Getting My Cleanse On

Since I had surgery and Dr.'s orders have prevented me from any form of real exercise, I've thrown caution to the wind in the diet department. I've cheated with sugary treats and salty delights. I have enjoyed pizza, pasta, cookies, wine, cheetos (yes, cheetos and lots), and a few meals out. Great healthy start to my new year, right? It was fun, but really, I feel straight up dis-gu-sting.

Truthfully, I think most of it is not being able to get my booty to the gym. The gym is my escape, my "me" time; which, let's face it, every mom needs. When I work out I feel strong, energized, and confident (ohhhhhhhh somtiiiiiiiiiimmmmmmmeeeesssssss I get a good Feelin'!!). This good feeling automatically influences me to eat good green, nutritious foods that my body craves. When I can't mix it up at the gym, I feel lazy, smooshy, down, and tired. Add to that a crappy diet and I feel like what I see coming out of Baby M's diaper. Great visual right!

I knew I had to do something after this weekend. I had one of my best friends in town, she spoiled us and we had a blast. When I say blast I mean, we ate lots of amazing cheeses', drank one too many martinis, and had wine for dessert. I woke up with a not so healthy feeling. Come Sunday, I decided to have a clean week.

I needed my energy back and to rid myself of all the unhealthy foods (and uh um....alcohol) I ingested. I highly recommend a cleanse if you are feeling bloated, tired, or gross.  I don't think I need to state this, but I will do so because I married an attorney and I don't want anyone getting hurt: I am no expert --- please check with a Dr. if you have any health problems, eating disorders or illnesses before trying any cleanse.

Lucky for me, I have many books on different cleanses and how to detox. But really, many of them can be drastic and just down right unhealthy.

Dr. Brian Clement, director at Hippocrates Health Center in Miami, says in his book Living Foods for Optimum Health: "Fast one day every week, consuming only freshly squeezed green drinks, vegetable juices, purified water, herbal teas. These fasting days will allow any potential long-term toxins to be released before they can cause serious damage. It's like changing the oil in your car before your engine fails."

Sounds amazing right? But do these people have young kids? I sometimes feel that people who can pull off juice fasting must not have kids who ask them for food 24/7 or they just have an insane amount of willpower. With three young boys and one man in the house, I am around food A LOT. I think I might die trying to withhold all solids for 24 hours while constantly feeding it to others. Either that or I would turn into a wicked mean mommy. I love my family too much to subject them to that.  Now, if I was on a fab yoga retreat in Arizona I could most definitely do a juice/liquid cleanse. But I am not, so I won't.

SO...I decided to take bits and pieces of my different books and create my own realistic plan for the week. I want to give my body a break from spending too much energy breaking down all of the junk I have been eating and redirect it towards healing and detoxifying.  Who knows if it actually rids my body of all the toxins, but I base the success of a cleanse on how I feel.

Here are the major players of my cleanse:

Room temperature water with a squeeze of lemon and a dash of cayenne pepper first thing in the morning (no this is not the highly unhealthy Master Cleanse). According to Kris Carr, "This cleanses your liver and stimulates circulation."

Good Belly Probiotic Juice Drink- this stuff is so good. My bestie who was in town told me about this. I personally don't drink milk and I rarely eat yogurt. I do eat cheese on occasions. My body is not getting enough of the "good" bacteria. I have looked into probiotic pills but they can be super expensive. Enter Good Belly. It is vegan and promotes healthy digestion. I bought it at Whole Foods and I love it. I take a little every morning and it keeps things flowin'. This alone can be a good cleanse :)

Fresh Green Juice- Swiss chard or kale (asked for kale, The Husband brought home swiss chard), 5 stalks of celery, 1 head of romaine lettuce, dandelion greens, 1 large cucumber, 8 spears of asparagus, parsley, 1 pear, 1 apple, and lemon. Green juice gives you vitamins, minerals, enzymes, protein, and oxygen. Juices are powerhouses of antioxidants that fight oxidants and free radicals in our bodies which contribute to cancer, heart disease, and aging. Also, it is like drinking liquid energy. Amazing!  Read my previous post to learn more about the benefits of green juice by clicking here.  Since that post, I was gifted the Breville 800JEXL by my wonderful and incredibly thoughtful family.  I love this juicer and it can tackle just about anything.

Green Tea- a super healthy drink that your body with thank (more on this coming soon)

Water- you know, that beautifully, clear, refreshing liquid that hydrates your body and nourishes your cells?

Soup- In this case, natural pureed split pea soup

Clean, healthy foods, LOTS of greens.

So here is what my diet looked like up till Wednesday.

