I'm just going to pretend that the weekend never happened and get right back on track today. I've already resisted a Cadbury Creme Egg (my favorite!), so I think I'm doing pretty good. Today I've eaten:
- Breakfast: 1 banana, small coffee
- Snack: Amy's vegetarian samosa wrap (little bit cheating but still pretty alkaline)
- Lunch: Two pieces of sprouted toast, with half an avocado on each, plus a green salad with lemon and olive oil
- Snack: Package of nori and a pear
- Dinner: 1 large green smoothie and a salmon filet
- Dessert: all-natural sugar-free/vegan/raw chocolate
It was a pretty good day! (I also had precisely five sour cherry balls, so sue me)
Some body stats from the weekend:
Weight: 134 pounds (lost six pounds so far - mostly water weight)
Skin over the weekend: Pretty terrific!
Skin today after eating horribly this weekend: Pretty horrific!
Mood: Mostly feeling bad about everything I ate that was decidedly NOT alkaline this weekend, but still surprisingly upbeat about the diet. Avocados help.
Here's to getting back on track!
Monday, February 24, 2014
Friday, February 21, 2014
Mostly Raw Challenge (Alkalizing Diet): Days 2 + 3 (also a soup)
You guys this is hard. Like REALLY hard. I thought giving up sugar was bad... this is so much worse!
Day one was fine (as you know), day two was fine also... On day two I had:
- Breakfast: Half cup of Greek yogurt with pineapple, strawberries, and walnuts (all alkalizing foods)
- Lunch: Large green salad with avocado, olive oil, and lemon juice (lemon juice and greens are especially alkalizing, and the fat from the avocado helps with nutrient absorption).
- Second Lunch: More summer rolls! Delish.
- Dinner: This AMAZING vegan cauliflower soup. I'll put the recipe down at the bottom. So good!
- Dessert: More vegan/raw chocolate (can't. get. enough).
So that was all the good news about day two. It was great! Day three started out just swell:
- Breakfast: Half cup of Greek yogurt with walnuts, ground flax seeds, and honey
- Lunch: Leftover cauliflower soup and a large green apple
- Dinner: Green smoothie (super simple - just spinach, banana, orange juice, and spirulina powder)
It started to get dicey after work. Making cookies with the girls I nanny proved problematic... I scarfed down FIVE (!) tiny balls of cookie dough within like twenty seconds. Not great. Then, I went home and promptly ate two slices of my Mom's homemade bread. How could I not?! To err is human. I'll do better today, I swear! On the upside, my stats:
- Weight: 137 pounds (lost three pounds, but could easily be water weight - like I said before, weight loss is not my goal. I have been drinking a ton of water with chlorophyll though)
- Mood: It's been pretty meh. This has been a rough week (car accident on Monday), dealing with my insurance has been awful. My poor mood could easily be attributed to that, with nothing to do with my diet. I've still been pretty tired so we'll see how the whole energy-business goes.
- Skin: It's looking great! Almost completely smooth and much more even-toned. I don't know if it is because of all the chlorophyll water, lack of sugar and processed foods, or the coconut oil... probably a combination of the three.
Now, more about this whole "alkalizing diet" business. No, it isn't just an excuse to eat cooked foods and yogurt (although I'm definitely glad that I can). There are lot's of books on the matter, but they pretty much all just say that the body works best at a slightly alkaline level. When we digest foods, they will either make our body more acidic or more alkaline - so obviously, foods that make our body more acidic are bad (and they allow opportunistic fungi and bacteria to flourish, while also breaking down important body systems so that your body has to spend more time fixing itself). Foods that make our body more alkaline are great - they keep you in working order while allowing GOOD bacteria to flourish and bad bacteria to die off. Some say that it is impossible for diseases to survive in an alkaline body, but I don't know how true that is... We'll have to see. Here is a quick and dirty list of acid-forming vs. alkaline-forming foods:
Acid-Forming (Bad!):
- All meats
- All dairy (except for fermented dairy like kefir or yogurt)
- Processed foods and simple carbs like sugar
- Most grains
- Most oils (especially processed oils)
- Alcohol :( No wine!
