I got to go to the doctor today - my first excursion out of the house - to get my bandages changed. I won't post the pictures, haha, but everything looks good. I didn't eat much throughout the day - just my smoothie and more of the tahini greens, because we were having a chef from Platinum Cookware come over for a cooking demonstration and dinner party. Mom and I hosted, and we had a good mix of people (and my friend's sisters brought their adorable 3 week old and 7 month old babies!).
I did a good job sticking to my cleanse - I did eat some Trader Joe's hummus that probably has more oil in it than if I made it at home, but otherwise lots of veggies, a chopped cabbage and apple salad (and I won the amazing food processor to make it because I hosted!!), and a vegetable curry.
I sound like I'm drinking the kool-aid, but this cookware is awesome - you don't lose any of the nutrients, don't use water or oil, don't even have to stir - look at these veggies! They taste so fresh, but cooked at the same time. And you can use the pan on its lid to serve them, and they stay hot. Once I have my own place, I'm getting them.
I'll keep this short, because I'm pretty much eating the same thing every day except making something yummy and different for dinner. Today, I made this broccoli "cheesy" casserole with quinoa. I had a bunch of collard greens to use up, so I added those in too. It was pretty good! I added avocado, too.
I also tried to make a pumpkin spice/vanilla chia pudding, but it wasn't very good. I experimented with using less chia seeds, but it was too liquidy. I'll have to find the right ratio. I just saved it to throw it into my smoothie the next morning. Feeling great!
I woke up today still exhausted but feeling much better, without the nagging headache. Some friends were planning to come over, so I got up, changed clothes, and even cleaned myself up (I can't shower yet). It was invigorating! hahah.
Started the day with the same ol' smoothie, which is really yummy with the coconut milk and Arbonne protein. I came downstairs and had some Detox tea and, around lunch time, a plain sweet potato with pepper and nutritional yeast on it. I also steamed some greens and topped them with this low-fat tahini-chickpea sauce that I love. I love this sauce for bowls and salads, too. I changed it a little bit by just adding more tahini/chickpeas/water (so I could have more sauce to last me a few days), and omitting the soy sauce.
Doesn't look pretty... but it was good!
I was really terrible once my friends came over, and I ate a ton of Skinny Pop popcorn. I mean, technically it's soy/gluten-free, and air popped popcorn is an OK snack, but this was so yummy. It wasn't the worst thing I could eat, but I was in such a good mood from being able to hobble around without the crutches and having good friends over.... I also had another Energy Fizz stick - pomegranate, this time. Yummy!
I finished the day by making a simple chia seed pudding. I've always wanted to try this! I used a scoop of the Arbonne Chocolate protein powder with three tablespoons chia seeds and one cup of unsweetened coconut milk. It didn't take long in the fridge to plump up - so cool! I enjoyed it by the fire under a heated throw... it was a really nice treat, and really filling from the chia seeds and protein powder! I can't wait to try different combinations. Maybe vanilla and pumpkin spice?
Day 3 was rough. Whenever I do any kind of cleanse or detox, even a simple one like this, my body tends to revolt in the second or third day. I don't know if I buy into it being "toxins leaving my body," but I do think it's some kind of withdrawal of all the bad things I'm not eating right now - gluten, sugar, fat, caffeine, soy, etc. I had a headache all day, and was so exhausted that in the morning I could barely open my pain pill bottle. I didn't even have the energy to listen to a podcast! It was insane. Hopefully this means my body is working hard healing my foot, too.
I kept it pretty simple, foodwise - I updated my smoothie by adding coconut milk, Arbonne Essentials vanilla protein (just 1 scoop instead of 2), and some Arbonne Fiber Boost. I ate my leftover black bean, sweet potato, kale, and avocado mix throughout the day and also had an Arbonne chocolate protein shake with Digestive Plus probiotics. I also tried the Energy Fizz stick, because I was feeling terrible. I think it helped a little bit, but Saturday was a day that just needed to be over. I also snacked on some Mary's Gone Crackers, but now that I was downstairs and could see the package I realized they contain a little bit of soy in the form of tamari sauce as the last ingredient. Argh! Oh well. I'm not perfect!
I had plans to go to a game night some wonderful friends organized, but I couldn't even change my clothes, let alone leave the house. My friend came over and watched Maleficent with me, and I was ready for bed.
I don't know
if anyone will read this, but it's helpful for me to log it all down,
and it's also been helpful for me to peruse other people's blogs/online
diaries of their experiences to get some perspective. Today, my Arbonne
"30 Days to Feeling Fit/Healthy Living" kit arrived in the mail, so I
could really get officially started!
I
was stuck upstairs for the first half of the day, so I had my usual
smoothie for breakfast. I was excited when the doorbell rang around 2:30
PM. and I maneuvered down the stairs to retrieve my Arbonne package.
Watching me get it inside on crutches was probably hilarious.
I
got two packets of Protein Powder (chocolate and vanilla). two boxes of
herbal detox tea, two boxes of Energy Fizz Sticks, some Digestive Plus
probiotics and Daily Fiber Boost, and then a 7 Day Cleanse pack. And a
free product of my choice (decided to try their mineral foundation).
Boom!
