I just want to document separately some of the changes that have been going on during this detox, for future reference.
WARNING: There may be poop talk. No pictures though, seriously. Who do you think I am.
onwards!
a) breakouts. My skin is usually really good, but I've been breaking out in the past week, more than I have in a decade. I'm told that this is often a side effect of detoxing, but I hate it and it can stop. It's been four or five around my temples, and I thought it might be where my hair was touching my skin but I'm not sure. It's unusual, that's for sure. I also had one on my neck, and one on my back. Gross. It also might be due to the increased amount of sugar in all the fruit, but I'd hate to think so. Guess I'll go buy some teatree oil.
b) muscle aches. My middle back, below my shoulder blades but just above my waist is a very unusual place for me to have back pain- I always carry any back pain directly on top of my shoulders, as anyone who has ever tried to give me a massage knows. I've also experienced muscle ache in my very lower back, down into my glutes and upper thighs. Again, very unusual and I've not done any extra or different exercise to account for this. It could be aching from a lack of protein, I'm not sure. I don't seem to have lost any muscle tone so far. I think this is definitely a detoxing from caffeine, especially the two days when the middle back ache travelled up my neck and squeezed my brain into an almost-migraine headache. That was Not Fun.
c) energy levels so far, hard to tell since I've had such broken sleeps. However, on days when I've had a fairly normal sleep, I've felt great and had constant energy all day. I do have to keep eating more often though to maintain this. If I go too long between meals my energy does drop right off, which is to be expected.
d) weight loss. Partly due to lack of alcohol (that most delicious of empty caloric energy!) and partly due to the fact that my stomach has been full so I *feel* full, but it's been full of raw fruit and vegetables- so I've been consuming less calories overall. I lost 5 pounds last week, without trying to. Surely some of that is the fabled 'water weight' that happens when one starts a diet, but weight loss isn't the main goal of this experiment, just a fun side effect. We will see what happens for the rest of the month.
e) sensory increase. My sense of smell and taste have gotten way better. I was woken from a dead sleep by the smell of an orange the other day. On the down side, wow, people smell bad. Garbage smells *really* bad, even frozen outdoor garbage. I can smell it a block away. Cigarettes? Don't get me started. On the extremely plus side my libido has been way up, since it is so attached to smell.
Mmmm. Skin.
f) elimination. I have to be the only person on the planet who can switch a raw fruit and vegetable diet and experience mild constipation. Come to think of it, this also might account for my skin breaking out Seriously. I think I have to drink more water, Gods know I cannot eat more fibre!! HAH. The second day into this my urine became almost clear, and has stayed that way. Now, a week into this adventure- I have two words for you. Green Poop.
That is all. Happy Thursday!
Thursday, January 10, 2013
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
Day 08: Pesto, Chango!
Another day, another very broken nights sleep! Don't tell me about missing caffeine, not after getting a broken 4 hours of sleep last night. You see, we once again made the mistake of lying down and snuggling...and waking up almost 3 hours later. It's pretty much impossible to get a solid night's sleep, after waking up from a huge nap at 10:30!! Weighed myself this morning, down another smidgeon despite best applied bananas. (170.2lbs.)
I was wide awake and bopping until 2, and had to get up at 7 as usual. Blech. Especially since a *certain dog* woke me up at 5:45 and I couldn't get back to sleep for quite a while. I found that my back-my whole back, right from my shoulders down to my lowerest back is quite sore. A super lady I don't see enough came to see me at work today (yay!!) and she is no stranger to cleanses. She said that whenever she's doing a caffeine-elimination cleanse her back gets sore too, especially her lower back almost into her glutes/sciatic area. I was experiencing quite a bit of stiffness and soreness through there a few days ago, it's good to get that kind of feedback! Dammit caffeine, why do you have to hurt so bad. I thought we were friends.
So, today was a complete caffeine craving day, let me tell you. But I didn't cave! Not even a little bit, so I am a teensy bit proud of myself. Good on ya, self.
(why thank you!)
As to not repeat the mistakes of yesterday, I had a big fat smoothie this morning for breakfast:
1 cup almond milk
1 cup blueberries (so juicy!)
2 cups spinach
1 cup parsley
1 banana
1 cup strawberries.
1 ping pong ball of ginger.
and whirrrrrrrrrrr. So good. I'm adding ginger a lot more to give the ol' immune system a boost- seems like everyone is super sick nowadays, and I have *no* interest in getting sick in a month that I can't have tea. No sir, no way.
But my body, in pure defiance of this, was hungry again shortly after I got to work so I had an early mid-morning snack #1 of a banana and some prunes. Don't laugh, prunes are tasty.
Which held me for about 90 minutes, and then I needed mid-morning snack #2 so I had...another banana-and an apple! So good. Apples are good value for the money, I always feel. That much chewing makes me feel like I got my snack on, unlike bananas, which I seem to be tossing back like a hungry monkey.
