Flat Belly Diet 4-Day Anti-Bloat Cleanse

Before I started the whole journey to eating clean, I did a 10-day Advocare Cleanse to clear out my system, so to speak. It did wonderful things for my energy levels and helped get my mindset into eating clean. Well, nine months later, I decided I needed another push of the reset button. I've been doing really well overall, but summer has been hard for overeating and not choosing good foods. So, I am doing another cleanse, but this time I am doing the Flat Belly Diet 4-day Anti-Bloat Cleanse.

I am not a fan of diets at all because I think they set you up for eating unrealistically and while you may have success at the beginning, it usually fades pretty quickly. I'm more for lifestyle changes that you can adopt for the rest of your life. I came across the Flat Belly Diet and was skeptical at first, but after reading through the book, I decided to try the cleanse and then adopt some of the diet. The diet is basically a 1600-calorie Mediterranean diet that includes a MUFA (monounsaturated fat) in every meal. You can read more about it here and here.

I'll talk more about the diet as I go along, but I wanted to tell you all about the cleanse. I definitely felt less bloated afterwards, but pretty hungry each day. I definitely did not consume enough calories for my 14k training and bonked on one of my runs. Overall, it was a great way to reset my appetite and I did lose a few pounds. I will continue to drink the Sassy Water because was very refreshing and suppressed my appetite.

Here's what was on the menu for each day (plus my modifications). I took some creative liberties and swapped out some of the sides and changed them between days:

Day 1
Breakfast
1 c unsweetened cornflakes
1 c skim milk
1/2 c unsweetened applesauce (I did not eat this...gross)
1/2 c raw or roasted sunflower seeds
1 glass sassy water

Lunch
4 oz turkey
1 light string cheese
1 pt fresh grape tomatoes
glass of sassy water

Smoothie: 1 c skim milk,1 c frozen blueberries blended then add 1 Tbsp cold pressed organic flaxseed oil (This can be eaten as a mid-morning, mid-afternoon or after dinner snack...whenever you need the pick-me-up)

Dinner
1 c fresh/frozen cooked green beans
4 oz grilled/cooked tilapia
1/2 c roasted red potatoes drizzled with 1 tsp olive oil.

Day 2
Breakfast
1 c Rice Krisipies
1 c skim milk
1/4 c sunflower seeds
4 oz pineapple tidbits canned in juice (left this out...not a pineapple fan either)
glass of sassy water

Lunch
3 oz light tuna in water (I did turkey every day b/c I don't like tuna)
1 c steamed baby carrots (I used raw, regular carrots...too much sugar in the baby ones)
1 light string cheese
Sassy water

Smoothie: 1 c skim milk, 4 oz canned pineapple tidbits in juice in blender, stir in 1 tbsp flax oil

Dinner
1 c fresh crimini (bella) mushrooms sauteed in 1 tsp olive oil
3 oz grilled chicken breast
1/2 c brown rice
Sassy water

Day 3
Breakfast
Same as Day 1 except for 2 Tbsp raisins instead of applesauce

Lunch
Same as Day 1

Smoothie: use 1 c frozen peaches w/ 2 tsp flax oil

Dinner
Same as day 1 except for 3oz baked turkey cutlet instead of fish. (I did chicken again)

Day 4
Breakfast
1 pkg instant cream of wheat
1 c skim milk
1/4 c sunflower seed
2 dried plums

Lunch
Same as Day 1

Smoothie use 1 c frozen strawberries/2 tsp flax oil

Dinner
1 c fresh/frozen yellow squash sauteed in 1 tsp olive oil
3 oz grilled chicken breast
1/2 c brown rice
Sassy water

During 4 days you also must avoid coffee, any soft drink, sweeteners, salt, excess carbs, bulky raw food, gassy foods, gum, fried foods, spicy foods.

The Sassy Water Recipe

2 liters water (about 8 ½ cups)1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
1 medium cucumber, peeled and thinly sliced
1 medium lemon, thinly sliced
12 small spearmint leaves.
Combine all ingredients in a large pitcher and let flavors blend overnight.
Drink the entire pitcher by the end of each day.

I Saw, I Pinned, I Conquered Part Four

This is a Pinterest project I've had pinned for over a year, and finally we had collected enough bits and pieces of old crayons. Whenever your kiddos break a crayon or you get down to the stubbies, save those pieces, peel off all the paper and put into silicon baking cups or molds. Put in the oven at 250 degrees for 15 minutes. Take out of the oven and let harden. Out comes fun-shaped, very colorful crayons!

Canned Pasta Sauce

We planted three different types of tomatoes in our garden--roma, cherry and Better Boy--and we have a bounty of all of them. There are only so many recipes and foods that we use cherry tomatoes for, so I decided to make pasta sauce from them. I didn't follow a recipe, I just kind of made it up as I went. I took chopped garlic and onion and sauteed in a big stock pot. I then took the cherry tomatoes (after removing the stems and washing them) and just threw them in the pot, added some salt, pepper and dried oregano and let it all cook down. After cooking for 20 minutes or so, I took a potato masher and mashed it all up into more of a sauce, let cook another 10 minutes and then canned the sauce.

