Day 4

Today I researched "Dry Brushing" and why you should do it before you take a shower in the morning. It was recommended in the CSD book and so following along obediently we are doing just that. It's amazing how much softer my skin feels after doing this for a few days.
According to Dr. Denice Moffat, dry brushing helps stimulate your body organs during the detoxification process including the skin, gut, kidneys, liver, lungs, lymphatic system, and mucous membranes. Additionally, there are benefits to dry brushing. It:

1.    Removes cellulite

2.    Cleanses the lymphatic system

3.    Removes dead skin layers

4.    Strengthens the immune system

5.     Stimulates the hormone and oil-producing glands

6.    Tightens the skin preventing premature aging

7.    Tones the muscles

8.    Stimulates circulation

9.      Improves the function of the nervous system

10.    Helps digestion

11.   AND it’s easy, inexpensive and invigorating! 

For details on this go here to learn more.

I have been drinking more water than usual, which I realize I should have been doing all along. I feel so much better! (duh)... I dropped 6 pounds in the last 4 days, most of which is probably just water. But who cares! Woohoo! Go me! The green juice actually tastes way better now than it did in the beginning. Maybe because there has been no sugar in my diet whatsoever. Maybe my taste buds are clearer. I dunno, But whatev, it's tasty. 

 I haven't been bloated, and I haven't felt sluggish at all. Instead I have felt energized. So, I found 20 minutes and did  Zumba today, which was a lot of fun. 

The menu the last 2 days have been absolutely amazing.  Remember I told you we were going to have Mexican Pilaf for dinner last night? ZOMG it was AH-MAY-ZING. So good that I am sharing the recipe.

It's by Chad Sarno from www.rawchef.com. I am consistently amazed at how tasty a raw food diet is. I am chicken when it comes to stepping outside my comfort zone in food. I know what I like, and I have always been hesitant to do something like this. But Hey! I'm trading that attitude for a more open mind. So yay. 

Mexican Pilaf

(serves 4)

3 Cups wild rice, cooked

3 TB diced green onion

1 1/2 Cup tomato diced

1/2 cup cilantro chopped

2 TB fresh oregano, minced

1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes soaked for 1-3 hours

1/2 TB garlic, minced

1 1/2 TB white miso

1 TB chili powder

1/2 tsp cumin

2 TB lemon juice

3 TB olive oil

1 tsp. sea salt

place the cooked rice in mixing bowl and hand toss with green onion, 1 cup of diced tomato, cilantro, and oregano. Set aside. In high speed blender, blend the sun-dried tomatoes, remaining 1/2 cup diced tomato, miso, garlic, chili powder, cumin, lemon juice, olive oil, and salt until smooth. Toss tomato paste with rice and mix well. 

And DONE!

It's really good. You should try it. Really. 

Tonight we made raw noodles out of zucchini. That's something I had never even thought of. I just took my vegetable peeler and sliced noodles out of the zucchini. I poured pesto over the bowl of zucchini noodles and voila! Delicious. Ryan tried a noodle and didn't even know that it wasn't pasta. The best part? No bloating from pasta. That is a total win. 

And for dessert tonight? I'm taking frozen bananas, and blending them to make soft serve ice cream. It's so good. 

Glenn has a massive headache from the detox, but other than that he's doing well. He learned that he likes wild rice (didn't know). 

Anyway, today was a win.  I am hoping to add yoga and meditation to my day tomorrow. We shall see. :)

Day 3

So far, today has exceeded my expectations. I assumed that it would be a crappy day, as I am in full swing in detox. That hasn't been the case. I guess it's partly because I ate almost totally healthy before I started. I know the sugar withdrawl headache might get to me, but maybe not. Before this whole process started my beloved Glenn went out and totally bought Dunkin Donuts as a last hurrah. We never eat donuts and I have to admit it was a delicious treat.
Thank goodness I am allowed dark chocolate on this. I don't know what I would do if that was taken away from me.
I can tell you today that even though I am really tired (from my little one who chooses to party down all night long), I feel focused and have a sense of clarity. My mood is stable, and I feel that bubbly hope inside that hasn't been there in a long time.

I am still determined to wiggle and shake my rear today, I might have to dance with Isabella to get it done, but It's happening.

I am really excited to try a new recipe today. It's a mexican pilaf with wild rice and it has green onions, tomatoes, cilantro, fresh oregano, sundried tomatoes( mmmm) white miso, garlic, chili powder, and cumin in it. I am not sure about the miso, as I have never tried it. But looking forward to something new.

Today instead of a green juice, we made a green smoothie which was like green cream. Looked absolutely disgusting. But I totally enjoyed it. It had an avocado, romaine leaves, cucumber, liquid vitamin, a banana, and some agave.
Glenn wasn't thrilled with it the first few sips, but he got over it and ended up liking it. I was full for hours!
I'm starving right this second, but only because I couldn't stomach anymore of the leftovers that I have been eating for 3 meals. It does get old. I learned that I need variety.