Monday 

•  wake up with room temperature water with a squeeze of lemon and a pinch of cayenne pepper.
•  8am- 4 oz of Good Belly probiotic juice drink.
•  9:30am- 16 oz of fresh green juice
•  glass of water
•  noon: pureed split pea soup
•  2pm- green tea with lemon
•  3pm- big glass of water
•  4pm- 30 oz of fresh green juice
•  6pm- green tea with lemon
•  7pm- big green spinach salad with walnuts, avocado, and craisins
•  8pm- more water :) 

Tuesday 

• wake up with room temperature water with a squeeze of lemon and a pinch of cayenne pepper.
•  8am- 4 oz of Good Belly probiotic juice drink.
•  9am- Amazing Meal smoothie with kale, frozen banana, and almond milk
•  glass of water
•  noon- huge spinach salad
•  2pm- green tea
•  4pm- 30oz of fresh green juice
•  6:30- whole wheat, light on cheese, enchiladas (I'm not perfect :) )
•  rest of night water

 Wednesday

• wake up with room temperature water with a squeeze of lemon and a pinch of cayenne pepper.
•  8am- 4 oz of Good Belly probiotic juice drink.
•  8:45am- 4oz of greek yogurt with banana and a tablespoon of granola
•  water
•  noon- Ezekiel bread with avocado, spinach, and cucumber.
•  water
•  3pm- green tea
•  4pm- 30oz of fresh green juice
•  7pm- quinoa and asparagus

For the rest of the week, my diet is going to consist of mostly easy digestible liquids and fresh clean foods. No processed foods, meats, dairy, etc.

If I cheat, I don't beat myself up too much, I let it go and continue with my cleanse.

And that my friends, is getting my cleanse on!

For more healthy living tips and recipes please subscribe to my blog on the top right hand corner.  

Love me on Facebook and follow me on Twitter.  

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday.  I am breaking the rules.  You are most definitly reading words on this post.  Eeek, don't tell the Web-B-I. 

Every Wednesday I am going to choose a picture that makes me smile, sad, angry, laugh, or breathe.  Basically, a picture that makes me feel.  I will practice the wordless part later.

I have been waiting oh so patiently to post this.      

  

  I caught X red-handed!  Hopefully he wasn't creeping with the girl next door?!?!

What would be a perfect caption?  Winner gets a french bulldog named Remy.  I kid, I kid!  No really, I would love to read your captions.  Post below in comments!

Adore: Lake Tahoe aka Big Blue

Vacation- a period of suspension of work, study, or other activity, usually used for rest, recreation, or travel also known as a recess or holiday.  My definition, sanity.  What my family and I needed was a weekend away from housework, yard work, and straight up chaos.  Enter last weekend.  Last minute, unexpected trip to the Big Blue, Lake Tahoe.  This little piece of lake paradise is located about 2.5 hours away, nestled in abundant trees and nature.  The lake color is a gorgeous royal blue and the air is a fresh as pine needles.

I have a new appreciation of Lake Tahoe now that I have kids.  I can' tell you how nice it is to get out into nature (without 100 degree  heat) and explore, play, relax,  eat, and drink with not-a-single-worry in-the-world.  Vacation-recharge. 

Yes, it is work to wake up, take the army to the children's superstore to switch car seats around, grocery shop, pack the minibus, listen to superhero chaos, kiss tears, and clean the casa before the trip.  But once we hit the open road, reggae music playing, kids sleeping, the sweetie driving, and me...well, sleeping is a vacation in its own. 

Not only did we do nothing but hang out at the lake, but also...we did nothing.  Exactly what a vacation means to me.  Honestly, I don't get the people who go on vacation seeking adventure.  No, not me.  Not with kids.  I go on vacation to eat, drink, read, relax, play games, and rekindle with The Husband.  And that is exactly what we did.

It was I who got into the lake when no one else dared.  

 

They enjoyed watching me freeze but I wasn't about to freeze alone.

X thought about getting in the water.

But liked the idea of going with me better.

We made sand castles and took turns burying each other at Meeks Bay.

Even baby M enjoyed the sand.

X discovered new ways of eating.

And on Sunday it was back to the Lake, but this time at Sunnyside.  The boys had a blast in the raft with Daddy.

Baby M decided to catch some zzzz's while I caught my D's from the sun.

King of the World.

We ended the trip with a delicious meal at Sunnyside.  Yum!

What I adore- feeling relaxed, rejuvenated, and refreshed with family.