Lunch, probably because I'd had a snack about an hour previously, was another banana and some coconut water. I love that stuff. Also, I ate a light lunch because I knew I was going to be eating Johnny's Super Secret Surprise Dessert this evening, and I didn't want to mess with my percentage numbers.
My mid-afternoon snack was a couple tablespoons of guacamole, shamelessly straight from the bowl. I needed the energy on the go to make-
DILL PICKLE KALE CHIPS!
They are processing in the dehydrator as we speak and I don't want to speak too soon but it smells preeeettttty pickle-y in here. Since I was on a role, I also made some shredded zucchini pasta (which is currently marinating) and some low fat raw vegan pesto for a late dinner, washed down with another smoothie. I can't get enough of those things.
Zucchini Pasta:
This is pretty flexible; basically you need some acids to break down the zucchini a little bit and soften it. Many recipes have quite a bit of olive oil as well, which to my mind defeats the purpose. Today I did:
1 large zucchini, peeled and then stripped with a peeler into, peeled strips. You know what I mean!
1 T water
1 T soy sauce/braggs/etc.
1.5 T apple cider vinegar
a few grinds of fresh pepper
1T minced garlic
a few shakes of onion salt
a teeny pinch of fancy pink salt.
1 tsp lemon juice.
marinate for at least an hour. Some websites say overnight, but wow. Nope. I am not that organised.
The same goes with the pesto- most recipes are *swimming* with olive oil. No thanks!
1.5 cups fresh basil
1 heaped T pine nuts
2.5 T nutritional yeast
1 T minced garlic
1tsp olive oil, or to taste.
pinch of salt
This has a lighter, fresher and greener taste than most pestos, as it is so light in oil. The nutritional yeast replaces the parmesan cheese with pure deliciousness!
Here's what I ate today: pure deliciousness! and I did OK on my percentages as well- final tally, 79/14/8. I still need more protein. My mood was much better today- I felt a few minor dips, but they were quickly corrected with application of banana. I do often get a deterioration of mood when my blood sugar drops, so I'm no stranger to what's going on there.
Having more Super Secret Dessert for breakfast will probably help with the protein, and also with happy-makings.
I was wide awake and bopping until 2, and had to get up at 7 as usual. Blech. Especially since a *certain dog* woke me up at 5:45 and I couldn't get back to sleep for quite a while. I found that my back-my whole back, right from my shoulders down to my lowerest back is quite sore. A super lady I don't see enough came to see me at work today (yay!!) and she is no stranger to cleanses. She said that whenever she's doing a caffeine-elimination cleanse her back gets sore too, especially her lower back almost into her glutes/sciatic area. I was experiencing quite a bit of stiffness and soreness through there a few days ago, it's good to get that kind of feedback! Dammit caffeine, why do you have to hurt so bad. I thought we were friends.
So, today was a complete caffeine craving day, let me tell you. But I didn't cave! Not even a little bit, so I am a teensy bit proud of myself. Good on ya, self.
(why thank you!)
As to not repeat the mistakes of yesterday, I had a big fat smoothie this morning for breakfast:
1 cup almond milk
1 cup blueberries (so juicy!)
2 cups spinach
1 cup parsley
1 banana
1 cup strawberries.
1 ping pong ball of ginger.
and whirrrrrrrrrrr. So good. I'm adding ginger a lot more to give the ol' immune system a boost- seems like everyone is super sick nowadays, and I have *no* interest in getting sick in a month that I can't have tea. No sir, no way.
But my body, in pure defiance of this, was hungry again shortly after I got to work so I had an early mid-morning snack #1 of a banana and some prunes. Don't laugh, prunes are tasty.
Which held me for about 90 minutes, and then I needed mid-morning snack #2 so I had...another banana-and an apple! So good. Apples are good value for the money, I always feel. That much chewing makes me feel like I got my snack on, unlike bananas, which I seem to be tossing back like a hungry monkey.
Lunch, probably because I'd had a snack about an hour previously, was another banana and some coconut water. I love that stuff. Also, I ate a light lunch because I knew I was going to be eating Johnny's Super Secret Surprise Dessert this evening, and I didn't want to mess with my percentage numbers.
My mid-afternoon snack was a couple tablespoons of guacamole, shamelessly straight from the bowl. I needed the energy on the go to make-
DILL PICKLE KALE CHIPS!
They are processing in the dehydrator as we speak and I don't want to speak too soon but it smells preeeettttty pickle-y in here. Since I was on a role, I also made some shredded zucchini pasta (which is currently marinating) and some low fat raw vegan pesto for a late dinner, washed down with another smoothie. I can't get enough of those things.
Zucchini Pasta:
This is pretty flexible; basically you need some acids to break down the zucchini a little bit and soften it. Many recipes have quite a bit of olive oil as well, which to my mind defeats the purpose. Today I did:
1 large zucchini, peeled and then stripped with a peeler into, peeled strips. You know what I mean!