Alkalizing (Good!):
- Most vegetables (fresh is best!)
- Most fruits (Fresh - not dried. The sugar content is too high in dried fruits)
- Fermented dairy
- Tofu, Tempeh, etc. (Fermented foods are generally great)
- Things like seaweed and chlorophyll water (derived from green foods - green foods are super alkalizing normally)
- Apple cider vinegar
And here is a detailed list of alkaline vs. acid-forming foods. It is a bit extreme, but super helpful.
More about the science behind this way of eating in my next post. For now, cauliflower soup. I'm sure I'll be eating this a lot in the coming weeks!
Vegan Cauliflower Soup
- First, remove the outer leaves and stalk of the cauliflower. Slice two thick steaks from the center of the head, taking care to make sure the florets don't all fall apart (should look something like the steak in the photo above)
- Reserve the two steaks. Roughly chop the rest of the florets and save them in a bowl or something.
- In a soup-sized pan, add the olive oil and onion. Cook over medium heat until mostly caramelized, and then add the chopped garlic and cook till it is soft. Keep a close eye on it - garlic likes to burn.
- While the onions and garlic are caramelizing, coat both sides of the steaks with olive oil and a little salt and garlic powder. Place on a metal baking sheet.
- Cut the top off of the head of garlic. Place the head (lots of heads in this recipe) upside down on a cookie sheet that is covered in olive oil, so that the garlic is directly touching the oil.
- Put the steaks and garlic into a 400 degree oven and cook the steaks for about 15 minutes on each side - it will be ready to take out when you can cut through the steak with a fork, and when both sides have developed a beautiful caramelization.
- The garlic will be finished roasting when the bulb feels slightly squishy to the tough - it will be done before the cauliflower steaks are. Take it out and let it cool.
- While the steaks are roasting, and after your onions and garlic are caramelized, add the rest of the cauliflower to the soup pan and cover with water (eyeball it - it should look like a soup amount). Add the mustard and chili powders. Also add about a teaspoon of salt, but it depends on your tastes.
- Simmer the soup for about a half an hour, or until the florets are soft. Add the roasted garlic (you can squeeze it directly out of the bulb) and boil for another 10 minutes or so.
- Pour the soup into a blender and blend until it looks totally smooth and creamy. Pour it back in the soup pan afterwords. Now is the time to adjust seasonings, until it tastes right.
- When you're ready to eat, serve this soup with a cauliflower steak placed on top - so good! Doesn't even taste vegan. Thanks, garlic!
Day one was fine (as you know), day two was fine also... On day two I had:
- Breakfast: Half cup of Greek yogurt with pineapple, strawberries, and walnuts (all alkalizing foods)
- Lunch: Large green salad with avocado, olive oil, and lemon juice (lemon juice and greens are especially alkalizing, and the fat from the avocado helps with nutrient absorption).
- Second Lunch: More summer rolls! Delish.
- Dinner: This AMAZING vegan cauliflower soup. I'll put the recipe down at the bottom. So good!
- Dessert: More vegan/raw chocolate (can't. get. enough).
So that was all the good news about day two. It was great! Day three started out just swell:
- Breakfast: Half cup of Greek yogurt with walnuts, ground flax seeds, and honey
- Lunch: Leftover cauliflower soup and a large green apple
- Dinner: Green smoothie (super simple - just spinach, banana, orange juice, and spirulina powder)
It started to get dicey after work. Making cookies with the girls I nanny proved problematic... I scarfed down FIVE (!) tiny balls of cookie dough within like twenty seconds. Not great. Then, I went home and promptly ate two slices of my Mom's homemade bread. How could I not?! To err is human. I'll do better today, I swear! On the upside, my stats:
- Weight: 137 pounds (lost three pounds, but could easily be water weight - like I said before, weight loss is not my goal. I have been drinking a ton of water with chlorophyll though)
- Mood: It's been pretty meh. This has been a rough week (car accident on Monday), dealing with my insurance has been awful. My poor mood could easily be attributed to that, with nothing to do with my diet. I've still been pretty tired so we'll see how the whole energy-business goes.
