Past the halfway point

An update on the cleanse:

GOOD:
- I'm enjoying cooking.
- Plenty of fodder for my food blog
- The Wii Fit claims I've lost 2 lbs. (I'm not sure)

BAD:
- I WANT BAD FOOD.  I want wine.  Cheese.  A Runza.  Chocolate.  Tacos.  Banh Mi.  Egg rolls.  I want to be able to snack & drink beer when I tailgate this Saturday.
- I'm getting sick of doing dishes.
- Every vegan or clean eating blog I read says "My hair is so shiny & my skin glows!"  What. Ever.  That crap does not happen to me. In fact, both times I've done this cleanse, I've gotten a major breakout on my face.  What gives?

5.5 more days to go. (and starting Saturday, I'm allowed eggs & gluten-free grains!)

Food Fantasies

I'm finishing the last day of Phase 1.  This is the most restrictive phase.  Tomorrow, I can have salmon and lentils!  I'm putting a root vegetable mulligatawny in the crock pot tonight - yum!

The cleanse feels easier this time around for many reasons:
First and obviously, it's shorter.  12 days seems so much more do-able than 21, and I'll be able to have turkey in time for Thanksgiving.  Hopefully, this'll have me craving a side of brussels sprouts, too.

Second, I've done this before & know what to expect.  I'm comfortable with all of the "rules"", so I've experimented more with the "legal" foods & created my own recipes.  I knew that after two days of caffeine headaches, I'd feel much better.

Third, I have a juicer!!  It's almost impossible to mess up juice.  It's an easy breakfast, and I've gone through two whole bunches of kale in four days!

Finally, I'm doing it with a friend, which makes it so much better.  The work "lunch bunch" ate together today, and I didn't feel like I was missing out on anything.

Tonight, I went back to Open Harvest for only the 2nd time since I was last doing the cleanse.  I'm in love.  I looked in the deli case & they have so much homemade YUMMY stuff.  I bought 2 types of hummus to eat tomorrow :)  Plus, they have weird vegetables that I want to try!  I bought some bok choy, a persimmon, a pomegranate, a turnip, a ginger root, a black radish, and some lacinato kale.  I've never even heard of those last two before!  Plus, I picked up some dried pears, dates, and raw cashews.

Unfortunately, they also have a lot of healthy delicious food that's NOT on the cleanse diet, like a whole cooler full of mouth-watering cheeses.  I think I crave cheese even more than the leftover Halloween candy lurking in my house.  When the 14th hits, I'm throwing myself a Harvarti Parti. nom nom nom  Other food fantasies:  beer cheese soup & lavosh from Lazlo's and banh mi.

Eating for One

Well, I'm at it again.  I'm on Day #2 of an abbreviated 12-day cleanse.  In January, I did Whole Living's 21-Day Action Plan.  Basically, I went 21 days without:

- processed foods
- added sugar
- dairy
- gluten
- caffeine
- alcohol

This time, my friend Audrey & I are shortening it to 12 days, & I'm armed with a juicer.  I drank some green juice this morning, and I've got a sweet potato in the oven.  You can check out my other blog, http://whatnikkiate.blogspot.com, to see what I'm eating.

Yesterday, I was talking to my parents on the phone & mentioned the cleanse.  My mom asked why I was doing it.  "Well, I just feel like my eating habits have gotten out of control, and nothing even sounds good to me lately.  Even meat is grossing me out - you know what I mean?"  My parents were quiet for a second, and then my mom mumbled something & giggled.  She thought I was pregnant.

Not quite, Mom, but I am getting plenty of folate!