My New Weekday Morning Routine

Coffee Update, four hours after last post:

Ugh...crashing...hard.  Hard to concentrate.  Tired, fuzzy brain.  Thoughts are scattered, bad mood, cranky, snippy.  I didn't expect such a strong reaction, and I don't like it at all.

Reflection, today:

Though I couldn't wait to go back to coffee during Clean, this reaction left me feeling the worst I've felt in a month.  I could go back to my old ways, but why would I when it makes me feel like this?  The effect of caffeine was so strong!  I'm not saying I'll never drink coffee again, but I've definitely experienced a shift.  I felt horrible! As a former coffee junkie, I can see that I'm officially rehabbed.  What?!  Yes!  I'm no longer a coffee fanatic.  

Instead of the coffee maker, my new kitchen appliance of choice in the morning has become my blender.  During Clean, I made sure to add a full scoop of hemp protein to each smoothie.  It has a taste that can be a little overpowering.  Since I mostly avoided any sweetener during Clean, I decided to try a new smoothie recipe with bananas and dates to see if it would make the hemp taste mellow out a bit.

The chocolate almond smoothie from Thrive was a great inspiration.  I mostly followed the recipe.  I didn't use quite as much water, added a little almond milk, and used cocoa, not carob.  I think I used more than the tablespoon he recommended too.  This smoothie is sweetened with a banana and two organic dates, I used a little less hemp than I used on Clean, and it was perfect.  It gave me a sustained energy and left me full all the way 'til lunch.

I love the taste of coffee, so I will definitely have it again (probably on the weekends, and in moderation).  During the week, it looks like it will be protein smoothies for me.  I'll let you know how it goes!

Coffee, Straight Up

Wow, my first cup in like a month (no caffeine on the Clean Program)!

Can you just smell those beans?

Starting small, don't want to be a crazed maniac.

Oh yeah...there it is.  That's the good stuff.  Straight up, no sweetener, no milk.

How does it feel?  Fantastic!  Though my thoughts are a little scattered and I keep shaking my foot.  Woo hoo!  Coffee!!!

Vegan Clean Program, I'm Done!

Twenty-one days ago, I started following a veganized version of Dr. Alejandro Junger's Clean Program.  I drank a healthy organic smoothie for breakfast, had a whole foods lunch, and a soup for dinner.  I snacked on yummy things like organic kale chips and raw organic cashews, and sometimes I had a juice for dessert.

Blended curried split pea soup from Vegan With a Vengeance

Overall, I feel really good.  Three weeks later and no complaints here.  I've lost two pounds and a teeny bit of body fat, and my clothes fit better.  Weight loss wasn't one of my goals, I followed the Clean Program because I wanted to press restart after too many sugar cookies over the holidays.  I wanted to pick up some more healthy habits, and maybe make a difference in the way I react to certain allergens.

I discovered the deliciousness of kale chips while on Clean!

The verdict? I'm really happy that I saw this through.  It wasn't always easy, especially with my busy schedule.  I went without sugar for the longest time I can remember.  I mean, I had fruit and a bit of agave here and there, but I'm talking about straight up sugar.  I feel good about that.  We installed a water filter on the tap in our kitchen.  I thought it would be expensive or a pain, but it was like $20 at Target and really easy to install.  I drank filtered water with organic lemon throughout the day.  I started skin brushing regularly.  I left a 12 hour window between my last meal of the day and my first.  I started my day with a healthy smoothie and usually ended it with a healthy juice.  These are habits I could easily continue.

I have allergies to cats, and on Day 20, I spent some time at a house with a cat.  I love kitties, and they love me.  They always end up rubbing on me, and I always end up petting them (it's hard not to!).  Usually, this ends with hives, fatigue, and a stuffy nose.  On Day 20 and 21...no reaction.  I couldn't believe it!  Could it be that simple changes in my diet made this happen?  I've been getting allergy shots for almost a year now, but this is the first time I haven't had a reaction in what seems like forever.  The weird thing is, I was getting hives during Clean, so at one point during the 21 days I came to the conclusion that the Detox wasn't fixing my allergies.  The fact that I didn't react to the cat was really awesome and surprising!

It wasn't all smooth sailin' on Clean, though.  There were definite moments of frustration and hunger.  If I got hungry during the day, I'd snack on a Clean approved food.  I found I had the hardest time on Friday nights, after dinner.  It's hard to find the resolve to say no to seemingly healthy food like popcorn while watching a movie.  I would make some tea and move on, and I found my craving would pass without any drama.

Now that it's done, I look forward to sneaking in a little coffee back in my life.  It's been a almost a month!  The only strong cravings I had were for coffee, so I'm going to bring it back. After Clean, you're supposed to bring certain foods and drinks on the "no" list back gradually to see how you react.  Since my diet was healthy to begin with, I don't think I'll see too much of a problem.  It will be interesting to see how my allergies go.  After coffee, I'm bringing back peanut butter, bananas, soy, then gluten.  I'll definitely post updates on how it goes!

Have you ever given up coffee?  How did it go?

Hop Like a Marsupial

I saw kangaroos in Australia.  Lots and lots of them.  They are amazing animals!  I took these photos at an animal sanctuary where we got to walk around with them.  It was one of the coolest things ever!!!

About to hop!

Aaaaawwww....sleepy joey and mommy 'roo.

I am in awe of their body structure.  So cool!

Wallaby in the sun.

I love to watch them go!

Kale Chips!

Wow, do I love kale chips!  I am a huge fan of kale in general, but this is my first time making them into chips.  The finished product is delicate and crispy.  It has a potato chip crunch, and it's so good for you!

There are tons of recipes for kale chips on the internet, but I decided to use this recipe that included nutritional yeast, sesame oil, and apple cider vinegar.  It also calls for tamari, but I can't do soy during the Clean Program.  Here is what I did.

-a bunch of organic kale
-2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
-1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
-1 tablespoon sesame oil
-about 1/4 tsp sea salt

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.  Take a large bowl and mix together the nutritional yeast, apple cider vinegar, salt, and sesame oil.  Add small pieces (about 2 inches) of ripped kale, avoiding large stems.  Mix it all together with your hands.  Take the time to rub in the nutritional yeast mixture to make sure it's really evenly coated.  

Put it on a baking sheet that has parchment paper on it.  Bake for about 15 minutes.  The end result should be crispy, you can put it in for 5 more minutes if it's not totally crisp.

I like this mixture raw too!  In fact, I think it will be the basis for most of my salads this week.