Why We're Ending Our Cleanse On Day 12

I convinced Ryan that we should stop the cleanse on Day 12! I joke a lot about wanting to quit to eat ice cream and because I'm a baby but here is the conclusion I've come to and what Ryan agreed to:

First of all, we had to consider our reason for doing this cleanse: 1. To remind ourselves to eat healthier throughout the rest of the year, 2. To eat whole, "clean" food for a period of time to reset and "rid ourselves of toxins"...I hate that phrase because it makes you sound insane but there it is, 3. To be healthier so that we can find adventure throughout our very long and happy lives!

If our reason for doing this cleanse was to prove to ourselves that we could do it, well, we have done it! 3 years in a row! I'm not saying this is right for everyone but when we took the time to think about what is important to us we realized that our biggest take away from the cleanse each year is to achieve a better balance in our normal lives.

So, here is what we're going to do: Every three months, we are going to do a 7 day "Clean Program" cleanse. We hope that this will serve as a better reminder throughout the year to improve our health and eating habits. Let's face it....3 weeks of clean eating at the beginning of the year meant 49 weeks of progressively worse eating throughout the year for us. 7 days is a lot easier to achieve and won't leave us feeling deprived and terrible (which is how we felt on Day 12 and led to this decision).

As always, I did pick up a few more good habits from the cleanse this year: we are going to continue our morning protein powder shakes for breakfast (and only have other breakfasts as a treat on the weekends or when family is in town), we are continuing our vitamins and probiotics, we are still going to make that awesome lentil soup in our regular lives, we are going to do our best to maintain the 12 hour fasting window between dinner and breakfast and...very exciting: Ryan is replacing his morning coffee with tea and only drinking coffee as a treat! Instead of his life blood!

This is what we think will work for us and we challenge you to find what works for you in your quest for a healthier existence :)

Clean Gut Cleanse: Week 2

Day 8
Today is Dr.  Martin Luther King, Jr. day! Thank you Dr. King for all that you stood for and your tireless efforts towards equality!

Ryan and I both have the day off work in honor of Dr. King and it just happens to be a gorgeous day full of sunshine and...BrandGrump. Man, I don't mean to be this whiny and complainy. Lack of sugar and bread is tough on me and I don't have Ryan's stoicism! The chicken and slaw lunch that tasted so wonderful yesterday was maddening today. The cabbage gets more of a cabbage-y smell after sitting in the fridge over night and I get sick of food so quickly (unless it's taco soup, I could eat that every day). We went on a nice long bike ride, ate some strawberries, carrots and zucchini in the park and it was as close to the cup of coffee/glass of wine/sandwiches in the park that we really wanted that we were happy! For dinner we had creamy lentil soup and it is phenomenal. It has lemon and cilantro in it and while the recipe seems like a weird combo of flavors, it is so good. Ryan made homemade mayonaise with olive oil and holy crap, homemade mayo is the bee's knees. We used this mayo to make chicken salad to eat out of cucumber cups for lunches this week and it is also delicious.

I kept trying to convince Ryan to cheat with me today but he was having none of it. If he had agreed to order a pizza with me, I would have put aside my self control in a heartbeat. It's not fun cheating by yourself though so I behaved.

Chicken, homemade mayo, celery, green olives, dill, black pepper and onion

Day 9
Ryan has been experimenting with our morning shakes lately and I don't like it. Avocado and cucumber need to mind their own business and stay out of shakes. If I'm going to have a glassful of bland each morning, I don't need the additional weird flavors! It is much easier than making my own shakes in the am though, so I'm just going to shut up now and be grateful :)
The cucumber cups with chicken salad were pretty good, so I'm feeling pretty happy. This cleanse always reminds me how dependent my happiness is on food. Maybe I should work on that....

(Side note: just got the most romantic text from Ryan that said: "I bit the bullet and took the remaining cashew chicken for lunch today". You may be wondering, "Not the cashew chicken from last week that they ate for 7 days straight???!"....yes, that damned, cursed chicken: I LOVE THIS MAN!)


