TGIF!! I Survived Week 1 of the Cleanse!!

TGIF everyone!!

I am so happy to report that I have almost made it through week 1 of my 21 day cleanse. The first few days were rough and I found myself in a seriously funky mood on Monday, but I worked through it and I made it. I really struggled with craving chocolate AND COFFEE ~ which might be because I binged on both every single day before I started the cleanse to ensure I got my fill.

I started feeling good on Wednesday. Yesterday, I woke up feeling amazing! The thing I notice most is that I am very clear-headed. Before, I felt like I was foggy and couldn't focus throughout the day. My stomach is also feeling really good. I have no stomach upset or bloating, I haven't had any hunger pains (because I have been eating a ton of awesome food) and my 'system' seems to be operating at peak performance. Isn't amazing how we don't realize we are not feeling good until we actually do feel good?!?!

I am also shocked at how many awesome meals I have made that fit within the guidelines of my cleanse ~ I certainly do not feel deprived at all!! I am really shocked at how badly I was eating ... even though I claimed to be "healthy". I have been focusing primarily on getting my greens in the morning and eating at least 60% of my food raw. This week, I am going to do some further research on alkaline v acid ~ once I get it clear in my mind, I will share what I learn with you. My perception is really starting to shift - isn't change for the better so exciting?!?!

Speaking of food, make sure you check back later tonight because I have an amazing, cleanse-friendly dinner planned.

 I'll give you a hint....it involves avocados.

Check out this organic beauty that I got in one of my organics order.

Thank you for following along with me this week and for the encouraging words so many have posted. I am really looking forward to the next 2 weeks. If I feel this good already, I can't imagine what awesomeness is in store in the next 14 days!

Until then ~ have a wonderful Friday!

Andrea

Day #1 of Cleanse & Tasty Veggie Wrap

Hello all! Welcome to the first day of my cleanse. I must say so far, so good. I was up bright & early this morning (thanks to my hubby who is away and thought he'd call and say "good morning") and ready to get my 'cleanse' on. So, I got busy making my green juice.

What an amazing, healthy breakfast to feed to your body. 

In the juice, I put baby spinach, kale, celery, pear, green apple, broccoli stems and ginger. Once everything was juiced I added a shot of wheatgrass juice. It was good....but not great. I liked the juice immediately after I finished the juicing, but I had another glass with my lunch and I literally had to choke it down. It did not taste good at all. My juicer is not the best one out there, so I found that it took alot of time, had a lot of waste (I strained out a few extra ounces of juice from the pulp) and my kitchen still looks like a green veggie bomb exploded!

I have a problem when I'm in the kitchen...I am messy and this project was really messy!!

At the end of the day, I did drink about 30 oz of juice, but tomorrow I think I am going to go back to my tried and trusted green smoothies ~ for those of you who are foreign to the green smoothie movement, stay tuned; I will be posting some of my favourite recipes in the days to come. 

Even though I got an early start today, I didn't get out the door to get groceries and run some errands until 11 a.m. By the time I got home and got everything put away, I was starving. I wanted something easy and satisfying...and I wanted it fast!!  

So I pulled out something new I just bought that I was super-excited to try. Food for Life brown rice tortillas.

With wraps, there are no recipes or rules - personally, I use the following steps:

1.  Get "saucy" ;-)

Choose your favourite dressing, condiment or sauce. My all-time favourite is hummus. But, today I thought I'd step outside the box and try something different. I used 1/3 of a large avocado and mashed it in a small bowl. I added a squirt of lemon juice and some Extra Spicy Mrs. Dash.

 2. Pick your favourite filling.
I packed mine full of veggies. Any veggies will do - I used red pepper, carrots, cucumber, crimini mushrooms, alfalfa sprouts and sweet pea sprouts.

Olives also taste amazing in veggie wraps when you are using hummus!

3. Build your wrap.
I first heated my tortilla in the microwave for 5 - 10 seconds. Then you slather on your sauce.

Next, add your veggies.



I am a lover of salt, so I added a sprinkling of spicy Herbamare (sea salt) at this point. I think with the avocado it would have been bland without, but you can spice your wrap up with whatever you love.

4. Wrap and enjoy.

Mmmmm.....so good.

Now if you are a blogger and you are planning to do a post about your lunch, this is where you would insert a picture of  the final product - a gorgeous wrap with ends tucked in and veggies all snuggly inside. Well, that would have been a nice idea and I would have loved to share that with you, but I was so darn hungry that I dug in before I ever thought of getting a final shot. Oops ~ better luck next time ~ I promise next time I will practice a little self control ;-)

Well, it's now the middle of the afternoon and I've got to find some elbow grease and tackle the green beast that is my kitchen. By then it will be time for dinner and I am not sure what exciting recipe I am going to try, but I promise if it is something good, I will get a good shot of it to share with you :-) 

What are favourite sandwich/wrap fillings?

What are your favourite green smoothie combos?

I hope you're having a fun-filled Saturday!

Andrea

Friday Night Snacktime!

Happy Friday!!!

