On Saturday night, we broke our fast for just. one. meal.

Prior to venturing into the juice fast, we bought tickets to a rooftop Sunset Dessert Party fundraiser hosted by our friend Zach to support our friend Melanie in her run for the American Heart Association at the Chicago Marathon this fall. Did I mention she also goes by “Chef” Melanie, as in mad-skills-with-food Melanie? Yeah. Her victuals of choice are gelato-themed pairings and she owns and runs Gelato Vero here in Chicago. Yeah, again. Commence the breaking of a 22-day fast.

We were lucky enough to have been invited to one of her underground dinners last Cinco de Mayo, and we have been avid fans of Melanie’s food and Melanie herself ever since. Saturday’s flavors of gelato and sorbet included watermelon rosemary, spiced cranberry, orange cardamom, and the most uniquely delicious: sweet corn gelato, which tasted exactly like salty, buttery, fresh corn on the cob … incredible and oh so impairing to mind-mouth coordination.

Back to the fact that we cheated: It’s all good. Interestingly, this served as a really informative experiment of sorts with unexpected results. As we drove to the event, Andy and I wondered if going back to the juice the following morning would prove excruciating once we had indulged in real food. Partway through the event, I leaned over to Andy and said “I kind of want some juice.” Andy’s response? “Me too!” Y’hear that? We both couldn’t wait to get back to juicing.

This is not to say the food and wine and gelato wasn’t delicious and fun – it’s just that we’ve settled into this comfortable zone of nutrition through juice. I cannot believe I just typed that. Anyone of you who knows me in real life is all “WTF times a million??!? Someone throw a beer in her face right now.” But it’s true. We’ve built a little juice love nest and we’re pretty happy here. Don’t get too worried – we are definitely also excited to work “real” food back into our daily lives. It’s a confusing time for us, like puberty or rumspringa. Oh my God, we’re Amish! (But not the totally fake kind – remind me to tell you about that sometime.)

Feelings and Things

• Still not downing enough water.
• Still sleeping like a baby.
• Had some concerns about becoming overly ketotic last week, so we picked up some ketone strips to pee on and test our ketone levels. We were slightly ketotic, which is okay for a little while if you have some cushion to lose (which Andy does not) and you’re not diabetic. But it is not something you want to ride on for too long. Andy has been having additional protein drinks, and with a little more nut milk it’s all under control.