Day 18

Last night was another long one.  I don't know what to do about Bo's sleep patterns.  Thankfully he was up at a decent hour so here's hoping we're getting back on track.  We are headed to the gym for Jodie's LAST CLASS.  (Oh, what will I do without my hero and inspiration???)  Then we are going downtown to the park to meet cousins and play in the fountains.  The heat should help take my mind off my migrating mentor...


Later... the water play really tired him out!  He took a fabulous nap.  Praying for a decent night's sleep!!!

Here's WHAT I ATE TODAY
Breakfast: coffee + green smoothie
On the way to meet the cousins I stopped and got a coffee from DD.  I could've gotten a smoothie, but didn't want to spend the money.  Of course, I was starving by the time we got home.  I'm thinking that if I do this cleanse again I might add a protein bar in after workouts.  It's so much easier and more portable.
Lunch: half a spaghetti squash + grapes + sf-chocolate pudding
Dinner: red pepper & avocado salad + roasted green beans + brown rice
Snack: yogurt + grapes + ground flax seed

Day 17 -

5 days left and feeling good.  My headache eventually went away yesterday; still not sure what triggered it but glad it's gone!  I didn't make it to the gym this morning, which always leaves me feeling disappointed.  Bowen has been way off schedule the past couple of days on naps and bedtime which is why we missed the gym today.


Here's WHAT I ATE TODAY
Breakfast: a green smoothie +  coffee
Snack: a banana
Lunch: half a spaghetti squash + butter, s/p
Dinner: sweet potato + zucchini, squash, onions
Snack: bananas + yogurt + decaf coffee

Day 15/16

Yesterday was Day 15, the start of the third and final week of the cleanse.  It was also the first day that I didn't get to post.  Being a mama is so special and it means putting the needs of my little one first.  Last night (which is when I usually find time to post) my little one needed me.  So, I held him tight and treasured the closeness because I know he is growing up quickly.

J-bo

So, a quick recap of week 2...
1) I love that J-bo is trying and eating healthy foods!  Since I began the cleanse 2 weeks ago he has asked for triple helpings of BROCCOLI and portabella mushrooms, tried asparagus, seaweed (not liked by either of us), protein muffins, fruit "leather", and green smoothies.  He still eats dessert after dinner (typically a cookie from Trader Joes or an ice cream cup), and gets to have fun treats like Trader Joe's "cheetos", cereal bars, and chocolate chip pancakes.  I don't know what he eats with his Grammie, but I've heard rumors of powdered doughnuts and reece's pieces.  He's a kid after all and eating is fun :)

Ninja Master Prep Blender

2) We got a new blender, a Ninja Master Prep!!  It's so cool...  Our local Big Lots had them very reduced - we paid under $30, typically closer to $100.  I just dump everything in and ta-da... it's blended.  Saves me so much time!!!
3) J-bird and I went to see The Dark Knight Rises.  LOVED IT!  Christian Bale (swoon).  Anne Hathaway (J-bird swoons).  Joseph Gordon-Levitt (swoon).  I have been a huge fan of the Batman franchise since I was a little girl - back to the Michael Keaton days.  I can remember my Grandfather (who passed away 2 years ago) taking me to see them - it was something special just the two of us did together.  Since I wanted to stick to the cleanse that meant no popcorn for me, so I brought my own snack - grapes and sugar-free lemonade.  It worked out perfectly and I didn't feel deprived or cheated on the movie experience.


DAY 16...
started off with another headache.  It was a long night with J-bo.  He had trouble going to sleep; it was an evening filled with tears and extra cuddles from Daddy and Mama.  By the time I got to bed I could feel the headache coming on; it got worse over-night.  J-bo woke frequently - crying or scratching at his miserable bug bites.  We have tried everything to keep the mosquitoes away - citronella candles, tiki torches, bug spray, treating the yard, etc.  The only thing that seems to help is staying inside, which just isn't possible when you're two.  Trying to take it easy today and drinking lots of fluids.

