cherry cookies at Christmas (soooo good!). I beg her to make them this one time a year, but I can't seem to stop at just one. I use the excuse and as a result I'm guilty of overindulging.

This year, I'm making a commitment before I head home for the holidays. Rather than restricting myself with a quantitative goal, it's time to remind myself to practice moderation. "Moderation, moderation, moderation." Say it three times to yourself anytime you're trying to restrain and follow it up with a deep, cleansing breath. Works great when "have seconds!" creeps into mind. 

Another great approach is to ask yourself, "Am I really hungry?" During the cleanse you often experience waves of hunger, but few of us really know what it feels like to be hungry - a word that goes all too forgotten throughout the holiday season. In fact, it's the only time of year when we're always full; breakfast, lunch and dinner become one long buffet line. Yikes!

Not this year! You CAN do it! Be thankful for the abundances we're so fortunate to have in our lives, but avoid excess, gluttony and live the next 6 weeks between now and the New Year in moderation. I'm certain you'll be thankful you did :)

Warmest Thanksgiving wishes to our wonderful clients, families and friends! 

Our mission: to help you help yourself feel better, physically, mentally, emotionally! Focus in on your diet and we all have room to make improvements. Most of you come to us to cleanse because you're committed to wanting to make a change. Ok, you've hit the wall or the bottom and it's time. Overdue. We understand. It's never too late to kick the cravings, to break the bad habits, to feel better, look better, be happier and most importantly healthier. It simply takes the want, willpower and maintenance. 

That's where CAN CAN comes in. We jump start your commitment with our 3-Day Cleanses and then we say, "You CAN do it!" We say jump in and you do. 3-Days of cleansing and you resurface feeling reinvigorated - you've told us so and your feedback makes us feel so good - Thank You!

We've listened to your feedback and wonderful suggestions and as a result, we're excited to share with you our new Recipe page, Yay! These are simple and approachable (2 keys to success!) meal inspirations we've put together because we want you to continue on your path to better health and wellness. We want to help see you through to your goals and we want to answer your questions about what to eat. 

Cleansing helps you realize that the foods we put in our bodies play such a roll in our happiness, energy levels, mood, outlook on life, motivation, and on and on. We understand that the options and temptations are endless when deciding what to eat and we need to be reminded to stay focused on the simple, stand-byes - good ol', clean, plant-based foods that make us feel good. We can't emphasize enough that good for you food need not be complicated. In fact, it's really quite simple. It's whole, organic food, from the Earth - not packaged, not processed, not pretend.

What do these foods look when it's time to eat? We hope you'll take a peek and enjoy our Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Snack and Beverage recipes - all CAN CAN Cleanse approved.

Happy Cooking! Happy Health!

The holidays are approaching, along with that spare tire that seems to appear around your waist this time of year. You've heard that sugar is the latest enemy in the war against weight gain, so maybe you're considering baking your holiday pies with Splenda or using Equal in your pumpkin latte to help avoid those extra seasonal pounds. 

Want a nutritionist's perspective? Just use sugar.

No that's not a typo. If you're going to use a sweetener anyway, it's my professional opinion that you should just use regular. old-fashioned sugar.

"What?!" you may ask. "But how will I ever lose weight by using sugar?"

Well, to be fair, you won't. But you won't lose weight by using artificial sweeteners, either. There is no evidence that artificial sweeteners help anyone lose weight. In fact, they may increase weight!* Think about it: I bet you know plenty of overweight people who drink Diet Coke.

How do lower-calorie sweeteners cause weight gain? This excellent article suggests that they confuse your brain. Their sweet taste prepares your body for an insulin surge that never occurs, but your brain still craves that energy boost. You end up eating more carbohydrates to satisfy that craving - and you gain weight. According to the article's author, "In one study people who used artificial sweeteners ate up to three times the amount of calories as the control group." Perhaps that's why the obesity epidemic has perpetuated despite the plethora of diet foods on grocery shelves. 

Worse still, artificial sweeteners may also pose serious health risks. Saccharin (Sweet'N Low) is carcinogenic. Splenda users have reported stomach pain, headaches and skin rashes. Aspartame (NutraSweet) affects mood and behavior, and may cause seizures, migraines, hives, and nerve disturbances* - not to mention it's link to diabetes**.

If artificial sweeteners aren't proven to make a difference in your waistline AND they're potentially toxic, then there is no reason to use them. 

Don't mistake this for an endorsement of table sugar. Sugar isn't healthy - unless you're comparing it to artificial sweeteners. Sure, there are natural alternatives to sugar. You might try stevia, honey, or fruit to sweeten your holiday dishes and drinks. But the single best thing you can do to lose weight and maintain good health is to change your taste for sweets. Stop using sweeteners - even if they're natural. Once you retrain your taste buds, you'll find you don't need additives to satisfy your sweet tooth - and the pounds will begin to melt away.

It'll take timea and willpower - especially during the holidays - but breaking your dependence on sweet flavors could be the best thing you do for your health. And, it may be the only thing that makes a dent in that holiday spare tire.

-Emily Wade Adams, author of natal-nutrition.com

Sources: *Murray, M., Pizzorno, J & Pizzorno, L. (2005). The Encyclopedia of Healing Foods. Safe Eating. New York: Atria. **Ross, J. (2002). The Mood Cure. Out With the Bad-Mood Foods: Ridding your diet of emotionally hazardous edibles. New York: Penguin Books.

What an exciting month! Big CONGRATS to our SF Giants! Once Orange October wraps up tomorrow with more parties (Halloween!), we're thinking that next week may be a good time to cleanse. After the mayhem of celebrating finally comes to an end?! Are we right? Is your body ready for a break? A short, seasonal 3-Day reset?! We thought so :)

Here's a little discount to honor our Giants and our bodies!

Curious to learn more about CAN CAN? How about a video (or 7!)? I'm happy to share more about our cleanse ideologies, practices, produce, ingredients - everything CAN CAN! I welcome you into our kitchen for a peek as I tell you about how CAN CAN came to be. I hope my story may inspire those of you who are looking to turn your passion into work. My advice, You CAN do it!

Here's a link to our YouTube channel! Thanks for watching!

Videos produced by David Nakabayashi, Harrison Parker & Team, Thanks Guys!

My latest evening ritual has been dropping 1-2 tbs of chia seeds into my liquid of choice before bed. Some nights decadent coconut milk, others a glass of filtered water or sometimes I settle on the perfect combo, coconut water (I like with pulp).

What awaits in the morning is the magical, natural (albeit odd gel-like) additive for my Berry Kale Smoothies. I love chia, our bodies love chia so it's no wonder that decades later, our friend ch-ch-ch-chia continues to be quite the rage.

Resembling a poppy seed in size and color, salvia hispanica, is native to Mexico and Central America. Our Aztec friends recognized the seed's ability to retain 12x its weight in water making it a stellar source of hydration for our bodies and especially clutch for endurance athletes. Moreover, chia is fibrous, offers both healthy fat and protein and is victorious for being one fo the richest vegetables sources of omega-3 fatty acids.

AM Chia Berry Smoothie

Serves: 2

Time: Overnight soaking, plus 10 mins (or less) in the morning

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 tsp chia seed
• 3/4 cup coconut water
• 1/2 cup frozen, organic raspberries
• 1/2 cup frozen, organic mango
• 2 leaves lacinato kale, ribs removed
• 1/8 tsp cinnamon

Preparation

Pour coconut water into a glass measuring cup, add chia seeds. Stir well and refrigerate overnight. In the morning, using a high-speed blender, blend all ingredients together on high until smooth. Enjoy!

It's that special time of year again. A relaxed season when the air's brisk, weather mild and colors ablaze. Fall is a personal favorite time of year. 

The body can rest as the days become shorter. Hopping into bed early becomes easier and easier while waking up in the am, harder and harder.

