Brandy's Organic Garden! Step One, Preparing the Soil

What it looked like before I dug it up (This is a picture of a different part of the yard because I didn't think to take a picture before I started digging)

Today, the snow melted and it was a glorious day!! There may not have been actual snow, but with the freezing temperatures lately it felt downright balmy at 65 degrees. This warm, sunny day inspired me to start on our pathetic yard. It's quite embarrassing actually (I feel like that is something a British person would say). Everyone else on our street 1. Has gorgeous homes and 2. Since they're the actual owners of their homes, they care about maintaining a pristine yard. Our house is not hideous but since we rent, we are reluctant to put any time or money into this house or our yard. The shame was getting to be too much to bear and so today I decided to do some raking. (Leaves from fall...I think that's why we have winter, so I have several months of cool weather to delay raking)

As I'm raking, I keep getting snagged on these viney, weed looking things. So, naturally, I decided to yank on them and throw them into my leaf pile. Ryan, presumably too busy working on whatever it is he works on (boat? wine rack made out of magazine rack he found in someone's trash?) to notice that I was tearing up the yard, finally came over and explained to me that I was pulling out our grass. For those of you who are as clueless as I am or used to grass that GROWS IN THE GROUND: St. Augustine grass is a grass that is low maintenance and runs across the top of the ground in dense layers that crowd out weeds. It looks like roots or vines or something growing horizontally across the yard which, if you ask me, is not what grass is supposed to do. It's popular in Florida and other tropical and sub tropical areas. I inform Ryan that I don't like this grass or our yard.

After I realize that raking is futile, Ryan suggests that I get started on the garden I have been talking about. Had I not been encouraged, I probably would have kept talking about the benefits of our own organic garden for quite some time. Preferably until old age when I finally was too old and fragile to start a garden. (I think he just wants me to leave him to his garage projects and stop bothering him)

So I wander over to the side of our house that receives the most sunshine. It's also the side of the house that is overrun with these burr things or, as I like to call them "Damn prickers that get stuck to my pants" and it's also the side that is furthest from the garage (I'm on to you Ryan!!!). So I try to clear an area of grass with the very sturdy metal rake I had been using to try and rake the front yard. Side note: I am not sure it's actually called a rake because it's not like the fanned out plastic thingy with thin prongs....this is maybe more like a fork or something. Might also be the reason why it kept getting stuck on our "grass".

After about 30 seconds of trying, I wander back to the garage to complain to Ryan that the stupid earth won't move and let me prepare it for gardening. So, he sets down his electric whatever it is and leads me back to the pre-garden area. He takes the shovel, steps on it and digs up some earth like no big deal and asks me to try it. I step on the shovel. And then, I jump on the shovel. I bounce back and the handle hits me in the chest. I pretend to shed a tear. Ryan isn't buying it. He tells me to try it again and LEAVES ME THERE. Angry, but not willing to give up on my project, I jump on that stupid shovel until it moves. "Ha! That will show him" I think to myself and proceed to jump and pull and dig up that section of yard until it looks like this:

As I walk by the garage to get a glass of water, Ryan calls out to me to see how it's going. I inform him that I am not speaking to him and keep walking. When he asks why, I am ready: "Because you made me reach down deep inside myself to find strength I didn't know I had" and he says "That must have been terrible for you" and it was.

(Compost heap after I added a ton of leaves)

I forgave him after he scooped up some of the compost from our compost heap (from the icky bottom that has been there since August) and helped me spread it out and cover it with a plastic sheet. Gardening tip of the day from someone who has read a few articles about organic gardening: After you dig up the ground, pull out roots, rocks etc, mix it up with some compost (or natural fertilizer if you don't have compost) and water the area, then you can cover it with a plastic sheet so the sun can cook any weed seeds in there. It also helps cook anything else that might be in there that you don't want. Organic gardening means: no weed killer! And really, if you do it right, you shouldn't need it anyway.


So, that is all for today! Now, I'm going to leave it until it's ready for planting. (Read: Until I remember that I am doing this and give it another go)


Notes:

-It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be.
-My hands hurt, but that is more because after I finished the garden, I decided to rake up the back yard that was full of leaves and weeds.
-I'm really hoping I'm able to grow something edible and not kill it off.

Ryan's 30th Birthday

I am a failure. That's all there is to it! I tried to organize a surf trip for Ryan for his 30th birthday with all of his friends and I failed miserably. Apparently, a down economy is the worst time to ask people to join you in Puerto Rico for a trip.
I can't blame them! The only reason it would be relatively inexpensive for us is because PR is so close to Florida.

We are still taking this surf trip at some point this year (if it kills me) but it won't be his birthday weekend and it will probably just be the two of us. I am fine with all of this but I think I'd be more fine if I hadn't blabbed to everyone about this AWESOME birthday I was planning for him...now, I will be revealed as a giant SHAM and failure of a human being. (Dramatization is part of the mourning process...I'm mourning the surf trip birthday)

If I were to do it again, I would have made some changes:

1. I would have picked the actual place we wanted to go to. We wanted to go to Nicaragua but figured more people might be able to go if we went to Puerto Rico because the plane tickets were like $200 less. By the time we realized that nobody could go, we decided to just go to Nicaragua like we originally planned...then we relized that February isn't the best time for surfing there (according to a few web sites Ryan read) and that we're better off going another month.

2. I would have spent more time on a back up plan. This is a 30th birthday! It should be memorable and awesome...now, with only a few weeks left, I'm scrambling to put something together that won't suck.

I think I have learned a very important lesson from all of this: never dream.

