The Best & the Worst of the Challenge Recipes

This is the most often I’ve blogged about a “week without”, but that’s because it’s proven to be my hardest challenge yet. Feeling pretty good, albeit deprived. I’ve gone through almost an entire shopping cart full of vegetables, including 4 raw beets and 2 giant bunches of kale. I am getting a little tired of those two…

Favorite challenge recipes/foods:

- PRUNES! I bought some a couple days ago & they have been my dessert. So good.

- Guacamole ala Nikki (Made it up last night from all legal ingredients)

- Cranberry-Pumpkin Seed Trail Mix

- Kale-Cabbage Slaw (I’ve made this one twice)

- Roasted Caulifower & Peppers

- Fresh fruit as a snack (apples, pears)

Least favorites:

- Green Machine smoothie (AKA cow cud)

- Roasted garlic & beet soup

Also, I went to a bar last night for a friend’s art show and helped her set out the snacks. Then I went to the store, bought & prepared snacks for a couple friends that I could NOT eat (pop, wine, jalapeno poppers). I can’t believe I didn’t cheat.

I’m about to kill someone for some cheese & crackers.

Cleanse Support

After two days of headaches and naps, I’m feeling good! Hungry, but good!

And even though I’ve been a little tired & cranky, my fiancé and my friends have been amazing! Ben read off recipes to me late last night as I finished up making my meals for today. He also rubbed my head when I had caffeine headaches, and hooked up the Xbox downstairs so I could burn some calories with “Dance Central”.

My co-workers & friends Audrey & Steph have been AWESOME! They eat healthy lunches with me in the breakroom, go on walks with me on the bike trail near our office, and are pretty much my cheerleaders. Steph gave me a clementine for a snack yesterday, and some no-sugar-added trail mix today. They rock!

Because I’m a crock-potting nut, I’ve already made two of the recipes in my crockpot J I thought I did a lot of cooking before, but that was nothin’! I’ve already gone through half of the giant whole pile of vegetables stocked in my fridge. I’ve also washed a ton of dishes – but hey – that keeps me distracted from being hungry.

And… I inadvertently cheated today, because I ate a few peanuts. This week of the challenge basically includes fruits, veggies, nuts, & seeds. Since peanuts are actually legumes –not nuts- and a common allergen, those aren’t part of the cleanse. Oops!

Minty Pee & Eagle Arms

I’m having a good day! Maybe it’s the cleanse….or maybe it’s the fact that I took the day off, slept in, went to my first ever yoga class (I’m so behind the times!), and lounged in my car to read a magazine. Plus the my great new haircut doesn’t hurt J

I got so excited about shopping and cooking last night, I forgot to eat dinner (unheard of!) After spending last night making beet soup, trail mix, and minty pea dip (which my brother-in-law misinterpreted as “minty pee dip”), I put myself to bed tonight with some chai tea. Technically, I made a cup of chai tea, left it on my night table, and promptly forgot about it until it was barely warm. I drank it anyway.

Today, I woke up after 9am, made myself a mango-coconut water smoothie, and went to the gym for yoga. Since the class was in the middle of a weekday morning, most of the students were retired women – much older and much more flexible than me. My mat was directly in front of the fireplace. The instructor had to correct me on my Eagle Arms (is that right??) and one other pose, but for an ungraceful klutz, I think I did pretty darn well! No bruises! haha I did a little meditation in the steam room, took a shower, and left the gym feeling great – no lack of energy, etc. due to the new diet. Same with lunch. I made this kale-broccoli slaw. I snuck a little more than the recipe’s serving size, but left the house feeling satisfied, not full – which is good, because I had a scheduled tasting for our wedding food. Fortunately, the tasting didn’t have a lot of processed foods or added sugar – but it did have meat, dairy, and starch. Luckily it was all very small tasting bites – so not too much damage done to the cleanse, I hope.

As I type this, I’m developing a caffeine headache, but that’s to be expected. I’m gonna keep chugging water and go take a day-off-work-nap!

New Year's Cleanse

Happy New Year! I’ve gone a few weeks without a “week without”, so I’m kicking off 2012 with a doozy:

I’m going three (3) weeks without: processed foods or beverages, added sugar, dairy, gluten, caffeine, and alcohol. I’m doing Whole Living magazine’s 21-day Challenge. It’s basically a cleanse, which I’ve never done or even considered before. The closest thing I’ve done to a cleanse is when I decided to just eat fruits and veggies for a week. I think I made it about 5 days. The whole first week of this is vegan. Because I still need to grocery shop, I'm starting this one day late.

I always thought cleanses were for crazy people, and 9 times out of 10 when I hear the phrase “rid your body of toxins” – it’s to advertise some product that’s a bunch of crap. (I’m lookin’ at you, Body Wrap! Those aren’t “toxins” – it’s sweat!)

However, I can definitely see a connection between what I put into my body & what I get out of my body. (I meant performance, not poop. You’re gross.) I tend to overdo it on many of these things, specifically alcohol and caffeine. I don’t expect to lose a ton of weight on this, but am interested to experiment with this for 21 days and see if it really does improve the way I feel. It’s a new year, and I’m ready to try something new!

If you’re intrigued & you want to try it (Translation: Please! I want to do this with a buddy!), here’s a link.

