Day 3, Meal 3

Update: I didn't need an herbal tea at 3pm or 4pm...I was still satisfied from lunch and didn't have a craving for sweets. I drank a lot of water if I felt like I needed something and took a quick 5 minute walk! And it worked!

I got home to a lot of packages outside of my front door! My Rx Bars and Amazon order had arrived. I am so excited to try the Rx Bars, especially because the packages for the bars are resealable!!!! That means I have no excuse to eat a whole bar if I am not hungry because it is so easy now to save some for later! These will be a perfect post-workout meal...I may not be able to control myself only eating some, they look so good!

My amazon.com order contained ghee, dates, 100% cacao powder, unsweetened coconut, hemp seeds and the Whole30 book "It Starts With Food." As part of my Whole30 goals, I am going to read the book in the next 27 days so that I can gain more education and insight into the program and the idea of eating whole foods!

It was really nice to get home from work to an empty house and not feel rushed to cook dinner...I was on my own time and rather than cook right when I got home, I settled a little bit, prepped and then began cooking. It was really great not to have to eat dinner at 5:30pm with Ryan right when I walked in the door. Eating later is so much better, as long as I can hold off from lunch at 1:30pm, because then I am less tempted to go back for more food or something sweet! I am going to have to convince Ryan to eat better lunches that keep him fuller longer so we both can eat later and I don't feel rushed, or we just won't eat together, which is fine with me during the week since our schedules are so different. I just hope he isn't jealous of my meals that I have planned for next week!

I made coconut encrusted tilatpia tonight (unfortunately I only bought 1 filet so I don't have leftovers for lunch tomorrow), with steamed vegetables and instead of a salad, I had vegetable soup! The coconut, even though it was unsweetened, was perfect sweet and the fish was so flaky and cooked to perfection! I loved the smell of the coconut and the sharpness of the taste. It would be great with a ghee and balsamic dressing next time! I can't wait to make macaroons with the coconut!

Coconut Encrusted Tilapia

1 filet of tilapia
1/4 tsp coconut flour
1/4 cup unsweetened coconut
coconut oil
1 egg white

1. Prep by having 1 egg white in a bowl, and mixing coconut flour and coconut flakes on a separate plate.

2. Heat pan over medium heat. When hot, add coconut oil (or fat of choice).

3. Dip tilapia in egg white and make sure it is coated completely.

4. Cover tilapia in coconut mixture, coating both sides evenly!

5. Place tilapia in pan. Cook for 4 minutes on each side. Be careful not to loose too much of the coconut when you flip the filet over.

6. Serve and enjoy!

Really easy recipe and can be made with other types of fish or meat!

I prepped my lunch for tomorrow - a vegetable salad and vegetable soup (basically the same dish, one hot, one cold). I added some hemp seeds, we will see how that tastes!

I am going for my first ever colonic tomorrow and part of the prep for the colonic is to not have animal products the day of. This means my protein at lunch is out, so I may have to have half of a larabar or an Rx Bar to make sure that I am full. I have to stop eating at 2pm and stop drinking at 4pm since my treatment is at 6pm so tomorrow may be a little more difficult than normal. I am not sure if I am going to go to Bar Method in the morning or sleep in and relax since my body will be pushed later in the afternoon. My session also isn't until 6pm so it will be a long day. But I am feeling antsy since I didn't workout today and I think going to Bar would be good for me. I really want to make N'Oatmeal for breakfast, I am getting a little tired of eggs, but if I go to Bar then I will have an RxBar and an omelette. N'Oatmeal is something I found online, it is various nuts pulsed in the food processor and cooked on the stove until "nutty" and then eggs whisked in until it becomes of a consistency of oatmeal (not scrambled eggs). I might make this on Friday morning since I have to eat light and clean the day after the colonic to help my body heal. I will set my alarm for Bar and see how I feel when I wake up - if I fall back asleep then I know it's a sign to sleep in. I feel good though, usually a day without working out I feel bloated and uncomfortable and "fat" but I feel healthy and satisfied and great when I look in the mirror so I am not as anxious to get to Bar. I don't want to push my body and make it tired if it already feels good right now.

Ryan landed in Houston and checked in to the hotel and is at the hotel restaurant having a burger and fries - not gluten free on this trip and that's okay, I just want him to enjoy his trip and relax. He has been so busy and he deserves the break, even if it is a work trip!