Skin can recover from the Summer sun (ok, Vitamin D!) with warm baths, natural moisturizers and skin brushing.

Meals become "at home" with friends and family. Warm and cozy, I adore!

If you're like me, your body's ready for a cleanse during this time of transition,

"Goodbye Summer! Let's freshen & rest up before Winter!"

Ohhh the adage - Power in Numbers! rings so true. There is something extra refreshing (and easier!) about cleansing in groups. Support, encourage, commiserate, whine - whatever need you have during your 3 days of cleansing, others are there for you reminding you, "You CAN do it!"

We've been amaze by how much more victory our group cleansers experience. Now it's your turn! Round-up your friends, family and co-workers - it's time to cleanse together!

We're excited to announce discounts for group cleanses. Cleansing just got more fun and cheaper too! Happy Cleansing!

Wishing you optimal health so you may enjoy a long and happy life together! Thinking of you on your wedding day! Relax & Have Fun!

Love,

CAN CAN Cleanse

Summer vacation on your mind? In need of sunshine on your body? No better time to cleanse! Travel and leisure are pleasurable, health-boosting activities, but getting to or managing your way back from a trip can take its toll. Perfect time to "staycation" and practice a cleanse! 

For those of you have seen Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead and dusted off your juicers, good for you! Others who are inspired after CAN CAN'ing with us, often write to share with me that they bought a juicer and are juicing at home, fantastic! Keep those emails coming! What a way to show dedication to improve your health and wellness by embracing and tackling juicing at home. It's one of my primary goals of CAN CAN Cleanse; to empower my clients to continue to practice mindfulness in their day-to-day diets after the cleanse. 

Looking to invest in a juicer? I've been using a 5-Speed Breville juicer at home (same trusty model Joe Cross juices with from the back of his van). It's easy to use, efficient, durable and affordable. While no juicer is an absolute breeze to clean, drink the fruits of your labor first, feel the nutrient buzz kick-in and I promise the cleaning won't seem to be such a laborious task.

Breville 5-Speed Juicer. Photo Credit: BrevilleUSA.com

I was recommending the Breville juicer to a friend recently and was delighted to see this updated nutritional info on Breville's website. Take a peek and happy juicing!

I love buying and eating seasonal fruits, but I wait (and wait) for Summer's explosion of flavors, colors and varieties. Nothing like fresh Summer berries! Rather than waiting, this time of year I stock the freezer with organic frozen fruits. Wonderful to have on hand for breakfast smoothies, quick to defrost for yogurt or oatmeal topping, or right out of the bag, into a bowl and eaten as a refreshing snack or cool dessert.

More cost friendly and local than the fresh organic and non-organic cousins that demand high prices from far away places, I'm a fan of the frozen organics. Please read the label to confirm where the fruit is coming from and watch for no extra sugar added.

Next time you're in the grocery store or craving berries, pick-up a bag or two. And come Summer, think about buying local flats from your farmers market and pack your freezer for 2013!

Our lives are busy and time passes, but rather than acknowledging seasons and how they affect our bodies, we mark calendar days and welcome in new weeks and months without rest.

The changing of seasons is a wonderful time to take pause and give our bodies and minds a little pick-me-up (or clean-me-up). Reflect on how you're doing and feeling now. Stop planning for tomorrow and start feeling good today. 

CAN CAN Spring is here!  

I'm on my first visit back to the Caribbean since Spring Break 2000. St. Martin feels a little more grown up than the Bahamas, but I guess I too am a little more grown up and a lot more appreciative of paradise as it offers time of rest and relaxation. 

I'm always on the lookout for juice bars when I'm traveling. Hot weather places generally don't disappoint. As far as beverages go, fresh fruit juices and refreshing smoothies of mixed local fruits trail a close second to readily available (and cheap) beer.

Dock 24. New St. Martin outpost for fresh juice and smoothies

Drinking fresh fruit juice or a blended smoothie is a different kind of pleasure.

Close your eyes and take the first sip of fresh fruit juice (think grapefruit, orange, or a smoothie blend of pineapple, mango, papaya with ginger and lime) and you don't have to be in paradise to feel like you're there. One of the most beneficial properties of drinking fresh juice is the almost immediate boost of positive energy. An overall feeling of physical well-being. A natural high of sorts. That internal voice saying, "I'm doing something good for my body and my body thanks me." 

This couple opened Dock 24 less than three months ago. A labor of love, "I cut the fruit every day, always fresh!" They work 7 days a week, glow of happiness, and share our love for paradise and juice.

One of my most favorite Saturday morning activities is a walk to San Francisco's Ferry Building Farmers Market. It's an amazing way to start a day!

Similar to the high from the aroma or first sip of morning coffee - fresh air, glowing bounty of seasonal produce and the farmers' smiles - nature's stimulation is spirit-elevating. I can't help but smile and want to make eyes to greet everyone I walk by.

photo: Eatwell Farm's CSA. I'm a huge fan of CSAs!

Today's Market Buys:

• Red Beets: 1 bunch - $2.50
• Garnet Yams: 2 potatoes - $1.35
• Dino Kale: 1 bunch - $2
• Parsley: 1 bunch - $1.50
• Zutano Avocado: 1 fruit - $1.65
• Pomegranate Juice: 6oz - $3

We're in love with our glass jars too! Not to mention they're purposeful; the glass upholds the integrity of our fresh juices and beverages.

But what to do with all the jars after your cleanse? While my canning and perserving do'ers have no problem reusing the jars, what to do with them for those of you who are stumped?

Here are a few creative ideas:

• Drinking Glasses
• Picnic Wine Glasses (when you're not cleansing!)
• Sneaking Beverages and Healthy Snacks into the Movie Theater (we didn't tell you to do it!)
• Kids Paint Containers
• Spice Jars
• Silverware Holder
• Cake Stand (set cake on decorative flat surface or plate; use 3 jars as the base)
• Toothbrush Holder
• Flower/Herb Vase or Planter
• Candle Holder. Great for Tea Lights!

What have you done with your jars?

You're also more than welcome to recycle the jars back to us. Sundays - Tuesdays 10am - 6pm to our San Francisco kitchen: 1890 Bryant Street at Mariposa, Suite #309. Please email or call ahead. Thank you!

Often it's helpful to listen to what others are saying and experiencing before you jump into a cleanse, especially if it's your first one. Filled with tons of excitement and heavy with apprehension? Totally normal. Cleansing is a unique experience as it takes you on a full departure from your routine. Every experience is different for each individual as well as each time you cleanse. 

I was touched by the time and candid experience that this client shared with me. Thanks for CAN CAN'ing, Sommer!

It's (still) that time of year. The time when repercussions of holiday gluttony have settled in and plenty of us are striving for healthier lifestyles. One word that seems synonymous with such quests is "cleansing."

I decide to explore this "somewhat" trendy concept via San Francisco-based CAN CAN Cleanse owner, Teresa Piro. After all, how could I not be curious about a cleanse that's marketed as "a spa retreat for your insides?"

Teresa started out in her own kitchen, whipping up small cleanse batches for friends and family. They loved the results but cringed at the idea of the involved prep process (think rinse, chop, juice, clean out juicer x25), eventually encouraging Teresa to expand her kitchen ventures into a full-fledged business. The CAN CAN Cleanse was born offering cleanses that consist of methodically consuming a series of nutrient-rich seasonal beverages over a period of one or 3-days. Teresa informed me that a 3-day cleanse takes close to 18lbs of organic and seasonal ingredients to prepare! (For some reason this put a killer visual in my mind of a wheel-barrel overflowing with leafy greens and colorful veggies!) Imagine the nutritional value!