- Skin: It's looking great! Almost completely smooth and much more even-toned. I don't know if it is because of all the chlorophyll water, lack of sugar and processed foods, or the coconut oil... probably a combination of the three.
Now, more about this whole "alkalizing diet" business. No, it isn't just an excuse to eat cooked foods and yogurt (although I'm definitely glad that I can). There are lot's of books on the matter, but they pretty much all just say that the body works best at a slightly alkaline level. When we digest foods, they will either make our body more acidic or more alkaline - so obviously, foods that make our body more acidic are bad (and they allow opportunistic fungi and bacteria to flourish, while also breaking down important body systems so that your body has to spend more time fixing itself). Foods that make our body more alkaline are great - they keep you in working order while allowing GOOD bacteria to flourish and bad bacteria to die off. Some say that it is impossible for diseases to survive in an alkaline body, but I don't know how true that is... We'll have to see. Here is a quick and dirty list of acid-forming vs. alkaline-forming foods:
Acid-Forming (Bad!):
- All meats
- All dairy (except for fermented dairy like kefir or yogurt)
- Processed foods and simple carbs like sugar
- Most grains
- Most oils (especially processed oils)
- Alcohol :( No wine!
Alkalizing (Good!):
- Most vegetables (fresh is best!)
- Most fruits (Fresh - not dried. The sugar content is too high in dried fruits)
- Fermented dairy
- Tofu, Tempeh, etc. (Fermented foods are generally great)
- Things like seaweed and chlorophyll water (derived from green foods - green foods are super alkalizing normally)
- Apple cider vinegar
And here is a detailed list of alkaline vs. acid-forming foods. It is a bit extreme, but super helpful.
More about the science behind this way of eating in my next post. For now, cauliflower soup. I'm sure I'll be eating this a lot in the coming weeks!
Vegan Cauliflower Soup
Serves 2
- 1 head of garlic, unpeeled
- 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped fine
- 1 head of cauliflower
- 1 small onion, peeled and diced
- Chili powder (Depends on how spicy you like it - I like 1 tsp)
- Garlic powder
- Mustard powder (1 tsp)
- salt
- olive oil
- First, remove the outer leaves and stalk of the cauliflower. Slice two thick steaks from the center of the head, taking care to make sure the florets don't all fall apart (should look something like the steak in the photo above)
- Reserve the two steaks. Roughly chop the rest of the florets and save them in a bowl or something.
- In a soup-sized pan, add the olive oil and onion. Cook over medium heat until mostly caramelized, and then add the chopped garlic and cook till it is soft. Keep a close eye on it - garlic likes to burn.
- While the onions and garlic are caramelizing, coat both sides of the steaks with olive oil and a little salt and garlic powder. Place on a metal baking sheet.
- Cut the top off of the head of garlic. Place the head (lots of heads in this recipe) upside down on a cookie sheet that is covered in olive oil, so that the garlic is directly touching the oil.
- Put the steaks and garlic into a 400 degree oven and cook the steaks for about 15 minutes on each side - it will be ready to take out when you can cut through the steak with a fork, and when both sides have developed a beautiful caramelization.
- The garlic will be finished roasting when the bulb feels slightly squishy to the tough - it will be done before the cauliflower steaks are. Take it out and let it cool.
- While the steaks are roasting, and after your onions and garlic are caramelized, add the rest of the cauliflower to the soup pan and cover with water (eyeball it - it should look like a soup amount). Add the mustard and chili powders. Also add about a teaspoon of salt, but it depends on your tastes.
- Simmer the soup for about a half an hour, or until the florets are soft. Add the roasted garlic (you can squeeze it directly out of the bulb) and boil for another 10 minutes or so.
- Pour the soup into a blender and blend until it looks totally smooth and creamy. Pour it back in the soup pan afterwords. Now is the time to adjust seasonings, until it tastes right.
- When you're ready to eat, serve this soup with a cauliflower steak placed on top - so good! Doesn't even taste vegan. Thanks, garlic!
