Beginnings

Welcome to October! Here in WNC we woke to a chilly damp day. I've been cold. I didn't realize how cold until I went out to the mailbox and gathered up today's mail. In the mail was a pair of socks knit for me. They were the socks that knocked me out of the game of play with Sock Sniper. It was a fun game. I'm proud to have assisted in raising funds for Doctors without Borders. It feels good to go into October fresh and new. I'm full of beginnings because I was so good with completions in September!

Today I began new projects. The first of the month is always a good time to start something new. I started a shawl. I've been wanting to knit this shawl for a good long while. I'm using an alpaca/silk/cashmere lace weight dyed by Alina Shea Creations. Her yarns are my favorite. The colors are deep and rich. They hold fast for years. Best of all the yarn bases she uses are of superior quality so even socks don't show wear quickly. The yarn for this shawl is gradient dyed. It starts with a light blue/purple/dark blue blend and moves out to a completely dark blue section. The shawl is circular knit so I'll have a pale blue center and a dark blue outer circle. I'm in love. The yarn is soft and shiny. I've already completed the first 4 sections of the shawl. There are 7 sections. They get progressively larger as the knitting progresses. I am under no illusion that completing 4 is half. It is close to 1/8 of the project.

I also began a food project. For me this project will last 7-10 days. I have started on the Detox portion of the TLS Weight Loss System. I normally have my clients begin their 12 week process with this detox. I chose to wait a few weeks because I had just run a half marathon. An athletic event like that requires food for the body to recover. This week I am cutting back on many activities. I'll continue to run. I'll be running shorter distances and supporting my training by riding a bike indoors. I will likely modify the detox a bit to include more foods necessary for my training. I'm currently training for my next half marathon in 5 weeks time.

While on this detox I will eat. I will eat lots of veggies. I like to call it veggie week or food detox. I think it seems less frightening that way. Anyone can eat fruit and veggies for a week. The basis of my lunch meal today is salad. Salad can be a boring thing. It can also be a wonderful exotic beautiful thing. On this dreary day when the sun is not shining my plan is to enjoy fresh greens that have been infused with the sun's rays while growing.

My salad base is baby kale, baby spinach, and finely chopped artisan lettuce. My crunchy veggie are baby green beans, asparagus, broccoli florets, and carrot. I chopped them all into small pieces so they can be eaten easier. Isn't it pretty?

While this salad is beautiful and tasty I'm sure you are more interested in what I put on it. Salad dressings are full of fat and sugar. I don't use sugar ever. Fat I use sparingly when not on detox week. This salad dressing is fat free and fresh.

Citrus Detox Dressing

1 lemon
1 lime
1 clove garlic
1/2 tsp coriander
ground black pepper to taste

I juiced both the lemon and the lime and put into a glass measuring cup. I finely chopped the garlic and added it and the other spices. I added 1/2 cup filtered water and mixed gently.

For a light dressing while not on detox you could use this as is or you could add 1/3 cup olive oil.