Detoxin’
Hello my little chowers. Sorry I have been so MIA recently. After some life-changing food experiences in Louisiana (highlights include one day of eating boudin sausage for breakfast, lunch, AND a snack; and eating more red meat at one lunch than I have in my entire life), I’m taking a break from the good stuff and detoxing my bod.
If you read this blog, you know how much I love food. But after the holidays and then a trip down south, I feel like I’ve gone, hmm, how should I put this, a wee bit overboard. During my trip I went passed the point of going to bed curled in the fetal position, passed the point of nausea, PASSED the point of swearing off food for the rest of my life, to spending my last couple days enjoying five course meals twice a day without ever feeling full. And that’s when I realized, wow, I feel disgusting.
SO. I’ve embarked on a two week “detox.” This isn’t one of those regulated special detoxes. In college I was a big fan of the “two days only 100% juice, three days only raw vegetables, with a helping of psyllium husk to flush it all out,” but the last time I tried that (2005) I spontaneously started spewing a couple days worth of grape juice out my nose while taking a shower. Never again.
This time the rules are such: No meat; no dairy; no alcohol; only whole wheat and complex carbs; only raw, steamed, or cooked foods; and low salt and sugar (no sugar= no Molly).
I can’t tell you how amazing I feel after just one week! And it’s not even that difficult to stick to it. After the first week I’ve lost three of the extra five pounds I put on, and I’m still eating the same amount of food I normally would, just being picky about it. Here’s a normal menu:
Breakfast
- homemade oatmeal with strawberries
- whole wheat toast and fresh fruit
- high fiber/low sugar whole wheat cereal (loving Kashi Autumn Wheat) with blueberries and soy milk
Lunch and Dinner: basically this is about eating raw or steamed veggies in various variations.
- Mixed greens salad with grains (wheat berry, barley, cous cous) and beans (chickpeas, legumes), carrots, tofu, and a bit of balsamic
- Brown rice and vegetable-stuffed peppers and squash
- Brown rice vegetable sushi (no soy sauce)
- Vegetable spring rolls
- Macro, vegan Thai dumplings with broccoli (thanks Gourmet Garage!)
Snacks are where I have the most trouble. Sure, I do carrots and hummus, but while eating so many veggies for my meals, I can’t do them for my snacks, too. Mixed nuts and dried fruit have been working well, but I’ve also had the occasional granola bar and Alternative Baking Company vegan cookie (which are so, so good, but besides from being vegan, basically no different than eating a normal cookie). All this washed down with tons of water and a cup of Yogi Peach Detox tea a day.
I’m really enjoying eating like this. I feel great and that gross gluttonous feeling is gone. If you have any snack or meal suggestions for me, I would love to hear them as I begin week two.