1 T water
1 T soy sauce/braggs/etc.
1.5 T apple cider vinegar
a few grinds of fresh pepper
1T minced garlic
a few shakes of onion salt
a teeny pinch of fancy pink salt.
1 tsp lemon juice.
marinate for at least an hour. Some websites say overnight, but wow. Nope. I am not that organised.
The same goes with the pesto- most recipes are *swimming* with olive oil. No thanks!
1.5 cups fresh basil
1 heaped T pine nuts
2.5 T nutritional yeast
1 T minced garlic
1tsp olive oil, or to taste.
pinch of salt
This has a lighter, fresher and greener taste than most pestos, as it is so light in oil. The nutritional yeast replaces the parmesan cheese with pure deliciousness!
Here's what I ate today: pure deliciousness! and I did OK on my percentages as well- final tally, 79/14/8. I still need more protein. My mood was much better today- I felt a few minor dips, but they were quickly corrected with application of banana. I do often get a deterioration of mood when my blood sugar drops, so I'm no stranger to what's going on there.
Having more Super Secret Dessert for breakfast will probably help with the protein, and also with happy-makings.
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
Day 07: Every Fibre of My Being.
I'm pretty sure I eat more fibre in a day than most people eat in a month. Seriously. I think I average something like 50+ grams of fibre a day. That's got to be good, right? ...Right? People have been saying that I'm full of it for years, I guess they're right. Wow. That's a lot of fibre. this guy says you should have 14 grams/1000 calories you intake. Given that I'm averaging about 1300 calories a day on this diet and getting over 50 grams of fibre... we're talking one healthy colon here. Except we're not, because no one wants a talking colon. Although if mine could talk, it would probably have a fancy British accent and a monocle (and be screaming for mercy). You'e welcome for *that* picture, and I hope you sleep well tonight.
Speaking of which, I had an unbroken nights sleep last night! Yay! It was only 5 hours long! BOOO. I had one of those mornings when I was running late from the moment I woke up (on time) and I didn't have time for a breakfast smoothie. BIG MISTAKE. I grabbed a pear, mentally consoled myself that I had bananas, prunes and an apple at work and hit the road. So, before I got to eat anything, I'd walked 2+km and had been awake for 4 hours.
My energy level and mood during the day definitely suffered- even though I had a pear, a banana and a serving of prunes for breakfast as soon as I got to work, I was low energy, and I found it difficult to mentally focus. I should add that I was out of both coconut and fancy sparkly water, so I literally didn't have anything to drink until about 4 p.m. I don't know how I didn't die. Thankfully fruit has water in it. (Well, not so much the dehydrated plums...)
My midmorning snack was a banana and an apple...and prunes.
Sadly, my co-worker was super late to work (He warned me, I just didn't have time to do anything about it) so my lunch was also a banana...and prunes.
I dare you to do this. But don't because I was in a super bad mood by the time I was off work, and suffering backaches, leg aches and headaches; a brisk walk to the health food store for a coconut water and some flax crisps helped immeasurably though. It really felt like my muscle fibre was in need of
Getting home, after trying to pick up my bike tire...and having it not be done...was such a relief.
BUT! before I got home I had another great adventure in another Chinese greengrocer, this one in the east end. Two huge bags of produce for $17, including kale for $1.49! Treasure! My haul included 2 pints of blueberries, 5 oranges, 4 apples, a head of kale, a large bag of spinach, two tubs of fresh figs, a huge knob of ginger, and...something else I'm forgetting.
I was RAVENOUS when I got home and couldn't even focus properly to make a smoothie, so I had a properly portioned afternoon snack of guacamole with some flax crisps first which was super helpful. I didn't have my almonds this morning, and I really noticed the difference. My percentages were 97% carb 0% fat 3% protein until dinner time, and I'm still a little low, percentage wise, on protein even now. I'll have some nuts tomorrow; I will also skew my diet in the direction of these vegetables to get lots of protein without messing with my fat numbers.
I should note that my guacamole was amazing after sitting for 24 hours. And I was VERY good and only had 1/2 a cup, which is basically 1/2 of an avocado.
Dinner was my long lost love, a smoothie.
2 cups spinach
1 cup parsley
1 cup almond milk
1 banana
1 cup watermelon
3/4 cup strawberries
I literally had to talk myself down from more putting things into the blender.
After getting home and having a snack, my backache was 90% gone, but my legs still feel a little rubbery, as I talked about yesterday. I meant to work out tonight, but we accidentally had a nap instead. For 3 hours. Whoops.
I'm sure that my sleepiness is due to not eating enough during the day- I'll be super sure to have a good morning smoothie tomorrow and bring tons of fruit and vegetables for snacks. Lesson learned!
I didn't get a chance to do any exciting raw cooking or anything, but I think I'll try doing a raw zucchini pasta with vegan basil pesto (home made and hopefully low fat!) tomorrow.