MANILOOOOOW

Wow,I can't believe he is almost 68! There were a few snoozers, but overall, he puts on a great show. At first, Ryan and I thought he was lip syncing because it sounded too perfect...but after a while we realized he was actually singing and he was that good. Some of the highlights:

-A couple of announcers from a local tv (or radio?) station came on stage to choose a raffle winner to go to Vegas and the guy announcer kept saying "MANILOOOW"...just randomly...I think Ryan and I will use this to spice up conversations in the future:

Me: So, how was your weekend?
You: Well, we went to this adorable little B&B and then.....
Me: MANILOOOOW
You: Um,what?

-The overwhelming majority of people in the audience were women in their twilight of their lives, not a huge surprise, but amazingly, these women were like teenage Bieber fans with their "Fanilow" signs and screams

-"I am still a sex god"-Barry Manilow

-The onstage jacket change. It was important enough to switch from a white jacket to a crushed velvet purple jacket that he couldn't either a) wait to go off stage or b)just keep the same jacket the whole time.

www.manilow.com for concert dates and www.manilowmusicproject.org to donate instruments or money to help school children!

Barry Manilow!

Ryan and I have tickets to see Barry Manilow tonight! Apparently there were 10 tickets in the Mayor's Suite were given to my organization and we were lucky enough to get two of them. I'll let ya know how it goes :) In honor of the Barry Manilow concert, I have a few Barry facts for you:

Scott English wrote the lyrics and recorded "Mandy" in 1971 as "Brandy." His version was a hit in the UK. In the US, this was changed to "Mandy" to avoid confusion with the Looking Glass hit "Brandy (You're A Fine Girl)." (The song I was named after!)

"Mandy" was not written by him. In fact, even though he was a great songwriter, many of his hits were written by other people!

It is an urban myth that "Mandy" was written about a dog.

Barry is 67 years old! I want to find out how he does it.

In 1978, five of his albums were simultaneously on the best-selling charts. Only Frank Sinatra, Michael Jackson, Bruce Springsteen and Johnny Mathis equaled this.

After the Clean Program

Our "we're done with the Clean Program" celebration continues! Breakfast: fresh squeezed organic orange juice with the oranges we bought at the farmer's market yesterday, coffee we brought back from Honduras last year, organic half and half and organic sugar, bacon we purchased from Cognito Farms (a local farm that we visited last weekend), french toast made with organic eggs, organic maple syrup, and toast with the raw nut butter we made yesterday. A bit carb heavy, but super delicious and something we'd been craving all month! While we ate our gourmet breakfast (Ryan's awesome at breakfast) we discussed how expensive our meal would be at a restaurant, which further confirmed our resolve to stop eating out so much. We even made our budget more specific so that the majority of our food budget goes to the grocery store and a tiny amount goes to eating out. Hopefully this will make us more responsible!

Dinner last night was....awesome. Not really because of the food so much but because our options were now limitless! We were both giddy with the freedom of choosing WHATEVER we wanted to eat off of the menu at 'town. We started with a favorite, black truffle oil tater tots. These are not your average tater tots! They're closer to a freshly-shredded-potato-shaped-into-a-delicious-square-with-some-sort-of-seasoning-and-on-top-of-a-delicious-cheesy-cream-sauce....so good!

I had the exotic mushroom risotto and Ryan had the shrimp and grits (They were both half plates and we still were way too full). I got some coffee and Ryan had his first beer in over a month! (He stopped before the Clean Program) We finished off the experience with freshly made sugar donuts with a milk chocolate fondue to dip them in. All in all, a delightful dinner. But, as we discussed later, it wasn't THAT great. While we were on the Clean Program, all we could focus on at times was what we were missing...now that we can have whatever we want, we have decided that we are going to try to stick with what we have been eating, and if we want to add on to it, we can. "WHAT?!" (You may be thinking this) "Who would want to eat like this?!"....well, we do. It will be nice to know that if we really want pizza or popcorn or a little Almond Joy, we can have it but we don't want to go back to the way we were eating. We had our celebration brunch today and we're having celebration deep dish tonight, but then it's back to healthy eating!

Changes we will keep:

-More veggies and fruit
-Less refined sugar
-Liquid breakfast and dinner, but we can eat other stuff in addition to this if we want to
-Yummy, healthy homemade lunches...this was my favorite part: not having to worry about what to take for lunch. I get sick of sandwiches, frozen Kashi entrees and other bring-lunch-from-home foods. When we have good leftovers from a homemade diner, that's a good lunch day, so why not keep that up?
-Less coffee
-Less pre-made food and beverages
-Less food that isn't food! For instance, the Bailey's Hazelnut Creamer I bought before this: I knew it wouldn't go bad in three weeks and I could have it after the Clean Program....1.Not going bad in 3 weeks should be a sign that it has a TON of chemicals in it to keep it from going bad....maybe not the best thing to put in my body? 2. It really doesn't taste as good as I remember


Side note: I made my own raw nut cheese today with sunflower, almond, cashew, miso and garlic! Yay me! It's pretty good but not as good as the stuff we bought....oh well, it will be good on crackers! This is how I did it: 2 parts raw nuts, 1 part water, miso to taste. The more miso you add, the more "cheesy" and salty it will taste. You put this all in a food processor or blender and blend until smooth. (It took me about 5-10 minutes) I added garlic to mine for flavor and because raw garlic is super good for you :)

Things I learned from The Clean Program

WE DID IT!

