The Art of Stirring

Day 4

Qi Kong with the sleeping dog. The shake was green and we stirred away in a type of rotation meditation. Still not so hungry and pretty energized. The body is amazing. More seminars on nutrition and natural medicine, followed by, yes, you guessed it, stirring and sipping a juice or two.

The wonderful cook, Adriana, an Argentinian woman with more energy than everyone in the room put together, ushered us into a cooking demo room. There she passed around a bowl of dehydrator-roasted almonds, a nutty date and seed snack, plus crackers.

Hey, what about the juice fast? Can we eat this? Should I eat this? By the way people were inhaling the stuff, I realized it was not an issue; the bowls would be empty before they reached poor me. But they were not empty and yes, I grabbed. What a feeling to crunch on a nut. It may have been the best almond I ever tasted! 

She made us the most divine food imaginable, preparing cookie dough that was sugar free, egg free and flour free in under five minutes. It was so good, you could eat it raw; or wait 24 hours for it to cook in the dehydrator.

We also learned about sprouting lentils, seeds, wheat, and almost anything that can be grown in the ground. The sunflower sprouts were inhaled by our enthusiastic crowd as if they were potato chips. Ditto the broccoli sprouts. She had a tray of kale sprouts still in the earth and I was just waiting for the woman in the front row to start pulling it from its roots then dangle it down her throat.

Arrived ready for juice only to see that we were having steaming hot soup! Guess the juice fast is officially over-this time round. I really could have done with more juice but happily downed three bowls of vegetable soup. We did it!

This has been a life-changing experience. My husband didn’t kill me…but my kids will when I get home. And if I do decide to buy that dehydrator, there will be repercussions on my poor family.

I am glad I went and feel stronger and more capable of adding new, healthful changes as well as subtracting some nasty habits.  Just got to get my buffet-loving biking friends to come along next time.

Thank you to Mitzpe Alumot's inspiring staff and to our well-intentioned, supportive fellow juicers.  There are many more activities and workshops as well as spa treatments that I did not mention as one just can’t do it all and must save time to relax in the hammock (and blog).

The Israelis who, just a few days ago were crunching sprouts with their eyes nervously glued to lettuce leaves are now the best of best friends, hugging and giggling with each other, sharing photos of of their kids and running from room to room, as if they were at sleepover camp. 

As for me, Paris and Barcelona and Prague will have to wait; I am on a different sort of journey.

Read more: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3.