I opted to "cautiously" start small with the 1-day cleanse. Throughout the day I consumed a total of 8 beverages. The ingredients (in liquid form of course) included some of the following; cucumber, celery, parsley, kale, cabbage, broccoli, fennel, spinach, romaine, lemon, ginger, apple, carrot, butternut squash, onion, garlic, cayenne, cumin, cinnamon, olive oil, coconut butter, almonds, hazelnuts, and dandelion. The drinks tasted fresh, good-for-you, and were surprisingly tasty! Not to mention, Teresa sends out a few encouraging emails throughout the day, helping you to stay focused and on track. Was I hungry? A little near the end of the day but I managed to say on course.

For me, the cleanse served as a great test of self-restraint as well as a reality-check, forcing me to think more seriously about what kind of things I eat when I'm not sipping kale and ginger root. Teresa explained that the mental benefits of cleansing are just as important (if not more so) than the physical. "It's a time of pause where you can reflect on your vices, what cravings you have, and when and why you have them. One you've completed a cleanse, you become more mindful, bringing more consciousness back to what you put in," she said.

Now, I'm not only inspired to try the 3-day cleanse, but more importantly, put better foods into my body on a daily basis. How about you? Have you cleansed or would you consider trying it?

Sommer Naffz

"A spa reTREAT for your insides....the CAN CAN Cleanse. Feeling tired or slow, a bit swollen or sluggish? Give yourself a boost with CAN CAN Cleanse. Whether it is a one-day pick-me-up, a three-day overhaul, or even just a juice here and there to mix into your daily routine -- Teresa Piro at CAN CAN Cleanse has your solution. Check out the video!" 

Big Thank You to Rick Teed (and team) of Teed Haze! We loved having you visit the kitchen! Thanks for being such a fan of CAN CAN!

It's that time of year when we swear-off sweets, march ourselves to the gym and opt for decaf coffee. We're creatures of habit so the indicators of a new routine make this time a year notably noticeable. We call these new patterns our resolutions. However, resolutions seem to dwindle as the first month of the year comes to an end (not to say 31 days isn't a commendable length of time to break the routine), but rather than stopping and turning the caffeine back up to high, why not turn these resolutions into goals? Transform even just one into a way of life and healthier living.

Tips for Changing-Up the Routine for Healthier, Happier You:

• Make a list of goals and be sure to write them down.
• Plan, plan, plan. Ask yourself, "What is it going to take for me to stick to these goals?"
• Invite a dear friend, spouse, partner, child or co-worker to join you. Power in numbers!
• Be ok with alternating the goals to ensure you succeed. It's all about feeling good, bettering yourself!
• Set realistic timelines to achieve your goals. 
• Keep a journal or blog with photos.
• Do one thing everyday that requires you to stop, smile and praise yourself for your efforts.
• Perseverance and patience. I've never known an accomplished marathon runner who stepped outside and ran 26.2 miles without training.
• Reward yourself when you're there. We all love acknowledgement of our victories! ...just be sure the reward supports rather than detracts from the goal.

Good luck, go to it and then on to the next goal while the coffee's still hot!

2012 is going to be a good year for all! CAN CAN celebrated our 1 Year Anniversary today, Yay! The year is off to a positive start already. We look forward to adding healthy motivation and positivity into your life as the year kicks-off and "Be More Healthy" resolutions ignite. We've added Fridays to our cleanse calendar for the month of January to accommodate weekend cleanse requests. We encourage you to take a weekend off to recover, relax, reset, rejuvenate and most importantly rest your body and mind. Lots to gear up for in 2012. Don't let this year's goals become next year's resolutions. Looking forward to having you CAN CAN with us soon!

Our kitchen is quiet, our juicers are off and in peace, I reflect on what an amazing year it has been! CAN CAN's first year of operation has been such a joy! We've touched so many lives by introducing hundreds to juicing and the power of short, seasonal cleansing. Fortunate to love what I do and fortunate for the clients who appreciate our work, I'm thankful as we wrap up the year early to take time to spend with our families for the holidays. 

I want to give a giant THANK YOU! to all of our clients, CAN CAN supporters, fans, family and friends for making 2011 a year of fulfillment, inspiration and humble reward. 

I look forward to sharing an equally prosperous, happy and most importantly, healthy New Year with you! 

Looking for a thoughtful gift for the holidays? I'm always big on giving experiences vs. material goods. A cleanse may be just the experience your friends and loved ones need after all the holiday indulgences. Help them start out the New Year in health!

Can you believe one more month until 2012 arrives?! My goodness, my grandmother was right; time keeps going by faster and faster.

All the more reason to not only start resolving now, but acting on your top-of-the list resolution: To Live a Healthier 2012. Yes, you CAN do it!

Living healthier means taking small steps and large strides in those areas that you can control in your life. I encourage you to put your health first, but changing your lifestyle entirely may not be realistic. Understandable, however, don't let lack of time be an excuse. Make time to exercise and put down your phone and/or turn off the TV or computer next time you sit down for a meal and look at your plate. Surely you can identify room for improvement. I'll give you a hint, more greens! 

Just in time to help you meet and exceed your goal or to simply keep your already polished regime in check, CAN CAN Cleanse is happy to announce our All-Seasons Pass for 2012. 

We look forward to having you, friends and family CAN CAN with us in 2012! Save time (and money) and commit to feeling good in the New Year!

And so it goes; we wait for a holiday, a special time of year, a tragedy or victory to be humbled by the importance of our health. Everyday is a gift. Take care of you! Promote your physical well-being and be good to your body (easy on the mash potatoes and gravy!). Boost your mental and emotional health by reminding those you love that you love them or by smiling at a stranger. We don't need a lot in this world...and you likely have more than you give thanks for already.

The practice of a short, seasonal cleanse such as CAN CAN is very much about the mental benefits vs the physical. To me, powering through the highs and lows only furthers your understanding of yourself, your eating habits, moods, cravings and at times gives you pause to experience hunger. When was the last time you truly experienced hunger?

After my clients successfully complete the cleanse, many share thoughtful, personal feedback with me about their unique experiences. While many clients don't feel hungry at all while on the cleanse, others do and in these cases willpower, self-restraint and discipline are put to the test.

I'd like to share a recent email I received from a first time cleanser; a client who embraced her maiden CAN CAN voyage, did it and came away with a new perspective on her eating habits.

"You are so right about not knowing what hunger feels like!  I can definitely say now that in the past, most of the time that I've been "hungry", I was looking for a mental break or excuse to change tasks. Thanks for your guidance over the past few days..."

Hi Teresa,

The juices have been delicious.  I've especially enjoyed the green juice and the hazelnut almond milk -- yum!

However, I have been so hungry during the cleanse!  Most noticeably in the mornings so I've listened to my body and/or my tummy by eating an apple (which i do normally on most mornings as part of my breakfast) and then a snack of almonds or avocado later in the afternoon.  I drink some water when I notice that I'm hungrier and that normally helps with the hunger but then it comes back after 10 minutes or so (I notice distraction also helps, like moving around or taking a short break to walk outside).

I think I'm following the cleanse but every body is different.  I don't feel tired or lethargic, just an empty stomach.  And I haven't turned cranky or moody which normally happens when my blood sugar is low and I haven't eaten so that's a good sign!  I don't think I eat very much on most days but come to think of it, I do eat lots of veggies and fruits (with some carbs and a little bit of protein added in with some guilty indulgences) so I think I'm missing the fiber component that normally keeps me feeling full.

I also like the accountability of being on this cleanse.  Normally if I'm "hungry", I'll grab a snack -- potato chips, fruit, nuts, veggies, protein bar, etc. but most of the time, I'm actually not hungry-hungry, just bored-hungry.  The past 2 days I've stopped to think if I'm really hungry and want to eat something or just that I'm bored with whatever current task I'm working on and need a food-break. :)  I practice a lot of yoga where being grounded and self-reflective is so important but sometimes I don't carry that thinking off the mat and into my kitchen (or snack pantry).  It's a nice reminder to stop and think.