1. I love our new juicer...never knew how good fresh veggie juice can taste!
2. Making juice out of veggies is a great way to make sure they don't go bad in your fridge
3. Juice or a smoothie for breakfast saves time and is light so it keeps me awake instead of weighing me down.
4. Making everything from scratch is hard work. It takes a bit of time but it's worth it.
5. When you are eating consciously and planning out your meals for the next week, it's easier to ignore the junk at the grocery store and only buy things on your list
6. If you're planning your meals a week in advance, you don't go out to eat as often or in our case, at all. (except my Denny's affair)
7. If there is something you love to eat, there is a healthy way to make it
8. Everyone asked me if I missed "real food" but in these three weeks, I have eaten more "real food" than I ever have in my life. If I had been eating a Big Mac and fries, people wouldn't think twice, but that is about as far removed from "real food" as you can get!
9. People who choose to eat differently than me are not weird. Everyone has a different path and that's okay. (I used to regard vegans with an eye roll, but now I respect the dedication it takes to eat differently than the majority of people in the US and admire their effort)
10. There is pride that comes from eating a fridge stocked with veggies in a week.
11. There are other grains. Amaranth, quinoa and millet have been huge during all this!
12. I used to think that we had so many options at the grocery store until I found out most is a variation of the same thing.
13. Just because I'm not gluten intolerant, doesn't mean I can't try gluten-free foods. Just because I'm not completely vegan, doesn't mean I won't enjoy vegan food.
14. We have barely filled a garbage bag in three weeks and our recycling bin is empty except for a few cans...when you're buying mostly produce, there isn't a whole lot of packaging to throw away!
14. I don't need as much dairy as I thought I did!
15. Investing in what you eat can pay off with less money spent on healthcare.
16. You DO NOT have to eat meat with every single meal. And you'll save money if you don't.
17. You can make milk yourself from coconut or nuts. We have been using milk we made from raw almond, brazil and cashews and a separate milk made from unsweetened coconut. It's super easy to make, tastes delicious and we know exactly what went into it.
18. With the nuts we strain from our homemade milk, we can add a few ingredients, throw it into our juicer and make raw nut butter....which is usually really expensive!
19. That Ryan's problem staying awake could possibly be attributed to food. He has been much more alert and awake these three weeks.
20. That your poop doesn't really smell when you're eating this way. Gross but true!
21. That you can make AWESOME chocolate chip cookies vegan and gluten free :)


Our "after" photos...we tried to pose ourselves like they do in those weight loss ads where the person looks like crap in the "before" and super happy and weird in the "after"...I kinda look like a crazed serial killer, but you get the idea!

Clean Program-Week 3

We are on Week 3 of our Clean Program Experiment. The Clean Program is a 3 week cleanse designed to rid the body of toxins accumulated through the widespread use of preservatives and other "unnatural" elements added to our food and other items we come into contact with. For more information about the Clean Program, www.cleanprogram.com

To read how we did on Week 1 click here. To read how we did on Week 2 click here.

Day 15
Breakfast: Slept through breakfast but Ryan had juice. I skipped to mid-morning snack, which Ryan says is a no-no, but whatever. I had one of these pumpkin brownies I made last night that are: gluten free, vegan, I pureed the butternut squash (tastes just like pumpkin) and added coconut and raw walnuts....REALLY GOOD! You can find the recipe here.

Lunch: (Pictured at top of post) Mahi with zucchini, lemon and kalamata olives....We are just having delicious food today!
Dinner: Butternut squash bisque

One week from today, we'll be sipping mimosas and enjoying a regular brunch at 'Town (restaurant featuring many local foods) I can't wait! And, pizza! I can't wait for pizza. The raw cashew "cream cheese" that we got from the farmers market (Made by "Blue Planet") yesterday is amazing and a great cheese substitute for now....

Day 16
Breakfast: Juice made with carrot, beet, and mustard greens
Lunch: Chicken cooked with broccoli, garlic, onion, tamari and sesame seeds and served with quinoa
Mid-afternoon snack: I made the most delicious agave syrup/balsamic vinegar reduction with nuts and vanilla and cinnamon to pour over some cut up pieces of apple. Like caramel apples, so good!
Dinner: Raw green pea soup. (Made with frozen peas, avocado, lime juice and I think paprika)

I was home all day today because it was MLK day and I was tempted to eat everything in our house! Lucky for me, everything left by now is stuff that we are allowed to eat. After my Whoppers break down in week 1 I made sure to toss out all the candy. There is a half gallon of vanilla bean ice cream in the freezer that I started eyeing, but really, I have lost interest in ice cream. SHOCKING! I used to love ice cream, but I'm slowly steering away from dairy. When we're done with Clean, there is this delicious ice cream made from coconut milk that I will eat though :)

Also, we don't have a scale at our house, so while I was at the YMCA yesterday (first time in weeks!) I weighed myself. Even with eating and snacking all the time, I'm down to 112 lbs! Since I don't keep track of my weight, I can't really be sure, but I thought I was around 120 before we started. I wonder what would have happened if I had actually been trying to lose weight? I'm increasing my snacks during the day time to make sure I don't lose anymore. I'm not too worried, but I don't want to be a skeleton either!

Day 17
Breakfast: Juice made with carrot, celery, mustard greens, broccoli stalk, and beet
Mid-morning snack: The crackers I made with raw cashew cream cheese
Lunch: Same as yesterday
Mid-afternoon snack: The pumpkin brownies I made and smoothie made with avocado, kale, mango and coconut milk.
Dinner: Butternut squash soup...Okay, I goofed here. I thought I'd just make this soup up as I went along and so I added the following: cut up pieces of butternut squash, 1 clove garlic, some kale, some sea salt, paprika and 16 ounces of homemade nut milk (brazil, almond and cashew). I was thinking, wow, this is going to be good! As I took my first spoonful I wondered, "Why is this sweet and why does it taste like vanilla?" So WEIRD!! No, it's not. The homemade nut milk, made by my darling husband, contains AGAVE SYRUP and VANILLA EXTRACT. Damn. I didn't think of that when I added it though, I was just thinking that it would make my soup creamier. So we both choked down dinner, which wasn't bad, it just wasn't good. Imagine you made a delightful dessert with vanilla and instead of something that would be awesome with vanilla, you added garlic! Sick.