Wednesday, February 19, 2014
Mostly Raw Challenge - Day 1. Also, Summer rolls!
I just wanted to quickly note how this diet has been going so far.
Yesterday (Day 1), I ate:
Breakfast:
- 1 fresh orange
- 1 cup of coffee (acidifying, so sue me)
- Half a nalgene of chlorophyll water (an extremely alkalizing drink... maybe that cancels out the coffee?)
Lunch:
- Large green salad
- Packet of dried and salted Nori
Dinner:
- Fresh vegan-raw summer rolls with an oil-based dipping sauce
Dessert:
- Tofu-Banana Chocolate Pudding
- Coconut Oil-based Chocolate
It was all pretty delicious and definitely in accordance with the alkalizing diet. The summer rolls were FANTASTIC - I've made summer rolls before, and it was simple to update them for the vegan/mostly raw/alkalizing diet (all you have to do is not include meat!)
They were also pretty beautiful, thanks to the fresh and vibrant veggies and not to my awful wrapping ability:
I'll do better next time, I swear! Recipe is below.
Vegan Summer Rolls (makes two):
- 2 baby cucumbers, sliced into matchsticks
- 2 large carrots, peeled
- 1 avocado, sliced
- 2-3 radishes, sliced or matchsticked
- 6 large basil leaves (fresh)
- 8-10 large mint leaves (fresh)
- Two sheets of rice paper
Sauce:
- 1.5 tbs soy sauce
- 1-2 tsp sriracha sauce (depending on how spicy you want it!)
- 2 tsp fresh grated ginger
- 1.5 tsp sesame oil
- 1 tbs apple cider vinegar
For the sauce, combine all ingredients (feel free to tweak to your taste) and mix well to combine. Reserve in a small bowl for dipping the summer rolls.
- For the rolls, soak the rice paper (one at a time as you make the rolls) in some room-temperature water for about a minute. When it's ready, it will be soft like cooked pasta. Lay it gently on a clean plate.
- Start by laying down the basil leaves in a line, leaving about an inch of extra wrapper on either end. Add the mint leaves over the basil.
- Add your avocado next and then the rest of your veggies - take care to keep everything in a neat line so that you can roll up your summer roll!
- After you've piled on all your fillings, begin by folding one side over the veggies and then the other. Finish by folding as much of the shorter ends over the roll as you can - but be careful not to rip your wrapper, they're delicate!
- Enjoy as soon as you can - although these do keep pretty well. If you store them, make sure the wrappers aren't touching one another, or they'll stick together.
Yesterday (Day 1), I ate:
Breakfast:
- 1 fresh orange
- 1 cup of coffee (acidifying, so sue me)
- Half a nalgene of chlorophyll water (an extremely alkalizing drink... maybe that cancels out the coffee?)
Lunch:
- Large green salad
- Packet of dried and salted Nori
Dinner:
- Fresh vegan-raw summer rolls with an oil-based dipping sauce
Dessert:
- Tofu-Banana Chocolate Pudding
- Coconut Oil-based ChocolateIt was all pretty delicious and definitely in accordance with the alkalizing diet. The summer rolls were FANTASTIC - I've made summer rolls before, and it was simple to update them for the vegan/mostly raw/alkalizing diet (all you have to do is not include meat!)
They were also pretty beautiful, thanks to the fresh and vibrant veggies and not to my awful wrapping ability:
I have to say, I feel really good after yesterday! Looking forward to lunch. I'll post today's meals tonight when I can, as well as more specific stats and more about the alkaline diet.
Vegan Summer Rolls (makes two):
- 2 baby cucumbers, sliced into matchsticks
- 2 large carrots, peeled
- 1 avocado, sliced
- 2-3 radishes, sliced or matchsticked
- 6 large basil leaves (fresh)
- 8-10 large mint leaves (fresh)
- Two sheets of rice paper
Sauce:
- 1.5 tbs soy sauce
- 1-2 tsp sriracha sauce (depending on how spicy you want it!)
