Days 10-12: Remove Dairy

Good morning! My apologies for the delayed blog post, but this past weekend was quite the whirlwind of wedding activities.

My fabulous, crafty, sister, Kristi hosted what I consider to be the BEST wedding shower ever, and I swear it's not just because I was the bride-of-honor. Her attention to all the little details, including what we call "Boardwalk" (i.e. vintage 1930's) music was absolute perfection.

Martha Stewart eat your heart out!

Miniature rice crispy treat cakes made by my one and only sister at her Itty Bitty Bakeshop

Yay, sisters!

So, in addition to being showered with love, I have also been busy trying my best to REMOVE DAIRY:

FOCUS ON HEALTHY FATS AND OILS:

Surprisingly, adding healthy fats and oils was a no-brainer. I LOVE avocado, and things like walnuts and olive oil are an easy topping on any salad! The dairy piece was a bit harder, even though my digestive system has long had a hate-hate relationship with all things milk and cheese, I just LOVE it! For me it's like coffee, a part of my day that signifies "it's time to relax!". I love nothing more than a well-organized cheese board and some crunchy crackers. Oy. What was I to do?

Well, I just tried to truck on through. I added apple slices to my cheese board, so friends could still nibble will I crunched on fruit instead. It's NOT easy, but I will say it DOES kind-of sort-of make my body feel MUCH better. And I know this. So why is it still challenging?

I am starting to think, like a lot of junk food, dairy may be an "addiction" for me, that I will just need to work out of my system. There is a LOT of controversial information out there about dairy, and I am not one to jump on bandwagons, but when you think about it, it is interesting that we are the only mammal that drinks the milk of another animal. Just saying...

Meanwhile, as I mentioned last week, another focus for me has been BEANS! Hail to the bean, what a tasty little protein morsel, ready for the making and baking. My ode to Boston (aka Beantown) included a 15-bean vegetarian soup.

15 types of beans, hanging out in a pot!

Spinach, carrots, celery, and onions!

I combined the beans (which were soaked overnight) with some sauteed spinach, carrots, celery and onion. Everything went straight into my crockpot, along with 15oz of diced tomatoes, various Italian herbs, salt, pepper, and 2 cups of water. There it simmered on high for about 6 hours. I let it cool overnight, and by morning it was ready to serve into several containers for a great meal-on-the-go!

Another go-to fav, Black Bean Quinoa Burgers with Roasted Cauliflower .

I made these for one of my besties on Sunday, and she is now a convert! So delish and super easy to make!

Before I sign off, I do want to admit, in the spirit of being HONEST, that Sunday's shower included a few glasses of wine, and a bit of dessert, BUT the good news is, I am learning that the more I eat healthy the less I want those delicious treats! And let's face it, life is a balancing act.

Until the next post, I am off to remove eggs, and focus on nuts and seeds!

Namaste

Days 7-9: Remove Sugar

“There is a saying in Tibetan, 'Tragedy should be utilized as a source of strength.' No matter what sort of difficulties, how painful experience is, if we lose our hope, that's our real disaster.”

- Dalai Lama XIV

It's hard to feel hope, when the world seems to change drastically, and tragically, right in front of your eyes. But that is what I am doing today, and everyday since Monday with a renewed sense of gratitude for just how fragile life can be. It's time to dig down, deep down, and gather all of the 'hope' in my soul, and keep moving forward.

For those of you who follow closely, you may remember I was heading to the Red Sox game on Monday, Marathon Monday. I was planning to test out the Baked Oatmeal Cup recipe from Two Blue Lemons, but a key ingredient was missing from our fridge (unsweetened applesauce) so those came later in the week.

Instead, I relied on a trusty fallback for breakfast-on-the-go: a fruit smoothie! Monday's concoction included:

-2 bananas

-1 cup frozen organic mango (purchased in the freezer section of Hanafords)

-1 cup ice

-2 cups unsweetened Almond Milk

With our smoothies in hand, the fiance and I hopped the Downeaster for a quick trip down to Boston!

I really felt prepared to commit to my healthy living despite all the temptations that would await us. After all, I had successfully made it through a round of goodbye parties at work, and 2 weeks of no caffeine. How hard could a trip to Fenway be?

As it turns out it was HARD.

My day included:

-1/2 Fenway Frank

-2 light beers, and a mimosa

AND, for the disgusting grand finale:

- McDonalds medium french fries, and a McWrap (GROSS!)

I did manage to drink a lot of water, and even nibbled on my apple (stashed in my purse) during the 7th inning stretch. Our friend even commented that he had never seen anyone eat an apple at a baseball game.

So, there was that. I felt quite guilty at first, because I have been oh-so-committed to this cleanse. And of course, the first thing my honey asked was "are you going to include this on your blog?". My instinct was to say "NO!". But as the end of the day arrived, and I was soon desperate to run away from everything (the world, this cleanse, the tragedy unfolding around us), I realized that I need to be honest with myself, and honest with all of you. And so, I am taking it one step at a time.

Since Monday, I did end up making the Baked Oatmeal Cups:

I subbed Almond Milk for Whole Milk, and I think in doing so I made the batter way too wet. I might decrease the Almond Milk to 1 1/2 or 1 cup next time and see if I have better luck!

Too moist, or not, we have still be throwing them back over here, so the taste was not lost!

