Brunch #40 @ Sun In Bloom – A Delicious Fall Brunch Menu, Courage, Growth & a Powerful Shift.

While in savasana in my Bikram yoga class today, I was crafting a letter to my teacher, who I hold as one of my most influential teachers.  Every time I am in her class, I reflect on the space of encouragement, truth, and unconditional love she holds for her students that ignited my flame back in 2005.  6 months later I quit my job, gave up my NYC apartment, unloaded all of my belongings, and packed 2 duffle bags for my journey to LA where I would learn from Bikram Choudhary.  It was the first journey in my life I’d embark on without a plan.  I only knew I’d be living and breathing yoga for 9 weeks.  It was a journey of letting go, releasing my story of trauma, choosing sobriety, all in hopes that I could learn how to love myself. 

Almost 7 years later (today), I walk out of my loving teacher’s class and she thanks me with deep gratitude for being a seed of courage for her – for my understanding of what this means, how the courage takes root, feels, and manifests deep within the fibers of our being. 

I giggled and shared with her that throughout the class I was reflecting on how she feeds me courage.  And here’s just another event in my life that reminds me how we are all one.  When we are open to each other, we are each other’s teachers.  We are mirrors for one another.  If we are willing to release our fear to stand in our own truth, I believe love becomes abundant, accessible, and spills into every facet of our life.  With this vulnerability, we begin to love ourselves.

My goal was to go 60 days on just juice.  After 31 days I stopped counting.  I think I juiced for 35 – 40 days.  During the juice feast, I experienced profound shifts.  I’ve maintained almost a daily Bikram yoga practice.  I’ve been making it to the gym 3-5 times a week.  I’m nourishing my body from the inside out.  I’ve been in constant action.  My body is opening up.  Everyday in yoga, I’m in awe of my increased flexibility.  I recognize my reflection in the mirror.  The bags under my eyes are disappearing.  I feel reconnected to my faith.  I feel more trusting to the process.  There has been a letting go of fear.  I’m more at ease.  Everyday challenges no longer throw me off.  I feel deeply connected to my gratitude.  Where I’d normally turn my back and run, I’ve stood in my discomfort and created an opportunity to grow.  I know I have a lot of love to share and I’m not holding back.  I also allow myself to feel my pain and move through it until I come back to that special sweet spot of unconditional love… for myself and others.

My intention for just drinking juice was to create space for me to come back to feeling aligned and confident with my purpose.  I did not want it to become a count down to the day I could chew solid food again and treat myself to something sweet.  It was about creating positive patterns; re-training myself to nourish my body, mind, and spirit and drinking the magic juice.

So, when I started to experience some weakness in my yoga practice and with my workouts somewhere around day 35-40, I decided to transition slowly back into consuming food with fiber – first with just juice and shakes.  Today, I’m drinking 1-2 quarts of green juice everyday with a midday meal.  My body craves our Sweet Lady Green and I now treat myself like a Sun In Bloom guest and put my order in for a week supply of juice every Monday.  I know this juice is a key to me living my best life possible.

And just after I made this contract with myself to drink at least 2 organic cold-pressed Norwalk green juices everyday, I received an email from my special teacher requesting to purchase a month of Sun In Bloom’s green juices to support her in drinking 2 a day.  Yes, we are all connected. 

We look forward to seeing you this weekend for brunch or whenever the time is right for you to return to Sun In Bloom.  We are always here for you.  And, now open 7 days a week!

Wishing you abundant joy, pleasure, and love in your life.

Love,

Aimee

Brunch #39 @ Sun In Bloom – Magic, Synergy, Green Juice & a Record Breaking Saturday!

 Written Sunday, October 2, 2011

I’ve been meaning to sit down all week to construct this newsletter, but I’ve been in a magical dance of being present… allowing each moment to move me forward.
 
I’ve also been juice feasting and on a journey I refer to as the HOT Raw and Juicy Adventure and somewhere on day 35 or so. I’ve lost count.
 
In my latest blog post, I wrote about the challenges I faced when Sun In Bloom’s head line chef was out sick for a week. I shared how I steered my challenges from self-sabotage to opportunity.
 
For me, everyday is a challenge. But, what I’ve finally come to feel deeply re-connected to is how much joy, happiness, and freedom I feel when I choose to see all the possibility and opportunity that is presented in every challenge. 
 

Brunch Tart – Butternut Squash, Shitake Bacon, Caramelized Onions

I remain very committed to my juicing, but I’m also super dedicated to Sun In Bloom and my commitment to offer the most delicious experience. I guess you can say I’m an extremist. When I do something, it’s ALL or NOTHING.
 
So, with the shift in seasons, I’ve been working on some new recipes and dishes. When I decided to taste a recipe, for a moment, I felt that I sabotaged the juice feast. Like I was no longer clean and would have to start all over again…
 
But something deep within me profoundly shifted and I started relating to myself in loving, gentle, and accepting way. It was in this shift that I decided I can continue my juice feast while tasting recipes when it’s appropriate and necessary. I can continue detoxifying my body and mind, and experience all the healing from this juice feast even if I have to taste a soup recipe or new sauce. This shift from living with an extremist perspective (all or nothing) to being gently and loving with myself marks an evolution in the fabric of my being. I really feel that I am turning the page to a new and exciting chapter of my life. Thank you Sweet Lady Green Juice! (btw, I created a new recipe with green apple and lime – SO delicious!)  
 