Day 18
Breakfast: Juice with broccoli stalks, beet, carrot and celery
Mid-morning snack: Homemade crackers with raw cashew cheese
Lunch: Chicken and vegetable stir fry. One of my favorites. I think I already mentioned but here is what's in it: Chicken marinated in gluten-free tamari, ginger, and garlic and then sauteed in it. Then, sauteed separately for 4 minutes, zucchini, broccoli, carrot, onion and bok choy (Added for last 2 minutes).
Mid-afternoon snack: The brownies I made
Dinner: I was in a hurry to make some gluten free biscuits before I went (for the first time) to a "knitting circle" (I'll have a post on this later) and so I just ate a biscuit and an apple for dinner. Not supposed to have solids, but I was rushed! Plus, the "knitting circle" was at a pizza place, I don't think I would have made it without the biscuit!

I find myself fantasizing about our Sunday brunch more and more as we get closer to it. I can't wait to have some coffee with cream and sugar and some OJ and french toast...mmmm...if they have croissants, even better. If not, there are plenty of bakeries in Jacksonville that I will be able to go to! Almost there!

Last night Ryan and I were reading on the Clean Program website what to do after the program ends and it brought up a very good point: Since we have eliminated the foods that most commonly cause food allergies, we will be in the unique position of being able to reintroduce these foods slowly and see how they make our bodies feel. Ryan has noticed that he is less tired after lunch and in the evenings, by like, 100% (It's very scientific) and apparently gluten can make you feel sluggish and tired. Maybe this is Ryan's chance to find out if it is really the gluten that is making him feel that way and maybe he can stop eating it for lunch if he needs to be alert in the afternoon! It could also be that he usually drinks too much coffee and all that caffeine is throwing his body out of whack!

My skin looks amazing and for the past few months it had been getting pretty sketchy....maybe I'll discover that something I was eating was the cause...or maybe it's just all the healthy foods I'm eating now that are beneficial for my skin? Only one way to find out! Experiment :)

Day 19
Breakfast: Juice made with beet, celery and carrot
Mid-morning snack: Gluten free biscuit with raw cashew cream cheese.
Lunch: Chicken and veggie stirfry, same as yesterday
Mid-afternoon snack: Feel Flawless tea (made by Allegro, really good!) and the last pumpkin brownie, puffed amaranth
Dinner: Hoping to make that pineapple, avocado, jalapeno sorbet tonight UPDATE: We did, it was delicious.

So I made biscuits last night! They're pretty good but I think I put too much water in the dough and it was too sticky to "gently pat down to 1 inch thickness and use a cookie cutter or glass to cut out biscuits" so I just blobbed pieces of it onto a cookie sheet and hoped for the best. The result? They look funny, but taste just fine :) I added sunflower seeds and chia and I used olive oil instead of coconut oil, so it's entirely possible that they're supposed to taste COMPLETELY different, but I'm okay with that!

I also puffed some amaranth, which makes for a good snack in the day too. Amaranth, for those of you who think I'm making up types of food, is a grain. It's super tiny but can be "popped" or puffed so it's similar to popcorn, just a whole lot smaller! To puff amaranth: get a pan very hot, no oil. Put 1 tablespoon of amaranth in hot pot and quickly cover with tight fitting lid. Let it pop like crazy and when it dies down a bit, swirl around to start some more popping. Then take off heat and enjoy! It can burn pretty quickly, so be very vigilant. You have to do a few tablespoons to get enough to eat, but it doesn't take very long to cook and it can be used for a treat popular in Mexico called "alegria" and it's kind of like a rice krispie treat. There are tons of recipes to make with puffed amaranth and as soon as I try them, I'll put it up here!

Day 20
Tomorrow is our LAST DAY WOOHOOOOOOOOO
Breakfast: Green smoothie with mango, avocado, and God knows what else Ryan put in here, I think I tasted broccoli and apple too? It was good either way
Lunch: Mahi with kalamata olives, zucchini, lemon and olive oil...one of my fav's
Dinner: Raw cucumber, avocado and garlic soup....very simple but fairly good.

I can't believe we're on our second to last day! I want to keep a lot of the good habits we have created, but it will be nice to be able to have pizza again :)

INGREDIENTS: Gluten-free all purpose baking flour, baking soda, baking powder, coconut oil, fresh dates, dairy free dark chocolate chips, walnuts, pecans, unsweetened coconut and topped with Chia seeds. Simple and delicious vegan, gluten-free chocolate chip cookies!

Day 21
LAST DAY

Breakfast: Juice made with beet, carrot and apple
Mid-morning snack: Made some more scones but they turned out more like chocolate chip cookies this time...so good!
Lunch: A hodgepodge of a biscuit, some apples and nuts cooked in a caramel I made out of balsamic vinegar, agave and vanilla and some prunes
Dinner:CELEBRATION DINNER AT 'TOWN :)

I can't believe we made it! Sure, I cheated a few times, but overall, I am really proud of myself! Ryan didn't cheat (except for sampling honey) but I figured that would happen, he has stronger willpower with food. We are considering ending tonight with dinner at 'town because we found out our Groupon there isn't good for brunch...so we thought ending one meal early would probably be okay....I'll let ya know! UPDATE: We are going to 'town!

Some people were asking, so here is our recipe for homemade nut milk:

1/2 cup raw almonds
1/2 cup raw cashews and raw brazil nuts mixed

Soak in filtered water for three hours
Drain
Put nuts and 4 cups of filtered water in blender. Add 2 tablespoons vanilla extract, 2 tablespoons agave nectar (You can add more or less depending on your tastes). Blend on highest setting for 1 minute. Let settle for one minute or until all pieces fall to bottom. Blend again for 1.5 minutes. Strain with fine mesh strainer. THE END...for hot cocoa, you can heat and then add cocoa powder and agave syrup...delicious!

