It has been a busy week, and, from what I have read, a detox week for my
body. I'm feeling better (no heartburn since I started this!!!), but
haven't had the increase in energy yet. If anything, I have needed MORE
sleep. But I think it's better quality sleep. Thursday, after working
ESY and having an Eval/IEP meeting (which we all wrote that morning,
since the kid hadn't been activated in our online program), my mom,
grandma, and I went and had a picnic at Kitsap Memorial State Park.
Gotta love a Three Generations Picture...
My mom is great and made a picnic lunch that aligned with my new dietary challenge, and my grandma was game to try a vegan lunch! We had a spicy coleslaw with fresh mango in it, olives, and cherries, with iced tea (mango indica, YUM!!). I brought vegan chocolate mousse, which my grandma enjoyed greatly.
I've been working on increasing my use of spices to increase flavor. It is taking some getting used to. But I'm cautiously optimistic!! I realized yesterday that I could easily slide into the old habit of a mostly carb meal, even on this new adventure... I made rice noodles and tofu with a peanut sauce, and realized I hadn't put any veggies in it!! I wasn't paying much attention and did an old-habit oops. So I added some edamame and ate cherries for dessert and felt a little better. Today I'm planning on something that uses a TON of veggies. Not sure what it will be yet (have to clean the kitchen... Badly... And run the dishwasher. So I have knives to cut with and plates to eat off of...). That means I get to browse recipes and choose something new!!! SO exciting. My Pinterest board Plant Strong Recipes is full of ideas, as are the cookbooks I have here. I just have to page through and find something that looks good. I need to pick up some more cabbage and carrots so that I can make a coleslaw that hides Kale. Kale is an amazing food. So good for you. And something that I STILL haven't bonded with... I'm trying. I really am. I can hide it in soups (which do NOT sound good on days when the temp hits 80), and hopefully I can hide it in coleslaw. I am not at the point where I can eat it in a salad, and I am not a cold soup person. Soup should be hot. Preferably with toast or a grilled cheese sandwich with it. Which will not be happening right now. :)
Personal Status Update: As of Thursday night (day 5), I am down 10 pounds since starting. And contrary to Chris' opinion, it is not water weight. Because I have INCREASED my fluid intake, especially since I kicked the soda habit when I started this. I am re-bonding with tea and flavored water (naturally flavored, with lemon, lime, orange, a little tea). I still drink coffee, but am sometimes swapping it up for homemade chai. As much as I love the boxed stuff (Oh, Oregon Chai...) it has too much sugar in it. So I make my own and add just the right amount of honey or agave.
For breakfast today I had oatmeal with dried plums and dried pie cherries (both from my mom's yard! Nothing added to them!!) with some flax meal and walnuts. I added a tiny sprinkle of raw sugar (have used honey or agave in the past, wanted to try this today) and a generous sprinkle of cinnamon. I topped it off with some coconut milk (love that it's available all over the place now, so you aren't just stuck with soy!!). Delicious!! I wanted something crunchy, too, so had some celery with peanut butter alongside. And a cup of coffee with coconut milk creamer. Pretty good breakfast, though I ate at about 1pm.... Slept a LONG time. And feel pretty darn good now that I'm awake.
Some reasons I'm choosing the foods that I am, and avoiding others: I have a LOOOOONG history of food sensitivities, and have had many different tests done. Nothing "pops" on the typical allergy testing, but I've had a long intolerance of wheat (nothing like an insta-migraine plus full body inflammation and, more recently, vomiting), and almonds and avocados have shown up on other tests. So I avoid those for the most part. I will do a tiny bit of avocado in a California Roll, and some almonds if they are in a mix that would be a pain to pick out. But I don't add them to salads or use them for cooking. I think I have a tiny bag of almonds in the pantry in case there is a recipe that calls for some, but I'll likely substitute it out. I use the cartons of Coconut milk instead of Soy for a couple of reasons. I want to use tofu regularly, but don't want to overdo the soy intake. I am trying to avoid overdoing any one thing, since my body has the tendency of developing sensitivities to things. Plus, most soy milks have additions that I want to avoid. Coconut milk has few ingredients. And works well in all manner of recipes. I have some soymilk, but so far haven't opened it. Took awhile to find one without corn syrup or extra sugars or oils. That's what I'm trying to avoid!! :) I also made my own veggie stock, as many in the store had added sugar. If you want your stock sweeter, add a parsnip and an apple. Done. I have also decided to use a little bit of chocolate. I knew that if I tried to completely cut myself off of anything remotely related to sweets and sub in fruits, I'd fall off the wagon like the clumsy person I am!! So I am using high quality dark/semi-sweet chocolate chips (the mini ones) that are made with unrefined cane sugar and have little or no dairy in them. A little bit of chocolate goes a long way. I'm on the lookout for good vegan chocolate, but at this point, I am ok with what I have. :) Still better than the old food habits!!!
That's all I have for now. I'll post recipes later today if I come up with anything successful!!!! Or cautionary tales if I discover a really bad combo. :)
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