This has been a great learning experience and I really enjoyed it (despite feeling hungry)!  I will definitely keep this in mind for a spring cleanse in 6 months.

A dear friend of mine recently brought up the topic of making space. For her, physically she was purging her closet of old memories to make space, emotionally, for fresh, enlivening thoughts and experiences.

It's a theme and exercise that we all could benefit from. The goal is to make space for greater happiness, more productivity and positivity in our lives as well as to remind us not to get bogged down, to be empowered, move forward and feel good!

Nutritionally speaking, when was the last time you cleaned out your cupboards? Purged your refrigerator of expired goods, wiped out the pantry of caloric-rich foods, with little, if any, nutritional value, or dusted off your juicer and made space on the kitchen counter?

Make time to make space.

Convenience clutters our lives and too many choices have invaded our space. Stocking your refrigerator with the honest, basics - fruits and vegetables - is a great start to working more fresh produce into your diet and don't stop at simply filling the bottom crisper drawers. Think of your frig like your plate and dominate the shelves with produce too.

An abundance of produce is both inspiring and frightening, but now that it's there, time to find ways to work it into your diet. Vegetables for breakfast, yes! Make space on your plate, make veggies your breakfast, or juice your greens. Cast away the sugary fruit flavored yogurt with granola and welcome in eggs with a side of spinach, or a salad in the morning, why not?

Working in a vegetable (or two) for breakfast and you're feeling good! Packing fruit or veggies for mid-morning or afternoon snack and yes, no excuse for the office junk and move over coffee shop snacks. 

Perhaps a trip to the farmers' market this weekend and an hour or two cleaning out the kitchen crannies? It's invigorating when you start making space.

Sunshine's got you happy, yay!, but can you believe calendar is turning to Fall? Seasons change...why don't we? Seems many fall into ruts - same exercise routine, same grocery list, same eating patterns, same TV programs. Check yourself and give way to change. It's healthy! A cleanse may be just the path to the change you've been looking for. 

Welcome CAN CAN Fall!

When I'm not in the kitchen juicing, I'm cooking. When I'm not in the kitchen cooking, I'm crafting, but I'm still in the kitchen. While many women dream of having their own walk-in (closet), I too dream of my walk-in...refrigerator :)

Joking aside, the past two days have been spent doing as I call kitchen crafts; a hobby, a love, and a form of relaxation for me. This week, the artistry of salt and pepper. 

Castaway the classics, and welcome herbed sea salt and red chili flakes - my colorful salt and pepper essentials. Plucking thyme is about as mundane as it comes. A chore to many, but I find nothing more demanding of my attention. Something so easily lost in today's world of rapid communication and transfer of information.

I hope you will stop and try it. An excellent accent to almost any dish as well as a fabulous gift.

Herbed Sea Salt

Ingredients

1/2 bunch Fresh Thyme

1-2 branches Fresh Rosemary

2 cup Sea Salt (French Grey is my favorite)

Directions: Pluck thyme, discard branches and set aside. Repeat with the rosemary. Very finely chop rosemary. Mix herbs in salt. Salt is ready to use immediately and best used within a year.

Nutritional note: Unlike table salt, sea salt is low in iodine. We need iodine for our bodies to perform thyroid hormone synthesis, but most Americans over consume iodine. Too much iodine can inhibit thyroid gland synthesis.

Red Chili Flakes

Ingredients

1-2 lbs of Fresh, Cayenne (Red) Chili Peppers

Directions: Turn oven on to the lowest temperature or warm setting. Place peppers on baking sheet or foil, covering the bottom entirely, but not heaping. Use additional baking sheets, if necessary. Dry the peppers in the oven for 12-18 hours until deep red in color and brittle to the touch.

Cool well. Discard the stems and reserve the rest of the chili, including seeds. Using a spice or coffee grinder, grind into flakes or fine powder depending on preference. 

Cayenne chilies are HOT so use with caution, or welcome the spice!

Storing notes: Your chili flakes should be kept in a well-sealed glass jar, away from direct sunlight. Chili flakes will keep for up to one year.

Nutritional note: Cayenne pepper is known for its high levels of capsaicin, which is shown to be an effective pain reliever; as a digestive and antiulcer aid; and for its cardiovascular benefits. Additionally, capsaicin is the component responsible for cayenne's ability to increase basal metabolic rate and stimulate the burning of fat for energy.

I'm like a Pop-Tart out of bed most of the time. That first wake-up is a reminder of a new day. Mornings are my favorite time of day for a number of reasons. Fresh, honest thoughts, settled emotions and a soothing sense of calm greet me. Followed by two more most favorite morning gifts, exercise and breakfast.

If you're like me, you tackle the a.m. workout as if it's your job. The voice in your head may as well be your boss telling you to hop to it. Or, some other persuasive, timely voice of reason (where does she come from?!). You may crave a good sweat, be spurred on by guilt, while others find motivation from chasing the addiction - that hormonal high you get post-workout. 

Why exercise in the morning? As I tell my 8am water aerobics participants on Monday mornings, "No matter what happens the rest of the day, you've accomplished something great." One hour of your day dedicated (and done by 9am!) to better yourself. Tend to your health with regular exercise and the physical and mental rewards are tangible. 

Control those aspects of life you have control of rather than allowing schedules, work, errands, excuses, excuses, excuses dictate you. We may not control whether or not a new morning will come, but when it does, make sure you accomplish something great. Squeeze in a little exercise to ensure an accomplishment for the day...it will make you feel better about you!

And then, may you enjoy breakfast!

"The past is a history. The future is a mystery. Today is a gift that's why we call it a present."

Introducing more green juice! The Green cleanse includes 48 oz of green juice per day to help keep you healthy the all-organic, natural way. CAN CAN's next level of cleansing, this deeper (and yes, more challenging) liquid cleanse takes you one step closer to fasting. Similar to the classic CAN CAN Cleanse, but a full departure from food. Perfect for my experienced cleansers who are looking to feel superhero - green from the inside, outside.

"A point or place of crossing from one side to the other." This definition sums up the grand purpose of CAN CAN. It's a bridge, if you will, from the bad side of the tracks to the good (or better) side of the tracks. It's a smooth, transitionary exercise, a gentle reminder, a wake-up, or for some, a fierce kick in the pants. It's a practice, a tool, a 3-day escape from the monotonous routine and a helping hand to pull you out of the rut. It's a valiant step in articulating your thoughts and putting them into action.

I'm of course talking in terms of what we eat, how we think about nutrition, our health and how easy it is to forget and neglect, totally derail.

I'm often told, CAN CAN isn't like other juices cleanses, my answer, "You're right! It's not a juice cleanse, it's a crossover cleanse." It's uniting the body and mind and reconnecting you with what you eat. It's asking you to take 3 days off from the comforts, the treats, the binges, and the vices to rediscover the other side.

It's amazing how awake and so alive you can feel after a short, seasonal 3-day cleanse. Such reward in knowing you can survive without the comforts, say no to the treats, stop the binges, and function without the vices.

Makes you wonder why you crossed over in the first place.

I'm happy to help you back!

Summer wedding season is in full swing! I have been fortunate to meet some amazing couples over the past few months. Beautiful brides-to-be and their handsome grooms - all hoping to look and feel a little more svelte before the big day. And they do!

The anxiety of the last minute to-dos, excitement of family and old friends coming to celebrate you and the overall oh-my-goodness "I'm getting married!" thrill are only a few of the emotions busying the mind before the much anticipated day arrives.

Cleansing a week (or so) before your wedding is a great idea! In fact, the practice will bring you peace and offer a time of reflection. A time to feel good from the inside and out, breathe deeper, easier and think more clearly. Not to mention enhance the wedding "glow" though vitality in a jar - fresh vegetable and fruit juices.