If you don’t want to try it, you should at least check out Whole Living magazine. I got a free subscription from MyCokeRewards. (ironic, eh?) I look forward to reading it every month & I keep begging Ben to read it, too. It’s fantastic.

EDIT: I am an idiot! Just as we drove away from the grocery store with $138 worth of fruits, veggies, and bird food in my trunk, I realized we're tasting wedding food from the caterer tomorrow! I may have to delay this challenge for one more day - but I'm still excited to try out a smoothie or roasted chickpeas tomorrow!

Reformed Bag Lady

I think this blog is slowly but surely making me low-maintenance. I am almost on week #3 without fake nails. I loaned my car to my brother they other day while his was in the shop, because I knew I’d be fine without one. I don’t worry about makeup if I don’t have time. I left my debit card at a fundraiser the other night, but I’m not worried, because I know I can get by without spending J Did I mention my office stash of pop has been empty all this week? And my week without a purse? Awesome!

I honestly didn’t think my purse was related to my shoulder problems. And while I still don’t believe it initially caused the problem – not wearing it has made a big difference! I hope it’s not all in my head, but the pain in my shoulder has subsided. It still hurts at certain angles, but it seems to have improved substantially. Go figure!

Also, not having a purse rules. I feel like a guy – in a good way. They never have to schlep all their crap around (and sometimes, everyone else’s crap!). I just stick what I absolutely need (wallet, phone, keys, Chapstick) into my pockets, & away I go! A couple times I’ve found myself reaching to put something INTO my purse, but so far I haven’t run into any situations where I really missed or needed one of those oddball items I’d been carrying around. Ladies, even if you don’t carry a big bag, I highly recommend trying a week without your purse.

Shoulder: 1

Purse: 0

Baggin' the bag

I just wrapped up my second week off since beginning this blog. The week without biting my nails was one of the biggest successes yet! Not only did I last a week without breaking down & and going to the salon – I STILL haven’t been there. I may have broken the habit for good *knock on wood* I started chewing on them a few times, but I’ve been able to stop myself. My friend Marna recommended keeping a nail file with me & using that whenever I get the urge to bite my nails. I’ve been doing that and painting my nails. I’m not sure which did the trick, but it’s been two full weeks and my fingernails are intact. That’s amazing! I still miss having super-strong, always-French tipped nails, so eventually, I’ll go back to the salon. But now that I don’t NEED nails, the salon will just be a nice way to pamper myself once in a while.

My right shoulder has been giving me problems for a few months. While it’s likely due to a paddling injury, I think I may be doing other things to aggravate it. That led to this “Week Without a Purse”. We’ve all heard stories of women who’ve suffered back or neck injuries stemming from their mammoth bags. My bag is not huge, but I am guilty of carrying way too much in it. All of my makeup travels with me, all of the time. I tend to accumulate a huge paper pile of receipts, printouts, invitations, and maps. I’ve got 2 checkbooks, a wallet, a very full keyring, and a phone. Many times there’s an MP3 player & headphones, or an FM transmitter in there. And then there’s the weird stuff that travels in there… I’ve had a wire stripper in there for about a month now. I used to carry a small tape measure and a Congressional directory or a deck of cards. (No, I wasn’t on my way to “Let’s Make a Deal”) A change of shoes or a Coke Zero often finds its way into the abyss that is my bag. I patented the “bag in a bag” technique: carrying my purse and other items INSIDE a backpack or larger bag. At first, it was because I needed a way to carry my gym clothes, lunch, and purse all at once. Then, it was just because I was weird.

This week, my shoulder gets a break. This morning, I did my makeup at home. I stuck my wallet & phone in my coat pockets. And I carried my usual lunch and a change of shoes in a plastic bag. Not heavy, and most of it won’t travel back home with me.

Nail Biter

I made it until Thursday, and then I pretty much gave up. I forgot what it was like to be 14 and without a drivers’ license. I carpooled with Ben & I tried to plan ahead, but between board meetings, kayak polo, and plans with friends – it’s really difficult for me to go without driving. However, I am pretty good at carpooling. Ben & I carpooled for a couple winters when I was between cars, so I’ve got a lot of practice. Here are my biggest obstacles:

- I am impatient.
Who wants to wait for a bus and travel across the city in a 45 minute commute when it only takes 15 by car? Biking doesn’t take that much longer than driving, plus I’ll save time because I won’t have to bike on the trainer at night or go to the gym – so the impatience excuse really won’t work for biking, except…

- It is cold.
It’s freezing out in the morning. Given the choice between A) a 3.5 mi ride in 30-degree weather, or B) travelling on a heated seat with warm air blowing on your freezing fingers…what would you choose?

- I am busy.
Sometimes waiting for a bus or taking a bike isn’t an option when I have to get across town & back quickly. There are situations when getting up early or being patient still won’t cut it.

I want to improve. I'm weak! I may try a week without driving another time. However, last week was a FAIL.

This week, I’m going a week without fake nails. For years, I bit my nails down until they hurt (gross!). About 7 years ago, I started getting fake nails, which solved the problem. I've had them ever since. However, the compulsion to chew them is still there.

For the 2nd time in 7 years, I took them off. (cue the theme from 2001: A Space Odyssey) Realistically, I won't break the chewing habit this week, but I hope to at least make an improvement. My mouth may be so full of turkey & stuffing that I won’t have room for fingers anyway!