Day 10
Forgot my morning shake at home this morning...been sipping tea and eating almonds to substitute but lunch cannot come soon enough! Last night we had a delightful salad and some roasted brussel sprouts...I needed something to replace our almost nightly popcorn snack...brussel sprouts are a good alternative! That is, if you don't cook them until they're mushy :( At least we ate some of the crispy leaves that were beginning to brown before the sprouts were done...and then I went to eat my salad and forgot about the poor lil guys in the oven. I think lack of bread is damaging my brain...think that will convince Ryan to cheat with me? Maybe if I just started leaving croissants hidden in his clothes drawers or in his car?


Day 11
OMG I HATE THIS CLEANSE! Broke down and had a piece of toast today...and it felt awesome! I should probably feel shame or guilt (according to Ryan) but all I feel is satisfaction remembering that delicious, whole grained piece of heaven underneath a "sunny side up" egg. Kinda defeats the purpose of cleansing my body and resetting for the year, but we all knew I'd have at least one cheat...it is inevitable because my will to eat delicious things outweighs my will to not die of diabetes. At least I didn't eat the Doritos I really wanted for a midafternoon snack or some delicious candy bar! Instead, I had some asparagus soup and pretended it was the same.

Day 12
Planning what I will eat after the cleanse. If you haven't already noticed, I'm probably not someone to look to for inspiration when you're ready to crack but you may be able to relate to how frickn hard it is to completely change your eating habits. I'm in deep denial that cheating is wrong and I figure that 80-90% cleansing is better than no cleansing and if you fall down, you have to get right back up!

Day 13
LORD WHEN WILL IT BE OVER?! I've reached the realization today that 2 weeks of cleansing is better than not cleansing at all...right? RIGHT? AAAH I want blueberry biscuits and coffee! Ryan's surfing right now, but I am going to try to convince him that maybe this last week will be a half and half week. Half clean gut foods and half straight up bread. Even 80/20 would suffice. He's a tough egg to crack so I don't think it will work but I am at least going to change our menu again. I chose way too many cold foods and it has been between 30-60 degrees for the past week...I need warm, nourishing soups and chicken stew over mashed potatoes. Here's my compromise: chicken stew one day, clean lentil soup the next....I think it's a great idea....

Clean Gut Cleanse: Week 1

Day 1
Felt great in the morning...but I think I still had some delicious sugar and garbage in my system because by the end of the work day, I was hungry and had a headache. Went to bed early because of the headache.

Day 2
Still have frickn' headache! Starting to feel grumpy and hungry. Tried listening to binaural beats to help with headache since we're not supposed to take ibuprofen or aspirin. Helped a bit but it's still lingering and even though I just ate my lunch (the cashew chicken smells phenom...taste is pretty bland....might have to alter it for other days) I still feel grumpy and unsatisfied. Was it this bad last year??? Sugar withdrawal maybe? I want chocolate cake with chocolate icing...well, if I really think about it, I don't want that but I do want something to make me feel better about feeling deprived. Breakthrough!

Day 3
Broke down last night and took a single ibuprofen...and another one this morning. I'm not sure if this headache is related to the cleanse because I have a history of headaches/migraines but I do know that if I didn't do something, I wasn't going to get any work done! Unfortunately, getting work done is key to remaining employed so get over it Cleanse!

Dinner was pretty good last night...had the roasted tomato soup and a salad with a hardboiled egg and dressing made from avocado, lemon juice, garlic powder and a little sea salt. Pretty satisfying for me but Ryan was hungry by dinner time. I need to remember to feed him more...
Tonight is our second body bootcamp for this 10 week Mayor's Fitness Challenge...just getting over being sore from the one on Saturday so I'm a lil scared. Made some quinoa today to eat with lunch along with some extra tamari. Figured the extra food would be a good idea to get rid of cravings and prepare me for the workout. Spent entirely too much time on Google yesterday trying to find snack options...going to try to make chocolate covered coconut macaroons this weekend...without any sugar. Wish me luck!

Day 4

Discovered yesterday afternoon that if I mix my strawberries with coconut flakes and raw cacao nibs, it is delicious and much more satisfying than eating them separately!

Last night's bootcamp was not that bad and I can't be sure if it's because I took it easy or I'm getting stronger (probably not yet) or they just made it easier. My headache finally broke yesterday and I have been in a much better mood ever since. I still get really hungry near the end of the workday but I think if I bring an extra shake or snack, that should take care of the problem.