Have a great night everyone!

XO

Whole30

I am committing to a Paleo Lifestyle and in order to stay committed, I have signed up for Whole30! My friend Victoria is going to do it with me so that we can support each other! Day 1 will begin Monday, March 17th (my slow cooker meal for my friends is pork and sweet potatoes so completely Paleo friendly). I would start tomorrow, but after eating dairy tonight with my pizza, I wanted to give my body a day of rest to rid itself of tonight's meal. I am starting fresh on Monday and I could not be more excited!!

Today's paleo friendly breakfast was not my usual egg white and oatmeal pancake. Instead I made an omelette (yes, I used whole eggs) with bacon and topped it with avocado. It was really hard for me to not count points, but in my head I knew that the omelette was 4 points for the eggs, 1 for the bacon and 1 for the avocado. But I controlled myself and did not weigh anything. Paleo is about eating whole foods and if you restrict yourself, then you limit the benefits of the food. I forgot how delicious an omelette was when it was made with whole eggs and not just egg whites! I also made a nutribullet with spinach, apple, cherries, blueberries, raspberries, almonds, walnuts and goji berries blended and topped with chia seeds, goji berries, slivered almonds and shredded coconut! It tasted amazing!! And normally I would not have had the bullet with the eggs because it would have been too many points, but I'm holding back from counting! Ryan had the exact same meal and he loved it!

Last night's dinner for Tina's birthday was delicious. I ordered chicken fajita with no burrito. The vegetables were so delicious and I only had a little guacamole and black beans but I really didn't need it!

I am so excited to see Bryan Cranston in All the Way tonight on Broadway and have a "last supper" at Nizza!

Spin, Breakfast, Tacos and a Cleanse!

Last night I went to spin and Nicky K. was subbing for Pablo who was traveling this week. Her class is so much different than Pablo's and I'm glad I got to experience her teaching. She did a lot of interval training, more out of the saddle to the saddle and back out again to get us moving wheras Pablo does one song standing another seated - Nicky does both in one song. She walks around with high energy, singing along to the music and is full of energy. She doesn't bike along with us as much as Pablo and she is very strict about resistance and following along and reminding us of our RPM but it's great energy, a hell of a work out and I felt the class feeling lighter and tired. When I got home, I had a salad that I made for lunch but never ate which was spinach, shaved brussel sprouts, peppers, tomato, carrots, cabbage, walnuts, goji berries and almonds. I had very little arctic zero chocolate peanut butter to finish my meal but got in to bed early because I was so worn out.

I had some great activity yesterday with Bar Method and Spin and had 5 WW activity points and over 14,000 steps. Again, the fitbit did not track spinning too well because I was locked into the bike and not "stepping" but it felt great to get my body moving!

I did not go to Bar Method this morning because I wanted to give my body a chance to rest and my muscles to repair. I had done Bar Monday, Wednesday and Thursday morning this week and spin Thursday evening so I felt okay taking the break. However, we are going out for Mexican tonight with a lot of friends for Tina's birthday so I really wanted to push myself this week to work out and eat clean in preperation for this meal. We are also going for gluten free pizza tomorrow night (made with a cauliflower crust) before going to see Bryan Cranston in "All The Way" so hopefully I can get to a Bar class tomorrow morning so I don't feel so bloated from the dinners. But I don't want to feel like I miss out on anything and I can still go out with friends and be included so since we are having pizza tomorrow, and I refuse to miss out on pizza I think I am going to go with a chicken fajita (without the tortilla) for dinner tonight. It is fresh vegetables and protein cooked on a sizzling black skillet served with salsa. It sounds fresh and clean and if I can avoid the tortilla then it won't be as heavy a meal as it could be.

Ryan and I had breakfast together this morning. He is so busy with work and was up early this morning getting a research paper done before 10am so I made us breakfast while we sat on the couch and watched the Today show (did you see the Sochi rescue puppies? So cute!)

Ryan had a bacon and provolone omelette which I whipped in the nutribullet to make it extra fluffy and light. I also made his a spinach, apple, goji berry, almond, walnut, raspberry, blueberry nutribullet! I also put some Eleven Madison Park granola on the side for some added love!