Here's WHAT I ATE TODAY
Breakfast: coffee + spinach/blueberry smoothie
Lunch: brown rice pasta + zucchini/squash + grapes + sf-vanilla pudding
Dinner: chicken breast + sweet potato
After dinner: decaf coffee + yogurt and a banana

Day 14

In an effort to keep my cravings at bay I added more carbs and rearranged my meals a little bit.  It seemed to help.  The brown rice pasta from Trader Joes was killa...  no, you read that right the first time.  I said "killa" :)  I had never tried any gluten-free pasta before and was really (pleasantly) surprised by how good it was!  So, give it a try.  I think you'll like it.  If you don't, I promise to come over and eat it all for you.  I'm nice like that.

Here's WHAT I ATE TODAY

Breakfast: coffee + peach smoothie (peach, spinach, protein powder, almond milk)

We went to Trader Joes after the gym this morning.  To "tide me over" until we got home for lunch, I stopped and got an iced coffee with light cream from Dunkin' Donuts.  Hey, Bo got donut holes, so I don't want to hear it...

Lunch:

Brown rice pasta + Roasted summer veggies

Ingredients

• Brown rice pasta
• 1 each - onion, squash, zucchini
• 1 Tablespoon each - rosemary, thyme, coconut oil
• 1 teaspoon each - salt and pepper
• cooking spray

Directions: 

1. preheat oven to 400*; spray baking dish
2. cook pasta according to package
3. cut veggies and place in baking dish; add spices
4. roast veggies for10-15 min or until tender
5. drain pasta and toss with veggies - drizzle with oil

Afternoon Snack: a green smoothie (avocado, spinach, protein powder, almond milk)

Dinner: Salmon + roasted green beans + tomato avocado salad + sugar-free vanilla pudding

Late-night snack: decaf coffee and half/half

Day 13

Emotional Cravings...
As I mentioned in an earlier post, this has been a hard week for me regarding cravings.  I'm not sure why this is happening, but after talking to several people I suspect that it is probably a psychological or neglected emotional issue that is surfacing as a result of the cleanse.  I know that might sound silly, but in my past I used food as a means to numb myself and ignore any problems that were too difficult or painful.  I replaced feeling with eating.  I can remember that the first time I ever used food this way I was 11 years old.  I can remember in detail the food that I ate and the reason I ate it.  I have been nurturing this behavior for almost 19 years, and it is a hard pattern to undo.  Now, I am learning to eat for my body's nutritional needs rather than because of how I'm feeling.  This is a big change - a huge life change - that is going to take time and perseverance.  
In the meantime, what do I do with these "cravings"?  My "guru", Jodie, said that because I'm exercising a lot I may actually not be eating enough.  She suggested adding another shake to my menu, which I have done today.  She said perhaps my body is also craving something specific?  She mentioned fats, but I'm thinking it could be related to carbs.  I ate some rice for dinner and I do feel a bit better.  Also, I made some decaf coffee for an after dinner "treat" which helps me not feel so deprived.  I guess I'll have to do some more research on the possibility of emotional issues in cleansing see what develops.  


So here's WHAT I ATE TODAY

Breakfast smoothie

• 2 scoops protein powder
• frozen strawberries, pineapple, and spinach
• water/ almond milk

Post-workout smoothie

• medium (32 oz) Lean-1 Vanilla smoothie from Smoothie King

Lunch

• red pepper
• 1/4 cup curried lentils
• peach

Afternoon snack

• 1 scoop protein powder + almond/coconut milk

Dinner

• left over salmon
• tomato avocado salad
• long grain and wild rice (not brown, but ehh)
• sugar-free vanilla pudding

After Dinner

• decaf coffee with half and half

Day 12

So, tonight I was facing another dinner out - a welcome change but also a challenge to choose wisely while my family indulged... mere inches from my face.  We are going out with my in-laws, and my only request was to know which restaurant we were going to beforehand so that I could research the menu for "cleanse friendly" options.  Through the process of elimination we decided on Mellow Mushroom - a selection that appealed to everyone and had several "cleanse friendly" options.  My nutritional/fitness guru -- Jodie --helped me select a delicious, cleanse-appropriate meal.  


Later...
I am learning that not every meal out has to be an indulgence.  There will certainly be times to eat what I WANT (and enjoy the heck out of it) rather than just what my body NEEDS, but tonight was not that night.  I ordered my salad and OMG it was soooooo good -- one of the best salads I have ever had.  It just goes to show that it IS possible to eat delicious, nourishing, clean foods even at a pizza place!!!

