Recap on The Cleanse, Finally It's Over!

Lunch

For lunch I made the last soup of my cleanse! I went with the "Metro Mex Avocado Soup".

I ate half of it for lunch and saved the other half for dinner on the go.

Dinner

I had my soup out in the sun during the opera break. I watched a video on how to make nut butter in preparation for my return to food! More details on that in just a sec!
Magical Friday= out of opera early! We got out when the sun was still out can you imagine that!? It was just setting as I was riding back home so I busted out my camera while still on my bike and decided to snap a shot.
I whizzed by Freebirds with my camera out. I'm sure I looked pretty crazy! I decided it's time I give a little mini-tour of my town.
Here is my beloved Co-op! This is where I do basically all my shopping.
Look at me go!
This is the view down the intersection where my apartment is. Nothing special? Well if you look closely at the horizon, that's the ocean!!
I realized that I haven't made an appearance on my blog in a while and I wanted to show that I am cleansed! Do I look cleansed? haha I wasn't completely satisfied with this picture and I would've stayed outside and attempted to take more with my auto timer but then some weirdo boys pulled up in a car right outside so I retreated.
I came inside and tried again using a shelf and was successful until something awful happened...this is the last picture I took with my camera...before it fell to it's death! My camera committed suicide off the shelf and now I am camera-less and distraught!!
I am definitely going to try and get a new camera tomorrow but I will miss my old one. I had the baby for four years and it was a gift from my best friend Billy. Any suggestions on what kind of camera I should go for?

Dessert

I don't have a picture :( but I had my last coconut shake after I got home. It was great!

Feelings on The Cleanse

Overall, I am very glad that I decided to do this cleanse and that I actually stuck with it. I didn't cheat and I followed the rules! (except the wheatgrass shot..) It's really satisfying to see something through till the end and complete a goal.

The Cons: I was HUNGRY! This cleanse was no where near a substantial amount of calories to keep me feel throughout the day and dealing with the hunger pains was not easy. I had to really stretch out my 'meals' so that psychologically I wouldn't lose it. Also, there was a lot of preparation involved in each recipe and I had to account for that time each day.

The Pros: I did this cleanse because I was feeling totally out of control of my portions. I was just eating way too much! Going on this cleanse really put things into perspective for me in that I don't need so much to be full! It also exposed many moments when my hunger was completely related to appetite as opposed to actual physical hunger. Sometimes I just want to eat to eat and I am much more aware of those moments now. Not to mention I lost a few pounds! I also noticed that since doing the cleanse, the head aches I was having for days in a row are gone, and in the morning I have energy to get up and go. I hope that my system appreciated the discipline it took to pull through and is now a blank slate of cleanliness!

Coming Off The Cleanse

After doing a fairly intense cleanse as the one I did, it is recommended to start slowly and stick with raw fruits and veggies and some cooked veggies. After a few days you can decide if you want to start eating cooked protein again. In preparation for my return to food, Kelsey and I have decided to go raw for a week!! We have spent the last hour (at least) planning out each meal for the coming week. I am just excited to eat food for breakfast tomorrow! We have made sure to chose recipes that have common ingredients and scheduled prep time when we have the time to spare. We are so busy during the week that going raw is a pretty ambitious ordeal. (As if a cleanse wasn't!) It's also tough when you're dealing with produce that can get pricey and go bad if it goes unused. Having Kels for a raw partner is going to make this a breeze!

Get ready for some ridiculously tasty raw food coming your way!

I am putting myself to bed! The plan for tomorrow is an early departure for the Farmer's Market Downtown and I am so stoked!

See you in the AM!

Day 3 Part Two

Lunch

After class I was hungry! I decided to dig into my carrot soup which helped easy the hunger pangs. Gosh, this cleanse is really kicking my butt! These last two days have been really tough.

Snack

At work my stomach was growling, and it wasn't using its library voice! I decided to take a little break and have some of my coconut shake just to put something in there.
This shake wasn't as sweet as the previous ones have been but it was still tasty.
During the choir break I finished off the last of my shake!