I made an egg white and oatmeal pancake blended with chia seeds and a Tbsp of pb2 chocolate powdered peanut butter. I topped it with a banana and yummy toppings (all weighed out ahead of time to be 0 WW points). Toppings included 2g walnut pieces, 3g slivered almonds, 5g goji berries, and 4g hemp granola cereal. It was heavy, filling and delicious and I hope it keeps me full through the morning. I am going to get a salad from Just Salad for lunch with spinach, kale, broccoli, asparagus, banana peppers and butternut squash for 0 points because I know dinner will put me over, but I don't want to worry about it since I saved all of my weekly 49 points just for this weekend and the dinners we have planned.

Ryan is leaving on Wednesday through Saturday for a business trip to Houston, TX. He has been working so hard on his research and presentation and I am so excited for him! While he is gone, I schedule a colonic at Gravity East Village for Thursday. I work out, I eat well, but I still feel...well...backed up. With spring starting, I want to feel relieved so I decided to go with a colonic to clean my system out. I am going to follow this up by starting another 10 Day Advocare Herbal Cleanse which will help restore all of the good bacteria that is expelled from my body from the colonic. The colonic at Gravity East uses the gravity system which fills your body with water through a tube and then, with a different tube, relieves toxins and waste from your body without suction (which puts a lot of pressure on the body). They will be able to see waste that is old and built up and we can decide from there if another colonic is needed sooner rather than later. I am also planning to do an infrared sauna treatment afterwards which will further rid my body of heavy metals and toxins. In July when I was doing my bloodwork for my thyroid, my heavy metals tests came back high for Mercury and Lead so this will be extremely beneficial and hopefully I will feel better afterwards.

In order to prepare for the colonic (and the advocare cleans), I am going to eliminate beans and legumes from my diet 4 days prior, dairy, fried foods, and soda 2 days prior (not that I eat that anyway) and 1 day prior and the day of, no meat. I am going to eat a lot of salads (just like I normally do) but cut back on anything that isn't raw, steamed, blanched, or slightly cooked. With Ryan traveling this will be much easier! Monday I am having friends over for lunch and was planning to slow cook pork and sweet potatoes. This will be a good "last supper." but still be healthy and clean. I am doing a FreshDirect order with a lot of vegetables, salmon, tilapia, no refined carbs (pasta, bread, grains), and some quinoa. Since I am eating clean prior to the colonic, the Advocare Herbal Cleanse will be a great follow-up and will help restore my body after cleaning it out! I am not looking to lose weight with the colonic, I just want to clean myself out from all of these "leftovers" so that I have room to fill my body with clean, good nutrients. I feel like I eat well and workout but something is missing. I still feel "crappy" (pun intended) and I find it hard to "stay on track" because I don't "feel good." I feel bloated and heavy and not normal no matter how many salads I eat. And not feeling well leads me to eat the bad stuff like the ice cream and chocolate and chips. If I can jumpstart my emotions and how my body feels, then it will be a lot easier to fill it with really good stuff! And yes, I am being a good wife, and doing this when my husband is not home. Everything should be expelled from the body during the session and you won't run home feeling the need to go to the bathroom, but Ryan will not want to talk about it and hear about the treatment so it is better to do while he is away!

I might do a Cooler Cleanse Juice Cleanse the day of the colonic so that my stomach is empty. I have to stop eating 4 hours prior and stop drinking 2 hours prior so that my stomach and bladder are empty which lowers the need to go to the bathroom during the treatment.

I hope everyone has a great weekend. It should be warming up soon, so go out and take a walk and enjoy life!

XO

Juice Generation: Raw Cleanse

Today I left my 7am Bar Method class feeling great after a really hard workout - Fold-Over Friday kicked my butt! Thank you Danielle...but after Wednesday's big meal with my family, I did not eat very well yesterday. I am eating a lot of fruits when I am "hungry" and the sugar is making me crave even more sugar. I have not cooked a meal at home in a few days either and so I am snacking a lot and having late night cravings. All of these bad habits have left me feeling full, bloated and uncomfortable.