So, here's WHAT I ATE TODAY

Breakfast

• coffee
• chocolate pineapple smoothie - i tried a new one this morning and it was delicious!
• 2 scoops protein powder
• 1 tsp coco powder
• 6 chunks frozen pineapple
• 1 spinach cube
• 1/2 cup water
• 1.5 cups almond-coconut milk

Post-workout smoothie

• a second chocolate pineapple smoothie (see above)

Lunch

• roasted green beans
• sweet potato
• 1/2 c lentils

Dinner

• a build-your own salad from Mellow Mushroom
• a spinach base
• red peppers, tomatoes, mushrooms, and onion
• avocado and chicken for protein
• esperanza dressing on the side (half of one container)
• sugar-free, chocolate pudding cup 

Day 11

I am HALF WAY THROUGH the cleanse today!!!  Yesterday and today have been challenging regarding cravings.  Not sure why.  I'm not physically hungry, I just want to indulge.  I "started" today... ya know... girl stuff???  So, that is probably the root of my cravings.  Thankfully, since this is day 11, I get to add fish/chicken back into my diet.  I'll be honest; I haven't really missed it.  I debated on whether or not I would even add it back in today, but decided that a nice piece of salmon would be a very tasty addition to my dinner.  I am out of my Greek yogurt, so I'm wondering what I will do for my "dessert".  In the beginning, I did say that I would allow sugar-free desserts "as needed" so this might be a good night to enjoy some sugar-free jello pudding.

Here's WHAT I ATE TODAY
Breakfast 

• Coffee 
• Green Smoothie - avocado, spinach, protein powder, coconut milk, water

Post-Workout Snack

• Blue Smoothie - avocado, blueberries, protein powder, almond milk, water

Dinner

• sweet potato
• roasted green beans
• salmon
• pineapple

Dessert

• sugar-free chocolate Jello pudding

Day 10

Things are still going well...

Here's WHAT I ATE TODAY...

Breakfast: coffee & Green Smoothie

• half avocado
• 2 spinach cubes
• 2 scoops protein powder
• almond milk

Post-Workout Lunch

• curried lentils and brown rice

Afternoon Snack

• 1/2 cup almond butter banana ice cream
• 2 scoops protein powder
• almond milk

Dinner

• this avocado tomato salad -- it was really quite a delicious and refreshing combination and very easy
• roasted asparagus tossed with coconut oil and sea salt

Dessert
Ok, here's the first thing that I have not liked... the almond butter banana ice cream.  I really wanted to like it!  Imagine it - sweet, creamy, guilt-free ice cream...  oh sorry, was I drooling?  I consider myself a fan of the banana -- banana bread, peanut butter on bananas, bananas in cereals, plain bananas - all good.  I'm also a big fan of nut butters - peanut, cashew, almond, etc.  This particular combination just did not taste good to me, and I wasn't crazy about the texture either (which I liken to frozen baby food).  I added some shredded coconut to disguise the mushiness, but it just couldn't revive my interest or my taste buds.  I could probably have gotten it down if I had added a bunch of chocolate chips and whipped cream, but that kinda defeats the purpose.  So I will either toss it (great, there goes 4 bananas) or try to incorporate it into my smoothies.  Instead I went with diced peaches in yogurt/coconut milk and sprinkled with ground flax seed.

Day 9

I got some encouraging comments at the gym this morning.  Two different people approached me with, "You really look like you've lost some weight already" and "What day of the cleanse are you on?  I can already see changes in your body."  I love my gym because the women there are so encouraging and helpful.  It's not catty or competitive - unless it's in good fun or with yourself.  Part of me wants to hop on the scale to see if my results can be measured in numbers, but I know that there are other ways to measure success that the scale.

Here's WHAT I ATE TODAY
A Green Breakfast smoothie: 

• 2 spinach cubes
• 1/2 avocado
• 2 scoops protein powder
• water/almond milk

Post-Workout Smoothie : [same as above]


Lunch: 
a cup and a half of lentil "soup" - I modified this recipe from Dr. Cindy.  I added tons of fresh, diced tomatoes from our Papa's garden which gave me an abundance of liquid, so I left out the coconut milk and cooked it down a bit.  It was better than the last batch and really held me over until dinner time.