Reviewed the menu for this weekend and next week and I am changing a few things up: can't imagine eating another bland zucchini dish so "Zucchini Wrapped Cod" is probably changing to "Turkey Bacon Wrapped Cod". I have no idea how turkey bacon is allowed on a cleanse but I'm not going to argue with Dr. Junger because that sounds really delicious and it will be a nice weekend treat. Found a fabulous recipe for coconut flour pancakes that I can't wait to try...maybe that will be dinner tonight? Also decided to switch up the "Unpeanut Noodle" thing because I need a break from "Asian" inspired foods. This stupid cashew chicken is really getting on my nerves and I made too much so it's been cashew chicken alllll week. Also, we switched up our shakes today: instead of the usual we used lite coconut milk (the kind in the can), blueberries, lemon juice, kale and it tasted almost exactly the same as the other shake. Oh well, I tried.

Day 5
Made the coconut flour pancakes last night and they were so good. Maybe not regular food good, but for Clean Gut? I was in heaven! I left out the sweetener and added apple pie spice (which is basically just cinnamon, I think maybe nutmeg and something else). To top it off, I used almond butter and frozen raspberries. I heated them up in the microwave and mixed them together but if I made it again, I'd probably keep them separate. If you're craving bread/sweets, this is a great cleanse hack to beat the craving with "Clean" food.

I also made these chocolate dipped raspberry macaroons but I used unsweetened coconut flakes, no sugar, no salt, unsweetened/dairy free baking chocolate, frozen raspberries instead of fresh and 3 egg whites and a 1/4 cup of coconut oil to make up for the sugar being absent. I have to admit, the first few bites are tough. Chocolate without sugar is bitter (duh), but after a few bites, you start to appreciate the flavors without the sugar. I could have added a Cleanse approved sweetener (ugh stupid nasty Stevia) but for me, I'm trying to train my tastebuds to like less sweetness. I took a crappy picture with my phone but you can still see how beautiful these suckers turned out.

Toasted coconut is gorgeous and delicious

If you're unsure about the bitterness of the chocolate, you could eat these without the chocolate covering and it is slightly sweet naturally from the coconut. 

I think I'm going to make a roasted chicken this weekend because it sounds awesome. Feeling a lot better than I did earlier in the week! 

Day 6

Another body bootcamp this morning on the beach in balmy 45 degree weather. Had our shakes before we went and it kept us satiated throughout the workout...nice. Went to the farmer's market afterwards and there was also a street "home and business expo" so we had to walk past kettle korn, a food truck, and the smell of bacon coming from somewhere in addition to the usual delicious fresh baked goods, coffee and cheese of the farmer's market. THEN, we made the mistake of going grocery shopping after all this temptation and about 4 hours away from our last meal...psychological torture is going past the bakery and buy 1 get 1 massive bags of candy and not being able to eat either! It was a rough morning. At least we had a delicious lunch to look forward to..oh wait, no, we didn't. Somehow we still have leftover cashew chicken. We have eaten it every day this cleanse except for the first day when we ate the 3 taste noodle variation. And guess what? There is plenty for lunch tomorrow! I know it's very bratty to complain about having more than enough food to eat but I think we're well past that. This throws off my original food plan but it works out because Cleansing is damn expensive and it helps to not have to purchase grass-fed (and humane certified) stew beef. Since I'm not making that anymore, I have some cauliflower that is no longer needed later this week. Popped it in the oven at 400 degrees with some olive oil, sea salt and pepper and I'm waiting to find out if it will be awesome or an utter disappointment. I am such a complainer but hopefully, if you're reading this and doing the cleanse too, you know exactly what I mean. *Update: cauliflower "poppers" are awesome

Autumn Slaw

Day 7

Made a roasted chicken today because it sounded like a good idea. Ate it with autumn slaw (made with carrot instead of apple) and it was pretty good...especially with some savory roasted nuts sprinkled over slaw. Was feeling super grumpy again that afternoon, so we made coconut flour pancakes again for dinner and afterwards I felt like a superhero! I had energy again and I didn't want to curl up in a ball and cry anymore. I had so much energy and happiness that I even started creating our food for the week! Asparagus Truffle Oil Soup? Done! The best lentil soup I've ever eaten? Done! Chopped strawberries portioned into containers? Shazam! I'm finding that my biggest cravings aren't for sweets anymore, nope, straight up BREAD! Croissants, baguettes, texas toast, health nut bread with peanut butter...drool...Onwards to Week 2!