Not only was this recipe low maintenance (no cutting or chopping!), it was delicious :) The sauce turns out a little thinner than typical pasta sauce, more like a marinara sauce, so if you like it thicker, add some tomato paste while cooking. We used the sauce as a pizza sauce too, which ended up great!

Never Forget.

I was a freshman in college, my first full week of classes at Ohio University. I had just moved into the dorms a week earlier, leaving my family and friends behind, almost five hours from home. I got back from my Poli Sci class to my roommate watching it all unfold on TV. Honestly, beyond that, the only other things I remember is my mom calling me crying, wanting me to come home and my dad being suspiciously quiet on the phone that night. I remember prayer vigils that night and throughout the rest of the week and then everything went back to normal.

It wasn't until many years later, after I had kids of my own that the full impact of 9/11 hit me. I remember two years ago, on the 10 year anniversary, pregnant with Gavin, teeter-tottering between agonizing over how I could bring another life into a horrible, broken world and touched by the humanness that shown through that awful day, the day after and in different moments since then. Every year, I grieve with those who lost loved ones, think about the survivors and pray for the true heroes...firefighters, police offices, soldiers. The ones who deserve our thanks every day of the year, not just on Patriots Day. 

I decided to start a new tradition this year. Liesl colored several pictures, very carefully wrote her name and asked me how to spell "thank you". Seeing her childish scribbles spell out such a powerful message broke me. I wish we could all speak compliments, kind words and gratefulness from our heart so easily and without pretense. 

We took the pictures to our local fire station and told the firefighters thank you for their service today and always. They gave us a mini tour of the huge ladder truck and even let Liesl give the driver's seat a go :) I know a few colored pictures is not adequate enough thanks for all that firefighters, police officers and soldiers do for us, but I thought it was a great start to teach my children. I want to teach them that a horrific day in September changed our country and so many lives forever, but that despite the awfulness of it all, we came out stronger as a country, as a people. I want to teach them to love, to empathize, to be proud of our country and to stand up for what they believe. I want to teach them to give thanks freely, especially to those who truly deserve it. I want to teach them to keep their faith in our sovereign God. 

I want to teach them to never forget.

I Saw, I Pinned, I Conquered, Part Three

I love having pictures of family and friends all around the house, but I was starting to run out spots to put frames on shelves and such. Several years ago, we went to the Indianapolis Home Show and the showcase home had a beautiful photo gallery going up the staircase. I especially loved the groupings of four and five picture frames together and had seen them in stores, but knew they were pretty expensive. So, we took $1 and $2 Goodwill and garage sale picture frames, glued them together, repainted all one color and added a hook to hang. Some of the frames we kept their original color. Instant and cheap photo collages! I've started to intersperse other single picture frames among the large groupings to create a photo gallery down the stairway.

Last year, my hubby built a pergola over our back patio. I've always loved all the different mason jar lighting and chandeliers that are all over Pinterest, but again, to buy them, they are pretty expensive. Instead, we made our own from a $9 wine barrel ring, 4 mason jars we found from the Lakeside Collection (found here) that had the hooks and lights already in them and were only $5 a piece, 4 hooks and some black chain.Instant lighting charm :)

Canned Sweet Banana Peppers

I recently gotten into canning, somewhat of a lost art. My grandma used to can all the time and my cousins and I loved helping her. I especially loved the canned strawberry jam. Nothing better than homemade, sugary goodness :)

One of the reasons I wanted a garden was to be able to have lots of veggies for canning and boy did I get what I wanted! My banana peppers are growing like crazy, so I've canned several pints. We love sweet banana peppers on salads, fajitas, cheesesteaks and other recipes calling for peppers. 

Here's my recipe:


Canned Banana Peppers
From Food.com

1/2 lb banana pepper, seeded and sliced crossways into rings
Pickling Juice
2 cups white vinegar
2/3 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
1/2 teaspoon celery seed
Directions:
Sterilize 2- 1/2 pint jars.
Bring the vinegar, sugar, mustard seed and celery seed to a rolling boil.
Place peppers in the 1/2 pint jars.
Pour on the hot pickling juice and bring liquid to within 1/2" of the top.
Be sure the edge of the jar has no juice on it.
Place lids and screw on bands finger-tip tight.
Seal jar and leave for 2 weeks.**.
**This is an heirloom recipe that uses a method no longer recommended by the USDA/NCHFP (National Center for Home Food Preservation). Current guidelines recommend processing in a boiling water bath at least 10 minutes at sea level to 1000 feet in elevation (more time at higher elevations) and left to cool, upright and undisturbed, on a cloth-protected counter for 24 hours. Check for seal; if the jar hasn't sealed, either re-process the jars within the 24 hours or refrigerate and use first.

Freezing Avocados

We love avocados in our house...we eat them with Mexican dishes, make lots of guacamole and even use them as a substitute for mayo on sandwiches. I like to stock up when Kroger has them 10 for $10, but unfortunately, sometimes we don't eat them fast enough.

On Pinterest (of course), I saw someone who froze their avocados. You cut them in half, take out the pit and wrap in saran wrap and then place in freezer bags. 

I'm not sure what I did wrong, but my avocados came out of the freezer brown and as I let them de-thaw, they got even browner :( I think this is a great concept, but I'm not sure it's possible...anyone else try freezing avocados? Any tips??