smoothies that help your body detox

Yes folks, it's that part of the year we all hate...Winter is almost over, Spring is knocking at our doors and despite all the benefits of entering a warmer season, many of us girls are a bit scared of getting rid of all those fluffy, "hide my shapes" pullovers and coats. Why? because many of us out there put on some extra weight during all those holiday special treats, Valentine's Day (not applicable in my case), surprise parties, night outs with lots of alcohol (yes, you do get fat if you drink alcohol), staying inside just because it's soooo much warmer than outside etc. So, just to get myself back in shape, I started this smoothie diet, it's a detox diet actually, having lots and lots of benefits for your body. Today is my 2nd day and with the exception of one tiny incident (yesterday) I love it. The smoothies are delicious and what is fun about them is the fact that you can let loose of your imagination. Combine carrots with apples, grapefruit, oranges, strawberry, avocado, cucumbers, beets, broccoli, ginger (be careful with ginger though, make sure not to shred too much of that stuff as it's super super concentrated- 1" will do). The result? A spectacular bright colour, an exquisite taste and also the sensation of actually eating something consistent. Now, make sure not to strangely combine veggies and fruits. Go with the colour rule- choose different veggies or fruits which all have the approximately same colour. My favourite breakfast smoothie is the apple-carrot- grapefruit(or orange) one. It's an energy booster and it also leaves you feel nourished.
If it were to provide you with a daily menu of the Smoothie Detox Diet (SDD), this would look like:

7 am (or upon rising) : glass of still water with lemon
8 am: a herbal tea or a diuretic one (personally I go with the diuretic tea)
10 am: Breakfast smoothie- Carrots and apple
11.30: liquid intake (ideal would be water, coconut water- but that's hard to find in TGM, so just make sure to drink plenty of water- minimum 1,5 l of water/day)
13.30: lunch- Salad with Carrot and Ginger Dressing
16.00: snack- a handful of mixed seeds (pumpkin and sunflower seeds)
18.00: dinner- Broccoli and Arugula Soup- again, arugula is difficult to find so just replace it with fresh salad, spinach or watercress

Tips and Tricks:

Don't cheat!!! Be honest to yourself and admit that you have put on some weight. No, it's not just that blouse or those pants that make you look fat, it's you!!! (sorry for being so frank).
Be ambitious! Don't give up the next day and rush to the local convenience store and load yourself with unhealthy food (snacks, pop corn, chocolate, cakes, soda etc).The result would be just a supplementary calories intake making you even fatter.
Hydrate yourself! Remember this is a DETOX diet, you want to get rid of toxines trapped inside your body and the only way you can do that is by "washing" it on the inside.
Practice sports!!! This is the most important link of the SDD chain. In order to eliminate the toxins you will also have to practice some sort of sports. If you are completely out of shape you can start by walking for 20 min. every day and gradually increase the time with 2 min. per day. At the end of the 1st month you will be able to walk for about 1 hour which is a good warm-up for the next stage--> a gym subscription. If you have back problems or any other inconvenience which does not allow you to practice sports or go to the gym you can go swimming instead. Swimming is said to help not only your posture but it is also an excellent method for stress removal.
Drink water!!! And I mean WATER. Not coffee, black tea, green tea, store juice, cocoa, milk etc. Try sticking to still water, not mineral water.
Keep away from dairy products, gluten products (any type of food containing gluten- bread, baked goods),nightshades(potatoes, tomatoes, sweet and hot peppers, eggplants) and fat meat.
Don't exceed 7 days of the SDD. After "surviving" the smoothies week, don't forget all about the hard work you had to do just to loose those pounds. Remember it's always easier to loose weight than to keep it at a reasonable level. Change your lifestyle!
And last but not least: consult your family doctor or nutritionist and let him/her help you personalize this diet. I am sure you all heard this before: there is no magic, one-diet-fits-all SDD.

For more about the SDD, useful recipes and other info you can always visit Gwyneth Paltrow's web site www.goop.com

Week-End in Sibiu

Beer Incident :)




Andrei's Bionic Arm :))











Not too much to say about my week-end spent in Sibiu...Arrived on Friday 20th in the afternoon, met my dear cousin at her hotel and went to her apartment. It was quite a pleasant encounter and seeing Sibiu again really made me happy. The weather was a bit cold as compared to TGM but it was all nice and shiny. In the evening, though not planned, we went out to meet some of Lili's friends (some of them I was familiar with). The Corner was a newly opend pub, actually it was inaugurated that very night. Everyone got drunk or dizzy, except for me. I wasn't in the mood of drinking alcohol so I just enjoyed seeing everyone around me getting tipsy. I might come back next week-end as there is this trip in the mountains and I was invited but I did not make up my mind yet. We'll see... On Saturday we just stayed in and then went to the gym for a nice workout finalised with a 30 minutes dry sauna, all of them being free of charge :D (one of the benefits of being a girl)watched some movies, the most impressive one was Slumdog Millionaire which already won 8 Oscars. I never thought I would enjoy seeing an Indian movie, but it absolutely swept me off my feet. I recommend it to everyone. Another movie I enjoyed was The Reader, set in the Post-WWII Germany. The main character, Michael Berg, aged 15 has an affair with a woman twice his age. She just vanished at a certain point of his life and nearly a decade later, being a Law student, finds her as a defendant in the Nazzi trials.
Well, that's all about my week-end. I will just post a few pictures taken on Friday night. Enjoy!!!