I also made Tassajara's Vegetables in Thai Red Curry, which was amazing, and has been serving as an incredible lunch leftover for two days now. As my Cleanse Coach Sarah says: cook once, eat twice.

So, for the real challenge, I have now been tasked with:

REMOVE THIS:

FOCUS ON THIS:

I have been a bit delinquent in actually ADDING root vegetables, but hope to try out a few great recipes this week:

Caramelized Winter Veggies with Polenta

Cissy's Roasted Dill Carrots

As for removing sugar, you would be amazed at how much easier that is to do once you eliminate processed and packaged foods. It does mean substituting for baking (unsweetened applesauce seems to do the sweet trick!), and reading the back of labels (even healthy organic labels) more closely.

Stay tuned as I tackle removing Meat and Soy, focusing on beans, beans BEANS!

I will consider it my own personal ode to Beantown.

“When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, 'Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping."

-Mister Rogers

#BostonStrong

Namaste

Days 4-6: Remove Processed and Packaged Food

Have you ever noticed how much of what you eat comes from a package? Not to say all packages are created equal (and evil) but my journey into this part of the cleanse, where I am tasked with removing processed and packaged food, has been a real eye opener. The first few days into removal, I found myself a bit lost...trying to find something, ANYTHING, that wasn't packaged. And, the happy truth is, there are always fruits and vegetables. I know, I know, how could one "fill up" on just these basics?

REMOVE: THIS

FOCUS: WHOLE GRAINS

QUINOA

Fortunately, I am already a bit of a quinoa [keen-wah, kee-noh-uh] junkie, having been introduced two summers ago, so I had a nice hearty whole grain to turn to. This weekend's agenda includes trying a few new recipes (thanks Two Blue Lemons!):

Heaven On Earth Veggie Burgers (minus the buns!)

Tassajara's Vegetables in Thai Red Curry

AND, for our train ride into Boston on Monday, I thought that these lil bites would be the perfect breakfast on the go!

Baked Oatmeal Cups

Speaking of early morning meals, my breakfast this morning included my first homemade smoothie:

-2 bananas

-2 mangoes

-2 large strawberries

-handful of spinach

-almond milk

Luckily for the fiance, I made enough for two! Delish!

Overall, my first 6 days are feeling incredible. Really, they are. I hate (but secretly yearn) to come across as a veg-head hippie, BUT eating things like fruits and vegetables really does FILL you up, and keeps you fuller longer. I am shocked to learn that strawberries/other fruit for breakfast, spinach salad for lunch, and veggies/grains for dinner is all my body wants, and perhaps ALL it needs.

And so the journey continues...

Stay tuned as I remove "Added Sugar".

Namaste!

Days 1-3: Remove Caffeine and Alcohol

Good morning!

I have just completed the first 3 days of my 21-day gentle, whole-food cleanse. A personal victory of sorts! The cleanse itself is designed by a removal/focus system where every three days I am tasked with removing "something" from my diet (for the remainder of the 21 days) and focusing on "something else." For more information on the specifics of this cleanse, I encourage you to contact the incredible wellness warrior and coach, Sara Waldman of Two Blue Lemons, who is guiding me (and others) through this incredible challenge. Here is her website, which is chocked full of amazing recipes, humorous life and food insight, and adorable photos of her baby boy and Vineyard life. What's NOT to love! Plus her story of how she came into whole-food living is pretty inspirational too. So, days 1-3...

REMOVE: Caffeine and Alcohol

FOCUS: Green vegetables

Admittedly, I dropped caffeine a week earlier, after a one night stand with Skinny Bitch. If you want to freak yourself out (in a good way) and change your entire life, drop what you are doing RIGHT NOW, and go read this book. It's a game changer.

I have been doing surprisingly well without caffeine and alcohol (and I love my wine!), but the real test will come next Monday when I head to my first Red Sox game of the season. Will Power will be called to the plate when the Fenway Frank man comes by. EEKS! Give me strength! For now, I am focusing on greens. I attempted and succeeded in preparing and eating my first Brussels sprouts this week. Thanks to Two Blue Lemons for the delicious recipe!

Brussels Sprout Crisps

I topped this meal off with a side salad of baby spinach, fresh-cut strawberries, walnuts, and a maple-balsamic vinaigrette!

And with that...I am off to the next part of the cleanse: removal of all processed and packaged foods; focus on whole grains.

Tune in Sunday to see how I am doing!

Namaste

The Starting Line

Hello, again, friends!

I am back. And with a WHOLE new mission. For those of you who don't know me, I'm Tracey:

A 30-something, sometimes-yogi, soon-to-be-wife, dog-mother, female prowess, mayonnaise,ranch and dolphin-loving, extraordinaire!

I have kept two blogs in my past dedicated to my (then) consistent yoga practice and challenges, and am here now to tackle something even BIGGER: my plate. Like blogs before, I hope that this semi-public forum will help to keep me honest and on track. And if it can provide some light to others along the way, well then so be it! I am not a registered dietician, or nutritionist, so please take everything you read with a grain of salt (sodium not included). I will aim to post every three days, following the sequence of this particular cleanse which focuses on eliminating and adding specific foods during that time period. The name of the game is WHOLE foods, and I hope to have a WHOLE lot to share!

Namaste