Dinner

Ok, now don't judge my soup. This was an experiment and it was one of those looks-terrible-tastes-great results. I used carrot juice, cilantro, 1/2 an avocado, sprouts, spinach, arugula, lemon juice, lime juice, and salt and pepper. It tasted good but it didn't fill me up!
I decided to make another soup invention this time using more avocado, carrot juice, beet greens, arugula, sprouts, cilantro, lemon juice, salt and pepper, and cholula.
I thought this was pretty.
It was tasty for about the first half and then something about it started to really bother me and I couldn't eat much more of it. I think I might be OD-ing on these flavors and it's time for me to give it a rest and do something new. I think it also has to do with the carrot juice. It's so sweet and the combo is to weird for me. The same thing happens to me with coconut curry, the combo of sweet and spiced and salty or something... I don't know it just rubbed me the wrong way. Now my stomach feels weeeird!

This cleanse really is getting tough, I can't lie. I don't know if I am just tired, or cranky, or the bad soup put me in a bad mood, but I really wanted to give up :(. I have heard that the third day can be the worst, just like starting a diet. But that's why I gotta stick with it and push through till the end. It really is so short and its almost over. My biggest concern now should be deciding what fabulous thing will be my first meal once I'm done!

I have a quiz in Baroque music history tomorrow and a voice lesson. Basically, I need to do a little studying and then hit the sack!

Lastly, I just want to say, thanks for being there blog world. I probably would have given up my cleanse or at least cheated horribly had it not been for you and the standard you now hold me to. I have an obligation to get through the cleanse, if not for me, then for you!

Sleep well!

Day 2= Hunger!

Update: Day 2 of the cleanse

Breakfast
For breakfast I used one of my handy prepacked bags of veggies and juiced up

• 1 cucumber
• 9 stalks of celery
• 3 large stalks of collard greens
• 1 beet
• 1 apple
• 1 Tbsp fresh ginger

I also added some of my pre-squeezed lemon juice.
Filled it right to the brim! The collard greens made juice that was super dark green. Adding the apple was really the way to go. It added just the right amount of sweetness to turn this drink from weird to kinda good!

Lunch
For lunch I made the "Back to Greens" Soup. It called for

• 2 cups of spinach
• 1 cup srouts
• 1 medium tomato
• 1/2 cucumber
• 1 avocado
• 1/2 cup cilantro
• 2 tsp. lime juice
• 1/8 tsp. Celtic sea salt

I made my breakfast juice, lunch soup, and coconut shake all at the same time in the morning. I was still undecided about coming home during my little break before opera and work.
I did end up coming home after all and decided to make my dinner soup before I even sat down to eat lunch. That's how to not get caught by the clock! For dinner I made the "Metro Mex Avocado Soup" again with some slight variations. I used grape tomatoes instead of medium sized and added a 1/2 cup purified water.

Lunch was pretty tasty with all my toppings!
I also had half of my sweet coconut shake as a treat.
I'd been feeling pretty good but I think I hit a second day hunger slump because I was HUNGRY! I wanted more of everything and it has been sooo hard not to cheat but I am proud to report that I have not! I'm starting to see that lunch time is one of my weak times. I come home and want to just fill up on everything. I think packed lunches might have to be mandatory for me!

Dinner
Now, I know what you're probably thinking about my dinner soup and that it doesn't look very appetizing but don't judge a book by its cover! This soup was delicious! I didn't blend it completely smooth so there was some crunch to it. While I was eating this soup, it was so good that it made me want to go raw! Kelsey and I have already been discussing logistics for a raw food week. It would be the perfect way for me to come off my cleanse too. If only dehydrators weren't so expensive :(
During my break at work I savored the last of my coconut shake like a 'dessert'.
I like the technique of splitting this shake into two mini snacks. Makes it last longer!
I was wearing a huge ring, by the way, that I got from Kelsey for my birthday. Gotta represent!
During opera I read further in my cleanse book and...not to get too intimate, but it suggested getting a natural laxative like magnesium oxide to take at night. I stopped off at the coop after work and picked up these cleanse capsules. I took two right away and during my cleanse I'm going to try to take four a day.
We'll see what happens! I'm feeling pretty good so far. What I have noticed is that I feel a little weak when I'm singing, like I can't sustain my breath as long. I think I was just tired at opera haha.
Only 3 more days to go!!

