January cleanse: week 2 recap

Hi everyone! Sorry about the delay for my post, I haven't had a WiFi connection at home for a few days. I have also caught a darn cold so I haven't been outside of my place either, since it's probably not a good idea to go outside in -35 degree weather. Yup, I said -35 degrees, Celcius. Anyway, here's a recap of my week 2 on the Crazy Sexy Diet cleanse.

I'm getting into more of a routine by going to the gym on scheduled times every week, and I'm doing great so far! Here's what HAS changed in my routine; music. Before, I would just focus on my workout because there is no background music at the university gym. But now, TedTalks videos have been my go-to gym "music" lately, I can't get enough of them! Pull them They are all about 20 minutes, so that's perfect for timing. I've been really impressed with the speeches of Kathy Freston (Leaning into your life), Jonathan Foley (The other inconvenient truth), Douglas Lisle (The pleasure trap), Brendan Brazier (Find your athletic edge) and Dr. Campbell (Resolving the health care crisis). Check them out! ....After you read the rest of my post! :)



Tuesday of this week was the monthly potluck held by our local vegetarian society. I had some great conversations with great people that really motivated me, and ok, yes... I indulged a little bit! There was some awesome dishes as well as deserts, so I broke a few rules as far as gluten and sugar avoidance. The meal I brought was a nice, hearty casserole from Artful Balance, with a few modifications. I added some mushrooms, replaced flour with cornstarch (reduced the amount), switched up a few spices and topped it off with cashew-parmesan ''cheese''. This sauce recipe was absolutely fantastic and so comforting! Very cheesy and gravy-like, so delicious! I can't wait to try it in other dishes (mac and cheese anyone?), you can hear the creative wheels turning in my head already!

There is a great recipe in the Appetite for Reduction book called brussels sprout-potato hash, which I attempted the other day. I added in a few of my own spices and it tasted great! The only disappointment is that it turned out to me a bit more of a mash than a hash. I kept putting a bit of water to the pan because I was scared of it burning but it added too much moisture to the potatoes. Totally my fault, but it still tasted fantastic!

Another new item in my food repertoire is this box of Organic BBQ Tofu Ribs by Sol Cuisine. OH MY GOD! So good! I made a delicious lunch for my mom and me, consisting of a spinach salad (spinach, strawberries, walnuts, citrus-infused olive oil from Adoro, balsamic vinegar), a plate of tofu ribs and a side of salted edamame. So proud of myself at this moment, also happy because my mom loved everything!

Also, check out this beautiful avocado chocolate pudding from the Crazy Sexy Diet book, called Chocomole! I used my Ninja blender for this one, it's amazing!

Sunday came around again, happy fasting day! Here was my menu for the day:

• Green smoothie: Coconut Dream Unsweetened, pineapple chunks, spinach, apples, banana
• Banana walnut smoothie: Coconut Dream Unsweetened, walnuts, bananas, apple
• Pecan blueberry smoothie: Almond Dream Unsweetened, pecans, blueberries, bananas

Each recipe made about 2 glasses each so that turned out to be approximately 6 servings total. Add in a few cups of tea and lots of water, and it turned out to be quite fulfilling! I feel like I'm really getting the hang of it, it's almost become more of a routine. Plus, I feel fantastic! I have so much more energy, I don't crave coffee in the morning anymore, I wake up wide awake and ready to tackle my day, I just generally feel so much better (besides the cold). Not only physically, but my emotions have been a bit more upbeat, especially now that I've accomplished a fully vegan diet. It has been on my to-do list for a long time now, and I finally made it happen. Slowly but surely, I've become so much more comfortable with what to eat and how to deal with people. Thanks +Eco-Vegan Gal for the great videos, especially the UnCensored channel. I've been following Whitney's channels for a little while and they have helped me ALOT throughout this journey.

I'm really loving this cleanse at this point, the food, the meditating... I even tried dry brushing! I'm very thankful that I decided to do this and experience all these new things. Stay tuned for next week's post!