With the nuts you strain out of the milk, you can mix with raw cashews, almonds, flax and chia to make homemade raw nut butter. We ran this through our juicer but this could probably be done with a food processor.

Cognito Farms

If you know me or read this blog, then you probably have an idea that I'm a major animal lover and so when I found out that Cognito Farms was having an open farm day today, I suggested to Ryan that we check it out. We actually bought a chicken from them for Thanksgiving (They sold out of their turkeys in one day). When we searched for local farms that raise animals the old fashioned way (No pesticides, humane treatment, etc) we found out that they come to the Green Market once or twice a month in Jacksonville Beach.

Heritage turkeys
If you have read or researched where most meat comes from today, you know how important it is to keep these farms in business and you also know that many of the "bad" farms would NEVER allow consumers to tour their grounds. It was so interesting to follow the owner of the farm around as he explained how the animals are raised, how they are "harvested" and the things he has learned since he started farming in 2006. (Many things through trial and error and he had many humorous stories about the various errors)
Happy pig


3-4 day old chicks under the heat lamps to keep warm
If you get a chance, I highly recommend you check out their next open farm days, March 6 and April 30, or you can go to their website: www.cognitofarm.com for a product list and you can either drive out to Starke and pick it up yourself, or check for when they will be in your area. If you're vegan or vegetarian, I still recommend that you check out this tour and see how happy these animals are and how all animals that are raised for human consumption should be treated.

The Jacksonville Giants

Last Sunday we went to see the Jacksonville Giants (ABA team, like the minor leagues for basketball) play the Orlando Kings. They were giving complimentary tickets to lawyers who brought their bar card, so we thought we'd check it out. We had great seats, but as Ryan pointed out, "It doesn't really matter because nobody is here!"

The Jacksonville Giants came to Jacksonville December 4, 2010 and it seems that nobody really knows they are here! Everyone we told had no idea that there was a ABA team and so I hope that they are able to advertise and get some people in there. We had a great time and it was an inexpensive way to watch professional basketball right in our downtown area. The dancers, Jacksonville Jewels, were entertaining as well as the various contests they had throughout the game for fans to win money. The only thing I thought was kinda lame was the mascot (Mr. Big? Really?) and the girls with the feather boas and painted faces who accompanied him... If you want to catch a game, you can go to their website: www.jacksonvillegiants.com for game times and ticket prices. (They range from $8-$32)

Clean Program-Week 2

We are on Week 2 of our Clean Program Experiment. The Clean Program is a 3 week cleanse designed to rid the body of toxins accumulated through the widespread use of preservatives and other "unnatural" elements added to our food and other items we come into contact with. For more information about the Clean Program, www.cleanprogram.com

To read how we did on Week 1 click here


Okay, so we've made it a full week! Hooray!! There has been minor cheating (on my part) but overall, we have stuck to it! Today I added something that Ryan considers cheating, but it's a recipe on the Clean Program website, so I think that means it's okay! I just have to make sure only to eat them in the day and not in the morning or evening. They are: Chocolate and Walnut Scones...mmmm and the best part: They're vegan and gluten free! The only added sugar is the organic raw cane sugar in the bits of chocolate in the scones. Other than that they're composed of: Gluten-free baking flour, coconut oil, baking soda and powder, dates, vanilla, water, raw walnuts and dairy free organic dark chocolate. Just split one with Ryan and we both agree that they're delicious :) You can find the recipe for these and other items here....I added Chia seeds to the tops of mine.

Day 8
Breakfast: Juice with beets, kale, celery, green apple, carrot, flax, chia and hemp protein powder
Lunch: Delicious chicken stir fry and vegetables, same as yesterday
Mid-afternoon snack: Chocolate and Walnut Scone
Dinner: Smoothie with homemade nut milk (brazil, almond and cashew), blueberry, raspberry and cocoa powder.

Now that I have found some recipes for things like gluten free crackers and biscuits, I think that will make it a little easier to eat like the Clean Program dictates. Anything that keeps me from buying Twinkies and Ding-Dongs by the armful is a good thing too!

Day 9
Breakfast: Juice with carrot, kale, spinach, parsley, broccoli stalks and green apple
Lunch: Chicken sauteed with a dash of sea salt, garlic and onion. Served with quinoa and broccoli.
Mid-afternoon snack: Vegan and gluten free chocolate and walnut scone
Dinner: Smoothie made with nut milk, kale, pineapple, mango, green apple and flax

Today I haven't even eaten a mid-morning snack! WHAT?! Normally I'd be starving, but I guess I'm getting used to it. Last night, I was craving chocolate so I made some "Clean" hot chocolate: 1 teaspoon cocoa powder, 1 teaspoon agave syrup, 1 cup nut milk. It was pretty good and destroyed my chocolate cookie craving :)

I think the biggest change that I have noticed is in Ryan. He used to fall asleep every time we started watching a movie if we started the movie after 8 pm (sometimes even before that!). Now he is able to stay awake and isn't even tired. It's amazing because he can fall asleep anywhere: dinner table, sitting up, driving...that's the scariest one. It was usually exacerbated by alcohol, but even without it he still couldn't keep his eyes open at night sometimes as early as 7:30 pm! He is still getting up early (5-6 am) and jogging or working out before work but he has more energy than I have ever seen since I've known him. Interesting...

