Once a year, just before my June birthday, I complete a detox. It began as a way to enter a new year feeling my best, taking a pause and being more conscious about what I consume, and it’s become a spring ritual that I’ve continued. I detox to let my digestive system rest and my body restore.

Whether you are committing to a plant based diet or you are wanting to add more vegetables to your plate, pairing certain foods can help you make the most of what you are eating.

In The Light of the World, Elizabeth Alexander’s beautiful memoir borne from the sudden loss of her husband, she describes the Eritrean coffee ritual, or in her words “the most sacred home ritual there was”:

I’m often asked about my decision to be vegan, usually from well-meaning acquaintances who would like to make healthier dietary choices. The most common questions revolve around what I eat, how I dine at restaurants, and perhaps the most common refrain, how I exist without cheese. Though I’ve been

I didn’t start gardening until I moved to Brooklyn two summers ago. In Florida, I had a large yard with plenty of room for a multi-rowed garden, but it is here, where I walk by restaurant after restaurant, multiple grocery stores and bodegas, and with barely any yard space that I share with 5 other apartments that I decided to actually do it.

One of my regular weekly pleasures is Saturday morning yoga in the gardens of a local museum. But even the warmth of the sun and the crows of the roosters (yes, roosters) cannot prevent my grimace when the instructor directs us to move into navasana (boat pose). I use a 6mm thick, Manduka mat, yet I still shimmy as my tailbone takes much of my weight and swear that I can feel the concrete beneath me. I'm the yoga version of The Princess and the Pea, but without the reveal of my royal identity at the end.