Here's what I ate today: FIBRE!!!
My percentage for today was almost perfect: 82/12/6.
Speaking of which, I had an unbroken nights sleep last night! Yay! It was only 5 hours long! BOOO. I had one of those mornings when I was running late from the moment I woke up (on time) and I didn't have time for a breakfast smoothie. BIG MISTAKE. I grabbed a pear, mentally consoled myself that I had bananas, prunes and an apple at work and hit the road. So, before I got to eat anything, I'd walked 2+km and had been awake for 4 hours.
My energy level and mood during the day definitely suffered- even though I had a pear, a banana and a serving of prunes for breakfast as soon as I got to work, I was low energy, and I found it difficult to mentally focus. I should add that I was out of both coconut and fancy sparkly water, so I literally didn't have anything to drink until about 4 p.m. I don't know how I didn't die. Thankfully fruit has water in it. (Well, not so much the dehydrated plums...)
My midmorning snack was a banana and an apple...and prunes.
Sadly, my co-worker was super late to work (He warned me, I just didn't have time to do anything about it) so my lunch was also a banana...and prunes.
I dare you to do this. But don't because I was in a super bad mood by the time I was off work, and suffering backaches, leg aches and headaches; a brisk walk to the health food store for a coconut water and some flax crisps helped immeasurably though. It really felt like my muscle fibre was in need of
Getting home, after trying to pick up my bike tire...and having it not be done...was such a relief.
BUT! before I got home I had another great adventure in another Chinese greengrocer, this one in the east end. Two huge bags of produce for $17, including kale for $1.49! Treasure! My haul included 2 pints of blueberries, 5 oranges, 4 apples, a head of kale, a large bag of spinach, two tubs of fresh figs, a huge knob of ginger, and...something else I'm forgetting.
I was RAVENOUS when I got home and couldn't even focus properly to make a smoothie, so I had a properly portioned afternoon snack of guacamole with some flax crisps first which was super helpful. I didn't have my almonds this morning, and I really noticed the difference. My percentages were 97% carb 0% fat 3% protein until dinner time, and I'm still a little low, percentage wise, on protein even now. I'll have some nuts tomorrow; I will also skew my diet in the direction of these vegetables to get lots of protein without messing with my fat numbers.
I should note that my guacamole was amazing after sitting for 24 hours. And I was VERY good and only had 1/2 a cup, which is basically 1/2 of an avocado.
Dinner was my long lost love, a smoothie.
2 cups spinach
1 cup parsley
1 cup almond milk
1 banana
1 cup watermelon
3/4 cup strawberries
I literally had to talk myself down from more putting things into the blender.
After getting home and having a snack, my backache was 90% gone, but my legs still feel a little rubbery, as I talked about yesterday. I meant to work out tonight, but we accidentally had a nap instead. For 3 hours. Whoops.
I'm sure that my sleepiness is due to not eating enough during the day- I'll be super sure to have a good morning smoothie tomorrow and bring tons of fruit and vegetables for snacks. Lesson learned!
I didn't get a chance to do any exciting raw cooking or anything, but I think I'll try doing a raw zucchini pasta with vegan basil pesto (home made and hopefully low fat!) tomorrow.
Here's what I ate today: FIBRE!!!
My percentage for today was almost perfect: 82/12/6.
Day 06: An Avocado Shaped Incident.
I had a very, very broken sleep last night. My dog goes through phases of sleeping all night, followed by phases of 'lets wake mum up every two hours so I can go outside and maybe pee but probably just sniff raccoon tracks'. Last night was the latter. Frankly, every night for several weeks has been that.
There's a reason I'm a caffeine junky.
I meant to work out this morning and get a great start on the week, but hey! I was to tired! Ah, well. Tomorrow.
I'm not sure why, but the muscles in my right leg and glute were really achy all day- almost like my sciatic nerve had been aggravated or something. Despite having not done any leg workout except some hiking, and no distance unusual, my legs felt like I had done some serious gym work. It made doing stairs really hard.
I do a lot of running around at work, which wasn't too bad but going to and from work (still via TTC this month) the stairs felt like a lot of effort, as if my coat and bag and sweaters were extra heavy. I'm not sure if this is diet-related or sleep related or what, but it's unusual for me. I'll keep you posted.
onwards to food!
I was determined to stick as closely to 80/10/10 as possible today so I had an insanely good smoothie for breakfast (banana, spinach. parsley, strawberry, orange, ginger, almond milk) which, once again, gave me an insane body buzz for several minutes after drinking it. This is something that I will very likely incorporate into my diet once this experiment is over- way,way more smoothies. They are the greatest.
instead of 20 almonds for a snack a while later, I had 10 which was more than enough to fill the hunger gap- and a banana! Always a banana. OOK.
Lunch, I feel like I cheated a wee bit and had a Subway veggie delite salad instead of a pile of fruit, but I wanted pickles, dammit. It was good- and that with a coconut water was surprisingly filling!
