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Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Making New Friends

So far, its been a relaxing week.  Spring Break for me, remember?  In all honesty, it should not be this relaxing, I have a ton of stuff to do that I'm just ignoring.  I am procrastinating for a few reasons.  First, I do everything better under pressure.  Second, I finally got my hands on Breaking Dawn.  My next door neighbor let me borrow it since I'm too cheap to buy, and that library thing just wasn't working out.  I'm about a third of the way through.  

Normally on a week off I'd be taking advantage of extra gym time, but I've been doing a detox/cleanse/whatever you want to call it, and it was suggested that you kind of take it easy.  I've been walking with my mom and her friend in the morning, and going to yoga.  I went to a new teacher today and was thrilled to find that my normal teacher was subbing for her!  I love him so.  It was a short class though, only 60 minutes, when I'm used to 90 minutes.  There's just not enough time to get into things with only 60 minutes in my opinion.  

So clearly food this week has been different.  Well, not so different than normal but super different from the crap I've been eating lately.  I've been resorting to a lot more processed food than normal, and I really wanted to break away from that.  The diet that this "cleanse" suggests is mainly fruits and vegetables.  Almonds and sunflower seeds are okay in moderation, as are millet and quinoa.  I've mainly been sticking to the fruits and veggies though, and keeping a large portion of it raw.  There is also no caffeine, which is fine with me when I'm not working, no processed foods, no soy, and no salt.  

I do miss salt.  

Other than that its going really well.  Much better than I expected actually.  The hardest part was getting used to eating at the suggested "meal times", because I'm not used to eating such low calories foods all day, so I get really hungry, and I'm not about to tell myself I can't eat.    

So, I've been eating tons of fruit, thinking about Paulina's experiences (who recently started to basically follow an 80/10/10 diet), and having some fun with food again.  Its been far too long.  I really don't have any complaints so far, and while they suggest not doing any intense exercise, I feel like I have a ton of energy (says the girl who has been sitting on the couch reading and watching TiVo all day).  

My favorite meal on this diet (not that it isn't usually) has been breakfast.  There is just something so cheerful and vibrant about a big bowl of fresh fruit in the morning. 
 
I had this yesterday:  Bananas, pomegranate seeds (that I froze months ago), coconut, and the most beautiful papaya ever.  

I love you, papaya

This totally made my morning.  One of the downsides to this is that all the fruit and vegetables are supposed to be organic.  Yikes.  I don't know about you, but to me, that reads expensive.  $6 for a papaya?  I about fainted when I saw that pop up on the screen, and I told myself it had better be the best papaya of my life...I don't think it disappointed.  I'm not usually a papaya fan, but I believe it was Vegetarian Times who has an article this month about its health benefits and how it aids in digestion.  Maybe I'm wrong though, I get all those little free magazines at my health food stores, so everything gets mixed up in my head.  Regardless, I did read an article, and I figured now was a good time to try fruits I was wary about.  Wary no longer!

I made another new friend this week:  Beets.  I know I've had golden beets featured on here before, but I have also expressed my fear of its more mainstream sibling, purple beet.  I decided it was time to conquer my fear.  
Beets are the dark purple, apples are the pink, and carrots are the orange (obviously)

Now, this cleanse doesn't suggest that you eat only raw food, but I figured I would conquer my beet fear head on, and had this really delicious raw Spiced Shredded Beet & Carrot Salad from GoneRaw.  It was really good!  Beets are really good!  The only change I made came from the comment of the person who posted it, which was to add apples.  She also made the suggestion of adding pine nuts, but I think walnuts would be better...however, since I'm not eating nuts right now, they didn't get added.  

Conquering beet fear?  Check.  Well, I guess I have done one productive thing this week.    

As this has been a largely raw week, of course I turned to the one and only Ani Phyo.  I've mentioned Ani's Raw Food Kitchen on here many times, and this was another recipe that did not fail to disappoint.  

Above is the Garden Pate, one of my nut (almonds) based meals for the week, stuffed in a pepper with some edamame.  Totally yummy, and you can't see but there are raisins in it, which make it really extra yummy in my book.  By the way, if you check her site, you'll see that Ani is coming out with Ani's Raw Food Desserts soon.  I totally can't wait to snatch that up, I love the semblance of dessert being healthy!        
 
I'm so happy to be eating food again.  It has been an expensive week, but that is mainly because I'm bored and keep going to grocery stores for fun.  Funny, I used to do nothing every day and was fine, but now I actually miss going to "work".  

As much as this cleanse is going great, there are some things I already miss, and I am definitely fantasizing about making some tofu when this is over.  Barbeque Tofu?  Tofu Salad?  Any suggestions?

11 comments:

  1. LOVE the fresh fruit bowl. I'm not a big fan of papaya...it just has an odd taste to me =/

    I do want to try beets though! I think I'll buy some and try that salad

    BBQ Tofu...on a salad? ;)

    P.S. I haven't tried the Cranberry Orange but it's next on my list! I LOVE the cherry cashew...in fact I just love all the flavors I've tried so far!

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  2. Your fresh fruit bowl looks delicious! I, too, am not a fan of papaya, but it does look good.

    I've never been a fan of beets, you're brave! Maybe if I make something on my own rather than eating them at restaurants they won't be so bad? I just might try sometime in the near future.

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  3. im eating a papaya as we speak! I dont like them ripe though I like them "green" aka unripe... yummm

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  4. Good luck with your cleanse! I hope you get some results. I did one last year and didn't notice a difference, except that I craved salt the whole time! Fresh beets are so the bomb. I hated beets when I was a kid because my dad used to eat tinned beets, which are totally gross. Fresh and raw, or roasted they are really amazing, though.

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  5. Good luck with the cleanse! I admit, I don't buy much organic in the way of fruit and veggies. With 5 mouths to feed I don't have $10 for a kilo of apples when I can buy a kilo for $2 at the supermarket. I buy organic when I can.

    Mmmm I love beets and that salad looks fantastic!

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  6. mmm what a delicious fruit bowl and beet salad! i'll have to try that recipe!
    I hate that fresh produce, especially organic, can be so expensive! I buy organic as much as possible, and really the only way I can afford to do that is by eating in season as much as possible. Papaya, and other tropical fruits, organic or conventional are going to be expensive because of the transportation. also not very carbon neutral. From an ecological standpoint, its better to buy a local conventional food than an organic food grown across the ocean.
    Can we just move to the Caribbean? i could have a guilt-free raw lifestyle there! Living in Boston is definitely one of the reasons I couldn't be a raw vegan all the time-nothing grows here half the year! Can't wait for the summer!
    Good luck with your cleanse though, it sure looks tasty!

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  7. that is great that you're doing the cleanse! sounds ridiculously healthy. and you've managed to make some pretty amazing food. i love your fruit salad (i saw that article too!) and the stuffed pepper. awesome!!

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  8. the twilight series is SO hard to put down!
    all of your eats look fabulous :)

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  9. This post exudes freshness! From the fruit salad to the beet salad and the stuffed pepper, everything looks so fresh, colorful and scrummy! I don't think I've ever had papaya, it might be time to try one.

    Enjoy your book and the rest of your Spring break!

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  10. The beet salad looks pretty. All of the pics look great actually, they're so colorful! I am glad you conquered your fear of purple beets. They are too tasty to be afraid of.

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  11. Way to cleanse! Looks like you're still being super crafty with the foods despite the restrictions. Who says eating healthy isn't fun?!?

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