Day 10

Breakfast: Beet, kale, and carrot juice (May have had more stuff, Ryan made it last night while I was in class)
Mid-morning snack: Smoothie made with pineapple, kale, avocado, chia and coconut milk.
Lunch: Same as yesterday
Mid-afternoon snack: Chocolate and walnut scone
Dinner: Smoothie (same as mid-morning snack)

Last night, as I walked past the on campus Starbucks to my class in non-profit management (I'm getting my gradute certificate in the subject) I had to use every muscle in my body not to walk right in and get a Cafe Mocha!! And maybe a cookie or 5to go with it? Somehow, I made it and even through the 15 minute break (It's an almost 3 hour class) without breaking. I am so proud of myself :)

Tonight I made gluten-free crackers and they turned out pretty well! You can find the recipe here but it's basically just gluten-free flour, sea salt, olive oil and water. I added Chia seeds to mine and they are delicious :) I think I'll roll them out a bit thinner next time because they were kind of thick...like if I had baked pita bread. It probably took me 10-15 minutes to make these crackers and it was super easy, I think I'll make these again...next I have to try the gluten-free biscuits!

Day 11
Breakfast: Juice made with bok choy, carrot, kale and parsley
Mid-morning snack: My gluten-free crackers, a few slices of green apple and raw almond butter
Lunch: Chicken with rosemary and balsamic glaze (this smelled so good when we were cooking it last night, it was hard not to eat it then!), wild rice with cilantro and sunflower seeds.
Mid-afternoon snack: Smoothie with blueberry, coconut milk, flax seed, agave syrup and cocoa powder.
Dinner: Some sort of gazpacho...Ryan made it and it was delicious, tasted like BBQ potato chips. I know it had celery but I can't remember what else, I'll have to find out and update later

These crackers and scones that I have recently discovered are making this program a WHOLE lot easier! I was missing that and they make good snacks. It's still hard not to eat solids at night though. As I was making the crackers, I found myself rationalizing that I "had" to eat the edge pieces because they broke off funny...Ryan just calls me a cheater and shakes his head. I have to go to Orlando on Friday to bring Ramona Sarai Flowers to my sister's house (to be trained and fostered until we can find her a home) and the first thing out of Ryan's mouth was, "You're going to cheat on the Clean Program while you're there"...he says it like I'm planning a secret romantic getaway with McDonald's or worse. Sigh.

Day 12
Breakfast: Juice made from mustard greens, beets and carrots
Mid-morning snack: Green apple slices with raw almond butter
Lunch: Same as yesterday
Mid-afternoon snack: My homemade crackers and some raw almonds
Dinner: Pineapple, cilantro, avocado and jalapeno sorbet...sounds disgusting, was AMAZING

The juice today was really good and all of the juices we've had have taught me not to judge a juice by it's smell :) They mostly all smell horrible but taste pretty good. Even plain vegetable juice can be sweet and slightly creamy. Not like milk creamy, but the same sort of sensation. I'm a little over halfway done and I can see the finish line!

Day 13
Breakfast: Juice made from beets, mustard greens, carrots and cilantro
Mid-morning snack: Green apple slices and raw almond butter
Lunch: Chicken baked with zucchini, lemon, dill and kalamata olives
Mid-afternoon snack: Gluten free crackers, a few raw almonds and a few dairy free dark chocolate chips
Dinner: MAJOR FALL OFF THE WAGON: 1 triangle of gingerbread french toast, hash browns, half a biscuit with strawberry jam and a bite of cranberry orange pancakes.

Went to Denny's after bringing Ramona to Dani's and because we were busy introducing her to Dani's dogs, we didn't get to dinner until about 8. I was starving at this point and all of the restaurants were full/had 45 minute+ waits so we decided to just go to Denny's b/c it was right by us. I was in the midst of ordering a salad when I said, "You know what, this salad isn't EXACTLY "clean" so if I'm going to cheat, might as go all out".....this was not a good idea, but so delicious, in a gorge yourself sick sort of way. Sigh.

Day 14
Breakfast: Smoothie with avocado, mango, kale, homemade nut milk (almond, brazil, cashew), coconut water and ice
Lunch: Chicken stir fry with vegetables...love this recipe
Dinner: Black cherry and chocolate soft serve: basically frozen black cherries and dairy free chocolate chips put through the juicer but instead of the screen that the juice normally goes through, there is a panel that just homogenizes the food...so good! Better than ice cream!

Ryan is giving me a hard time right now about my misstep last night and to that I have to say: RYAN SAMPLED HONEY AT THE FARMER'S MARKET TODAY. I don't actually think that is THAT bad, but he gives me a hard time for every cheat, so I have to make sure to return the favor :)

Made some more gluten free crackers today, this time I added sesame seeds and dill and they turned out really good. We tried some today with this raw "cashew cream cheese" we got at the farmer's market made with: cashews, probiotics and sea salt. Delicious!

The Dance Shack

After seeing the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra on New Year's Eve, we decided that we wanted to learn how to ballroom dance. After a quick Google search I found The Dance Shack and with a membership fee of $20/year, which brings your cost from $10/class to $5/class, we couldn't pass it up!

We tried to go to beginner's ballroom dancing on Friday night, but by the time Ryan got home from work we realized that we'd be late....so we decided to go the next night, to beginner's Salsa.

When we got to the Dance Shack, we were a few minutes late (Ryan relied on technology and it nearly took us into a lake...if you watch The Office, you know what I'm talking about) and there were 3 men and one woman about to get started. The woman, Carole, came over and explained that we could try the class out for free to decide if we wanted to purchase a membership.

So we took our places, women on one side, men on the other and facing each other and listened to our instructor explain the basic salsa move and then practiced it together with and without music before moving on to a simple turn.

I took Salsa in college (It was an actual class that I got 3 credit hours for) and Ryan had taken a class or two in the past himself, so the beginner's class was not too hard for us. After it ended, we decided to get a membership and stay for the intermediate class for a total of $40 for the year membership and $10 for the intermediate class.

