I moved to New York
My name is Ashley and I’m a negligent blogger. I have been cooking new things without sharing; I went on a juice cleanse for two weeks; hells bells, I have been eating as a gluten-free vegan and only mentioned it in passing.
Before you give up hope on me, it’s worth letting you know that in addition to all these other things, I also got a job with Slow Food USA in Brooklyn! (And by job I mean internship for the fall.)
This time last year I was aboard a plane to the land down under. And this year, I’m on a plane again, but this time to a place that doesn’t require a passport: New York City. As I type, I’m actually en route (this was written Friday evening) to La Guardia via American Airlines (sigh, how I wish my beloved Air New Zealand did more flights within the U.S.).
Juicing
About a month ago, I picked up a Breville juicer, and it’s readily become the love of my life. If I could date it, I would. Seriously! Someday I’ll write a formal review of its performance, but I can summarize it with one very enthusiastic oh yeah!
I didn’t quite know what to expect, as I’ve only used one juicer previously, so learning the juicer language – i.e., centrifugal v. masticated – and coming through the various reviews took time, but in the end I'm very pleased. I even loaded up on natural healing books to help me identify which juices were best for certain ailments. Personally inspired by poor skin, I’ve been on a mission to juice regularly since UK raw chef, Russell James suggested I juice at lease once a week, as he cleared up his acne by adopting a raw food-only diet, along with a juice cleanse in the beginning. He advised checking out Jason Vale, another notable Brit who’s known as THE juice man. Jason has a 30-day clear skin routine posted for free (a relief considering most regimens I’ve found are costly).
While I didn’t adhere that closely to all 30 days of Jason’s clear skin program, I really like some of his juice/smoothie recipes and will continue to use them, cleanse or not.
Going dairy, soy & gluten-free:
Before starting the cleanse, a colleague told me how her gal pal eliminated dairy and gluten from her diet for 2-3 months and that really helped clear her skin up. Given this advice, my long standing curiosity whether or not I have a food allergy and the first few days of Jason’s cleanse consisting on juice-only, I figured it was a good opportunity to try and do some self allergen testing (I know...I'm too cheap to go visit an allergist, but in my defense they are expensive!).
I’m about a month in, and I suspect that gluten or wheat may be the culprit. Due to a weakness in self-control, I caved and chowed down items with both gluten and wheat in them (damn you oatcakes, why must you be so tasty) twice, which led to a lot of redness in the proceeding days both times.
Who knows, this is either a freak coincidence or ‘Freshly Vegetarian’ will soon be ‘Freshly Wheatless & Vegetarian’ :) Since I’m going to New York, I’m inclined to pursue a holistic physician there to help me diagnose what’s really going on.
Slow Food USA
The day after Labor Day will mark day one as an official Slow Foodie. 
xAlthough I’ve previously claimed this status given my approach to food, the fact that I will be working at the non-profit’s headquarters in DUMBO makes my involvement seem that much more real.
Since returning from Australia, I’ve spent my days pursuing opportunities that really inspire me—jobs I felt could make a difference in the way Americans eat. Was this lofty and cliché? Of course, but I didn’t – and don’t – care. Coveted commencement speakers are constantly preaching the importance of doing what you love, to somehow make a difference in the world, and suppose listening to them on repeat helped me realize that this was my thing, and not to give up.
To make a somewhat long story short, I got the media relations internship and will finally put that journalism degree (plus newspaper and radio experience) of mine to professional use. Note to self: wipe the dust off that AP Styleguide. It’s a short-term internship, so I’ll be pursuing my options when I get to New York to find full-time work once the Slow Food internship is over.
(By all means, if you have suggestions of organizations, farms or other opportunities to look into then please let me know).
In an ideal world, at some point in my life, I will do what I saw Jamie Oliver do in one of his Food Revolution episodes, where he goes into the elementary school and teaches kiddos about fruit and vegetables. There’s something about helping youngsters to understand what good food is, and how to have a healthy relationship with food that really revs my engine. I imagine it’s because I was clueless growing-up: we never had a garden, I was never shown anything in the kitchen and nearly everything I ate came out of a box or package. Needless to say the notion of fresh food was above and beyond how I saw food.
That about does it. Let me know if any of you know of any waitressing (a girl’s gotta eat) or subletting opportunities in New York. Until next time!
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Fortunately for me, I had several changes begin at once -- moving into a new apartment, promotion at work, actually utilizing my gym membership, quit drinking, you get the idea -- so ditching meat hardly seemed foreign and new, as everything at that time felt foreign and new.