Congratulation to all our Summer 2011 Brides & Grooms!

What happened to the glass of milk with dinner ritual? Somewhere along the road, we grow up. Wine becomes the new drink with dinner and milk takes its place at breakfast. Styled into a latte or cereal bowl leftovers, milk is not what it use to be. Moreover, the drinking milk fad has been replaced with an uprise of lactose intolerance, which commands its own campaign, "Got no more milk."

What is lactose intolerance?

The bodies inability to digest lactose, a type of sugar found in milk and milk products. The body does not produce sufficient lactase, the enzyme responsible for breaking down the sugar into usable fuel or energy.

No more glass of milk. Ok, most can live without, but what about the cheese?

Understanding which types of dairy foods the body responds to takes time, patience and often trial and error. For instance, aged cheddar - don't cross it off the list. Lactose levels decrease as the cheeses are aged and can often be tolerated in small amounts. Sheep and goat's milk cheeses are also of a less threat.

And for breakfast?

Remember, nut milks, rice milk and coconut milk do not contain dairy (animal milk or milk-based product). Soy milk and eggs also make the list, but soy and eggs too have become common allergens and for this reason, please be cautious. Goat milk debuts on top. A solid (yes, animal milk) alternative to avoiding the tummy troubles of cow's milk as it is more easily digestible.

If you think a bowl of your favorite dessert is out of the question forever, not to worry. You may still be able to share in the love of ice cream (small bowl, please).

A basket of raspberries for breakfast, carrots and radishes with a dusting of dirt for snack, egg salad with fennel fronds and celery over a bed of lettuce served for dinner. Yesterday's strategic eating day from my CSA box. The whites of my eyes glow extra bright today!

Twice a month it feels like Christmas. The excitement of picking-up my Oak Hill Farm of Sonoma CSA box at Blue Barn Gourmet (from The Farm to The Barn) never disappoints, especially this time of year. It's like the gift everyone wants - a box of local, sustainably grown, seasonal vegetables and fruits that out shine grocery store pickings in flavor, color and varietal.

This Week's Share:

Red Beets, Carrots, Celery, Rainbow Chard, Fennel, Lettuce, Zucchini, French Breakfast Radishes and Raspberries

David Cooper, Oak Hill's young and jovial farmer, is keeping up with Mother Nature. She seems to have lost her weather agenda or opted to improv through 2011.

The glory of being a member of a CSA (Community Support Agriculture) is that you learn an important, universal message, "You can't have everything you want, when you want it." So true when speaking of local produce - as non-materialistic as such a want may seem.

As the seasons change (or forget to change), so do the contents of a CSA box. From winter roots and squash, to summer berries, peppers and my favorite, tomatoes, let Mother Nature decide what you eat and when you eat it. What I love about my CSA box is that it invokes creativity in the kitchen or equally gratifying, it promotes eating more raw vegetables because well, they simply taste worlds better when fresh out of the ground.

Like candies on Christmas. 

For more information about Oak Hill Farm, please visit their website. To find a CSA close to your home, please visit Local Harvest.

It's a new season and time for our next cleanse. Yay!

A whole lot of sunshine in jars to give you a healthy glow!

CAN CAN Summer is here! 

My motto use to be, "You can sleep when you're dead," but these days I set small goals that help me slow down, relax and be reminded what it feels like to feel good.

Like remembering to breathe. It may sound fundamental, but it takes consciousness to breathe deep. I start in the morning. First breath, be reminded that you're alive. Second breath, think about the day you're embarking on - a new day.

Add a goal to the day's to-do list. A goal that helps you to slow down and breathe.

Currently, I'm working on posture. Try sitting up a little taller or stand up straighter. If it does not come naturally to you, work on it. Tighten up and lengthen your abdominal core, shoulders back - yet relaxed, chin up. Now a deep breath in. Feel the positivity in the body's alignment. A feeling of empowerment and a look of confidence. Most of us could use more confidence.

Yoga is all about posture. At a recent class at International Orange, I fully-realized the importance of my goals - breath and posture. The first gives energy; the second power. The 90-minute practice felt amazing! I was reminded to slow down, stop and focus on my breath. Albeit it's like a long-distant friend that I don't see too often, I crave to practice yoga. It's a discipline of consciousness.

During a cleanse, you're more present in your actions and thoughts making it a complimentary time to practice yoga. 

Be reminded that stretching, breathing a little more deeply and properly aligning the body feels so good. 

We exercise, we sleep, we eat, but do we ever stop?

RELAX

Turn off your phone.

Get outside.

Chew your food.

Call an old friend.

Practice meditation (if only for 10 mins).

It's all part of slowing down.

Slow down, stop, breathe.

After reading a recent article about the effects quinoa exporting has had on the price Bolivian people have to pay for their staple table grain, I was encouraged to diversify my pantry with alternative whole grains.

I've always adored the bulk sections at grocery stores - albeit as a child it was the bulk candy aisles - today, my local San Francisco co-op, Rainbow Grocery, has the best bulk selections around.

Buying bulk has wonderful benefits:

• Purchase precise quantities for recipes, large quantities for storage, or small quantities for sampling
• Offers variety
• Fresh. Less time on the shelves and no added preservatives
• Cost effective
• Less packaging

I stocked up on the following gluten-free grains:

• Rice: Brown, Basmati and Arborio
• Millet
• Amaranth 
• Buckwheat
• Kasha

Hearty, comforting and honestly just as easy to cook as pasta, these grains lend themselves to sweet or savory breakfast, lunch or dinner sides or mains. Welcoming to your body's digestive system and extra satisfying when the table's mundane bread and white rice are starving for a little diversity.

For reference, the following whole grains are not gluten free:

• Wheat
• Oats (gluten free are available)
• Barley
• Bulgur
• Rye
• Spelt
• Kamut

Unless we're talking about changing dirty diapers or recovering from Montezuma's revenge, we don't talk about one of our bodies most important detoxification processes - Pooping!

There, I said it and you too should get comfortable with talking about poop. We all do it, but what do you know about your poop cycles (or lack of), the size of, shape, smell? Don't squirm, it's quite frankly a vital part of our overall health and worth talking about.

I opt for the fancier terminology - elimination - when talking about pooping, but generally end up saying the p-word, "you know, when was the last time you pooped?"

Don't poop everyday? Think sitting on the toilet for 10 minutes is a short visit to the bathroom? Plunkers? Floaters? Stinkers? Whatever the stools, they have their own story to tell about our bodies digestion of food.

The story begins and ends the same; we eat, therefore we must poop.

The time in which is takes for the body's digestion process to cross the finish line is called transit time. A healthy process takes approximately 18 hours. In that time, you've ingested more food, which means more waste must eventually come out. Pooping 3 times per day sounds like a lot, but it's the 3 times per week routine that should come as a shock.

Frequency

Poop everyday. 2-3 times per day is optimal. Poop should come out with ease. Soft, but formed.

Size and Shape

Some say "S" shaped others say B for "banana" shaped. The general rule is that it has a distinct shape - roughly 10-12 inches long and 2 inches wide. Think about the shape of the large intestine. No loose piles, skinny ribbons, or round pebbles. These formations suggest poor digestion, inflammation, or constipation.

Smell

If it smells stinky, think about your diet in the past 24 hours. If you keep a clean diet full of fresh fruits and vegetables than your poop should have minimal odor. Crap food = crap smell.

Color

Poop should be varying shades of brunette (medium brown). Green suggests food may be moving too quickly through the large intestine and absorption is not happening properly. Pale or white may suggest lack of bile, a trouble linked to liver function. Black or bright red (not from eating beets) should seek medical attention as there may be blood in your stools. 

Need to Poop More?