The intermediate class wasn't too difficult either but it was more interesting since more people showed up to take it. I would have preferred to not switch partners, but I think in the future if I made that request, it would be fine. (According to their website)

I'm excited to go back for Ballroom lessons, since that is what we are really interested in, and I'll let ya know how it goes!

The girl who stole my heart, Ramona Flowers

On Friday, we found this adorable, sweet and loving dog wandering the street in Avondale. We discovered that she wasn't microchipped, was extremely skinny, had crude stitches on her back by her tail, and was scared of everything. After a few hours, we also discovered how loving she is! (She thinks she is a lap dog and will wiggle until she is, at least partially, in your lap.)

Most everything was closed on Friday because it was New Year's Eve day and so we held her for one night and then Ryan's cousin, Scott, and his fiance, Sam, took her for two nights. During this time, we all tried every pitbull rescue and animal shelter with no luck. Even a Craigslist ad and numerous Facebook postings couldn't find her a home. So it was with tears and great sadness that I brought her to Animal Control on Tuesday morning. That whole day I was a wreck...crying on and off and depressed and without hope.

By Wednesday, I had resigned myself to the fact that she would probably be euthanized, but at least we had all given her a good couple of days. Then, Wednesday evening, my sister Dani, a former dog trainer, offered to foster her and train her so she'd be more adoptable. (She is still a puppy and very rambunctious. Also, we don't know how she will be with other pets)

A bunch of pieces were needed to make this puzzle complete: 1. My sister had to offer to take her, 2. Sam and Scott had to agree to let us borrow their crate because Dani doesn't have an extra one, 3. Ryan and I have to pay $100 to get her out of Animal Control (With spay/microchip/heartworm test) and that's why we created the "donation" button on the side, so help offset the costs of getting Ramona, and the money it will take to feed her while she's at Dani's and any vet visits. If we raise more than we need, we'll donate it to Lotsa Love in Orlando, 4. My landlord, a saint, had to agree to tell Animal Control that it was okay for us to "adopt" Ramona. Even though we're not adopting her, that's just the way they have to do it. If you don't own your home, you need permission from your landlord.

Thank you everybody for helping us save a life!!

After she has been trained, Dani will either find a home for her through Lotsa Love or bring her to the SPCA in Orlando, which is no-kill unlike Animal Control. (Wish I had known that earlier!!)

All of this brings us to a point: Please adopt animals from shelters before going to a breeder or pet shop. Also, please spay/neuter and microchip your pets! There are too many good dogs and cats being put to sleep because there are not enough homes or funding to keep them alive. With proper training, dogs and cats can be a true asset to your home and if you really need a "pure bred" dog or cat, you'll often find that they end up in the shelters too.

Clean Program-Week 1

(My face after eating our terrible Macro Veggie Bowl)

Our latest adventure isn't taking us to another country or even outside of Jacksonville...out latest adventure is: the Clean Program. duh duh duh! (Suspenseful music)

The Clean Program is basically 3 weeks of eliminating toxins from your system. This means liquid breakfast, liquid dinner and a solid lunch. Our diet now eliminates preservatives, chemicals, caffeine, dairy, tomatoes, grapes, oranges, soy, corn and a slew of other items on the "exclude" list. So what are we allowed to have? Well, instead of telling you everything we can have, I'll just tell you what we have consumed so far (NOTE: All chicken used is humane certified):

Day 1
Breakfast: Juice made with cabbage, kale, green apple, and celery.
Lunch: Macro Vegetable Bowl-quinoa, aduki beans, buttercup squash, seaweed, miso, cilantro, fresh ginger and garlic. Next time we need to cut the ginger into smaller pieces, every time I think I'm biting into a delicious piece of cauliflower and get a mouth of ginger I want to die.
Dinner: Smoothie made with raw cacao, blueberries, unsweetened, vanilla almond milk and coconut milk.

During the first day, Ryan and I were very hungry and craving pizza and candy bars...it's the middle of Day 2 and I can woefully report that this is the state I'm in now as well. We are allowed to have small snacks of raw almonds if we want to, but when you want mozzarella sticks, almonds are a sad alternative. We are eating plenty of food, but I'm so used to snacking on candy and crackers all day that it's a strange feeling that I can't satisfy every whim. Normally, if I'm craving an Almond Joy, I break into my stash o' candy or at the very worst, drive a few blocks to Walgreens to get one. Maybe it's too easy to get "food" that isn't really food at all. Maybe I should think of food like medicine...if I'm not nourishing my body with healthy, good medicine, why should I expect to get better?

Day 2
Breakfast: Juice made with cabbage, kale, green apple, spinach, and carrots.
Snack: Raw almonds and raw chia. I also had a prune, which I'm not sure if I'm allowed to have, but I couldn't find anything that said I couldn't!
Lunch: Macro Vegetable Bowl (I am eating mine without seaweed today, I hated it)
Dinner: Green smoothie made with avocado and fruit (I can't remember what's in it, I don't make it until tonight, so I'll update this later)UPDATE: Almond milk, coconut water, kale, avocado, mango and ice.

I'm currently eating my lunch and I don't want to finish it, but I know if I don't, I'll be starving later. It's not terrible, there are parts of it I like for a few bites, but then I get sick of it and there is so much to eat. UPDATE: Took me about an hour to finish. Ryan (human garbage disposal) called while I was eating and told me that HE even had a hard time choking it down and his had the seaweed. We have agreed never to make this recipe again.

I definitely want to give up, but we have a fridge full of fresh veggies and something about that tells me I'm on the right path! I may as well give it a shot and find out if this makes me feel healthier. I'll keep you posted!

