Day #8 from AZ

I can't believe I made it through my first full day sans Sister. Here's what I ate:

-Oatmeal with rice milk and almonds

-huge salad made with romaine and tons of roasted veggies with lemon vinaigrette on the side (from a place called Pita Jungle... can you say divine? When my friends called me to go to lunch I was panicking, but this was the perfect place to go while cleansing... lots of vegan options)

-rice crackers with tofutti spread (this is seriously yum, from TJ's... also, tomorrow I am going to buy some scallions and herbs to stir in, which will make it even fancier)

-corn tostadas (corn tortillias cooked in a little olive oil to make them crispy, TJ's vegetarian salsa refried beans from a can, TJ's pico de gallo, TJ's guacamole, romaine lettuce). These were DIVINE. Alan and I decided we would happily eat this meal even when not cleansing... it was meat free, and delish.

Ideas for tomorrow, anyone? I can't believe I haven't eaten ice cream in 8 full days. That has to be a record for me, I am not kidding. Sometimes I miss it.... but other times I'm fine. How crazy is it that I miss a food as if it were my friend? That is the purpose of the cleanse- to have those realizations. I'm so glad I'm doing this!!

Day 7

So it is Day 7 and we are still going strong. I headed back to Seattle today. I was happy to be able to stop by Trader Joe's this afternoon and stock up on a few new things. I made Martha's Big Batch Vegetable Soup for dinner. Yummy!

Tomorrow I am planning on Oatmeal for breakfast with some frozen blueberries from TJ's & soy milk. For lunch I'll have some more veggie soup. For dinner I am planning on making Brown Rice Spaghetti with a big green veggie salad with the lettuce from the garden (it is HUGE now). For the sauce I am going to saute some onions, zucchini and yellow squash and then just add in some Marinara sauce from TJ's.

It's getting harder... and easier.

So this whole process really forces you to focus on what you eat, but the food is pretty much no fun so I find myself not thinking about food at all in between meals (unless I see someone eating ice cream, and that is VERY tempting to me). Does that make sense?

Tomorrow we go home. It's going to be so much harder with out Debbie... she has literally been my Vegan Chef. She is constantly planning and preparing the meals for us. I know once I get home I am going to be hungry and pretty much live on carrots. She has committed to posting what she is eating/making once she gets home, I hope she really will. I have had more week moments than her.... like when the Relief Society ladies presented the most beautiful baked goods ever, and I couldn't eat it.

Carla and Danielle, we need your ideas!! Once you guys start, let us know and post what you eat so we can get some fresh ideas. I'm starting to think that maybe I can do the whole 21 days afterall. We'll see.

Day 4

So we have made it to day four without a hitch. I have actually somewhat enjoyed this cleanse. I am definitely gaining a new perspective on food.

The hardest part of the cleanse is planning/preparing what we are going to eat. It has been a little difficult as we have been on the go a lot with the family. The Belnap's came into town on Friday night and we all headed to Lagoon. Christie and I had brought soy yogurt, granola and blueberries for dinner.

Saturday morning we had Tofu scramble, veggie breakfast patties, cantaloupe and oj. It was so very flavorful and yummy!

For lunch we were heading to Mirror Lake for a picnic so we had to make something for on the go. We decided on Spicy Thai noodles. It turned out to be a great lunch for the picnic.

Saturday night we went to Nephi for a Martin Handcart company pageant. We had a little taco soup before we left. We also picked up a Jamba Juice (just fruit jamba) along the way. It was the perfect cool treat!

A Couple of good finds....

Christie and I headed to Whole Foods last night. We found a couple of things that we have instantly fallen in love with.

First, Fiona's All Natural Granola- Cinnamon Almond. YUM YUM! You might be wondering.... if we forgot the part of the cleanse that states NO WHEAT Gluten but this little box has none in it! Try it for sure!

Second, Van's Wheat Free, Dairy Free Waffles- Blueberry flavored. We had those for breakfast this morning with Brown Rice Syrup. A nice little treat.

Day 2 has gone by just fine. The hardest part about doing the cleanse right now is figuring out meals on the go. But we are making due just fine.

Day #2 Menu

Breakfast: Oatmeal with raspberries and soy/rice milk (don't worry, we have other ideas for later)
Snack: Rice cakes with natural peanut butter
Lunch: Roasted Tomato Soup w/seasame rice crackers
Snack: Mango salsa/tortilla chips
Dinner: Thai Peanut Noodles

Recipes:
Roasted tomato Soup:
40 oz. red ripe tomatoes, cored and halved
4 T. olive oil
1 large onion, cut in quarters
6 cloves of garlic
2 c. vegetable stock
vegan sour cream to taste
salt and pepper to taste
4 T. shredded fresh basil

Heat oven to 400. Place tomatoes cut side down, along with onions and garlic
(skin still on) on a greased roasting pan. Then drizzel the remaining oil on top. Raost until tomatoe skins start to darken (about 30 min) and allow to cool. Remove skins from garlic and onion and then purree them with tomatoes until smooth. To be continued...

Humble Apologies...

So day one didn't quite start for the Nate/Carla family yet. Although, I have convinced Nate to atleast try doing the diet... not for 21 days... but he's going to atleast try. We've both decided that we need "THE MEAL" before we become vegan fanatics. We're going to pound the meat, dairy, and breads for one more day and then we will be on board! Good luck girls! Let me know how the first day goes.

ps. the recipes sound delish!

Last Minute Start

Sorry about the last minute start, Danielle and Carla!!! We were planning on Aug. 1st but decided to move up the start date since we are in PC together. Debbie is great, she has agreed to become our vegan chef. She is so great at meal planning so I am counting on her to get me through week #1. We found a few things at Albertsons that look promising and we'll sure to post what works and what doesn't. We are headed to Whole Foods tomorrow, and we'll let you know what we find that is great there. Hope you guys are in!

Recipes for Day 1

Mango Salsa
~Christie Curtis

You’ll find this salsa surprisingly delicious, good for you & beautiful in color, not to mention totally addicting.

2 large mangos (fresh & ripe)
3 T. white onion, grated
1 medium green bell pepper, finely diced
1 medium red bell pepper, finely diced
3 T. olive oil
3 T. rice vinegar
1 T. green onion tops, finely diced
1 large avocado, diced
salt & pepper to taste

Mix everything together folding in avocado last. Tastes even better the next day. Serve with tortilla chips.

Cowboy Cavier
~Judi Rowley

1 c. frozen corn
1 c. tomatoes, chopped
1/2 c. green onions, chopped
2 T. cilantro, chopped
3 T. olive oil
2 T. fresh lime juice
1 t. cumin
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. pepper
1 (15.5 oz) black beans, drained and rinsed
2 serrano chile peppers, seeded and minced

In medium bowl, combine all ingredients. Mix well. Cover; refrigerate several hours or overnight to blend flavors. 4 cups

The Cleanse has Begun

Tomorrow's Menu:

B-fast: Oatmeal with soy/rice milk and raspberries

Snack: apples/nut butter

Lunch: Salad made with romaine lettuce, tomatoes and cowboy caviar

Snack: Mango Salsa/tostidos

Dinner: Taco soup (made with soy crumbles- meat substitute) with fritos

The RULES

NO DAIRY
NO MEAT
NO EGGS
NO SUGAR
NO CAFFEINE
NO GLUTEN
NO ALCOHOL (that means YOU Nate)