Day 21: The end.

Wow, 3 weeks on this "cleanse."  At first, I didn't know if I was going to be able to do it all the way through.  But, like I've shared, it became easier and easier, and I actually enjoyed finding new foods and cooking fun, new recipes!

I feel great, my body is happy with me, and I've just found how to love the things that are good for me!

Thanks again to all of you for your support, and for letting me ramble on here so that I could keep myself accountable! :-)

QUESTION FOR YOU: Wanna try it? ;-)

Day 20: Fakin' Bacon!

I just had to share what my breakfast was yesterday morning:

Tempeh Fakin' Bacon...when I opened the package, it kind of smelled like a dog treat, for some reason. :-) I just cooked it over the stove with some olive oil, and it started getting crispy just like real bacon.  I have to say, it was quite yummy for having no meat in it!  The texture is definitely different from the real deal, but it was quite a treat!

(this isn't a picture of my bacon, but it looks just like it - from vegancrunk.blogspot.com)

I also poured myself some unsweetened almond milk.  I had never tried it just by itself before - I had used it in my Groovy Smoothie, but I had never drank it on its own.  Mmm, mmm, mmm!  I recommend you go out and try some now, because it's pretty darn good, and it doesn't come with any of the dangers of cow milk.

I also had a banana.  That's not new, but still tasty.


QUESTION FOR YOU: Have you ever tried a meat substitute?  Fakin bacon, Tofurkey, or something else?

Day 19: No sugar?!?!?

This was probably the hardest thing for me to give up.

It's not that I eat a lot of sugar.  But...I do love my chocolate!  So, why was it important to give up sugar for 21 days?

The average person in America consumes about 2-3 POUNDS of sugar in a week.  Crazy, right??  Well, among other things, it's found in high fructose corn syrup, which is an ingredient in a lot of processed snacks, cereals, microwaved meals, and almost every other processed food!

According to healingdaily.com:

One of sugar's major drawbacks is that it raises the insulin level, which inhibits the release of growth hormones, which in turn depresses the immune system. This is not something you want to take place if you want to avoid disease.

This alone should cause us to take stock of our diet and find where we can cut out sugar.  But, there are even more health concerns associated with consuming refined sugar:

• Insulin resistance, which can lead to Type 2 diabetes
• Reduction of good cholesterol and increase of bad cholesterol
• Depression, hypertension, and migraines
• Hypoglycemia, kidney damage, acidic stomach
• Speeding up the aging process 

Pretty dismal picture, right?  

It's not like we should never have sugar again, but we need to consume it in a much more moderate way.  I've been enjoying natural sugars, like fruits and agave syrup, and they satisfy just as much as chocolate...though I'll still eat some now and then! 

Thanks to healingdaily.com and wikipedia.com for the info!

QUESTION FOR YOU: What tasty treat do you sometimes substitute for sugary items?

Day 18: What the future holds...

Only 3 days left on this plan...I really can't believe it!

I've started to think about how I'm going to continue once the "3 week plan" is over.  I mean, I'm feeling so good when I'm eating this way, and I have a lot of energy.

I think I'll ease back into some things.  Like gluten.  It's wise to slowly add it back to the diet and make sure you still feel ok (digestion and all).  So, that will be the first thing I do.

After that, I think I'll try to continue many of the habits I've formed these past 3 weeks.  The only thing is, I won't deny myself a treat now and then.  I think this strategy will keep me motivated to stay healthy and keep on track!


QUESTION FOR YOU: What motivates you to stay healthy?

Day 16: Salsa, salsa, salsa!

I definitely think my energy level is way up following this plan.  Tonight, I went salsa dancing for the first time in over a year, and I danced the night away with my friend, Rachel!  Fun times!!

Day 15: Groovy Smoothie and Fancy Quesadilla time!

Time to pull out the big guns today...

I made a "Groovy Smoothie" this morning (that's named by my 3-year old nephew, Travis), which my sister Steffany taught me how to make.   Here are her instructions:

a bit of crushed ice
about 1/4 c. soy milk
soy protein powder (when I'm not on the cleanse I use vanilla flavor)
small handful of spinach leaves
small handful of kale and/or parsley (even frozen broccoli if you want)
big handful of strawberries, blueberries and whatever other fruit you have around (plums, peaches, etc are all good)
a small (or 1/2) banana (to give it a creamy texture)
1 tbsp flaxseeds (if you want...really good fiber and omegas, but it tends to be a little gritty.) I've found that if you blend up the flaxseeds first (before you put anything else in the blender), the consistency is best.

blend it all up really, really well. I take the blender cup off and shake it in between blending to make sure it all gets blended well, and I probably blend it for at least 2 minutes total. you want it to be a smooth consistency with no chunks. voila! a yummy smoothie that you'd never even knew had more greens than the average person gets in a day. :)


That's all it takes...it was yummy and creamy, and by 9:00 am I had had my 5 servings of fruit and vegetables!


Then, for dinner, I spent about an hour cooking up some gourmet quesadillas with baked tomatoes, caramelized onions, hand-made guacamole, gluten-free tortillas, and vegan sour cream!  Mmm...mmmm...mmmm!!

Day 14: Two out of three!

Two weeks down!!!  Wow, the time is kinda flying by now.  Compare that to the first few days, when every day seemed like a week! :-)

I'm totally understanding why people say it only takes 3 weeks to form a habit.  This way of eating is becoming natural now.  Tonight, I had a rice cake topped with peanut butter, and it was just as good as any chocolate dessert I used to have!

QUESTION FOR YOU: What's your favorite "healthy" snack?