Next week, Hazon’s staff is heading out to Fire Island with a van full of organic vegetables.  Those readers who are familiar with Hazon might not be too surprised by this statement.  But the circumstances of this particular trip are pretty extraordinary.  What are we doing?

We’re going cleansing. 

Over the last two years, Hazon’s ED, Nigel, has attended two “nourishment cleanses” - both held on the beautiful Mediterranean shores of Turkey and led by nourishment consultant and educator, Hale Sofia Schatz. 

Okay, I know that last sentence might have been a lot to swallow.  But I promise it will make more sense as you keep reading…

Schatz is the author of If the Buddah Came to Dinner: How to Nourish Your Body and Awaken Your Spirit. Her overarching thesis is that the physical body and the spiritual body are intertwined, and that damage or imbalance to one brings about damage and imbalance to the other. This isn’t a new idea - the Christian physiologists of the early 20th century (Sylvester Graham, W.K. Kellogg etc.), as well as many Eastern philosophies say a similar thing. But Hale’s writing touched on something that resonates deeply for me - the importance of thinking about our meals as true nourishment, as opposed to the fuel that propels us through our next appointment, meeting, or day.

It is too easy, she says, to fall into the trap of rushing meals, grabbing quick and pre-packaged foods, and eating at our desks or in the car rather than preparing a meal and sharing it with friends or family. As a result, many people end up (I know I do) - more often than they would like - eating unhealthy food that is damaging to our bodies in the long-term, that is often overly packaged, overly-processed, and ultimately, unsatisfying to anything other than the most rudimentary pangs of hunger.

I’m generally skeptical of any book that falls, even tangentially, into the self-help genre, but I learned a lot from If the Buddha Came to Dinner and frequently find myself skimming the back section of recipes for ideas. 

Truth be told, I’m also slightly skeptical about the idea of a “nourishment cleanse,” but am open to the experience.

Schatz’s cleanses, which Nigel attended and raved about, combine a specialized eating regimen with a series of sessions, led by Schatz, which delve into many of the topics she covers in her book.  The cleanse happens in several stages, cutting out dairy, sugar, alcohol, caffeine, and refined carbohydrates (e.g. pasta, bread etc.), and focusing on abundant vegetables and lean proteins from tofu, fish, or beans.  The first few days are the most bare-bones and designed to help the body cycle out stored toxins - though Nigel swears he never felt deprived of food during the cleanse.  As the cleanse progresses, simple carbohydrates (e.g potatoes) are slowly reincorporated to slowly transition the body back to full-spectrum eating.

(Hale Sofia Schatz)

As a gift to the staff, Nigel decided to bring Hale to Fire Island for a special Hazon staff cleanse.  During the cleanse, we will share meals, enjoy Fire Island’s beauty and beaches, and attend Hale’s sessions.  Our wonderful friend and natural foods chef, Linda Lantos, will prepare the meals during the weekend.  And before the cleanse, we will kasher the kitchen together in our Fire Island home* - how’s that for team building?  I’m told the process might take up to 10 hours - keep your eyes peeled for a Jcarrot post on our adventures in kitchen kashering! 

There are a few differences between our cleanse and the one that Nigel attended.  Perhaps most notably, since our cleanse will be over Shabbat, we will have challah (spelt) and wine for Friday night dinner and Shabbat lunch.  It will be interesting to note how the inclusion of these important ritual foods affects our cleanse experience.  I’m also looking forward to the ways in which the cleanse will impact the general feeling of Shabbat.  Keep an eye out for that future post as well…and if you see a large van filled with organic apples and a bunch of ragamuffin Hazon staffers barreling down 3rd Avenue on the way to the ferry, you’ll know what it is!

*Tuv Ha’Aretz Chair, Phyllis and her husband Marco have generously offered to let the Hazon staff stay in their home on Fire Island for the cleanse.  Thanks so much!!