Day 3

Breakfast: Smoothie made with pineapple, kale, soaked Chia seeds and coconut water. Really good and kinda slimy from the Chia, but in a very cool way. Loving Chia!
Lunch: Chicken cooked with mustard powder, fresh rosemary from our rosemary tree (we bought one as our Christmas tree!), garlic and olive oil. Steamed asparagus on the side.
Dinner: Raw pea soup....haven't made it just yet, will tell you how it is! UPDATE: Was pretty good, might have enjoyed it more had it been warm but I guess cooking it wouldn't make it "raw" :)

Fell off the wagon today...well, actually, JUMPED off the wagon. I ate more Whoppers than I care to admit...don't judge me, this is hard!! Contemplating whether or not I should tell Ryan....he doesn't read this blog even though it has his name on it and I could be saying terrible things....but I figure I probably should come "clean"...haha oh I kill me!

Decided tonight that I am making an extra juice and an extra smoothie for tomorrow to help ease the hunger. I'm not trying to lose weight and if I follow the rules of no solids in the morning or at night, I think it's better to drink extra than to breathlessly run up to the checkout line at Publix with an armful of Oreos and candy bars...oh, just the smell of the bakery at Publix makes me want to give up and eat every single baked good in their section!!

Day 4
Breakfast: Kale, Celery and Carrot Juice
Mid-morning snack: Smoothie with chia, pineapple, kale and coconut milk
Lunch: Same rosemary chicken meal as yesterday
Mid-afternoon snack: A smoothie I made up: coconut milk, frozen raspberries, raw cacao powder and agave syrup (To help with the chocolate craving!)
Dinner: Cool Cucumber Soup with Dill....(Blended cucumber, raw cashews, olive oil, peeled lemon, salt, fresh dill) Really yummy!

Okay, having the 2 extra smoothies today helped BIG TIME...I was way less hungry and tempted to eat other stuff. I also felt like I had a bit more energy. Other than that, I don't really notice anything major....guess we'll see how I feel at the end of the 3 weeks!

Day 5
Breakfast: Kale, Celery, Cabbage and Carrot Juice
Mid-morning snack: Smoothie with avocado, mango, kale, coconut milk and almond milk
Lunch: Chicken with parsley and spinach salad
Mid-afternoon snack: Ryan roasted the seeds from the buttercup squash we had earlier this week...pretty good snack mixed with some Chia! Smoothie with blueberries, raw cacao, coconut milk and agave
Dinner: ?

It seems to be getting easier! Ryan and I both were not tired last night before bed, even though we stayed up the late hour (for us) of 11 pm. For Ryan, especially, this is huge because he normally falls asleep during movies shown as early as 8:30 pm. This morning, I felt much more alert and ready to get up than I usually do. (Not a morning person!) Drinking herbal tea has helped also when I get cravings for junk. Just wish there wasn't hot cocoa packets in the office kitchen...chocolate and me are too close.

Day 6
Breakfast: Kale, ginger, green apple, carrot, celery, and cabbage juice
Mid-morning snack: Same as breakfast
Lunch: Same as yesterday
Mid-afternoon snack: Green smoothie with mango, kale, avocado, flax and coconut milk
Dinner: Smoothie made with blueberry, homemade nut milk (brazil, almond and cashew), raspberry, flax meal and chia

Now that I'm used the routine, I'm slowly craving junk food less and less. Ryan had the ultimate test when his office went out for lunch at our favorite pizza place and he ordered, "Water. Just water. It was so hard." I can't believe he did it and ate his "Clean" lunch at the office. I think I would have broken down and inhaled some cheesy breadsticks at the very least. Well, we're almost through with the first week...it's hard to believe we have about 2 weeks left!

UPDATE: When I got home that night, I wanted pizza so bad. I wanted to have a "cheat" night but Ryan talked me out of it...I still ate half a teaspoon of Nutella, but I guess that was better than entire pizza followed by an entire chocolate cake (which is what I wanted!)

Day 7
Breakfast: Smoothie with raspberry, blueberry, homemade nut milk, flax meal and chia. (I added raw cacao and a lil agave to mine)
Lunch: Chicken and vegetable stir fry made with wheat-free tamari (a type of soy sauce). We aren't allowed to have soy products including soy sauce but apparently tamari is good for digestion because it has been aged or something. Whatever the reason, it was delicious!

Dinner: Smoothie with nut milk, green apple, blueberry, raspberry, flax seed and coconut water

Today we went grocery shopping for next weeks items and we split our shopping between the farmer's market, the local health food store and Publix. Instead of it being a pain in the butt to go to a few different places, it was kind of an adventure searching for the items we needed. One of the cool things about this detox/cleanse is that it's exposing us to new foods and supplements such as: Chia, aduki beans, wild rice (We've had it in wild rice pilaf but never bought it to cook with by itself!), pro-biotics, hemp protein powder, making our own nut milk and coconut milk, wheat free tamari and a bunch of others. We are also buying and eating more vegetables than ever! It seems like it's more expensive, but since we are not going out to eat because we have such a limited diet, we're actually spending less! (And eating healthier to boot)

The Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra/NYE

HAPPY NEW YEAR!! What better way to ring in the new year than to check out the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra?! While looking for alternative things to do for New Year's Eve...I discovered that they would be playing NYE and then hosting a reception afterwards with snacks, free champagne, a jazz band, dancing and an excellent spot on the river to watch the fireworks at midnight!

Neither of us had ever been specifically to see a symphony orchestra perform, so it was an enchanting evening and an absolutely delightful way to say goodbye to 2010 and prepare ourselves to try even more new things in 2011. In addition to the orchestra, they also had ballroom dancers and opera singers to accompany them during a few numbers.

After seeing the grace of the ballroom dancers, Ryan and I have decided that we want to take lessons in 2011 and give it a "whirl"...get it? Because you whirl in dancing...nevermind. At least I'm laughing :)

Well, I hope that you all had a wonderful 2010 and that you have an even better 2011. Try new things and make your life experiment a good one!