I made it!!! Final day of the cleanse and it feels really good to have accomplished what I set out to do. Many of the changes I made in the last 10 days will become life-long habits. We had small group tonight and to celebrate I let myself eat pretty much whatever I wanted. Surprisingly, I choose pretty wisely! I avoided the chips and just ate the dip with a spoon and didn't over do it. I made two appetizers and both were all natural. I'm including the recipes below.
Breakfast--Fiber drink (so glad to be done with these!)
Mid-morning snack--almonds
Lunch--salad with walnuts and spray dressing
Afternoon snack--peanut butter
Dinner--small group appetizers
Workout--3-mile run!! Yay!!! It was almost 60 degrees here so I couldn't pass it up!
Here's what I made for appetizers:
Almost Guacamole
2 avocados
1 medium red onion
1 package cherry tomatos
handful cilantro
1 lime
Dice the avocado, onion and cherry tomatoes. Mix
together with handful of chopped cilantro and juice from 1 lime. Serve immediately with tortilla chips.
Cheese Queso
Usually you use Velveeta, which is far from natural, but this recipe uses all natural ingredients.
1 can Rotel
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1 block cheddar cheese, shredded
1 block colby jack cheese, shredded
1 cup milk
In a saucepan, mix the butter and flour until butter is melted into flour. Whisk in milk until all the flour is dissolved. Slowly add in the shredded cheese a little at a time, only adding more when the other is melted in. Once all the cheese is in and melted, add in the Rotel. Put in crock pot to keep warm. Serve with chips.
I'm getting so close I can taste the carbs ;) Tomorrow night we have small group and it's appetizer night...usually that would totally be bad news for my willpower, but I am working on a couple of all natural, not-so-bad-for-you appetizers...tune in tomorrow!
Breakfast--Fiber drink
Mid-morning snack--nothing
Lunch--two eggs
Afternoon snack--two handful almonds (I added in a few chocolate chips...I'm so bad! ;)
Dinner--chicken stir-fry with lots of yummy veggies
Evening snack--two spoonfuls of peanut butter
LOTS of water all day
Workout--25 minutes on the elliptical
On another note, I made the kids mac and cheese today for lunch. Usually, I buy and make the Kroger brand mac and cheese out of the box. Whoa additives and preservatives!!
Thankfully, Trader's Joes also makes a boxed mac and cheese that's much more natural, with most ingredients I can pronounce. Still several unrecognizable ingredients, but again, better than the other stuff...baby steps :) Bonus, the Trader's Joes was on sale for $.99...not too shabby!
Two more days left! I thought for sure by today I'd be fantasizing about the first things I would eat when I was done with my cleanse. I'm excited to add carbs and some treats back in, but overall, I feel like my tastes have changed and I am not craving those things like I used to.
Breakfast--Fiber drink (blech...only 2 more times!)
Mid-morning snack--nothing
Lunch--green monster smoothie
Afternoon snack--two handful almonds (I added in a few chocolate chips...I'm so bad! ;)
Dinner--sausage (no, not at all natural, but I love sausage and I refuse to throw away or waste food!) with vegetable primavera, mushrooms and onions
Evening snack--two spoonfuls of peanut butter
LOTS of water all day
Workout--Insanity Cardio Power and Resistance
It's amazing to me how after only 7 days my stomach has already gotten smaller. I am full a lot sooner than I've ever been and all without any carbs or starches! After the cleanse, I was planning on going back to eating carbs and starches, but I think I can cut back a lot on the amount I eat. For example, I think instead of a starch at every dinner, we'll do a starch at every other dinner. The last 7 days have proven I don't NEED them, I just WANT them :)
Breakfast--banana
Mid-morning snack--nothing
Lunch--leftover fajita veggies
Afternoon snack--two handful almonds
Dinner--grilled boneless pork chop with Montgomery Inn sauce, green beans and strawberries
Evening snack--two spoonfuls of peanut butter
Herbal pills before bed and LOTS of water all day
Workout--25 minutes elliptical
Well, we're halfway through the cleanse...WOOHOO! Matt and I remarked this morning how much more energized we feel. Our son got up at an ungodly hour this morning and usually by 3 p.m. I'm done for the day. Today, however, by 3 p.m. I still had plenty of energy, even with the lack of sleep. Just reinforcing that our bodies really aren't made to eat junk! This skeptic is quickly becoming a believer!!
Breakfast--banana
Mid-morning snack--nothing
Lunch--The rest of my Chipolte burrito bowl from yesterday (still tasted SOOO good!!)
Afternoon snack--two handfuls of almonds
Dinner--pork roast with sauerkraut and cooked carrots, bruchetta-stuffed mushrooms
Evening snack--two spoonfuls of peanut butter
Herbal pills before bed and LOTS of water
Workout--hour of Pilates
Today was the same as the first two, nothing new to report!
Breakfast--Advocare fiber drink
Mid-morning snack--nothing
Lunch--banana with peanut butter
Afternoon snack--two handfuls of almonds
Dinner--red pepper, onion, mushroom and ham 3-egg omelette
Herbal pills before bed and LOTS of water
Workout--Insanity Cardio Abs
Not much
change from yesterday. I did remember to take a picture of my dinner
tonight, but only remembered half way through, so excuse the lack of
food on the plate :) I went through my database of go-to recipes for
dinner and threw out a ton that were not natural or clean. I then spent
too much time on Pinterest finding new recipes. But, I can't wait to
share what I've found with you!
Breakfast--Advocare fiber drink
Mid-morning snack--two handfuls of nuts
Lunch--salad with carrots, few squirts of Wishbone ranch dressing spray and cubed ham
Afternoon snack--two spoonfuls of peanut butter
Dinner--swai fillets, zucchini and tomato sauce and broccoli slaw
Herbal pills before bed and LOTS of water
Workout--25 minutes elliptical and abs
In my research
into clean eating, a lot of people suggested doing a cleanse before
starting clean eating, especially to clear out the liver. My experience
with cleanses is minimal and what I found online reinforced what I
thought a cleanse would be...disgusting, time-consuming, complicated,
etc. After consulting with my Facebook peeps, my friend Katie introduced
me to Advocare and their 10-day Herbal Cleanse. I checked it out and
decided it was perfect for what I needed.
Here's a look at Day 1:
Breakfast--Advocare fiber drink (totally gross!) and a banana
Mid-morning snack--handful of nuts
Lunch--salad with carrots, few squirts of Wishbone ranch dressing spray and cubed ham
Afternoon snack--two spoonfuls of peanut butter
Dinner--grilled chicken breast, sauteed vegetable primavera
Herbal pills before bed and LOTS of water (half my body weight in ounces) throughout the day
Workout--Insanity Fit Test
The
idea of the cleanse is load up on fruits, veggies, lean protein and
good fats and avoid carbs, refined sugars, fatty foods and junk.
So far so good...but it's only been 24 hours ;)
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