Random stuff

So apparently the Kitchn had us beat to finding healthy snacks for our superbowl parties.  Here's one that looks good to me:
Rosemary Roasted Almonds


...and then I got sidetracked and found some other recipes that would work for Week 1:
Raw Kale and Grapefruit Salad
when can we eat potatoes?
another butternut squash soup


I was also looking around for other folks who are doing/have done this cleanse and I found one:
http://yummyrunning.blogspot.com/2012/01/whole-living-cleanse-week-1.html

Today has been a bit tough so far.  I made the mistake of just having OJ this morning rather than making a smoothie.  And quickly realized that's not enough.  I meant to bring some cherries to snack on during the training but I forgot them and wouldn't have had time to eat them anyway.  So I rushed home starving at 3 to eat some soup.  Today would have definitely been one of those days that I'd have gone out of my way to eat something really great after work.  And by really great I mean Epic Burger, or a Hoosier Mama chicken pot pie or a slice of pizza from Dante's (because I did think about taking detours to or stopping at all of these places on my way home).  But I refrained.

This whole community support thing is working though.  At the training today I found out the Susan is also doing the cleanse and Yesenia is still going strong!  I talked to my mom last night and she's on board but missing her coffee.  Knowing all of this helped me not eat one of the granola bars or mini candy bars that were staring me in the face today.

I've also realized that simple things like checking my email are a bit harder because apparently I inundate my life with blogs, pictures, articles, & deals revolving around eating.  I get multiple emails each day specifically about food or restaurants.  Many of the links that pop up on my facebook wall are regarding food.  I only check a few websites on a daily basis, and they all have to do with food.  So basically, the internet isn't quite as much fun without being able to eat whatever I want.  But alas, I'll live.  I also enjoy looking for healthy food options so I'll focus on that.

Last night I made those crackers I had posted about earlier, and they are delicious! Super easy, and I actually feel full after eating them. I think the secret is the chia seeds. They get a bit sticky after you add water and help to hold the cracker together.
I used my crackers as a base for a peanut butter and banana snack last night. So good!

Oh, and here is the left over kale salad I ate from Native Foods yesterday, along with some vegan/gluten-free pea soup from Target. Both were excellent.

I'm feeling good and sleeping good right now. I feel like I'm eating more than usual just to get my normal amount of calories, but that hasn't been too bad. Yay to Colleen for thinking about Super Bowl Recipes! I would add Guacamole and Salsa to the list.

Let's Get Ready to SUPERBOWL!

Headache. Check.  Falling asleep early. Yep (9:30 last night). Other than the fact that all of these recipes are pointy and acidic and killing the burned roof of my mouth (I don't know when that happened, but it's not going away, ug), I'm feeling good.  The mango smoothie I made this morning was great.  I barely thought about being hungry while at work today because I was extra busy getting ready for this training tomorrow.  


But let's get serious, the weekend is coming!  I've already had to be reminded that I'm on a cleanse when I suggested we take Matt's dad to dinner for his birthday this weekend.  We'll figure something else to do.  Otherwise, I'm not even sure exactly who is playing the Superbowl this weekend, but I know a lot of people will be going to parties.  So what can you bring and what can you eat while continuing to be on the cleanse?  


Send some links of good Superbowl party recipes!  


I will say that the Minty Pea Dip would be a totally acceptable veggie tray dip. I've been snacking on it and I like it.  It doesn't have a pea-y flavor, so even if you don't like peas, I'm thinking you might like it.   


Oops! Almost burned my kale chips.  Gotta go!

This sucks.

I’m not going to sugar coat it. This sucks. Yesterday I was feeling really good until about 2:00 or 3:00 in the afternoon. At that point my caffeine withdrawal began to surface. My head hurt. I couldn’t work. I think I spent two hours just staring at my computer screen wanting to curl up in the fetal position. I typically have about 180-225 mg of caffeine a day (that’s a tall coffee at Starbucks in the morning and maybe a diet soda at a night). So, going cold turkey was difficult. Around 4:30 I ended up finding some decaffeinated green tea in my office’s kitchen, and drank a cup. It definitely helped. Decaf green tea has about 0-12 mg of caffeine in it, so who knows if that little bit of caffeine helped my symptoms go away, or if it was just psychosomatic.

The food sitch is fine though. I ate a delicious kale salad at Native Foods last night. I was surprised at how many food items on their menu contain gluten, beans, or soy – but at least I could eat their kale salad. Also, I was definitely really hungry throughout the day yesterday, so I just kept snacking on blueberries and nuts. I ate about a pint of blueberries yesterday.

I was exhausted when I got home and ended up falling asleep on the couch at 10pm. I didn’t wake up till 8 this morning. This morning though, I feel good. I made a ton of green juice and ate a few walnuts. I also now have a bit of decaf green tea next to me in case my headache comes back. This afternoon I’ll be eating the leftovers from my salad last night, and some split pea soup.

This does suck, but I can handle it.

One Day Down

It's the end of the first day of my cleanse and for the most part I'm feeling good.  I have a headache though and it feels much later than the 9 o'clock hour that it is.  The food that I ate today was delicious: antioxidant smoothie, sweet potato/celery/apple salad (i forgot to take a pic, but believe me, it was really good), minty pea dip with carrots as a mid-afternoon snack, broccoli & squash with tahini dressing for dinner, and now i'm eating some cherries for dessert.  

Other than the food changes I'm trying to make, I'm also trying to improve other eating-related habits that I've started to form in the past couple of years.  So today at lunchtime, I actually took a lunch break.  I didn't simply eat my lunch at my desk and I didn't just skip lunch, which was happening most days.  I told two of my coworkers of my plan to not eat my lunch at my desk and they then joined me in the kitchen instead of going back to their offices.  (One of them was my awesome supervisor who is currently on Week 2 of the cleanse)  After we ate, I went on a 15 minute walk around the neighborhood.  

I feel like this is going to be a good move if I can keep it up!  

Thanks to everyone who have written some awesome posts.  I took my assessment today and I love the alternate recipes and ideas!  Keep 'em coming!

Day 1 is here

Let me tell you a secret... Last night when I looked at the clock just after midnight, a deep feeling of dread crept over me. "What have I signed myself up for?!", I thought.

This morning I’m feeling good though. I had a few realizations in the past few days of foods that I can eat, which will help keep me going. The first is Almond Milk, which I think will be a nice way to make morning smoothies taste a little richer and keep me a bit fuller. The second is, broadly, seeds. Seeds? Yes. Seeds. Chia seeds. Flax seeds. Pepitas. You get the idea. It doesn’t sound exciting, but what I like about seeds is that they give you a crisper texture than you can get with nuts. I actually found a great recipe for crackers made from just seeds, garlic and onions, then either dehydrated or baked low. I plan on making these in these soon. Let me know if you want in.

So, here is my plan for the day:

This morning I had a mixed berry smoothie with almond milk, with some raw pepitas from trader joes.

For lunch today I think I’m going have an avocado and tomotoes with some salsa.

I’m actually meeting a colleague for dinner, which would probably be a disaster, but we’re going to Native Foods Café which has a number of raw and vegan options. I’m sure I’ll be able to find something.

Snacks today include almonds, dried seaweed ‘chips’, and maybe a Lara Bar. Lara Bars by the way are just dates and walnuts along with maybe another fruit.

Best of luck folks!