Mi fido di te (I Trus You)

I like listening to different types of music and most of the times I have a "type of music day". Today was my "Italian songs day". It was such a wonderful day, just hearing that melodious language (which is very similar to Romanian language) made me feel happy, full of life, optimistic. Incredible how powerful music can be and how it can influence your state of mind. So I just started listening to those Italian Titans like Eros Ramazzotti, Ambra Angiolini, Laura Pausini, Tiziano Ferro, Jovanotti...they were all part of my late childhood and my teen years...so many memories have been stacked inside my brain from that period. I can remember all those Sunday nights spent in front of the TV back in the early 90s when no one had cable, we all improvised these huge parabolic antennas and we were excited every time we were watching Fiorello's TV show on Rai Uno. That's how I started learning the Italian language. Of course that without too much practice I forgot a lot of words but there's this intrinsic knowledge and somehow it all comes back to me when I hear a song in Italian. One of my favourite singers was Jovanotti...he has that "I don't know what" charisma. He's not beautiful, his voice has almost nothing special but his style is just amazing...his lyrics are so catchy, I like the way he's dressed and that entire attitude he possesses. Anyways, I will just post one of my favourite songs from him. It's called Mi fido di te which means "I Trust You". Enjoy!!! And may your day be wonderful :)

V(B)alantine's Day

It's really difficult for me to think that in 3 days time the famous, way too commercial Valentine's Day will take place. I already feel pretty depressed, I don't want to be too "EMO" or anything but it's just the way I feel. This is the first time that I've decided to write about my emotional problems as I think I would feel relieved afterwards. Though the Valentine's Day is not a traditional Romanian custom, it has become increasingly important in the past years, culminating with this year when, in the last month all you could hear/talk/see around you was related to this topic. I don't feel depressed because of other people's happiness, I feel depressed because of my grief, because it becomes even more evident that I am lonely and alone.
Since we broke up (November 15th 2008) I went through a lot of experiences. One of my biggest mistakes was to find affection in another guy just 1 week after the breakup. Big mistake!!! Don't do it! It will make you feel bad about yourself; it will make you feel weak, always running away from your problems and emotions. Confront them, you are stronger than you think! It's not shameful to admit that you are hurt, or that you still linger after him/her, that you dream about him/her and that you hope one day to meet that person again and if it's not possible for you to get back together, at least find a way to keep good relations between you. It's too soon for me and Vlad to suddenly become old buddies, old palls...I am aware of that. Nevertheless, could someone please explain me why I still obstinately cling to all those memories, all that part of me which still belongs to him? I can even smell his perfume sometimes. I cleared my room with all objects which might remind me of him, hid away all picture albums, gifts, erased all my SMS, mails...everything. The only thing I could not erase was the memories I have, all those bitter-sweet episodes I will cherish for as long as I live. All those summer nights spent together talking and strolling, all those times when we were riding his motorbike, or the first time he let me drive his car...(funny moment), all those excursions, visits, meeting his family, being part of it, having him around me, all those movie nights...just everything. Funny how life is sometimes. It seems that you are never the right person at the right time. I should synchronize myself with life's cycle, being the runner-up is not an option anymore. I want to be a winner, I want to succeed. I want to find you, whoever you are...
But still, the main feeling I have right now would be the fact that I still yearn for him. I miss not missing him anymore.

The best thing you can do is to fake it

We want it all and we want it now... we are never satisfied, we will never stop, keep on climbing the stairs until we reach the top. No, it's not some lyrics I found... I was just thinking about human nature and everyday life. We wake up at 6.30 to get ready for work, dress to impress, have a glance in the mirror saying to ourselves we'll have a wonderful day, we'll gamble a lot of money and win at the Stock today, we'll score maximum at our exam, we'll pass the interview, we will change our job for a better paid one, we'll buy that Porsche we always dreamed of...and we could go on!But what happens if we don't succeed? DISASTER!!! Why? Because we put too much pressure in it. It's not good enough what we have accomplished at the end of the day, nooo, why should it be alright to spend an extra 5 minutes with your family and your friends, or go to the theatre to watch a good play when you can stay in that bloody office until 8 pm. Remember you have postponed that one for such a long time... you will not change the world if you try so hard, forgetting all about your needs and pleasures. Just let it loose, you are not alone and there are people around you willing to help. Learn how to relax, take that dance course you always wanted, go outside for a walk, smile to the unknown people passing on the street. No one really smiles these days when walking. Be smarter than they are... and here's a song for all of you from one of my favourite bands - U2- Sometimes you can't make it on your own.



U2- Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own
Tough, you think you've got the stuff
You're telling me and anyone
You're hard enough

You don't have to put up a fight
You don't have to always be right
Let me take some of the punches
For you tonight

Listen to me now
I need to let you know
You don't have to go it alone

And it's you when I look in the mirror
And it's you when I don't pick up the phone
Sometimes you can't make it on your own

We fight all the time
You and I... that's alright
We're the same soul
I don't need... I don't need to hear you say
That if we weren't so alike
You'd like me a whole lot more

Listen to me now
I need to let you know
You don't have to go it alone

And it's you when I look in the mirror
And it's you when I don't pick up the phone
Sometimes you can't make it on your own

I know that we don't talk
I'm sick of it all
Can you hear me when I Sing,
you're the reason I sing
You're the reason why the opera is in me

Where are we now?
I've got to let you know
A house still doesn't make a home
Don't leave me here alone

And it's you when I look in the mirror
And it's you that makes it hard to let go
Sometimes you can't make it on your own
Sometimes you can't make it
The best you can do is to fake it
Sometimes you can't make it on your own

As simple as it gets: MADE IN ROMANIA

I found this Romanian short movie today and I had to post it as it comprises the very essence of the Romanian country side life. Jeeesus! It may be funny for a foreigner but it's the simple bitter reality for some 20 million Romanians. Enjoy!