Sluggish....Detox Day 4

(((Yawn)))--Feeling a bit sluggish today, A big change from yesterday!

As far a food cravings, etc...MOOD:  I'm getting sick of eating the same thing over and over again.  I actually look forward to the "new meal" so I can change it up a bit.   I'm on my 4th or 5th chicken salad and it's getting old fast.  Just sayin'.....

Went to the food store today to shop for my family and it was pure torture!  LOL  Their list:  chicken pot pie, chicken nuggets, all kinds of goodies, soda...ugh what a nightmare!

But, I'm home now.  Drinking my lemon water and plugging along.  Is it only Day 4???!  This is very tough folks, but I'm still going.

Less than a month and I can celebrate my daughers birthday with a beer and dinner out with my family.  Sooooo looking forward to that!!

Until Tomorrow,

Callily

Coffee cravings...Detox Day 3

Woke up today to over 14 inches of snow!  My daughter actually had school, but I had to call her out because I could not get out of my driveway!  Completely snowed in!  Luckily, hubby came back mid day from his all night plowing gig and he and my son got us all plowed, shoveled and snowblowed!  This crazy March weather is insane!  Less than a week until Spring!  I cannot wait for sunny days and flowers!

Today's cravings are just COFFEE.  What I wouldn't give for just a nice, piping hot cup of coffee right now........sigh.

Breakfast was a typical smoothie, just changed up the ingredients a bit.  I made it quite late (10:00) due to my daughter and I sleeping in, and here it is 2:30 and I'm not at all hungry :-)  I have chicken salad for lunch but I'm really not hungry right now so I'm going to hold off.  Dinner is a crockpot stew recipe that is jammed with veggies and kale.

I'm surprised my energy level is pretty good considering I'm running on zero caffeine....that's surprising.  I do not feel as "puffy" and "bloated"--I'm guessing this is from not eating any dairy.  My body hates dairy.  I've always had issues with cheese, eggs and milk.  Kills my asthma and my gut.  But, I'm always trying to sneak dairy in someplace because I just love the flavors.....Hopefully this detox will help me keep it out of my diet for good.  Hopefully.

Well, that's about all there is to report today.  Did I mention I really would love a coffee?? ;-)

Until tomorrow,

Callily

Craving Crunchy! Detox Day 2

I wish I could say that today is going as easily as yesterday, but I'm actually starting to feel cravings today.  Really craving something crunchy and sweet, along with a nice cup of hot coffee!!

And, to make matters worse... my daughter (home today because of this spring blizzard), decided to reheat a wonderful smelling burrito for lunch while I sulked over my very plain salad.

I'm sure sitting in the house while it's storming outside doesn't help much.  I always seems to crave sweets while watching TV, and that's what we've been doing ALL day.  I'd love to get up and tackle one of the 50 projects I need to finish, but I'm just not feeling motivated.  Snuggling under the blanket watching game shows seems like more fun right now :-)

So, I'm digging deep and pushing away the cravings.  Hoping we do not lose our power!  Wish me luck!!

Callily

Detox - Day 1

I have been looking forward to, and dreading this day all at once if that's possible!  LOL  21 days of no coffee, alcohol, sugars and grains as part of this spring "Detox".  And let me tell you, I will miss all four of those components, in that exact order.  Can't imagine how I'm going to get through St. Patrick's Day without my "Cheers to the Irish" pint of Guinness :-(  But, it should all be worth it in the end.....a healthier me and a cleaner me!  Like I mentioned in an earlier post, I'm a "Detox Newbie"...I've never done this before!  Feel free to check in on my progress if you're a newbie too and afraid to try a Detox!  I will be writing my honest feedback on how I'm feeling and all that jazz!!

I ran around like a crazy woman at the Whole Foods yesterday trying to gather up my produce for the week.  I think everyone else is either 1.) Detoxing at the same time or 2.)  preparing for the blizzard and buying up food like it's armageddon!  The place was packed with people and all the produce was picked over/gone!! Crazy!