- 2 tsp fresh grated ginger
- 1.5 tsp sesame oil
- 1 tbs apple cider vinegar
For the sauce, combine all ingredients (feel free to tweak to your taste) and mix well to combine. Reserve in a small bowl for dipping the summer rolls.
- For the rolls, soak the rice paper (one at a time as you make the rolls) in some room-temperature water for about a minute. When it's ready, it will be soft like cooked pasta. Lay it gently on a clean plate.
- Start by laying down the basil leaves in a line, leaving about an inch of extra wrapper on either end. Add the mint leaves over the basil.
- Add your avocado next and then the rest of your veggies - take care to keep everything in a neat line so that you can roll up your summer roll!
- After you've piled on all your fillings, begin by folding one side over the veggies and then the other. Finish by folding as much of the shorter ends over the roll as you can - but be careful not to rip your wrapper, they're delicate!
- Enjoy as soon as you can - although these do keep pretty well. If you store them, make sure the wrappers aren't touching one another, or they'll stick together.
Monday, February 17, 2014
Raw food challenge in 3, 2, 1 ...
Before I slip off into my salsa con queso/chocolate chip cookie/Baggage Claim induced coma, let me just start off my saying that I have a HUGE problem with sugar. As in, I would live off of it if I could. It tastes like heaven mixed with sunshine mixed with more sugar, because sugar is the ultimate tasty tasty goodness. I'm not messing around, I love it. Unfortunately, it's also terrible for you (obviously) and has HUGE detrimental effects on one's health.
On Thursday, I just finished giving up processed sugar for 21 days - that meant no sugar, no "evaporated cane juice", no high fructose corn syrup, none of that. I also cut out agave nectar (almost as bad as regular sugar) and mostly cut out honey (I would have eaten it by the jar if I had allowed myself during the no-sugar challenge). I was allowed fruit, and occasionally splurged on sugar-free tasty treats (turns out, not so tasty - but who cares in a pinch?).
The results of that challenge, I have to say, were less than stellar. I thought I would come out of those three weeks from hell a glowing goddess of health and vitality... instead I ended up kind of a bitch (sugar withdrawal) who mostly just wanted more sugar.
So, I figure I'll have to do something drastic if I really want to kick my addiction to sugar, improve my mood, fix my skin issues, and all that jazz. I'll be starting a mostly-raw diet tomorrow, and I'll be documenting my meals, daily health, progress, etc. every day. I think that if I DON'T update someone somewhere on my progress, I'll just stop doing it.
Let me also just say that I LOVE food. This is not some wacko diet that I'm going on to lose weight or anything like that - I just want to change my relationship with food. Right now, food is my ultimate source of comfort (along with online shopping). It shouldn't be that way, especially if my comfort foods end up being cheese dip and cookie-based items of deliciousness. Hopefully, at the end of this diet/cleanse, I can look at food as a source of nourishment and supreme enjoyment, while still being comforted - I just want my comfort food choices to be healthier.
I'll also be following the principles of the Alkaline diet, which I'll write more about in my next post. In a nutshell, the body is healthiest in a slightly alkaline state. Unfortunately, the diet of the average American is very high in "acid-causing" foods, foods that make the body more acidic. These include meats, dairy products, refined sugars, unhealthy fats.... you get the drift. Alkalizing foods, on the other hand, include things like fruits, vegetables, and the like. There are many health problems associated with an "acidic body", which I'll also write more about next time. For now, I'll just outline the diet that I'll be starting tomorrow and will HOPEFULLY be continuing for the next month or so.
Cutting out:
- All processed sugars (again) - this includes hidden sugars in things like salad dressing!
- All processed carbs (bread, pasta, SUGAR-FREE COOKIES, etc.)
- Meat
- Dairy (*sob*)
- Anything else that looks like it might be crap for my body.
Cutting back on:
- Cooked vegetables that are more healthful in their raw state
- Legumes, etc. (I'll include them in my diet because I need the protein, but I'm cutting back because they're difficult to digest - more on that later)
- Fruits. I ate WAY too much fruit during my no-sugar diet and I've read that that behavior will hinder the sugar-addiction-recovery process.