....I also had a banana. There may be a theme here.
I nipped over to the green grocery and picked myself up some healthy snacks for the afternoon- an apple, a small tub of dehydrated plums and surprise!! Another bunch of bananas! I could have swung to the green grocer through the hydro wires by my tail.
Yes, dehydrated plums...also known as prunes. Famed as a snack for constipated old ladies, I find them delicious and 5, the recommended serving, has 0 fat, 100 calories and tons of vitamins! I regret nothing.
So midafternoon snacking was prunes, banana and the dregs of my coconut water. I wasn't hungry enough to commit to a full apple- at work it's really hard find the time to sit and chew one of those bad boys. Last time I tried, it took me an hour of taking a bite, putting it down, helping a customer...etc.
So, sure enough, but the time I got home I was hovering at a fully respectable 8% fat for the day and feeling good...and then, I made guacamole.
Which would have been ok, if I'd just eaten an avocado; OK, probably 1/2 an avocado on this diet. But still. See, you have to taste it while making it to see if it's right, right? whoops. Boy, was it goooood.
So for dinner I had guacamole with yellow pepper and broccoli for dippings. But my end of day ratio was 71/22/7 so I totally messed myself up. Damned guacamole. Why are you SO GOOD?
I think it's fair to say that I'm having trouble, after a week, hitting the 10% fat mark. If it's not a rogue cookie, it's too many nuts or oil or an avocado. I'm used to eating quite a bit of healthy fats (nuts etc, very little oil) but it's hard, especially in the evenings, to not accidentally 'treat' myself and go over my limit.
Dear Self: I know it's hard to adjust to, but you can do it! Portion control and pre planning!
Rah Rah Rah!
I think I will save basically all my fats for the evening today and see if it makes it easier for me to stick to the magic ratio. Here's what I ate today. guacamole SHAME!!
Regardless, and even including the Planned Cheating of yesterday, I weighed in this morning at 170.6, a further loss. Johnny is worried I'll get too skinny, but it's all in the name of experimenting on this amazing flesh machine we call a body.
And, if I do, there's always more guacamole. Mmmm.
There's a reason I'm a caffeine junky.
I meant to work out this morning and get a great start on the week, but hey! I was to tired! Ah, well. Tomorrow.
I'm not sure why, but the muscles in my right leg and glute were really achy all day- almost like my sciatic nerve had been aggravated or something. Despite having not done any leg workout except some hiking, and no distance unusual, my legs felt like I had done some serious gym work. It made doing stairs really hard.
I do a lot of running around at work, which wasn't too bad but going to and from work (still via TTC this month) the stairs felt like a lot of effort, as if my coat and bag and sweaters were extra heavy. I'm not sure if this is diet-related or sleep related or what, but it's unusual for me. I'll keep you posted.
onwards to food!
I was determined to stick as closely to 80/10/10 as possible today so I had an insanely good smoothie for breakfast (banana, spinach. parsley, strawberry, orange, ginger, almond milk) which, once again, gave me an insane body buzz for several minutes after drinking it. This is something that I will very likely incorporate into my diet once this experiment is over- way,way more smoothies. They are the greatest.
instead of 20 almonds for a snack a while later, I had 10 which was more than enough to fill the hunger gap- and a banana! Always a banana. OOK.
Lunch, I feel like I cheated a wee bit and had a Subway veggie delite salad instead of a pile of fruit, but I wanted pickles, dammit. It was good- and that with a coconut water was surprisingly filling!
....I also had a banana. There may be a theme here.
I nipped over to the green grocery and picked myself up some healthy snacks for the afternoon- an apple, a small tub of dehydrated plums and surprise!! Another bunch of bananas! I could have swung to the green grocer through the hydro wires by my tail.
Yes, dehydrated plums...also known as prunes. Famed as a snack for constipated old ladies, I find them delicious and 5, the recommended serving, has 0 fat, 100 calories and tons of vitamins! I regret nothing.
So midafternoon snacking was prunes, banana and the dregs of my coconut water. I wasn't hungry enough to commit to a full apple- at work it's really hard find the time to sit and chew one of those bad boys. Last time I tried, it took me an hour of taking a bite, putting it down, helping a customer...etc.
So, sure enough, but the time I got home I was hovering at a fully respectable 8% fat for the day and feeling good...and then, I made guacamole.
Which would have been ok, if I'd just eaten an avocado; OK, probably 1/2 an avocado on this diet. But still. See, you have to taste it while making it to see if it's right, right? whoops. Boy, was it goooood.
So for dinner I had guacamole with yellow pepper and broccoli for dippings. But my end of day ratio was 71/22/7 so I totally messed myself up. Damned guacamole. Why are you SO GOOD?