Dinner: 

• roasted asparagus
• avocado chutney adapted from this recipe at Mommypotamus: I steamed one red bell pepper for 3-4 min, tossed it with one avocado, a squeeze of lime juice, coconut oil, cumin, garlic, salt, and pepper - mmm mmmm tasty
• a small bowl of lentils

Dessert: 
I made the Peanut Butter Banana "Ice Cream" from Chocolate-Covered Katie.  You can find the recipe here.  However, it wasn't frozen enough by the time I was ready to eta it, so I ended up going with my fruit and yogurt/coconut milk and it was as good as ever.  I'll give the "ice cream" a try tomorrow.

Day 8

On the weekends it is definitely harder to stay true to the cleanse.  We don't usually have much of a schedule  which makes eating healthy food a bit more challenging.  Jay-bird and I were baby-free for dinner (thanks, Grammie!), so we went out.  He graciously agreed to try the cafe at Whole Foods (which a friend recommended as an option for a local, "clean" restaurant).  That was a big deal for my meat-and-potatoes husband!!!  I ordered a giant salad and my eyes were definitely bigger than my stomach.  Everything looked so fresh and tasty!  I think all the salad ingredients were "cleanse friendly" with the exception of the cottage cheese which I used in place of a dressing.  I also spent a lot of time looking for a drink.  I could've just had water, but I was in the mood for something fun.  I searched all the labels and came up with fresh squeezed OJ.  I was craving lemonade, but all their options were loaded with added sugar (think 26 grams!), so I opted for the least processed food with no added sugar - the ingredients listed were "oranges".  I would probably bring my own drink next time or just have water.  Jay-bird had a "black and blue" burger with a side of fries.  He looked very content and his burger looked grilled to perfection :)


Here's WHAT I ATE TODAY
Breakfast

• coffee
• smoothie

1. 2 scoops protein powder
2. almond milk
3. 2.5 spinach cubes
4. 2 T almond butter
5. 1 banana

Lunch

• sliced tomato
• roasted asparagus, smidge of butter
• yellow bell pepper

Afternoon snack/smoothie

• strawberries
• almond milk
• 2 scoops protein powder

Dinner: Whole Foods salad bar

Dessert:
I've been meaning to take a picture of this "dessert".  It looks kinda soupy here, but the yogurt/coconut milk blend to make a soft pudding consistency.  The apple gives it crunch and the flaxseed gives it texture.  I added the coconut flakes this time and it gave the dish another layer of crunchy goodness.  

• an apple, chopped
• 2 T ground flaxseed
• 2 T dried coconut flakes
• 1/4 c each of plain, non-fat Greek yogurt and coconut milk

Day 7

Caffeine...  As week one of my cleanse ends I'm realizing more and more just how addicted I am.  This realization comes in the form of another headache.  It started last night and persisted into the morning, but went away after I drank my morning coffee.  A strict cleanse does not allow for coffee or dairy (I use half and half in my coffee), but I knew I wasn't ready for the hardcore version.  I've got an exuberant 2-year-old, a busy husband, and a host of other daily things that need my attention...  So, for now I am thankful for my morning coffee and anticipating a reduction in physical symptoms as my body adjusts.

Here's a breakdown of week one:
The Good

1. This week has not been as hard as I was anticipating.  I have really enjoyed researching & coming up with different recipes that cleanse and nourish my body.  
2. I decided not to weigh this week.  I figured that regardless of what the scale said I would continue cleansing because I am not just dieting, I am changing my life.  
3. I "feel" smaller, especially around my middle.  I don't know if it is psychological or reality, but it feels good so I'll take it!

The Bad

1. The headaches are no fun, but they are manageable.
2. This one could be good or bad.  I'm realizing that I have not been kind to my body in the past.  I have been eating according to what I want not what my body needs.  I believe there will come a time for more balance; time for including things that I may want like birthday cake, a special meal with family, or a glass of wine with friends. But for right now I am content to be where I am on my journey.