Eats: Strawberry Passion

I always considred myself pretty competent when it came to nutrition. Lately, I am feeling a little out of whack and confused.  I eat healthy, low on the protein, high in veggies and some fruits but I have been getting a bit dizzy lately.  Dr. Fantastic conducts regular blood test on me. Recently, the results have shown that I have low  blood sugar.  I have been feeling dizzy on occasion, but I have not straight up blacked out and hugged the floor since my Greek wedding (über embarrassing).

Today, I had to go to the lab to take a glucose test.  Let me tell you...NOT FUN!  I had to fast, then was forced to drink a disgusting sugary concoction, and then sat in the lab for 3.5 lllooooonnnggg hours while they pricked my arm to take blood every hour.  Sounds awesome right?  To top it off, there was no wi-fi and no internet connection and my phone would not connect to the web.  Result - no email and gasp, no Facebook either! 

 During this time, I continued reading The China Study.  I can't get enough of this book, even though I think E could probably read it faster than me at this point!  To sum up what I have read so far, animal protein and casein(dairy) accelerate  cancer growth,  while plant-based protein slows it down.  T. Colin Campbell and Thomas Campbell believe that while we are exposed to small amounts of cancer-causing chemicals daily, cancer does not occur unless we consume foods that promote and nurture tumor development.  It is a radical idea but his analysis, research, and experiments really make sense.  His studies have found that plant protein does not promote cancer growth, even at the highest levels of intake.  He believes, "like flipping a light switch on and off, we could control cancer promotion merely by changing levels of protein, regardless of initial carcinogen exposure".  I would like to have a shortage in my light switch :).  Seriously, fascinating read.  Pick it up!

So, we will see what my results are.  Some Docs recommend more protein to control the spikes in my blood sugar. Now that I have read a slice of The China Study, I am not too sure I want to do that.  Obviously there is plenty of plant protein I can consume like: spinach, mushrooms, asparagus, broccoli, swiss chard, collard greens, cauliflower, and lentils, but they're not always easy to grab on the run.  My Dr.  also recommended I start to follow a hypoglycemic diet and eat regularly every two hours.  Sounds easy right?  Not exactly.  It is HARD to do with kids, chores, playdates, and just plain running around.  I was also told to carry sweets around in case I got a bit dizzy.  Now, I don't really crush on sweets that much.  I'd much rather have salty foods.  If Dr. Fantastic said to carry around sea salted almonds, (or who am I kidding) Ruffles, I would be over the moon!  But I don't naturally reach for sweets, even fruits.  But, I gotta follow Dr.'s orders!  Good thing I am seriously phening for strawberries lately.  Yes, I know they are low on the glycemic index but they still count!

With the Fourth of July around the corner, I can't stop thinking red, white, and blue.  Yes, this includes foods too.  I am a dork.   Red-watermelon, raspberries, cherries, strawberries, red bell peppers, tomatoes.  Blue- blueberries and blackberries.  White- coconuts, yogurt, jicama, and mozzarella. 

Nothing says summer and the 4th like strawberries though.  This is one fruit I love.  There is nothing like a fresh, juicy, sweet, strawberry.  My boys feel me on this one.  Strawberries don't last more than a few hours in this house.  I have actually had to hide the strawberries in the back of the fridge so the boys wouldn't eat MY sweet little strawberries.  Selfish right!



Not only are strawberries the most adorably cute, luscious fruit ever, but they are also pure joy to chomp and even better for your health (and waist line)!

Strawberries are extremely high in vitamin C, manganese, calcium, and dietary fiber.  As I just typed this I had to do a double take on manganese.  Never heard of that?  Manganese, as luck would have it, helps you maintain normal blood sugar.  Score!  Also, it protects your cells from free-radicals, keeps your bones healthy and strong, and promotes optimal performance of your thyroid glands. 

Epic Befits of the Sweet Juicy Red Berry

Strawberries are rich in antioxidants. 

They also work as anti-inflammatory protection and reduces pain.  So for those with infections or huge beefcakes at the gym, chow down.  

They are extremely low in calories.  Whoo hoo!  1 cup of strawberries have only 49 calories.  Which means I can eat, and eat, and eat them without feeling a bit of guilt. 

According to The Wold's Healthiest Foods (WHF) book, "Strawberries topped a list of eight foods most linked to lower rates of cancer deaths among a group of elderly people.  Recent test tube research found that all eight cultivars of strawberries tested were able to significantly inhibit the proliferation of human liver cancer cells".   

More and more research is being done that shows the special nutrient in strawberries can actually stimulate your metabolism and shrink your appetite.  Do I need to even go on......

They control blood sugar

More benefits of strawberries can be found in this article.

It goes without saying, you must buy organic strawberries!  I know they are more expensive but DO IT!  They are listed in the Dirty Dozen and I read an article last December about how California approved of a toxic pesticide to use on strawberry crops. 