I think it's fair to say that I'm having trouble, after a week, hitting the 10% fat mark. If it's not a rogue cookie, it's too many nuts or oil or an avocado. I'm used to eating quite a bit of healthy fats (nuts etc, very little oil) but it's hard, especially in the evenings, to not accidentally 'treat' myself and go over my limit.
Dear Self: I know it's hard to adjust to, but you can do it! Portion control and pre planning!
Rah Rah Rah!
I think I will save basically all my fats for the evening today and see if it makes it easier for me to stick to the magic ratio. Here's what I ate today. guacamole SHAME!!
Regardless, and even including the Planned Cheating of yesterday, I weighed in this morning at 170.6, a further loss. Johnny is worried I'll get too skinny, but it's all in the name of experimenting on this amazing flesh machine we call a body.
And, if I do, there's always more guacamole. Mmmm.
Monday, January 7, 2013
Day 05: Successful Failure
One of the great things about choosing to undertake a dietary change, be it temporary or permanent is that you can choose to set it aside when you like. Unlike folks who *have* to eat a certain way because of serious health problems, a planned failure isn't the end of the world.
Having said that, I don't have 'planned failures' for being vegan- either you are, or you aren't, but everyone's 'line' of what they will and will not eat/do is different and frankly, I have way better things to do than be the Vegan Police.
anyway!
Last night was our much anticipated Staff Dinner at work. Every year, our bosses have us over for dinner and wine and dine us in splendid fashion. This always happens shortly into the new year, and I started this cleanse knowing that I would be breaking it once this month, for this dinner.
However, I was very abstemious and the vegan options that were prepared for me (so considerate!) were very healthy, so it wasn't the complete orgy of cooked food depravity and wine that I was anticipating. I have a terrible time not eating something I want when it's in front of me, but I done good this time. We had carrot/orange/nutmeg soup, a huge salad (I had seconds on the salad! Arugula, pomegranate and blackberry with pine nuts. NOM) and then I had a ratatouille while the other folks had baked salmon. There was lightly steamed asparagus (still crunchy, perfect!) and I even skipped dessert and only had two very small glasses of wine, to try both kinds.
BUT before that....Yesterday was great. Weighed myself and went up from 170.8 to 171, surely due to the accidentally-oil-heavy dinner the night before. I was not daunted in the slightest and carried on. As I said before, I'm not really interested in losing a ton of weight on this diet as my primary focus, it's just for science (SCIENCE!!) that I'm weighing in.
I wasn't super hungry for breakfast yesterday, I just ate a whole banana and a huge pear.
This all changed shortly- I was ravenous all day; neeeeding more food every 90 minutes or so. Fortunately, with all the healthy choices in the fridge, this was not stressful and in fact was delicious.
Mid morning snack was that Green Smoothie of Pure Awesomeness.
Lunch was leftover dinner from the night before and a banana. However, the dinner once again had me feeling a little too full and heavy. I really thing it's the oil. The big thing we'll be changing with gourmet raw recipes we try is eliminating almost all the oil from them. Raw doesn't always equal low fat, actually often quite the opposite what with all the different nuts that are commonly used. Buyer beware!
The uncomfortably full feeling wore off very quickly though, and I was hungry enough to make myself another smoothie as an afternoon snack (carrot/spinach/pear/banana/ginger/almond milk. HOLY GOOD) and have a few kale chips less than two hours later.
Then dinners!!
Here's a link to what I ate yesterday. food orgy! even with eating planned cheat foods, I still did pretty good; 70/20/10. STILL too much fat, but today is another day and I am very motivated to hit my numbers consistently this week.
Having said that, I don't have 'planned failures' for being vegan- either you are, or you aren't, but everyone's 'line' of what they will and will not eat/do is different and frankly, I have way better things to do than be the Vegan Police.
anyway!
Last night was our much anticipated Staff Dinner at work. Every year, our bosses have us over for dinner and wine and dine us in splendid fashion. This always happens shortly into the new year, and I started this cleanse knowing that I would be breaking it once this month, for this dinner.
However, I was very abstemious and the vegan options that were prepared for me (so considerate!) were very healthy, so it wasn't the complete orgy of cooked food depravity and wine that I was anticipating. I have a terrible time not eating something I want when it's in front of me, but I done good this time. We had carrot/orange/nutmeg soup, a huge salad (I had seconds on the salad! Arugula, pomegranate and blackberry with pine nuts. NOM) and then I had a ratatouille while the other folks had baked salmon. There was lightly steamed asparagus (still crunchy, perfect!) and I even skipped dessert and only had two very small glasses of wine, to try both kinds.
BUT before that....Yesterday was great. Weighed myself and went up from 170.8 to 171, surely due to the accidentally-oil-heavy dinner the night before. I was not daunted in the slightest and carried on. As I said before, I'm not really interested in losing a ton of weight on this diet as my primary focus, it's just for science (SCIENCE!!) that I'm weighing in.
I wasn't super hungry for breakfast yesterday, I just ate a whole banana and a huge pear.