Increase Fiber

Add more whole fruits and vegetables to your diet. Think apples and dark leafy greens!

Add Water

Hydrate the body. Drink lots of water. Lots meaning 64oz per day, plus an extra glass when you wake-up and one before bed.

Exercise

Get everything moving! Regular exercise aids in the body's digestion and elimination processes. Walk, run, bike, hike, swim, climb stairs. 

Do you buy brown eggs because you think they are healthier than white eggs? Free-range? Or cage-free? How many of you buy omega-3 eggs because well, they contain omega-3?

The egg. The most perfect food. It has shape, style, versatility not to mention it is an excellent source of vitamin K, B vitamins, including biotin, thiamine, and vitamin B12, protein, selenium and vitamin D. The egg garners a food category all of its own, in my opinion, yet why have we complicated such a simple, honest food?

As the saying goes, no two eggs are the same, but there was a time not so long ago when I could grab a carton of eggs and didn't have to stop the cart. Today, I walk by the dairy section and I have to not only stop, but stand back in order to inspect the multitude of egg cartons as if I was deciding upon which hen to take home as my own.

Where do I begin?

Wouldn't it be nice to have fresh eggs everyday? No stress over the vernacular of free-range, cage-free, soy free, Grade A, AA, all-natural, no hormones or antibodies, vegetarian fed, fertile, etc. I feel both helpless and hopeful at the same time.

Until I embark on the exciting thought of having my own chickens and fresh eggs, I'll be sourcing my eggs from the Oak Hill Farm CSA in which I participate. Eggs from pasture-raised hens ($7 per doz, $3.50 per 1/2 doz). Eatwell Farms CSA also offers eggs ($8 per doz, $4 per 1/2 doz).

Faberge in price, but well worth the stress-savings of mulling over the somber meaning of cage-free while staring at the 13 dozen egg options.

Stress is a huge barrier to living a healthy life - mentally, emotionally and physically. Don't let your taxes get you down. Whether you received a tax refund or not, take advantage of CAN CAN's April Special Offer and feel good!

Think about the fascinations of our fruits and vegetables. I marvel over the intricacies of an apple's "star" core when cut horizontally, or the politely compartmentalized sections of a grapefruit. Why do avocado pits yield a red, milky substance and bananas turn brown (and not blue) when greeted by oxygen? These whims of Mother Nature fascinate me. Today's man-made, mass-marketed Baby Cut Carrots do not.

Manicured 2 inches long, rounded tips, water-bathed, and blemish-free, the Baby Carrots we think of are a plant-altered novelty. A cleaver way to satisfy California farmers in the 1980's who were "unhappy at having to discard carrots because of slight rotting or imperfections, and looking for a way to reclaim what would otherwise be wasted product." - Wikipedia

Packaged Baby Cut Carrots, as vain as they are in my opinion, do offer convenience that cannot be dismissed - especially when the marketing goal is to increase consumption of vegetables in our diets. At the end of 2010, nearly 50 carrot growers united to roll out an "Eat More Baby Carrots" campaign rivaling junk food.

A commendable effort, but $25 million to encourage people to eat more carrots? I wonder what Mother Nature could do with all those carats?

Spaghetti was a once-a-week dinner growing up in a family of six. A second meal of leftovers was typical and welcomed. The high-carb phobia did not set in until my late high school years and into college. Once an Italian favorite, spaghetti became a nostalgic nightmare.

I've since reacquainted myself with noodles. My own noodle theory leads me to believe in and feel good eating rice and soba noodles and the occasional freshly made Italian versions. The whole wheat boxed pasta does not agree with me and the adventurous quinoa, kamut, spelt do a fair job as substitutes, but leave me mentally puzzled by the process of making such "noodles".

Good news for gluten-free'ers, my favorite rice and soba noodles do not contain wheat (be sure the soba noodles are made from 100% buckwheat). These plant-based pastas satisfy and are less hindering on the digestive track. Not to mention, rice and soba noodles are versatile - lending themselves as stand-ins for white pasta dishes as well as their own vast array of Asian recipes.

I encourage you to embrace cooking and eating rice and soba noodles when you're looking to curb carb cravings for pasta. And, think out of the norm. Although my Mom never made us eat spaghetti as the first meal of the day (I would have thrown a tantrum), these days I happily eat noodles at any mealtime. Vietnamese pho breakfast? Yes, please!

When was the last time you looked at the ingredients of a loaf of bread? The ingredients have changed over the past 50 years. I pulled a bag of bread from my parents' cupboard tonight. 12 Grain bread from our local, Northwest small-chain grocer. An admiral looking loaf; brown in color and topped with seeds and whole grain oats.

The ingredients are as follows:

Enriched unbleached wheat flour (wheat flour, malted barley flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), water, high fructose corn syrup, molasses, honey. Contains 2% or less of yeast, rolled wheat, sunflower seed, whole wheat flour, soybean oil, salt, vital wheat gluten, raisin juice concentrate, wheat bran, rolled oats, sesame seed, rye meal, degermed yellow corn grits, barley flakes, triticale flakes, dough conditioners (sodium stearoyl lactylate, monoglycerides, calcium sulfate, enzymes, ammonium sulfate, ascorbic acid, azodicarbonamide), brown rice meal, flax seed, millet, buckwheat flour, calcium propionate (preservative), soy flour, nonfat milk. Distributed from Cincinnati, Ohio

The 12 grains are in there, if you can sift through the 40+ ingredients in this list; 10 of which remain spell-checked. 

Then, I pulled my Mom's 1961 copy of Betty Crocker's New Picture Cook Book and looked up bread.

"To make good breads, you will need enriched all-purpose flour, fresh yeast, salt, liquid, sugar and usually fat."

White Bread Recipe

Ingredients: active dry yeast, warm water, lukewarm milk, flour, sugar, salt, shortening

What use to be a 7 basic ingredient household staple has risen to a new level of processed food. I'll continue to eat fresh baguettes from my local baker before buying the "whole grain bread" of our 21st century.

The first time I saw a roadside gas station in Bali, I mistook the gasoline for bottled water. Reborn to fool the haggard traveler on a hot day, the gas was being sold in Absolut Vodka bottles. 

I later found out that our driver's son suffered severe, permanent brain damage from drinking gasoline out of such a bottle when he was 5 years old. Granted at 5 years old, such an incident is a tragic accident not an intended action, however, how many adults would ingest poison if they read it on a label?

We do it everyday. Take a look at the "food" on the shelves of our favorite grocery stores. Junk labeled as such litters the aisles and in particular, the roadside checkout stands. Impulse leads to injury. If we are illiterate, then we may be pardoned, but few of us read labels and instead fall for the deceptive packaging selectively marketed by the Earth undertone grocery stores of which we stand.

This perspective article admits fault, but at the end of the day, it's up to us the consumers. Just as we should never judge a book by its cover, so goes we should never view food from a grocery store as food. You must read labels. Whether the brand name alludes to being healthy or the clever packaging looks healthy, the truth is that very few packaged items are healthy.

If you intend to eat with consciousness, do not generalize about good vs. bad food based on the grocery store you're shopping at. Look beyond. Read the ingredients, read them thoroughly, but if you have to read any ingredient twice, chances are you're safer driving down the produce aisle for your fuel.

We're all guilty of overindulging in sweets. I can't remember the last time I only ate half of the dessert set in front of me. It's a weakness of mine and quite frankly, a pleasure. 

Michael Pollan lays down the law in simple text, "Treat Treats as Treats." A recipe even a toddler can follow. My words of advice are to think about the worth of a treat. Not everyday is a holiday or special occasion. I agree, we have much to be thankful for here in the United States. Our accessibility to food, which includes no less than three meals per day, is worth celebrating, but a dessert (or two) everyday? Now that's gluttony. 

