(warning: this is going to be an insanely long post mainly to record for myself the recipes i've used during this cleanse and for any friends who are looking for things to eat during the cleanse.)
every year (we did skip last year) chris and i try to do the
standard process purification cleanse. it is a 21 day program where you are basically cleansing your body of all the toxins that it accumulates. it involves eating only fruits, vegetables, wild caught fish, organic chicken, brown rice. you are also taking whole food supplements and drinking protein shakes. you can't have sugar, caffeine, grains, alcohol, dairy (except for real butter) or any processed foods. if it sounds hard, let me assure you...it is! no, it really just shows how used to eating unhealthy things we've all become. i don't sell this stuff or anything like that--i'm just really convinced how good it is for you and how good it makes you feel afterwards.
so...chris and i started wednesday, november 16 and will finish tuesday, december 6.
the day before i went and got a few things i knew i wouldn't be having for a while.
like this:
donuts, kolaches & coffee
then for lunch i had two of these:
tempura battered fish tacos from yucatan taco stand.
i felt like i was eating my last meal!
then i came home and cleaned out my fridge to make room for an enormous amount of veggies.
***wednesday, november 16: day 1
breakfast: protein shake (these are insanely good! 1/2 c. juice, 1/2 c. water, 1 T flax oil, 1 cup fruit, and all your protein powders & supplements)
lunch: salad (mixed greens, chopped tomato, cucumber, purple onion & sauteed butternut squash) fruit salad, green tea with a little agave
dinner: lentil stew, fruit salad, tea
lentil stew:
1 lb. lentils, rinsed & drained
1 box organic veggie broth or chicken broth after day 11
add 2 c. water
bring to boil, reduce to medium low, let cook for 20-30 minutes until tender
skim off any fat that may develop
meanwhile:
in 2-3 T evoo saute together:
1 large onion, diced
2 zucchini, diced
2 yellow squash, diced
2 carrots, diced
saute until tender
sprinkle salt, pepper, & cumin over the top
add all of this to your soup pot, along with a jar of tomatillo salsa (no sugar) or fresh tomatillos
chris loves this soup and i make it even when we're not on the cleanse. (truthfully, i'm not a big lentil fan, so this is not my favorite thing on the cleanse.)
just to break up things a little...during the cleanse, this is where you'll find me. it feels like i cook all day long! good thing i like to cook. and my little anthropologie apron from my mom always makes me want to cook!
***thursday, november 17: day 2
breakfast: shake
lunch: chilled cucumber & red onion salad (sliced cukes & onion with salt, pepper & splash of vinegar); sweet potato with butter, cinnamon & agave
dinner: Stir fry with brown rice
saute green pepper, red pepper, onions, mushrooms in evoo, add to brown rice; splash of braggs amino acids (this is probably not technically legal on the cleanse. but it's a healthy version of soy sauce that i love.)
i also have snacks of fruit, a few almonds (you are allowed 7 almonds per day--i usually grab a few more!), brown rice cakes toasted with butter and sea salt on top, and around 3 shakes per day.
***friday, november 18: day 3
breakfast: shake
lunch: brown rice pasta with marinara; sweet potato
(you can't have any other kind of pasta, but since this is made of only organic brown rice, it's legit. also the marinara i used was from a jar, but it didn't have anything bad in it. sometimes i just make my own.)
dinner:
michele's veggie stuffed peppers (this picture was before i put the marinara all over them!)
dessert:
michele's baked apples (scroll down to end of her post)
***saturday, november 19: day 4
breakfast: shake
lunch: pasta & sauce, celery, guacamole (i could probably eat celery sticks and guacamole all day long--i love it!)
dinner: vegetable soup (we are not big veggie soup people, so sadly after we each ate a couple bowls, i threw the rest of this away.)
***sunday, november 20: day 5 (away from home)
breakfast: shake
lunch: savory lettuce wraps, guacamole & carrot sticks, fruit salad
lettuce wraps~
i used the same mixture that i used to stuff the bell peppers, added homemade salsa and wrapped in butter lettuce leaves--yum!
dinner: leftovers
***monday, november 21: day 6
breakfast: is always the same
lunch: celery, carrots & guacamole, salad
dinner: vegetarian tortilla soup & baked apples (just sliced apples with cinnamon, nutmeg, etc. put in greased pan, top with butter & agave. cook until tender.)
soup~
2 T evoo
1 pkg frozed pepper & onion stir fry mix (or just slice fresh produce)
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 T ground cumin
1 can crushed tomatoes (either 14 or 28 oz, depending how tomato-y you want it)
1-3 cans chopped green chiles
56 oz. vegetable broth
salt & pepper
avocado, sliced--add to top when serving
heat oil in large pot over medium heat. stir in peppers & onions, garlic, cumin-cook until veggies are tender. mix in tomatoes and chile peppers. pour in broth & season. bring to boil, reduce to low, simmer 30 minutes. you can also add cooked brown rice--that kind of makes up for the fact that there's no tortillas in it!
this was so good and we ate it so fast i don't even have a picture for it!