This all changed shortly- I was ravenous all day; neeeeding more food every 90 minutes or so. Fortunately, with all the healthy choices in the fridge, this was not stressful and in fact was delicious.
Mid morning snack was that Green Smoothie of Pure Awesomeness.
Lunch was leftover dinner from the night before and a banana. However, the dinner once again had me feeling a little too full and heavy. I really thing it's the oil. The big thing we'll be changing with gourmet raw recipes we try is eliminating almost all the oil from them. Raw doesn't always equal low fat, actually often quite the opposite what with all the different nuts that are commonly used. Buyer beware!
The uncomfortably full feeling wore off very quickly though, and I was hungry enough to make myself another smoothie as an afternoon snack (carrot/spinach/pear/banana/ginger/almond milk. HOLY GOOD) and have a few kale chips less than two hours later.
Then dinners!!
Here's a link to what I ate yesterday. food orgy! even with eating planned cheat foods, I still did pretty good; 70/20/10. STILL too much fat, but today is another day and I am very motivated to hit my numbers consistently this week.
Sunday, January 6, 2013
It's Easy, Being Green.
Guys. Guys. Listen. I had the greatest smoothie for breakfast- spinach, parsley, almond milk and strawberry. And ginger.
It ended up being a glass of green pulp with red streaks, like some heartless beast had tossed Kermit into a blender. It tasted like pure deliciousness, however. Creamy, sweet, with a mild tang of green at the end- not like pureed frog in any way, shape or form. Which is for the best, really.
the amazing thing was that I actually had a body high after I drank it. Seriously. It was euphoria in a glass, and I'm contemplating another one...
*eyes blender lustfully*
...anyway. I digress.
This was the magic drink of magicness that Johnny made for me.
2 cups spinach
1 cup parsley
1 cup almond milk
6 strawberries
1 ping pong ball of ginger
Savoury smoothies are a new thing for me and I must say, I am a fan. Time to sacrifice a few carrots to the Juicer Gods, I think. One of my favourites is carrot/pear/ginger, but I'm loving the piles of green goodness in a glass. I will have to buy more kale today and do one with spinach, parsley, kale and maybe a scoop of avocado, or some celery...maybe some apples...
It ended up being a glass of green pulp with red streaks, like some heartless beast had tossed Kermit into a blender. It tasted like pure deliciousness, however. Creamy, sweet, with a mild tang of green at the end- not like pureed frog in any way, shape or form. Which is for the best, really.
the amazing thing was that I actually had a body high after I drank it. Seriously. It was euphoria in a glass, and I'm contemplating another one...
*eyes blender lustfully*
...anyway. I digress.
This was the magic drink of magicness that Johnny made for me.
2 cups spinach
1 cup parsley
1 cup almond milk
6 strawberries
1 ping pong ball of ginger
Savoury smoothies are a new thing for me and I must say, I am a fan. Time to sacrifice a few carrots to the Juicer Gods, I think. One of my favourites is carrot/pear/ginger, but I'm loving the piles of green goodness in a glass. I will have to buy more kale today and do one with spinach, parsley, kale and maybe a scoop of avocado, or some celery...maybe some apples...
Saturday, January 5, 2013
Day 04: Mix and Match.
Somehow last night we managed to fall asleep ridiculously early. Like, 10:00. Being all warm and cuddling is a dangerous business in the winter, I tell you. However, because I had an accidental 10 hours of sleep, I have been very energetic and active and productive today. I weighed myself this morning and I was at 170.8. That's 4 lbs lost this week with no effort on my behalf, even while having my period. Crazy stuff!
The down side of being so industrious today means I lost count of how many times today I washed a blender, dehydrator, magic bullet (tm!) or food processor. OK, granted, the second time I washed a blender was because I had to make my face scrub. Not food related. But still. Phew.
having said *that*, WOW!! So much good food was had today.
Breakfast was a smoothie of watermelon, orange, strawberry and fresh ginger and 20 almonds. Because if I scarf down my almonds too fast I get a stomach ache sometimes, I nibbled them slowly while doing some sewing prep. Voila! No tummy ache. Victory is mine; and, more importantly, almonds! Nom.
I was super full until lunch when I had the leftovers of that basil/parsley/mango/yellow pepper/broccoli salad I made yesterday. It was *way* piquant yesterday, but marinating overnight in it's lemon juice/ACV dressing really worked out! In retrospect I may have been rather intemperate in my use of spicy red pepper. Oh, who am I kidding. Spice is life. I can't believe that I ate 4 cups of dense salad that quickly. Wow, that was good. I'm glad no one was around to watch me eat that- It got a little messy, as all proper food is wont to do. Then I had a banana. Mmmm, bananas.
HOWEVER- WE MADE KALE CHIPS.