Here's WHAT I ATE TODAY
Breakfast:

• coffee
• a green smoothie
• 2 spinach cubes
• 1/2 avocado
• 2 scoops whey protein powder
• 1.5 c almond milk

Post-workout:

• green smoothie (same as before)

Snack:

• banana with almond butter (we were babysitting at a friends house so I made do with what I had available)

Dinner:

• 1 c lentils
• 1/2 c brown rice (normally you are encouraged to eat EITHER brown rice OR lentils on any given day, but I didn't eat very much earlier in the day and I was HUNGRY... so, I did what worked for me.  Better than the Chick fil A we picked up for Bo or the tatertots the hubs made!)
• left over portabella mushroom 

"Dessert":

• half cup each: plain, non-fat Greek yogurt and coconut milk
• 2 peaches (diced and partially frozen)
• 2 T ground flaxseed

It's almost 6 PM and I'm still headache free...  yay!

Day 6 Cleansing

Yesterday (day 5) started off GREAT but ended pretty blah.  Bo took a short nap that afternoon which gave me less time to get things done and made him extra grumpy.  By dinner time my patience was wearing thin and by bed time I had developed a pretty good headache.  I don't know if it was the stress of the day, the extra protein (double scoops of whey powder), the psyllum husk capsules before each meal (for a good internal scrubbing), or all the Crystal Light lemonade...  It could've also been the time I spent on Jacob's Ladder (since I haven't done that in about a week)...  Hard to tell.  This morning (day 6) I still have a bit of tension in my neck and shoulders and scalp, but I'm headed to the gym for a workout and then some yoga - so hopefully that will help me de-stress and detoxify.

Later...

The yoga definitely helped de-stress my body.  My headache is gone.  Yay!  After a trip to Costco I made some red pepper soup for dinner tonight!  It's an original carolinamombo recipe and you can get it below :)

Here's WHAT I ATE TODAY

Breakfast smoothie: 

• 7 frozen strawberries
• 2 spinach cubes
• 2 scoops protein powder
• 1/2 c water
• 1 c almond milk

Post-workout snack: 

• small (20 oz) vanilla Lean-One smoothie from Smoothie King 

Lunch: 

• red peppers
• peach
• 1 c lentils + a smidge of coconut milk and plain non-fat Greek yogurt

Dinner: 

• grilled portobella mushroom
• homemade red pepper soup 
• ingredients: 3 red peppers, 2 onions, 2 beefsteak tomatoes, coconut oil (2 T), spices to taste (I did about a T of each cumin, garlic, oregano, and then salt/pepper to taste)
• directions:
1. chop all veggies
2. put chopped veggies in a large pot with coconut oil and spices; stir
3. cook, cook, cook (probably an hour) on medium heat, stirring as needed
4. blend with Magic Bullet or other blending apparatus 
5. add a dolop of plain, non-fat Greek yogurt (like Fage) and enjoy!

"Dessert":

• 2 peaches, chopped 
• 1/4 each coconut milk and greek yogurt
• 2 T ground flax seed

Day 5

So it's been another good day.  I've felt almost euphoric at times, and I definitely have more energy.  For example, by dinner time I am usually in a mental fog and exhausted -- could literally put my head on the dinner table and take a nap!  I'm usually craving caffeine in the form of a diet dr pepper or diet coke, but knowing that it will mess up my night time sleep.  It's my daily Catch 22...  But, last night was great!  I was not at all exhausted and today I have felt better able to multi-task in my home - which means things are cleaner and more organized, which means I have more time to spend with my family and THAT makes me a happy girl :)

So, here's WHAT I ATE TODAY
Lemon water (I forgot to mention earlier that I sqeeze half a lemon into some water first thing when I wake up.  I think it's pretty gross, but I've heard it's cleansing.)
Coffee with half-and-half
Breakfast smoothie:

• 2 scoops whey protein powder
• 1/4 avocado
• 2 spinach cubes (the kind I blended up and froze myself)
• almond milk, about 1 cup
• a handful of frozen blueberries

Lunch smoothie:

• 1 spinach cube
• 1/4 avocado 
• 2 scoops whey protein powder 
• half frozen banana 
• 1-2 T almond butter, approx
• almond milk, about 1 to 1.5 cups

Snacks:

• red pepper slices
• tomato slices
• cucumber sticks
• 2 apples, diced + 1/4 c each of coconut milk and plain non-fat Greek yogurt + 2 T ground flaxseed (this is yummy like a dessert!)