Eating strawberries plain is probably my favorite way.  But, with the Fourth around the corner, I wanted to be a little more creative.  So here is my adaptation of Strawberry Shortcake Popsicle. 

Vegan Strawberry Pops!

1 1/2 cup of pureed strawberries

1/2 cup of vanilla Oreos (they are vegan!)

2 cups of vanilla coconut yogurt

Instructions

Puree strawberries

throw the Oreos in your blender and blend baby blend

 vanilla coconut milk yogurt to the blender

Assembly

Layer a bit yogurt portion into a dixie cups and freeze 30 min

Then the strawberry puree and freeze 30 mins

Then back to the yogurt and freeze overnight

or

You can combine all of the ingredients and swirl it around for more of a popsicle look.

Serve slightly soft with some crushed graham cracker for a true strawberry shortcake treat!

I hope everyone has a happy 4th!

Enjoy!

The Sweet Life

As my birthday approaches, I can't help but reflect on what my 30th year on earth has taught me.  To say I have a new meaning on life is a massive understatement.  I realize each day is a gift. 

When my life was challenged, pregnant, and not knowing if I was going to be able to watch my children grow older, see their first days of school, enter into high-school, have girlfriends, get hearts crushed, and marry the love of their life, I was devastated. 

I never really asked "why me".   It is not fair for anyone.  I didn't go into a deep depression although, I did have my moments.  Instead I reflected on the life I lived.  I knew I would fight full force and with all of my strength.  But at the same time I was at peace and reflected on all the good in my life. 

My life has been blessed beyond measure.  My husband, family, and friends are a big part of my strength.  Knowing that they would be there undoubtedly for me and my children made everything okay.       

Life is short, but the pleasures are sweeter. 

How sweet it is to wake up every morning and realize nothing much is worth worrying about.  Yes, I will have my stress moments and be down, but when you are forced to confront your mortality, those things just don't seem important.

How sweet it is to have the most amazing friends.  The ones that tell you everything is going to be okay and to be there to cheer me up and bring me dinners when I am down or make me "mixed tapes" to make me smile.  The ones that we can spend the whole night laughing hysterically, and making memories.

How sweet it is to have the most supportive parents and sisters.  That sacrifice so much to help care for me and my family.  The daily coffees, care, laundry, help at all hours of the days and nights to make the kids feel loved and not the burden they could have felt.  The daily or twice daily check ins, the harassment to help, and the laughter got me through the toughest days. Unconditional love is what I think of my family. 

How sweet it is to have my second family, my in-laws.  Always offering to bring delicious gourmet meals and magazines with open arms and open hearts.      

How sweet it is to hear my son M coo in the morning, even if it is 6am and I hardly slept.  How sweet it is to feel the warmth of his body and his tiny hands reaching out to me.  His giggles and chubbiness instantly brightens my days. 

How sweet it is to turn on the radio in the car and watch as X nods his head to the music and the way he looks up to his big brother E.  Or to see his whole face light up when the word candy, treat, or monster is mumbled.  To see his big cheeks and sweet kind hazel eyes every morning and night makes me feel blessed beyond measures.

How sweet it is to watch E grow up into a young man.  To watch him get angry and give himself some quiet time when he is upset, his obsession with super heroes and saving the day, and loving to pick his Mommy flowers so she "can be a princess".  He is a kind boy who had a deep understanding of right and wrong and a goofy personality to boot.      

How sweet it is to see my husband as a father.  I have never seen a man so natural with children as he is.  To watch his face and the kids face light up whenever they play.  To see E look up to him and want to be just like him.  To see the way he looks at X with more love than anything while at the same time calling him a terrorist.  To see him give baby M the biggest belly laughs and find new ways to keep giving him those laughs. 

How sweet it is to be loved.  Loved through thick and thin.  How sweet it is to miss my husband even as he is walking out the door to work.  To get giddy as 6 approaches and knowing he is coming home.  To share the greatest memories and to go through the hardest darkest moments together.  He is my partner in life and my best friend.  The one I look up to for support and my joy.  The one I want to share all of my happiest moments with.  My one true love. 

I hope the message people walk away with is that if or when you get smacked down by the hardships of life (like cancer or divorce, or an accident, or losing a job, or any other unexpected tragedy), go ahead and kick rocks, get pissed and then pick yourself up, dust yourself off and do and be exactly what you want.  Have fewer “whys,” more “why nots.” No excuses. No apologies.  Bathe in the sweetness. 

"Fear less, hope more; whine less, breathe more; eat less, chew more; talk less, say more; hate less, love more; and all good things are yours."

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      - Swedish proverb