So today I am doing a raw cleanse through Juice Generation. The cleanse involved 3 juices, 1 entree, 1 snack, 1 dessert. By eating/drinking every 2 hours, I feel full but not ravenous and I am cleaning my body of toxins and filling it with fresh vegetables, juice and raw food. My menu is below! I love all of the drinks at juice generation and the raw food is delicious. I usually eat the Cashew Ravioli for lunch on its own so today I decided to try a new entree! The juices are cold pressed which means not a lot of heat is used in the juicing process - this ensures that you are getting the most juice possible from the fruits and vegetables and also most of the nutrients remain intact.

It is expensive though and now that Ryan and I have a full fridge of juicing vegetables and fruits, I would rather cleanse with fresh juice made at home, but this cleanse was a last minute decision and one I really enjoy doing. I have tried Organic Avenue and find their juices intolerable. They are bitter and hard to finish. I find myself angry for spending so much money on a juice I barely finish. But the juices at Juice Generation are sweet, unique, colorful and keep me full all day without any headaches or stomach pains. I choose to incorporate raw food into my cleanse because I don't like 6 juices in a day - I feel great for 24 ours but wake up feeling weak and hungry. The next day, I usually over eat to compensate for the lack of eating I did during the cleanse. By incorporating food into my cleanse, I keep myself full and satisfied. I also love ending the day with a sweet chia, fruit dessert! I have made chia pudding at home before (I will do that this weekend and post the recipe) and it is such a filling dessert and with a little chocolate added to it, my sweet tooth is always satisfied! If I were to do a second day of cleanse, it would be very easy to do a full juice cleanse after having done a raw cleanse because my body has been cleared of toxins and has already experienced meals being replaced with juice.

Juice #1 (9am): Hail to the Kale (Kale, Watermelon, Apple, Lemon)

Juice #2 (11am): Daily Detox (Carrot, Cucumber, Lemon, Apple, Ginger)

Entree (1pm): Young Coconut Pad Thai (Cocount, Pepper, Carrot, Cabbage, Onion, Scallion, Jalapeno, Sesame Seeds, Cilantro, Lime, Almond Butter, Ginger, Wheat-free Tamari, Raw Agave, Garlic, Cayenne, Almonds, Chili Flakes)

Juice #3 (3pm): Very Veggie (Apple, Beet, Carrot, Lemon, Spinach, Tumeric)

Snack (5pm): Zucchini Linguine (Zucchini, Sun-dried-Tomato, Parsley, Oregano, Thyme, Garlic, Onion, Olive Oil, Lemon, Raw Agave, Chili Flakes, Tomato, Basil, Hemp Seeds, Pine Nuts)

Dessert (6pm): Seasonal Fruit Tart (Thai Coconut, Almonds, Cashews, Dates, Raw Agave, Vanilla Bean, Lemon, Sea Salt, Strawberries, Blueberries)

Hail to Kale is green and sweet. The watermelon perfectly compliments the bitterness of kale. I could drink this all day, everyday. It is my favorite! It is great starting the day with a light green juice. It is not thick so I always have to remind myself to sip it slowly over the course of 1-2 hours and supplement it with water to keep me fuller longer.

Daily Detox is orange and a bit thicker and has a tangier taste (from the carrots and ginger). It is more filling than the first juice, so it really helps get through the second hour of juicing before having the entree (or snack if you aren't that hungry by lunch time). Keep drinking water and you will be fine for a couple of hours!

Very Veggie is a deep beautiful red (beets) and is the thickest of all the juice. I like to drink this one in the afternoon because by 3pm, that's when I begin grazing and get my sugar rush and crash. 3pm is when the work day has slowed, I realize I won't be eating again until I get home and my body panics and gets very hungry, even if I know I am not. The thickness and heaviness of the apples, beets and carrots make this drink filling and satisfying. The added benefit of turmeric (an antioxidant to support immune health, clear skin, healthy blood flow, and joint health) and the iron from the spinach make this a juice I feel really good to be drinking. I feel like I am feeding my body everything it needs without any of the chemicals or processed foods!

I purchased the Juice Generation recipe book so that Ryan and I can make all of these juices at home as well as some of the raw foods like Acai bowls! I love the way eating and drinking clean and fresh foods makes me feel. I hate feeling like I have given up on my body because then my mind is slower, my focus is off and I feel less determined to get back on track. One day of bad eating should feel indulgent, but it should not be rewarded with a second day of bad eating. Get back on track and reward yourself by treating your body right.