Cleanse Day 4

I have decided that this cleanse is going to last a total of 4 days. That's the better part of a week. I can't avoid dairy all weekend. I just can't. Plus, as you will see in my upcoming Bookmarked This Week post, there are just too many good things I want to make and eat this weekend (where to begin!?! Perhaps with one of these epic grilled cheeses).

So. With Day 4 behind me, hello coffee this morning! I think if I was giving up coffee and dairy and such for good would actually be easier, but knowing that there is an end in made it really tough. I knew this already, but this week confirmed it- I have an all or nothing mentality. Tyler can attest to that. My mantra is "If you going to do something, do it right or not at all". Type A much?

Thursday Day 4

Breakfast: Smoothie with strawberries, kale, avocado, protein powder, almond milk. Herbal tea.

Lunch: Crispy Potato, Onion and Mushroom Rosti. This, as you can see from the terrible photo, turned out more like a hash than a rosti (which should be like a giant, crispy potato pancake the photo in the link to the recipe is way more appetizing). Next time I will use a non-stick skillet rather than the cast iron pan. Still delicious either way though.

Snack: Carrot Cake (see Day 3) and tea.

Snack (yes, again): dark chocolate

Dinner: Left over Black Bean Taquito (Day 3) and left over fried rice (Day 2). More carrot cake. And more dark chocolate. Doh.

Cleanse Day 3

Yesterday was pretty easy. I think maybe already by body has stopped crying out for coffee and milk. I went to Zumba last night and I had tons of energy. I think I may make it the week.

I thought that I would feel like something was missing in our dinner of Black Bean Taquitos, but I made a quick salsa and avacado spread to dip them in and they were just fine. However, next time I make this recipe there will be cheese involved, and probably sour cream too.

Wednesday Day 3

Breakfast: Smoothie with protien powder (it was whey which is dairy, but I attribute this to my sanity yesterday), 1/4 avacado, 1/2 cup berries, kale, almond milk. Tea to drink.

Lunch: Egg salad sandwich on whole grain bread. Egg salad made with 3 eggs, 1 finely chopped celery stalk, 1 finely chopped dill pickle, 1 tbsp pumpkin puree, 1 tbsp mayo, 1 tsp Dijon mustard, salt and pepper.

Dinner: Black Bean Taquitos (recipe below) with salsa avacado dip. For dip mash 1/2 an avacado, add 1 tbsp salsa, a squeeze of lime juice, salt and pepper.

Dessert: Healthy Carrot Cake from Cook Yourself Thin on The Food Network, 1/2 kiwi, piece of dark chocolate. I know there is sugar in this cake, but there is no dairy (I didn't make the icing) and it has heart healthy nuts. Plus, I really needed to bake something... again, a sanity issue. I halved the recipe and baked it in 4 mini loaf pans for 25-30 minutes.

BLACK BEAN TAQUITOS

Sprinkle in some cheese before rolling the taquitos if desired.

• 1 onion, small dice
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 red pepper, diced
• taco seasoning or make your own- i.e. chili powder, cumin, corriander seed, garlic powder, oregano, cayenne
• 1/2 can black beans, rinsed
• 1/4 cup pumpkin puree
• 4-5 canned plum tomatoes, crushed (I just squeeze them in my hand into the pan)
• 1 tbsp chopped flat leaf parsley
• salt and pepper
• 6 small whole wheat tortillas

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Heat a large skillet with olive oil over medium heat. Add onions and garlic, saute 2 minutes. Add red pepper, saute until vegetables are soft. Add taco seasoning, stir to combine. Add black beans, pumpkin, and tomatoes, heat through. With a potato masher, roughly mash the black beans. Remove from heat and add the parsley. Season with salt and pepper.

Add about 1/4 cup of bean filling to the bottom third of a tortilla. Roll, ensuring the filling all stays in the tortilla. Place on a baking sheet. Once all tortillas are filled, bake in the middle of the oven 15 minutes, or until taquitos are golden brown.