I haven't lost any weight yet which I am kinda surprised at, but I don't feel bloated for the first time in ages. This has to be a good thing. I wonder if the bloating is from gluten, dairy, or animal products? Hmmm.
Glenn bought us a Bread machine which I am super excited about using. We realized that going Gluten Free was not going to be cheap, so we are going to make our own. Now I just have to find the ingredients. I found a recipe that I can't wait to try. I will let you know how it goes!

Today's affirmation made me laugh:
I am so frickin cool and delicious and pretty and witty and sharp! I love every inch of me. Who wouldn't? (from Kris Carr, author of Crazy Sexy Diet)
I might have to write that one out and tape it to the bathroom mirror.

So, what helps to keep you on track when it gets hard to keep going? I would love to hear your tips, or yummy things to try.

Day 2

Today kind of sucked. Kind of. I have to admit to being quite cranky. Which I understand is part of the whole detoxification process. But man, I felt like snapping at everyone, and it was hard to keep myself in check.
Tomorrow will probably be the worst of the bad days, and then I expect it to get better. I just need to remember to be gentle with myself. The brain psychology is amazing, because I would have given anything to have dairy today, or meat even. My brain was trying to talk me into it. My will power over came it, but it was tough. I also started rationalizing why, after 3 weeks I would be done with this crap and go back to my old life and blah blah blah. I have to remember that I am doing this for bigger reasons than to cave in.
It's not just for 3 weeks. I mean, the vegan part is, but until I wrap my brain around why I *should* be, then I think I will be easing into this new lifestyle.
I do know that I need to start movin and groovin more. I'm not exercising enough and that needs to change, immediately.
I haven't had time to meditate. I didn't get a chance to do any yoga.
Baby steps right? Sigh.

Day 1

It turns out that you really should read the manual before operating new appliances. If you don't, you could possibly have cucumber fiber spewed 5 feet across the kitchen from your juicer. I'm just saying.

Today was day one of my 21 day cleanse based on the book "Crazy Sexy Diet", by Kris Carr. I am venturing into new territory here. Never before have I gone vegan. But if it makes me feel better then I am up for anything. Not that I feel bad. I just want to feel better, if that makes sense to you. From reading The CSD book, I realized that I am deficient in Vitamin D. The symptoms of being deficient are: Fatigue, General muscle pain and weakness, Tender Sternum when you press on it, Muscle Cramps, Joint Pain, Chronic Pain, Weight Gain, Restless Sleep, Poor concentration, and Headaches. I have 7 of these symptoms. Yuck!
Of course, I could name 5 other reasons why I feel the way I do, but I'm going to go with this. I am also hopeful that I might lose 20-25 lbs (not in 3 weeks!) over the course of the next 2 months.

Becoming vegan is quite a process. There is a lot of food that I didn't realize had animal/dairy proteins in. Trying a raw food diet is something else entirely. Obviously they go together well. I figured or assumed that eating this way was going to taste like I was eating cardboard. I was totally wrong. I am glad I was wrong, that's for sure.
Every single recipe that I tried today I admit to being afraid of. I wasn't sure how I would feel about juicing green veggies for breakfast. I can tell you that the juice wasn't delicious. At least in my opinion.

Maybe my opinion will change as I go through it. It wasn't bad, just not amazing. I will say that I did feel energized, at least for part of the day. I attribute my exhaustion from 2 hours of sleep the night before because my daughter Isabella doesn't sleep.
 But I did like the other recipes. I took the time, and prepared everything with intention. I enjoyed the process of being in unfamiliar territory. I enjoyed overcoming the fear that I wouldn't like  anything. I also ate my meals slowly, and really appreciated them.

My favorite recipe that I was most worried about was "Eggless Salad Sandwiches" but I really liked it. I made my own Vegan Mayo from an online recipe which was surprisingly good!
The salad recipe is from Chad Sarno and is quite delicious.

Tofu Eggless Salad

(serves 6)

2 blocks firm tofu

1 cup vegan mayo

1/4 cup finely diced onion

1/2 cup carrot grated

1/3 cup parsley finely chopped

1/4 cup nutritional yeast

1 TB Dijon mustard

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp pepper

In a large bowl, crumble all tofu. Hand mix with remaining ingredients until thoroughly combined. Serve on gluten free bread. Will keep for 5 days.

I opened my mind, I had childlike curiosity, and kept any crankiness in check. I know that I am capable of this, as well as resilient. I can do this. 

THE DOWNSIDE: 

Right now I have a mean and nasty headache that hasn't gone away yet. Probably from the lack of caffeine, or from the beginning to detox phase.  I am hopeful that it will get better soon. 

What's really cool for me is that my hubby Glenn is doing this with me, and here is what he has to say about it:

"I noticed from the juicing and veggie eating today, my mind seems a lot clearer, without the caffeine. I was really energized, especially the first half of the day. So far so good. I was surprised that the recipes were going to be so good. I think the Eggless salad was fantastic, as well as the Kale salad."

So there ya go. Day 1 is put to bed. We did it!