I
was hungry, so I mixed two scoops of the Arbonne Essentials Chocolate
Protein powder with some of the Daily Fiber Boost in one of those shaker
cups with some water. It was pretty good, and kept me full until my mom
got home to help me cook dinner. I tried to cook on my own but I'm
still in too much pain and exhausted from my surgery.
I was pretty
happy with how dinner turned out, though! It was very simple - just some
chopped sweet potato, a can of black beans, and a few handfuls kale
sauteed with a little bit of olive oil and some spices (cumin, chili
powder, pepper, paprika). I didn't add any salt and kept the oil to a
minimum. I added some fresh avocado which really tied it all together.
Yum!! And now I have leftovers for tomorrow!
I finished the day with some of the herbal detox tea right before bed. Feeling great!
This "recipe" is really more of the framework to building a yummy, filling smoothie - hence the name "Choose Your Own Adventure." This is my basic, go-to breakfast and you can really switch it up in a lot of ways to keep it interesting and within your preferences. And you never need to put yogurt in it - ew! I don't understand why so many smoothie recipes call for yogurt. Gross. I worked at a smoothie restaurant for a few years in high school, and have been making them for like 15 years now. I have never used yogurt.
Ingredients:
- Liquid base: 1 1/2 cups water OR unsweetened almond milk OR coconut milk
- Greens: handful (or two) of spinach OR kale OR I've even used spring mix lettuce in a pinch
- Banana (the browner it is, the sweeter, obviously - so if you're wanting your smoothie really sweet, I recommend a super spotty banana).
- Frozen fruit: I usually get it at Trader Joes - organic strawberries, boreal blueberries, or organic raspberries, with some frozen mango. I don't measure this, but probably about a cup, and I mix and match depending on what sounds good that day.
- Protein (optional): 1/2 cup uncooked, plain oatmeal OR a scoop of your favorite protein powder (I like Vega or Raw Fit or Arbonne protein) OR you can throw in an avocado or about 1/4 cup nuts if you have a good blender
- Tablespoon chia or flax seeds (also optional, adds some omegas and protein)
I have a Vitamix, so I can throw these all in at once, but otherwise I'd start with the liquid, greens, banana, and protein, blend it up, and then gradually add the frozen fruit until you get your desired thickness. If it gets too thick, add a splash of your liquid.
Hi, strangers! It's been awhile since I've updated this blog. I haven't been cooking as much as I did during law school (weird, right? I guess it's because I don't have my own kitchen right now and am never home...), but I had foot surgery yesterday, am starting a 30 day detox/whole foods cleanse, and thought this might be a good time to update the blog. Since I'm pretty much immobile, why not? My goal is to have it be kind of a daily diary for myself to help keep on track and to keep a log of the recipes that I make, so I can continue incorporating cleaner food into my diet and easily find inspiration later on.
I
already feel healthy and wonderful, but I think we can always strive to
be even better and can benefit from hitting the "reset" button
sometimes. I will be doing the Arbonne "30 Days to Feeling Fit" program. In a nutshell, I'll be having Arbonne Protein/Fiber shakes and/or my usual smoothies for breakfast and lunch, and a simple, whole food, plant-based dinner. If I want a snack or extra energy, I'll have something simple like almonds or fruit/veggies, or an Arbonne Fit Chew or Energy Fizz stick. This is kind of how I already eat, but I think being stuck at home will limit the distracting things - gluten/processed food, sugar, caffeine, and alcohol. Yep, that's right - no alcohol! I might have a glass of wine at my Women's Vegan Thanksgiving and actual Thanksgiving later this month, depending on how I feel.
Here's what I won't be eating:
- meat and dairy (easy - I already haven't for years!)
- gluten (no bread, flour, etc., but I can have quinoa and brown rice - though I'll try to limit them)
- soy (no tofu, tempeh, soy sauce, soy milk, fake vegan "meats" - I don't eat a lot of this anyway, and I can eat other beans!)
- sugar, honey, agave, etc. I'll only have the sugar from a little bit of fruit in my smoothies.
- coffee and alcohol (not so easy - both are important for a social girl like me! so it's good I'm stuck at home right now). I also can't have soda, but that's easy - who drinks soda? ew.
- oils, other than coconut or olive oil
So basically I'll be making a lot of yummy soups and stews, spaghetti squash, roasted veggies, rice and bean bowls, quinoa salads, and more. I am pretty excited about how good it is going to feel!
So, without further ado, here's how it went with Day 1. Day 1 was weird, because I won't receive the Arbonne shipment with all my goodies in the mail until tomorrow. So today I'm kind of easing into it with smoothies and some leftover tortilla soup I made awhile ago. The soup has tofu in it, but I made it and froze it before I decided to do this cleanse and I don't want to waste it. And I'm not perfect!
And then, to add to my imperfectness, I had some visitors - my best friend, Allison, brought me a small coffee that I added plain coconut milk to, and my brother and his girlfriend brought me a slice of vegan pumpkin pie. Fail!! But it was so nice of them, and in the scheme of things, wasn't that bad. Like I said... easing into it...
Breakfast: my usual smoothie recipe
Lunch: I was stuck upstairs, kind of in pain, and snacked on raw almonds and some Mary's Gone Crackers brown rice crackers
Dinner: Adaptation of the basic tortilla soup that I make with 1/2 an avocado (no chips or "cheese," though). And then the glorious pumpkin pie slice from Sweet Pea. Whoops. Oh well, there's always tomorrow! :)