Well we have made it through another week - woo hoo!!  I think that calls for an amazing and delicious snack. I've had an eggplant sitting in my fridge for over a week and all day I have been pondering about what I should do with it ~ so I thought I would try making some Baba Ganoush. I love this dip, but I've never made it....I'm a Baba Ganoush virgin ;-)

Best Baba Ganoush
Adapted from recipe by Winky on http://www.allrecipes.com/

1 medium eggplant
1 lemon, juiced
1/4 c tahini
3 tbsp raw sesame seeds
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp Spicy Herbamare (sea salt)
1 tbsp olive oil

Preheat oven to 375. Wash eggplant and stab with a fork. Place on baking sheet and roast for 45 minutes or until softened.

When done roasting, dunk the eggplant in a large bowl filled with cold water. Once it is cool enough to handle, peel and cut into chunks. Put chunks into blender.

Add lemon juice, tahini, sesame seeds, garlic and sea salt to blender.

Blend until smooth.

Pour mixture into bowl and add olive oil. Mix.

Refrigerate dip for 2 to 3 hours. (for me the waiting time is excruciating....I want to eat it NOW!!)

Serve with your favourite crackers or vegetables. It would also be very tasty in a wrap! I just discovered Mary's Organic Crackers, so that's what I'm having - can you believe that they are wheat free and gluten free....& most importantly full of seedy deliciousness?!?!

Why would you fill up on fatty chips & dip when you can snack on such a divine, healthy snack?

Have I told you how much I love Friday nights :-)

You might remember that tomorrow is a big day for me....it's Day #1 of my 21 day cleanse. I have started stocking up for the coming week....check out some of my purchases so far. I've also purchased some organic fruits and veggies for my first green juice tomorrow morning. I can't tell you how excited I am ~ I am so looking forward to inspiring you & sharing my cleansing journey with you.

Make sure you check back to see how things are going - I'm going to be posting lots of awesome recipes and photos and I am hoping that after doing a bit of research, I can give you some helpful information on some of the things I am trying out over the next few weeks.

Until then....I bid you goodnight!!

Do you reward yourself with a little treat at the end of the work week??
What kind of dips are your fave???

Andrea

The 21 Day Crazy Sexy Diet Cleanse

Happy Tuesday everyone - yayyy for short weeks (anyone who had a holiday yesterday knows what I'm talkin' about)!

Before I get all deep and thoughtful, I want to give a shout out to Angela at Oh She Glows --- I just finished downing a bowl of her Sweet Potato Oatmeal <Breakfast> Casserole it was sooooo good!! There are days when I just love having breakfast for dinner. I followed her recipe exactly, so I'm not going to reiterate it here. All I am going to say is if you love sweet potato casserole, duh ~ who doesn't?? and you love oatmeal, this casserole is for you.

....and now on to deeper more pressing issues:

Do you have any idea what it’s like to feel blissfully whole and comfortable in your skin? Do you know what it’s like to be centered and grounded yet filled with an abundant supply of zippy energy?

These are two questions that are asked by author Kris Carr on her website http://www.crazysexydiet.com/.

My answer: No!! I don't know what it would be like to feel blissfully whole & comfortable in my skin and No! I don't know what it's like to be centered and grounded nor have I ever felt full of "zippy energy (except when I was maybe like 5 years old)!!"

Do I want these things: Hell Yes!!

This weekend my sweet mom drove me around to 3 different Chapters bookstores so I could buy Kris Carr's book, Crazy Sexy Diet. I am just finishing Chapter 2 and already I am feeling really excited about the possibilities should I be able to follow the principles set out in this book.

My plan right now is to finish reading the book this week and then embark on the 21 day cleanse. I've never tried stuck to this type of plan, but I'm feeling ready and motivated and this time I am going to do it fully, completely and with an open heart and mind.

Body image has always been a sensitive issue for me. I have to work really hard and be very careful about what I eat in order to maintain a figure that I am happy with. I just have to look at a Boston Cream Donut and I swear that an inch is added to my bum.

I had a lot of success with Weight Watchers a few years back, but in order to shed the pounds, I primarily ate grilled cheese sandwiches using Weight Watchers bread, butter flavoured Pam instead of butter and light cheese slices. Healthy?? I think not. 

A few years have now passed since shedding the pounds and here I am a few pounds heavier finding all my pants to be just a little bit snugger. My dilemma now is that I am much more aware about what I am putting in my mouth and the long-term impact of the food choices that I make, so a Weight Watchers grilled cheese just isn't going to cut it. 

So, I am going to try to stick to eating healthy, whole, organic when possible foods to see if I can get myself and my body back on track. I really want to know, does this change in eating really give you the healthy glow I've been reading about from all my favourite bloggers? ~  because if it does I wanna get me some of that!!

There are no more "diets" for this chickie-poo - only healthy eating and conscious habits like less TV and more exercise!! I'm going to create a new page on my blog that is going to chronicle my 21 day journey - so check back often and chime in with your thoughts and encouragement...& appropriate recipes if you have some!

I'm looking forward to taking this journey with you!!

Andrea