Go nuts on:
- Raw vegetables
- Water
- Liquid chlorophyll (extremely alkalizing)
- Nori sheets (if I don't have something salty-snacky I'll go insane. Also extremely alkalizing)
Now for some mortifying personal body stats (for the sake of science!):
Height: 5'8"
Weight: 140 lbs (glubbity glub glub. Love my body but wish it was more compact!)
General feeling: Fatigued, very difficult to wake up in the morning, constantly craving sugar.
Skin: Sort of dull. Tired looking. Irritated flare-ups on my cheeks and forehead. In total: not great!
WE SHALL SEE HOW FAR I MAKE IT ON THE MORROW. FOR NOW, I DISAPPEAR INTO THE ETHER.
On Thursday, I just finished giving up processed sugar for 21 days - that meant no sugar, no "evaporated cane juice", no high fructose corn syrup, none of that. I also cut out agave nectar (almost as bad as regular sugar) and mostly cut out honey (I would have eaten it by the jar if I had allowed myself during the no-sugar challenge). I was allowed fruit, and occasionally splurged on sugar-free tasty treats (turns out, not so tasty - but who cares in a pinch?).
The results of that challenge, I have to say, were less than stellar. I thought I would come out of those three weeks from hell a glowing goddess of health and vitality... instead I ended up kind of a bitch (sugar withdrawal) who mostly just wanted more sugar.
So, I figure I'll have to do something drastic if I really want to kick my addiction to sugar, improve my mood, fix my skin issues, and all that jazz. I'll be starting a mostly-raw diet tomorrow, and I'll be documenting my meals, daily health, progress, etc. every day. I think that if I DON'T update someone somewhere on my progress, I'll just stop doing it.
Let me also just say that I LOVE food. This is not some wacko diet that I'm going on to lose weight or anything like that - I just want to change my relationship with food. Right now, food is my ultimate source of comfort (along with online shopping). It shouldn't be that way, especially if my comfort foods end up being cheese dip and cookie-based items of deliciousness. Hopefully, at the end of this diet/cleanse, I can look at food as a source of nourishment and supreme enjoyment, while still being comforted - I just want my comfort food choices to be healthier.
I'll also be following the principles of the Alkaline diet, which I'll write more about in my next post. In a nutshell, the body is healthiest in a slightly alkaline state. Unfortunately, the diet of the average American is very high in "acid-causing" foods, foods that make the body more acidic. These include meats, dairy products, refined sugars, unhealthy fats.... you get the drift. Alkalizing foods, on the other hand, include things like fruits, vegetables, and the like. There are many health problems associated with an "acidic body", which I'll also write more about next time. For now, I'll just outline the diet that I'll be starting tomorrow and will HOPEFULLY be continuing for the next month or so.
Cutting out:
- All processed sugars (again) - this includes hidden sugars in things like salad dressing!
- All processed carbs (bread, pasta, SUGAR-FREE COOKIES, etc.)
- Meat
- Dairy (*sob*)
- Anything else that looks like it might be crap for my body.
Cutting back on:
- Cooked vegetables that are more healthful in their raw state
- Legumes, etc. (I'll include them in my diet because I need the protein, but I'm cutting back because they're difficult to digest - more on that later)
- Fruits. I ate WAY too much fruit during my no-sugar diet and I've read that that behavior will hinder the sugar-addiction-recovery process.
Go nuts on:
- Raw vegetables
- Water
- Liquid chlorophyll (extremely alkalizing)
- Nori sheets (if I don't have something salty-snacky I'll go insane. Also extremely alkalizing)
Now for some mortifying personal body stats (for the sake of science!):
Height: 5'8"
Weight: 140 lbs (glubbity glub glub. Love my body but wish it was more compact!)
General feeling: Fatigued, very difficult to wake up in the morning, constantly craving sugar.
Skin: Sort of dull. Tired looking. Irritated flare-ups on my cheeks and forehead. In total: not great!
WE SHALL SEE HOW FAR I MAKE IT ON THE MORROW. FOR NOW, I DISAPPEAR INTO THE ETHER.
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