Sorry, I shout when I get excited. We had some amazing fake sour-cream-chive kale chips yesterday and Johnny asked me if I could make something like them. Always up for a challenge, I hit up the internet and Lo! AKale Recipe Appeared On High. You should make these. Yes, YOU. You can make them in your oven, but I used my trusty Nesco American Harvest dehydrator (who comes up with these names??). Follow the recipe exactly and you will not be disappointed. Unlike regular chips, eating a giant bag of them only results in nutrition and happy tummies.
So I may or may not have eaten what felt like quite a lot of kale chips this afternoon. NO REGRETS.
Then we went grocery shopping to make amazing raw Indian food for dinner. We made fancy schmancy mushroom curry. which took less time I think than it takes me to make a fancy schmancy cooked curry with trimmings the regular way- the usual amount of chopping, then 2 1/2 hours in the dehydrator. The sauce was a simple puree that I let steep while the veggies were dehydrating, and the parsnips were also a simple puree- and as a bonus, you can mix some of the parsnips with a little almond milk, dehydrated coconut and raw cocoa for an amazing pudding. Yes, parsnip pudding. Don't laugh.
Both of us have the belief that, when following a recipe, the first time you should do it exactly, see how it tastes, and then tweak it from there. The Great Curry Experience of Ought-Thirteen was delicious, but the vegetables were tossed in 2 tablespoons of olive oil (mixed with curry, and lemon juice and whatnot, but still) and I think next time we could definitely cut that down or out completely. Granted, the amount of vegetables we used made two enormous meals for us tonight, with enough leftovers for two enormous lunches tomorrow- but I am still insanely full for someone who's eaten about 1200 calories of food today. Raw curry is really good- in cooked curry, of course, all the different veggie flavours mix together, but in the raw, you can really taste the tiny diced veggie flavour niblets. It was a fun eating experience.
Here's my food diary for today! snacks!
Unfff. Time to go for a walk. So. Full.
The down side of being so industrious today means I lost count of how many times today I washed a blender, dehydrator, magic bullet (tm!) or food processor. OK, granted, the second time I washed a blender was because I had to make my face scrub. Not food related. But still. Phew.
having said *that*, WOW!! So much good food was had today.
Breakfast was a smoothie of watermelon, orange, strawberry and fresh ginger and 20 almonds. Because if I scarf down my almonds too fast I get a stomach ache sometimes, I nibbled them slowly while doing some sewing prep. Voila! No tummy ache. Victory is mine; and, more importantly, almonds! Nom.
I was super full until lunch when I had the leftovers of that basil/parsley/mango/yellow pepper/broccoli salad I made yesterday. It was *way* piquant yesterday, but marinating overnight in it's lemon juice/ACV dressing really worked out! In retrospect I may have been rather intemperate in my use of spicy red pepper. Oh, who am I kidding. Spice is life. I can't believe that I ate 4 cups of dense salad that quickly. Wow, that was good. I'm glad no one was around to watch me eat that- It got a little messy, as all proper food is wont to do. Then I had a banana. Mmmm, bananas.
HOWEVER- WE MADE KALE CHIPS.
Sorry, I shout when I get excited. We had some amazing fake sour-cream-chive kale chips yesterday and Johnny asked me if I could make something like them. Always up for a challenge, I hit up the internet and Lo! AKale Recipe Appeared On High. You should make these. Yes, YOU. You can make them in your oven, but I used my trusty Nesco American Harvest dehydrator (who comes up with these names??). Follow the recipe exactly and you will not be disappointed. Unlike regular chips, eating a giant bag of them only results in nutrition and happy tummies.
So I may or may not have eaten what felt like quite a lot of kale chips this afternoon. NO REGRETS.
Then we went grocery shopping to make amazing raw Indian food for dinner. We made fancy schmancy mushroom curry. which took less time I think than it takes me to make a fancy schmancy cooked curry with trimmings the regular way- the usual amount of chopping, then 2 1/2 hours in the dehydrator. The sauce was a simple puree that I let steep while the veggies were dehydrating, and the parsnips were also a simple puree- and as a bonus, you can mix some of the parsnips with a little almond milk, dehydrated coconut and raw cocoa for an amazing pudding. Yes, parsnip pudding. Don't laugh.
Both of us have the belief that, when following a recipe, the first time you should do it exactly, see how it tastes, and then tweak it from there. The Great Curry Experience of Ought-Thirteen was delicious, but the vegetables were tossed in 2 tablespoons of olive oil (mixed with curry, and lemon juice and whatnot, but still) and I think next time we could definitely cut that down or out completely. Granted, the amount of vegetables we used made two enormous meals for us tonight, with enough leftovers for two enormous lunches tomorrow- but I am still insanely full for someone who's eaten about 1200 calories of food today. Raw curry is really good- in cooked curry, of course, all the different veggie flavours mix together, but in the raw, you can really taste the tiny diced veggie flavour niblets. It was a fun eating experience.
Here's my food diary for today! snacks!
Unfff. Time to go for a walk. So. Full.
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