So far, Day 1 is going pretty well.  I had a jam-packed smoothie for breakfast that included everything but the kitchen sink in it!  I would say it kept me feeling pretty full for a few hours.  I'm not normally a "breakfast person", with oatmeal being the only choice if I do have it at all.  I'm used to smoothies so it's not too much of what I'd consider a loss.  Now, If you're the eggs and bacon type breakfast eater, this may be a struggle from day 1...(just sayin') ;-)

I was supposed to have made a special Vegan Artichoke Dip for snacking with veggies, but forgot the artichokes!  So, no mid morning snack :-(.  Made a Yogi Tea with the recommended "coconut manna" rather than my usual honey, and that was a tough one.  I really am going to miss my raw honey...not sure if I'm loving the floating oil in my tea, honestly.  It's definitely something I'll have to get used to.

The lunch for the day was chicken salad lettuce wraps-- the one big hardship I'm noticing is the amount of cooking/prep that is required.  I will probably look ahead and try to prep and get most of these recipes ready because I feel like I spent all morning slicing and dicing just for lunch!

It's now mid day and I'm not feeling starved.  I'm on my 2nd large bottle of water with lemon.  So far, so good.  Granted, by this time tomorrow, I may be ready to rip someones face off, but that remains to be seen!  LOL  I'd say this Detox newbie is doing pretty well!!  Until tomorrow....

ta ta,

Callily

Getting ready for a spring Detox!

Wow!
I just noticed that I haven't blogged in quite a long time, and honestly, I've gotten a bit off track with my healthy eating habits as of late.  With Spring arriving soon, it is a time for rebirth and rejuvenation.  This year, I've decided to undergo a "spring detox", with the help of a nutritionist.  I feel that it will be helpful to others to blog my experience along the 21 days of the program.  This is my very first detox, I'm a newbie!  So, if you've never performed a detox and would like to know how it goes, follow along with me to see what to expect and maybe you'll want to give it a try!

Gluten free, Vegan Apple Crisp!

Yesterday, my family and I picked more apples than I care to admit.  Today, I'm baking the family favorite.....Apple Crisp.  My original/usual recipe is a bit unconventional from other apple crisp's out there.  One, there are no oats (hubby hates them) and two, I enjoy less topping and more of the apple goodness underneath.  If you prefer this type of crisp, than this is the recipe for you!  If you do not want a GF / Vegan option, just replace the flour with regular all purpose, and use 1 stick of soft butter for the Earth Balance---easy peasy!!

I used my stoneware baking pan as you can see pictured here.  The following recipe filled this pan nicely (heaping, it boils down as you bake it)-- If you wish to half it, just use a smaller baking pan.

For bottom:
14 apples (peeled, cored and cut into pieces) - mix and match as you wish.  I used a combo of Macs and Golden Delicious

1 cup of organic sugar

1 tsp. organic cinnamon

1/8 tsp. cloves

Mix together the sugar and spices and coat the apples with it in a large bowl, set aside.

For topping:

3/4 Cup of Bob's Red Mill Gluten free all purpose flour
1/4 Cup of Trader Joe's Ground Almond Meal (you can omit this and just use 1 c. flour if you wish--I wanted to add some more texture)
1/2 cup of packed organic brown sugar
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1/2 cup of Earth Balance butter

Mix together the above ingredients, will be a crumbly mixture.  Place cut apples into baking dish, top with the crumb mixture and bake at 350 degrees for approx. 60 mins or until bubbling on sides and texture of apples are soft.

I'm making progress!

I have made some great progress since my last post!  Got my latest panel done and my total cholesterol went from 280 to 230!  Down 50 points!  My bad cholesterol (LDL) changed substantially too.  My tri's are still higher than I'd like, but I'm working on it.  Still trying to limit my sugar consumption, and my wheat/carbs.  It's a really tough diet to stick with though, but I'm allowing myself to make mistakes.  I'm doing my best!  Hoping to get my numbers under 200 soon!!!