My (21st) First Day of School

(If you count pre-school, kindergarten, elementary, high school, college, and post-bacc.)

So… yesterday was my first day of class. As you can imagine, I was nervous! I didn’t know anyone, and had no idea what to expect. But… it was amazing. And exciting! And inspiring! My professors are all fascinating, accomplished social workers with a lot of experience and wonderful stories. My fellow students, too, have wide-ranging backgrounds and I think we’re going to have a really interesting time together.

I’m taking 5 classes, and have 21 hours of field work a week (you need 1200 “field hours” working in different social work agencies to complete your MSW), so it’s going to be intense. I have a LOT of reading and writing, and want to start the semester with a good foundation in terms of organization. Which is why Saturday night found me hunched over journal articles (which I can download onto my iPad!) scribbling notes. But it was fun .

My schedule’s a little crazy- there are some days I’ll be out of the house from 7 AM – 10 PM. It’s hard to plan and pack meals and snacks for that long! I made another meal plan this week, and even if I don’t stick to it exactly, it takes a little of the guesswork out of trying to figure out what to eat when my eyelids are drooping and I’m just staring aimlessly into the fridge.

I’m on my second- and final- week of the Conscious Cleanse, and I’m still feeling really good! My stomach “issue” flared back up again for a couple days last week, but it’s passed once again. (Pre-cleanse, I can’t recall a single day without it.) I went to see my GI last week, and after asking a lot of questions about my habits, food intake, and general health, she’s scheduling me for two procedures: an endoscopy and a colonoscopy. (When you have ongoing tummy troubles, you kind of get used to talking about it and it’s not so embarrassing!) I’m not exactly looking forward to the procedures themselves, but I do really want to figure out what’s up. The doctor thought it was telling that the problem initially went away when I eliminated gluten, but it could be a variety of other things as well. She did, however, say it was VERY IMPORTANT to eat a small amount of gluten every day, like a slice of bread (I’ve been eating a serving of Kashi’s whole wheat pita chips), so there will be enough gluten in my colon for the test to pick up.

Anyway, back to the (anti-) cleanse! I’ve learned a lot of great recipes- that don’t take a lot of time to make- that I’ll definitely be keeping in regular rotation. I’ve also loved starting most mornings with a green smoothie. We don’t have a blender- although I would love a Vitamix, I’ve heard this one is a great (cheaper) alternative- so I’ve been making everything in the food processor. Seriously, that thing gets worked out at least twice a day! Anyway, the green smoothies are a nice way to get colorful nutrients in in the morning, and it sets a nice tone for the day. This one had romaine, mango, cilantro, banana and water.

I’ve been making a great Niçoise salad based on a recipe from the handbook. I’d like to say I’m pretty good at coming up with salad ideas on my own, but this one has a really fantastic dressing that riffs on my old mustard/oil/vinegar standby. (Hint: add herbs!)

B and I are both in love with their recipe for raw broccoli soup. It requires almost no work and no crazy ingredients. It was incredibly creamy, and will fool anyone! B thought it was loaded with dairy.

The cauliflower mashers are a nice comfort food. The base is a mix of cauliflower and cashews, the topping a “gravy” made almost exclusively from mushrooms. While it’s meant to be prepared raw, I steamed the cauliflower a little to make it a little more B-happy and feel more like a dinner suitable for a Breaking Bad marathon on a cozy night in.

Although I still have a week left on the Conscious Cleanse (I started late), the formal event ended this past Sunday. As a thank-you, and to encourage new members, they’re offering $25 off new members here (enter code RFCC912). If you do sign up, please let me know and tell me how you like it!

Off to study! Hope your week is off to a great start.