Cleanse Day 2

I'm now onto day 3 and I think this must be the longest in my life I have gone without dairy. All I can think about is cheese. Is this what quitting smoking feels like? Dang, quitting cheese... I mean smoking... is tough work.

Yesterday I realized when I got to work that I forgot to pack some dark chocolate. The only treat I get all day. That I was looking forward to all day. AHHHH! Sorry, but apples just don't cut it. On the plus side, I wasn't as starving day 2 as I was the first day.

I was, however, worried that I would be unable to refuse a leftover Easter cupcake at my parents when I dropped Parker off before work. I actually mulled over this scenario the whole drive there and decided that I literally have no will power and would eat the cupcake. Which lead to a fantasy of biting into the strawberry cupcake, what it would taste like, the smooth buttercream, dense cake.

So that just got awkward... Anyway, this whole scene that I worked up in my head did not occur so the cleanse is saved!

Tuesday Day 2

Breakfast: Egg over easy cooked in olive oil on whole grain toast. Carmel Rooibos tea with lemon

Snack: I planned on having a smoothie but didn't have time

Lunch: Brussels Spouts Fried Rice with Crispy Cauliflower from Serious Eats. This was quite good, but did require some hot sauce in my opinion. The good thing about Asian food is you don't feel like you are missing out on something (i.e. CHEESE).

Snack (2pm): Roasted Madras Chickpeas and chai tea with honey

Snack(4:30pm): Half a peanut butter and jam sandwich on whole grain bread

Dinner: Leftover whole wheat pasta with Braised Broccoli and Tomato Sauce and an apple. I think the sauce is better the second day.

Snack: Egyptian Licorice Tea. This tea is delicious and naturally sweet. It's my fave.

Cleanse Day 1

I feel like I have been on steady diet of bread, eggs, and cheese for the last while, even before Easter. So I have decided this week to do a "cleanse". I've made up my own rules, hence the quotation marks. No dairy, no sugar other than a little dark chocolate, eat whole grains, little meat, and no coffee. Today is day 2. Somebody shoot me.

Why am I doing this if I am miserable? Because I feel unhealthy, but mostly because now that I have started I want to see if I can really go a whole week following these rules. I am guilty of being hypocritical- on hand I can't understand why people say, can't stop eating chips when they are on a diet or quit smoking, but on the other hand I have never actually finished a diet of my own. Yikes. So caffeine headache be damned, I'm going to finish out the week. I'm hoping I'll see a payoff- better skin, shiny hair, more energy. Or at the very least have better poops (sorry, had to go there). Something at least.

In preparation, I read through The Food Lover's Cleanse from Bon Appetit and The Vegan Experience on Serious Eats. I figure if these people who work in the food industry can do it, so can I for a week. I will post if not every day, every couple of days at least.

Monday Day 1

Breakfast: Oatmeal with dried cranberries, cinnamon and almond milk
Rooibos tea with lemon

Snack: Smoothie with 1/2 banana, 1/2 kiwi, 1/4 avocado, kale, almond milk, handful bran cereal (next time I will add berries- it wasn't sweet enough)

Lunch: Rice paper rolls filled with carrot, cucumber, red pepper dipped in Thai sweet chili sauce

Snack: Chai tea with honey, Roasted Madras Chickpeas, 2 crackers (not whole grain, sadly) with tuna salad (tuna, pumpkin puree, mayo)

Dinner: Whole wheat pasta with Braised Broccoli and Tomato Sauce, 1 slice (white!) bread dipped in olive oil and balsamic vinegar

Snack: dark chocolate and 1/4 whole wheat bagel with jam

So I was basically starving all day yesterday despite eating all that food above. I think I have a problem with deprivation and my brain is trying to trick me into eating some cheese. Also I had a headache all day probably due to lack of caffeine. This gets easier, right? The pasta for dinner was okay, but next time (haha there will be no next time) I would use my Roasted Vegetable Sauce.