I promote what the dietitian of my youth once told me, "If you're going to eat dessert, make sure it's the best of it's kind." Go out and eat the best piece of apple pie in the city you live in; don't bake or buy the whole pie that will sit on your kitchen counter and serve as meal replacement for the next three days.

Alternatively, explore vegan desserts and low-sugar options such as fresh fruit or yogurt. This recipe is one I share because Valentine's Day = treats. I'm a glutton for dark chocolate and also for avocados. Who would have guessed these two loves would collide?

Eight years ago, I read my first and only finance book by author David Bach. The title, Smart Women Finish Rich. The take away from that book is one that I've carried with me, one we could all benefit from, "It's not how much you make, it's how much you save."

Bach trademarks The Latte Factor: a fundamental reality that if we cut back our spending on little amenities such as lattes, we'd be richer. If we consumed fewer lattes we'd be cutting back on the $2.70+ expense a day or $13.50 a week. That's roughly $675 a year or $6,750 over the course of 10 years. 

We'd also slim down our daily and weekly caloric intake (190 calories in a grande cafe latte equals 950 calories per work week) and likely boost our health. Doesn't seem like too tall of an order and a darn good return, wouldn't you agree?

Following Bach's practice of looking at the little ways we spend money (ie: the morning coffee to-go ritual), let's parlay this into the little ways we consume calories. The Latte Factor, nutritionally speaking, results in the overconsumption of nutrient poor calories. Our morning latte, a packaged snack from the gas station, a bag of chips while we wait for lunch, and the chocolate goodie impulse buy while standing in the grocery store checkout line - these all add unnecessary calories to our days and to our waistlines.

Too many of us eat food just to eat. We stop short of really focusing on what we put in our bodies. We've become frivolous. Whether we're spending money or putting food in our bodies, we've become by definition, 'self-indulgently carefree; unconcerned about or lacking any serious purpose.'

Think about how many calories you can save next time you're in line for your latte unwilling to give up the morning ritual. Consider the 12oz vs. the 20oz. It's more than just your money, it's how much health you can save.

For further reading, the Starbucks website has a dedicated page for their Drinks and Food Nutritional Information. I'd recommend familiarizing yourself with the information provided as it may help you be more conscious during your next order.

I drink coffee and eat croissants. I enjoy wine and eat cheese. I also love sardines straight out of the can and eat sauerkraut as a meal vs. an accoutrement.

For the greater majority of my life, my diet comes in at an A-. While I have tightened-up my health game since the inception of CAN CAN, you'll see me eating dessert and I won't feel like I've just been caught by the paparazzi. 

The picture of health is an aspiration that keeps us motivated and conscientious. It also stresses us out, which I believe to be the biggest health evil. I think of myself like you or like that person you're striving to become. I'm balanced. I practice a balanced lifestyle and I continue to openly evolved as my body adapts to outside influences (environment) and inside influences (age).

My Current Balance:

• Supportive, Nutritious Whole Foods
• Tons of Seasonal Vegetables
• A Little Fruit
• Lots of Lemon
• Water, Water, Water
• Tea, occasional Coffee, Wine or Beer
• Absolutely NO Soda Pop, Energy Drinks, or Pasteurized Juices
• Sea Salt & Cayenne Pepper
• Olive & Coconut Oils
• Moderate to Heavy Exercise 5-6 Days a Week
• Water Aerobics 
• Cooking
• Travel / Vacation as often as possible
• Rest & Relaxation
• Relationships (family, friends, colleagues, mentors, community)

I believe the right balance is happiness. Some days you waiver in a yoga posture; other days you nail it. Be patient with yourself. Practice and commit to making improvements - health, work, relationship-related everyday and do not be discouraged if you have a bad day...because you will.

Have a cup of coffee, but don't have two. Eat the croissant, but make sure it's the best croissant. Drink wine, but have a glass or two, not the whole bottle. Eat cheese and don't feel guilty. Moderation is king. Even the picture of health gets caught in the act...or opts to tell a lie.

These colorful pyramids are from our friends the Fruitarians. I'm especially drawn to the Drinks pyramid in the upper right hand corner. Drink to your health!

How did you come to discover this was what you were meant to do? The question was posed to me in an interview with career coach Suzannah Scully. Here is my response.

I fully realized CAN CAN Cleanse after years of stocking my toolbox, per say. All of my past experiences built up to my aha moment, but at the time I was living each one, I had no idea. I’ve been helping girlfriends for years talk through and act on weight loss goals. The boost in self-esteem that I was able to give to friends was so rewarding I found inspiration, but never saw it as a career.

I studied holistic nutrition at Bauman College. My reasoning for going back to school was for personal enrichment. Three years later, I’m finally putting my education into practice. I did not dream of owning my own business, but I did dream of doing what makes me happy.

I believe in CAN CAN Cleanse as a personal practice that benefits my overall health. As I started to share this practice with others their happiness reaffirmed my belief in the importance of preventative health through honest food and specifically through seasonal produce and cleansing. It was that feel-good high of helping others with their health and happiness that made me take the leap.

If you are still looking for your aha moment, please read my answers to the other questions from the interview. You may want to ask yourself these same questions to help you find happiness and fulfillment in your work. Please visit Suzannah’s blog.

I can bottle the fresh, nutrient-rich beverages for you, but I can't bottle the willpower for you to succeed on a cleanse. That, my friends, is a big part of the practice of cleansing. Be mindful, be disciplined, be committed. There's a first time for everything. Practice and you will discover inner strength and a boost of self-esteem. I'm here to support you along the way and answer your questions ("I'm having dreams about cheesecake, is that normal?"), but the real inspiration comes from my CAN CAN'ers. Encouraging responses from a few of my first cleansers of 2011.

"Overall I have found myself slowing down around food. It feels really good. And even with little sleep due to my daughter being up in the night, I did not automatically turn to caffeine. I definitely feel more proactive and aware. I do miss the Green Juice!" - Kory

"I made it! Feeling great, but ready to chew again :) Strangely, I had a dream about cheesecake last night (that I ate it to break my cleanse and then was furious with myself....weird, huh?!) I was glad to wake up from that one!! Thanks again for all your help and encouragement in making my first cleanse such a positive experience!" - Jill

"As for the CAN CAN Cleanse, I'm so so so glad that I did it. It ended up being easier to complete than I expected, yet delivered stronger results than I expected. I couldn't be happier by my decision to do this. I've followed the Post-Cleanse guidance, and still feel exceptional. In addition, it helps you evaluate the rest of your life and how you are living. It is amazing how much processed "everything" we put into our bodies, so it was great to give it a much deserved break. I'm sleeping better, have more energy, and believe I look better. I know this sounds crazy, but I've had dark circles under my eyes for 10-12 years, and while they didn't go completely away, I feel like they are much less dark." - Marty

"I had to add 1/4c almonds and 1/2 avocado per day, because I need to chew on something, and I got hungry. But, I have to tell you that Saturday morning I woke up feeling the best I have in years. I felt sort of high! It was awesome. And, I've only had one coffee since the cleanse. I was drinking at least one every day. Also, I'm not craving sugar, which is just short of being as amazing as the second coming of Jesus. Anyway, all your stuff is so tasty and wholesome. It really restarted my system and made me want to eat healthy." - Kimberly

Fruit juice has its place in cultures throughout the world. Hot on juice, the warm climate in southeast Asia made me crave fresh pressed juices. Available in every tropical color and flavor, as a morning ritual or for an afternoon time-out, the juices rivaled the weasel coffee, Thai tea and Bintang.