***tuesday, november 22: day 7
lunch: leftover pasta & sauce, onion-cucumber-tomato salad with vinegar
dinner: sweet potato;
sauteed cabbage (used the barefoot contessa's recipe, but added sauteed onion, garlic & red bells to mine, along with a dash of louisiana hot sauce at the end--chris sprinkled spicy chipotle over his. this was amazingly good--we didn't even know we liked cabbage!)
***wednesday, november 23: day 8
lunch: roasted tomato basil soup & sauteed cabbage
soup~
3 lbs. plum tomatoes, cut lengthwise
1/4 c. plus 2 T evoo
1 T sea salt
1.5 t. ground pepper
2 c. chopped yellow onion
6 cloves garlic minced
2 T butter
1/4 t. crushed red pepper flakes
1 28 oz. can organic plum tomatoes with juice
4 c. fresh basil leaves
1 t. thyme-fresh or ground
1 qt. water or chicken broth
preheat oven to 400. toss together tomatoes, 1/4 c. evoo, salt & pepper. spread tomatoes in one layer on baking sheet and roast for 45 minutes.
in large stock-pot saute onions & garlic in 2 T butter & evoo until onions start to brown. add canned tomatoes, basil, thyme & water/stock. add roasted tomatoes, including any liquid. bring to boil & simmer for 40 minutes. blend in food processor or blender.
some things i need to tell you:
**i only used 1 pound of fresh tomatoes, the rest i used canned organic.
**this takes a LONG time to make--do not start this if you're starving right then.
**be EXTREMELY careful when you blend this up or you could end up with tomatoes all over every possible surface of your kitchen along with burns to your arms because of boiling tomatoes. just ask me how i know this.
**this was SO, SO good! chris said it tasted just as good as la madeleine's!
dinner: sauteed king salmon, sauteed mushrooms, leftover soup
we decided to start fish on day 8 instead of day 11. and let me tell you how yummy it is to have even a morsel of fish when you've only been eating veggies!
look how excited chris was!
***thursday, november 24: day 9
lunch: leftovers
dinner: marinated mahi mahi, brown rice, leftover veggies
fish~
3 cloves garlic minced
1 t. pepper
1 T evoo
1/4 c. fresh lime juice
1 1/4 c. fresh cilantro, chopped
1.5 lbs fish
combine everything in large ziploc bag and marinate for at least 2 hours. remove fish from marinade & cook. heat remaining marinade in microwave for 1 minute and pour over fish.
***friday, november 25: day 10
lunch: sweet potato, sauteed cabbage
dinner: sauteed alaskan cod,
pioneer woman's green beansi also cooked up a pan of sauteed broccoli and cauliflower which i just love.
here is a picture of creamy red pepper soup which was not very good, so i'm not even going to list the recipe!
that's been the first 10 days!
(since i now have carpal tunnel after typing all that, i'll do the last half some other time!)
it sounds so quick when you're reading through it, but it has been LONG.
i'm a huge snacker--and i don't mean fruit. so it's hard to train yourself not to reach for something bad and just pop it in your mouth. although, amazingly enough, this time i'm not craving sweets. in the past, i've almost been frantic to get something sweet. this time all i'm really craving is bread: tortillas, pitas & hummus & most of all...pizza!
but doing this really teaches you self-discipline--and appreciation for what you have. chris and i were having our own little pity party early on, but then started thinking about people all over the world who just have a few vegetables and rice for every meal--and have no hopes of things changing after 21 days! a little perspective always helps.
and we really do feel better after we do this...for me that involves fewer headaches & other pain, less colon problems, not feeling tired & lethargic, amazing sleep, etc.
sorry to any that have now fallen asleep on their keyboard from sheer boredom!
i promise tomorrow will be something (slightly) less boring :)
i was cleaning the kitchen and feeling all cozy in my fleece jacket and the softest pajama pants i've ever had! (i got them clearanced at target for $3!)