Dinner:

• 1 cup lentils (yay, I can finally eat them!!!)
• steamed broccoli
• sliced tomato

Day 4 Cleanse

Today I woke up feeling like a rock star.  My mouth is hurting less which has allowed me to expand my menu a bit by adding in some raw veggies.  I've had more energy and more patience with my little fella (which makes everybody happy) and feel clearer mentally.

I'm also renewed in my resolve to shed weight and to be fit and healthy.  This happened when a good friend of mine was asked to teach a fitness class at the gym.  She's my best friend so I am thrilled for her.  She has a stellar personality and an infectious energy.  She also has a way of making people feel at ease, so she would make a great instructor!!  My biggest struggle has always been my diet.  I carry my weight in my middle which is not attractive and is a direct result of the food I eat.  Although I believe that I am as strong (or stronger) physically as my friend, I do not look as good/lean as she does and I do not have her energy (which may or may not be why she was offered the opportunity and I wasn't).  I celebrate and congratulate my friend in her success.  She deserves it!  And she has inspired me to be a better version of myself... no, the BEST version of myself - starting with this cleanse.  So, here's to getting shredded , y'all :)

WHAT I ATE TODAY


Breakfast Smoothie:

• 1/2 avocado
• spinach
• 4 strawberries
• 1/2 c water
• 1/2 c coconut milk
• 1/2 c almond milk
• 1 scoop whey protein powder

Lunch Smoothie:

• 1/2 c greek yogurt
• 1/2 c almond milk
• 1/2 c water
• 2 T almond butter
• 2 T wheat germ
• 1/2 frozen banana 

Snack:

• raw orange and yellow bell peppers
• raw cucumber

Dinner:

• 1/2 c brown rice
• steamed asparagus
• spinach pesto - (I modified the recipe to be more cleanse friendly) 2 c spinach, 1/4 c evoo or evco, 1 T basil, 1 T garlic, 1 T lemon juice, 2 T wheat germ, 1/4 tsp each salt and pepper
• sliced tomato

Snack:

• 1/4 c non-fat, plain, Greek yogurt
• 1/4 c coconut milk
• 1 apple, chopped
• 2 T wheat germ

Day 3 Cleanse

Today I have been tired and hungry.  My mouth is still hurting which makes it hard to eat (not to mention hard to WANT to eat) healthy, crunchy veggies.  All I really want is a warm slice of bread with honey or some macaroni and cheese.  Oh, well.  I'm sticking with it in spite of...

Here's what I ate today
Breakfast: a banana and a glass of almond milk
Lunch: left overs (steamed sweet potato, smidge of butter, steamed green beans, and a half cup of long grain rice)
Snack: smoothie (1 cup coconut milk, half banana, blueberries, spinach, 2 T wheat germ)
Dinner: 1 avocado and steamed broccoli tossed in a bit of coconut oil
Snack: peach smoothie (almond milk, peach, plain non-fat yogurt)

Day 2 Cleanse

DAY ONE SUMMARY

The Good:

• I made it through day one!  Hey, that in itself is an accomplishment - especially when your family is eating cinnamon chip muffins for breakfast and the last chocolate chip cookie is staring you down from it's perch on the kitchen counter... curse you sugary goodness.  Don't worry, I didn't give in to my cravings.  Yay me!

• I enjoyed the food that I ate.  No, really.  It was all tasty tasty.

• I slept great last night.  Hooray!  

• I felt like a rock star for making the commitment and sticking to it.

The Bad:

• I was a tad bit grumpy in a pretty foul mood.  I think I got overly hungry at one point because I found that if I kept up with my eating (especially protein) that I felt better and my mood improved, much to the appreciation of my husband!

• Last night my stomach felt very bloated (probably from all the fiber -- what my Grandmother would call "roughage") but that passed over night as did a trip to the bathroom (tmi?)

• I was very tired.  A fact that has carried over into today.  My workout was extra difficult and I just felt all-around beat.

TODAY (Day 2)

What I ate:
OK.  Really quickly...  I started this cleanse in the middle of some painful bad luck.  I bit my tongue and got a "lie" bump.  Ouch, right?!  Overcompensating, I bit the other side and got another bump...  *sigh*  I like to think that I have a high tolerance for pain.  I mean I gave birth to a 9.4lb baby naturally...  I kill myself at the gym 6 days a week.  I was a teacher.  I'm a wife (haha) and a mom...  So, anyway, I think I'm pretty tough.  (Maybe I'm just kidding myself???)  Regardless, these two little bumps are debilitating!  I mean really painful.  So painful that I am having to modify my menu...  like the wuss that I apparently am...  OK, on to the actual food.