Clean Gut Starts Today!

Food for week 1

Oh man, here we go again! Yesterday was exhausting but we are now ready for week 1 of the Clean Gut program! As I discussed here, this year we not only decided to switch from the Clean Program to Clean Gut for our annual cleanse, but I also pre-planned our menu for the entire 21 days. It took a while but it definitely makes it easier. We did our grocery shopping yesterday and prepared our food for the week (minus the weekend) in about 4 hours. We make our shakes in the morning but everything else is pre-portioned and ready to go! Also, I stated before that I didn't know which supplements we would take but we have decided on magnesium, a B complex and a probiotic.

The only slight adjustment from the calendar I posted is that the "three tastes noodles" are now made with tuna instead of anchovies (oops) and I used lemon juice, tomatoes and garlic instead of the seasonings in the recipe available on the Clean Program website. I don't know if I'll like it but the taste test wasn't too bad. I'm really excited about the Zucchini Mushroom Cashew Chicken though, which just smells and tastes amazing. We're having it for lunch 3 times this week, so hopefully I will think it's amazing after day 3 :)
Ryan made the split pea soup, roasted tomato soup and veggie hummus (although our food processor sucks and it didn't turn out like the picture!).

For our shakes, we use 1 scoop of Garden of Life raw vegan protein powder (unflavored, the flavored versions are made with Stevia and I hate Stevia) with 8 oz of unsweetened almond milk, 1/2 cup of mixed berries, some frozen kale, unsweetened coconut flakes and cocoa powder. I made sure to blend the protein powder with the almond milk first after reading Amazon reviews that said it might be "chalky" otherwise. After reading those reviews, I was really scared to try this powder b/c the bad reviews went from "tastes like vomit" to "the worst thing I've ever eaten". It really wasn't bad. Still kinda chalky and bland but definitely drinkable. The only thing I would suggest is to make sure you blend the chunks away...it's somehow unsettling to chew kale or coconut in a drink.

We began the Mayor's Fitness Challenge last week so I'm a little concerned how our cleanse will work with the added exercise. From what I've gathered on the Clean Gut forums, it is important to make sure we get enough food and protein. Ryan and I have decided to bring our dinner soups with us to work to consume right before we leave so that we have something in our tummies before going directly to our weeknight workouts. We will eat our salads after the workouts and hopefully that will be enough. I'm thinking we could add some eggs or something if we're really hungry and we'll still be able to maintain the 12 hour fasting window.

So there you have it! I'm feeling very optimistic and ready for 21 days of cleansing! It's easy to be cheerful and optimistic when you've only been cleansing for 3 hours though :)

Clean Program: Clean Gut Monthly Meal Plan

I'm feeling pretty smug about this...yes, I realize I'm not the first person to discover meal planning but this is a revelation for me! It took some time, but I have completely planned out our 21 day cleanse! If this picture makes it look like I created this calendar with 1993 Word, it's only because I have a child's understanding of creating jpg's. You should be able to get the gist of it though. I have pinned pretty much every recipe that I'll need here and the rest are from the Clean Program's website. For breakfast, I simply put "shake" in each slot...I just purchased Garden of Life raw protein powder (in chocolate) and I think each day will be some variation of that with berries, kale, almond milk, coconut milk, chia, almond butter, cashews, lemon or lime juice etc. According to the reviews on Amazon, this protein powder tastes awful but it's supposed to be really good for you so I can gag it down. Update: Made the mistake of reading some of the 1 star reviews...all I can do is pray that the giant container of protein powder I purchased doesn't: taste like vomit, taste like rancid coconut oil, cause vomiting or some other problem that has yet to be discovered. 

I'm sure changes will be made as the month progresses, but this at least mentally prepares me and will (hopefully) take the stress out of grocery shopping this month. I'm also hoping that it will help me avoid cheating but I have a history of cheating on this cleanse every year so we'll see how that goes!

I am feeling very powerful right now...and strangely clairvoyant...