Today was a record breaking Saturday at Sun In Bloom. We now have to maintain a wait list for brunch!
 
I can’t explain the depth of gratitude I feel for what I witness happening at the restaurant. I can see the vibrations of our guests rise in reflection to their experience eating our food. And the love and gratitude we feel from each guest is fueling Sun In Bloom to go higher and give it all back in the food we create and serve. Together we create this amazing synergy. Thank you for participating and sharing your energy with us. Together, we can create change in our world and support each other to live our best lives possible. 
 
If it’s been a while since you’ve dined at Sun In Bloom, I hope you will come soon to say hello and witness the magic that is being created. 
 

Also, if you are interested in learning more about cleansing, my wonderful friend John Rosania of Dr. Junger’s CLEAN team and I are going to lead another CLEAN cleanse. Please email me (info@suninbloom.com) if you’d like to join us. It’s a 21-day cleansing program that includes food, shakes, and juice. 
 
CLEAN is the cleansing program that I attribute to saving my life when I hit rock bottom. I found it to be completely accessible at a time when my attention was focused on how sick and tired I felt and there was no hope. My experience with the CLEAN cleanse gave me my health back and helped me see that if I make my health my number one priority, everything else in my life will fall into place. 
 
Love, Aimee
 
p.s. If you are on Facebook, please support us by LIKING our page. You can also follow Sun In Bloom on Twitter @suninbloom. 
This is where I share everyday news and pictures of our dishes.  I’m having lot of fun connecting with like-minded people and meeting wonderful new friends.  It would be fun to connect with you here too!  

Brunch #34 – Nourish Body & Soul

I can’t believe I am writing a newsletter for brunch #34… which means there are only 18 brunches that remain in 2011!  So, I suppose it’s only fitting I share with you the intention I’m setting for a journey I’ll embark on next week with my friend Susan Scharf MD.  She is a local integrative practicioner specializing in functional medicine.

I’ve had a very deep desire to do a juice feast for several years.  And I go back and forth on this idea all the time… is it really healthy?  Is it possible to do this being I am the chef of a restaurant?  Am I just setting myself up for failure?  Am I just looking for a quick fix?  Is this really the example I want to set?

Excuses, justification, and a million reasons later why I should not do this, I’ve come to the clear and confident decision that I am going to embark on a 60 day juice feast.  Yes, a feast – 4 quarts of organic juice daily.  (I will be doing this extended cleanse with supplements and the guidance of a physician.) 

I’ve talked about the aches and pains of opening a restaurant, my frustrations with my personal health, and the sacrafices I’ve made and how it’s affected how I am experiencing my life.  My focus has been on the eight hundred backward steps I’ve taken and how hard it’s going to be to put my life back on track to my dreams.

But, yet another wonderful epiphany led me to realize all of my efforts have moved me forward.  Yes, I have some battle scars from falling, but every time I fall I get back up and continue on my journey.

What I now see with so much clarity is that this process of opening Sun In Bloom has just been another life test that has helped further peel away layers that cushion me from facing the deepest traumas, fear, and emotional pain eye-to-eye.

 

I did a 30 day juice feast several years ago and it refreshed me and set me up for some of the most wonderful years of my life.  In fact, I am 100% confident Sun In Bloom was born because I was in the midst of a very deep cleanse that involved juice, raw food, and daily meditation – my whole focus was to practice being present every day, every moment.  It brought me into a truly extraordinary place.  But, for some reason, I’ve been terrified to fulfill my deep desire to complete a 60-day juice feast.

So, now that I’m aware of the obstacle, I’m ready to do this.  And, it’s going to be fun! 

My intention is to bathe every cell in a green alkalizing juice bath – beautiful minerals and nutrients supporting them to release toxins and preform all of their functions optimally. 

My intention is to take the time to lovingly nourish my body. 

My intention is to sit with anxiety, feel the anxiety rise in my body, and sit with it until it passes. 

My intention is to truly reconnect to my faith in this journey and create space for the opportunity to live the most extraordinary life possible and experience optimal health. 

Dr. Susan Scharf and I are both passionate women and have invested the majority of our lives in taking care of others.  We’ve both known for a very long time that we have to invest in ourselves as much as we do in others, but this is always easier said than done.  Maybe you can relate?  So, we decided to take an oath and support each other on the journey. I will be juicing and Susan is transitioning into eating only raw foods for 60 days. If you have any desire to experience the true healing from cleansing, please join us for any length of time you want.  I work with people individually to design 3-10 day cleanses.  Everyone who has done a Sun In Bloom cleanse has had a remarkable experience and I know you will also feel empowered to live your best life possible too.

 

Sun In Bloom will have a happy hour to kick-off our exciting journey with samples of the juice we will nourish ourselves with.  Come wish us luck at Sun In Bloom, next Friday, August 26 from 5-7 PM as we embark on this adventure.  

In the meantime, treat yourself, family and friends to a nourishing brunch at Sun In Bloom.  It is our absolute pleasure serving you.

Love,
Aimee