The CAN CAN Cleanse knock-off in Bangkok, Thailand

Orange Julius! Full-time orange juicer at a farmers market in Taipei, Taiwan 

“If it came from a plant, eat it. If it was made in a plant, don’t.” I wholeheartedly agree with Michael Pollan’s mantra from Food Rules. It’s disturbing to stop and think what food in packages really is or isn’t. Dismal truth is that processed food is not just processed once, but often processed-processed. I’d add a third layer of processed only to drive home the point that that there’s no more room for the food – it’s simply processed, packaged, pretend. 

Food is: material consisting essentially of protein, carbohydrate, and fat used in the body of an organism to sustain growth, repair, and vital processes and to furnish energy…definition by Merriam Webster

I do however recognize the processing of food by calling out my two favorite “processed” foods:

Sauerkraut: directly translated from German: "sour herb" or "sour cabbage", is finely shredded cabbage that has been fermented by various lactic acid bacteria. (Wiki definition) 

Yogurt: a dairy product produced by bacterial fermentation of milk. Fermentation of lactose produces lactic acid, which acts on milk protein to give yogurt its texture and its characteristic tang. (Wiki definition) 

The ever-popular Kombucha is also made through fermentation adding it to the cast of good things made from a process.

Kombucha is a fermented tea that is often drunk for medicinal purposes. There are scientific studies that support the health benefits of Kombucha that show it to be antimicrobial, to have hepatoprotective qualities, and to be antioxidative among other benefits. Kombucha can be made at home by fermenting tea using a visible, solid mass of yeast and bacteria which forms the kombucha culture which is often referred to as the "mushroom" or  the "mother". (Wiki definition)

Fermentation can be done at home (no plant required), so do add fermented foods and drink to your diet to enhance your body’s process.  

As my first CAN CAN’ers of the New Year prepare for their 3-Day cleanses starting on Monday, I share in their motivation and hopes. I feel the promise that 2011 will bring much happiness. I too am preparing for a year of health.

Looking after my own wellbeing before going after my goal of helping thousands of individuals this year with theirs, I’m spending my New Year’s Eve rejuvenating in Bali, Indonesia. As I welcome in the New Year, I also embrace entering my 3^rd decade of life (aka my 30^th birthday). During this time of growth, I reflect on what great fortune I have had in 2010. There is a sensation far more gratifying about making your dreams come true than waiting for a stroke of luck. Luck involves chance, fortune you can create. I encourage you too, to set goals.

As I wish my 2011 cleansers good luck a much deeper sentiment comes to mind –may you find good fortune. Take time during your cleanse to relax, reflect, stay focused and create a plan to align your actions and thoughts to meet your goals.

Many of us resolve to be healthier with the coming of a new year. I say do not wait another year to follow through on your goals. Create your own fortune. Execute on your positive thinking and achieve your goals - you CAN do it!   

Wishing everyone a Happy and Healthy New Year!

A cocktail with live-liness, yes please! Mixologists are like scientists and estheticians; studying, experimenting, constructing and transforming in an effort to beautify the classics or age-olds. With a cast of artisan, honest-ingredient cocktails to choose from these days - think fresh basil, lemongrass infused, to fresh fruit purees and muddled mint - explore a cocktail with natural color and character. For those who are swearing off alcohol come 2011, mind these conscious cocktail tips and salute to your health this New Year's Eve.

What to order:

The Basic: choose Soda (no calories) over Tonic (contains refined sugar = calories)

The Fresh Factor: pressed fruit juices (grapefruit, orange) vs sugar-added juices (cranberry, boxed oj)

Citrus Boost: ask for 2 limes, please or an extra squeeze of lemon for an extra shot of vitamin C

The Explorer: drinks containing ginger, herbal tea infusions, spices and fresh herbs for added flavor without the calories (be sure to ask for light or no added sugar)

Water: ask the bartender to add a splash of water or extra ice (water helps maintain 20/20 vision)

Lastly, remember, a cocktail tells a lot about a person. Energy drinks are for party-poopers!

If you’re traveling by plane this holiday season, you may find yourself at the mercy of airport dining - yikes! The eating options are about as bright as Rudolph’s nose - in a blizzard. To keep you from dashing from kiosk to counter to vending machine and coming up with last year’s chocolate bar, pack the snack ahead of time. Here are my 3 favorite snack bar brands to throw into your carry-on.

It's inspiring to read peoples' success stories and motivational to watch others achieve goals. However, when you start to involve yourself in helping people achieve their successes, now that is gratifying. Weight loss is a goal I watch many of my clients work towards. It can feel more like a battle with small victories and minor setbacks along the way. I believe in four key components for successful weight loss: determination, patience, nutrition, and exercise. Remember, you didn't gain all those extra pounds overnight so you cannot expect to lose them all overnight.

I started working with Serena 3 years ago. At 28 years old, she was carrying extra weight equivalent to a 10-year-old boy. We completely revamped her diet, changed her eating patterns, and have her cleansing regularly. In addition, Serena's lifestyle now includes hard-core exercise. Go Bootcamp! She recently completed her fifth CAN CAN Cleanse and when I asked her for a recent photo so I could share her success story, this is the one she sent me. I couldn't resist posting! Amazing.

'Tis the season for holiday cheer! Clinking of glasses and downing of booze is simply unavoidable. It's like a rite of passage into the New Year. 

But why the hangovers? They weren't on this year's wish list.

According to an article by the Institute of Integrative Healthcare Studies, here are three of the reasons alcohol causes hangovers:

1. Alcohol is a diuretic, so drinking too much causes dehydration. Dehydration causes intense headaches, dry mouth and fatigue.

2. In addition to alcohol in and of itself being toxic, the byproduct it it broken down into (namely acetaldehyde) is between 10 and 30 times more toxic than alcohol itself.

3. When alcohol is metabolized, vitamin B is consumed. Thus, some after effects of drinking alcohol are caused by a deficiency of this crucial vitamin. Vitamin B deficiency commonly causes fatigue and grogginess.

If you wake up wishing away these side effects, try gifting your body ginger.

This rhizome ("mass of root") has anti-spasmodic effects, which can help calm nausea and stomach queasiness.

While the English in the 19th century, sprinkled ginger powder in beer (ginger ale), I suggest hydrating with fresh ginger in water

Using a potato peeler, remove the outer skin of the ginger. Continue to generously shave the yellow flesh into a large glass of water. 

After juicing over one thousand pounds of produce and sampling, weighing and researching the benefits of veggies, fruits, nuts, herbs and spices, CAN CAN Cleanse emerges fresh and full of life! Today marks the launch of CAN CAN Cleanse. Pictured is the very first CAN CAN Cleanse.

I'm excited to announce that the 3-Day Winter Cleanse is ready in time for the holiday season! Or, may I suggest, the post-holiday season, perhaps? I understand how crazy the holiday season can be, but don't forget to be good to your body and gift a cleanse.

Sign-up for your January 2011 cleanse and start out the New Year by feeling good!

I marvel over the food offerings that seduce customers in drug stores. Packaged junk eaten as snacks, but contains more nutrient-deficient calories than a meal.

This idea of the heartburn medicine next to the candy bars is not such a new idea. Early American pharmacies are remembered for the sweets they housed - most favored, the soda fountains. The long history of drug stores sharing space with sweets seems like a less than healthy idea, however it's profitable.

A few scenarios come to mind when looking at this product placement. It's less likely that the person shopping for the Zantac is also going to buy the candy bar. Unless, the person's been suffering from indigestion long enough to feel hungry, so then why not pick up the chocolate bar for later? Or, more likely, the childhood memory is triggered; I get a treat because I don't feel well. Remember when mom let you eat ice cream on the couch when you were home sick? There's comfort in food.

So take the Zantac and feel better. Brilliant. Now eat the chocolate bar and feel even better!

An hour later, more Zantac.

The vicious cycle Dr. Elizabeth Lipski coins as SAD (Standard American Diet). 

If you're going to the drug store to buy the candy bar, might be a good idea to grab the Zantac too.