• Breakfast: coffee and a smoothie (almond milk, greek yogurt, whey protein powder, spinach, and blueberries)
• Lunch: last night I made some lentils with this recipe.  I was very excited to have them for lunch, but they were too spicy and rather painful to my sensitive mouth.  Instead I had a banana and made another smoothie. I have to say that it is the best smoothie I have ever made.  So cool and creamy and satisfying! 

My Green Smoothie: 

half of an avocado, almond milk (approximately 1 - 1.5 cups), spinach (earlier in the week I blended up spinach and almond milk and froze it in ice cube trays for easy access to green smoothies.  I got the idea here and modified it), 2 T wheat germ, 1/4 cup of greek yogurt

• Snack: Pumpkin Smoothie (3T pumpkin, 1 c almond milk, 3 T greek yogurt, 1 t vanilla extract, 1 T almond butter) - not the best 
• Dinner: a steamed sweet potato with organic butter from grass-fed cows and steamed green beans with olive oil
• Snack: Strawberry Smoothie (1/4 c full-fat coconut milk, 1/4 c water, 1/2 c almond milk, 4 frozen strawberries, and 1 scoop whey protein powder)

Now, I'm off to bed... Night!

Day 1 Cleanse

I'm beginning a new adventure of sorts.  Today I am starting a 21-day cleanse based on the Standard Process Cleanse (SPC), and thought that this would be a good place to stay accountable by cataloging my ups and downs, the foods I eat, and (hopefully) the progress I make.  




Why Cleanse?
There as many reasons to cleanse as there are people who cleanse (ok, maybe not that many, but there are a lot of good reasons).  You can find out more here.  Some of the more popular reasons are as follows: 

• eliminate toxins
• weight loss
• increased energy/vitality
• better digestion
• less bloating
• clearer skin and shinier hair
• better sleep
• clearer thinking
• disappearance or lessening of previous conditions (acne, arthritis, stress, etc)

I have been resistant to cleansing in the past for several reasons...

1. The truth is that I'm pretty lazy (there, I said it).  Some might say "busy" (and while that may also be true, I usually feel like I can barely keep up with my life as it is.  My husband, my kid, my house, my dogs, my bills, my self, etc...  AND it takes a lot of effort to plan, shop for, and prepare meals to a particular dietary specification - especially when I have to prepare an entirely separate meal for the rest of my family who aren't cleansing.
2. I'm afraid that a cleanse will be too restrictive and I will end up binging on "bad" food.  I am going to do my best to keep up with this blog (again with the lazy...) which I hope will keep me accountable.  Also, I am doing this with a friend so there's another layer of accountability built in.  
3. THREE WEEKS.  That's a long time.  Three weeks...  It's just 3 weeks... 21 days...  I can do anything for that long, right?
4. This is perhaps my biggest excuse and also the biggest reason I should do the cleanse. I'm Melissa and I'm addicted to caffeine and sugar.  BIG time.  This cleanse calls for an elimination of refined sugar, animal protein (until day 11), simple carbs, most salt, and caffeine.  I have decided that in order to keep from feeling too overwhelmed I will keep my morning coffee (with half and half) and will occasionally eat sugar-free ''desserts'' like pudding or cool whip.  I would rather modify this experience as needed than give up or quit.

My biggest goals are to...

• lose fat

• increase energy

• reduce headaches

• reduce bloating

• improve skin

What I ate today


Breakfast: 
coffee and plain non-fat greek yogurt (fage), 1 diced peach, 1 tablespoon extra virgin coconut oil, 2 tablespoons wheat germ


Smoothie: 
almond milk, spinach, one-half banana, 1 scoop of vanilla whey protein powder


Lunch: 
Avocado Chutney (a seriously tasty recipe I found here at The Mommypotamus)


Dinner:
asparagus fries, sauteed mushrooms and onions, half cup of long grain wild rice


Smoothie:
almond milk, one-half banana, 1 T almond butter