The Urban Revitalizer Begins!

Cleanse!
Guess what everyone: I'm doing a cleanse!! I am using "Super Cleanse" by Adina Niemerow as my guide and I'm doing a five day cleanse called "The Urban Revitalizer". It's supposed to be particularly good for stress. It was a no brainer! Here is the meal by meal break down of my cleanse:

On waking: Hot Lemon Water
Breakfast: Coffee-Break Green Healer Juice
Snack: Coffee-Break Green Healer Juice
Lunch: Soup of my choice (I'm also supposed to have a shot of wheatgrass but I haven't been. I should look into it!)
Snack: Rush-Hour Coconut Shake
Dinner: Soup of my choice

I had the bright idea last night that because there's so much juicing and blending to do for the cleanse that I should make bags with exactly what I need ahead of time. It's all about making it convenient for myself!
Breakfast
Here's my morning Hot Lemon Water. It's a tablespoon of lemon juice, hot water, and a small shake of cayenne pepper. Not the tastiest thing in the world but it's growing on me and the warm liquid is comforting and filling.
For 'breakfast' I juiced celery, ginger, a cucumber, and a beet. I also added some lemon juice. (I forgot to all the collard greens! Shoot!)
Beet juice is intense! I was tying to catch a drop falling but my camera isn't savvy enough.
The finished product!
Later on, I came home after class and got to work. It takes a ridiculous amount of limes to make a substantial amount of lime juice sheesh! I decided to juice some lemons and all of the limes in advance so I won't have to deal with it again for a while.
Lemon and lime juice in convenient little jars.

Lunch
For lunch I decided to make the "Metro Mex Avocado Soup". I had to alter it a bit so I will just include what I used here:

• 4 medium tomatoes, diced
• 1 cup cilantro, finely chopped
• 2 medium radishes, chopped
  
• 1 avocado, peeled and pitted
• 2 Tbsp. fresh lime juice
• 1/4 tsp. Celtic sea salt
• 1/4 tsp. minced garlic
• 1/8 tsp. ground black pepper
• 1 tsp. lemon juice
• 1/4 tsp. cumin
• dash of Cholula hot sauce

First I blended the tomatoes and radishes. That was a lot of tomatoes!
Next the cup of cilantro. I am crazy about this herb!
The book suggests Himalayan or Celtic sea salt. I couldn't find Himalayan so I went for Celtic. Looking back I wish I'd gotten some that was more finely ground but the price difference was dramatic and I'm only using this for a 5 day period. I can make it work!
I put it all in the blender for a whirl!
Cholula is my all time favorite hot sauce!
Not to shabby, huh? I blended it till it was smooth since there were a lot of different things going on in there.
It was sort of like a moose, thick but light. It was pretty tasty too!

Snack
For my "Rush-Hour Coconut Shake" I had to do a little battle with this young coconut. You're supposed to cut off all the outer skin till you reach the brown exterior and cut at a 45 degree angle then pop the top of like the lid of a can... yeah not so much! I ended up whacking the outside with garlic press like it was a hammer just so I could get my knife in.
Eventually I was successful!
I blended all the coconut water and 4 Tbsp. of the meat in the blender till it was smooth and voila: my shake! I made another batch of lemon water and headed to choir.
This was actually really delicious and is quickly become my snack/dessert that I look forward to very much! It's so coconutty and refreshing!

Dinner
For dinner I decided to make the 'Cream-of-Commuting Carrot Soup'. I used:

• 1 cup carrot juice
• 1/2 cup cucumber juice
• 1/2 avocado
• 1/2 cup sprouts
• 1/2 tsp. minced garlic
• 2 tsp. fresh ginger
• 1/2 cup purified water
• 1 tsp. lime juice

It was a very liquidy soup and could easily be drunk if I was on the go.
Dessert was the rest of my coconut shake.
So far so good! I am feeling a little hungry but for the most part, I am excited to detox and put good things in my body. I feel like I'm making a blank slate for myself! ...I did dream (literally) about making waffles for breakfast... that should pass though haha!
Update on Day Two coming soon!