Day 3 Cleanse

Day 3!

Can't believe it's been three days! I ate an AMAZING filet mignon for dinner last night at Clyde's.  In looking at the menu I realized that it is super difficult to continue on this cleanse.  I basically pretended that I would die if I ate any gluten, soy, or lactose...  They said that almost ALL of their food is cooked in a soy-based oil, so they made me a "special" filet that wasn't cooked in any of these things. I mean who knows what they cooked it in.  It probably was cooked in a ton of butter and I probably ruined my cleanse.  But, since I made it seem a VERY big deal that I not have dairy or soy, hopefully they honored it! If not....WOOPS.  

We also saw Les Miserables in theaters, which was great, but LONG.  You really have to be in it for the long haul! I think it was the singing that made it longer. If you're going to make a play into a movie then you should have some sort of intermission! I had to pee so badly, but it was so packed in the theater I just sucked it up.  But seriously I thought my back and legs were going to cramp.  Man, three hours was just a WEE bit too long.  I would have been okay with 2 and 1/2 but those extra 30 mins really did me in!

Okay back to the recipes....

For breakfast I had an egg with muesli and almond milk.

Delicious! Here is the recipe for the muesli:

Muesli:

I make a TON of this and put it into a large air-tight container. Keeps for a while!

Ingredients:

• Gluten free oats (I used a whole bag)
• 1 cup of raisins (or any other dried fruit you like)
• 1/2 cup of unsweetened coconut flakes
• 2-3 tsp of cinnamon (depending on how much you like)

Directions:

1. Combine ingredients in an airtight container and SHAKE SHAKE SHAKE!
2. Add your favorite type of milk to about 1/2 cup-1 cup of the mix! I used almond milk and it was fantastic.
3. Optional: I added some fresh blueberries to it, which made it delectable!

WORKOUT!

Had a great workout session...Check it out:

Elliptical: (Interval workout level 8)

• 4 minute warm up
• 1 minute going the fastest I could
• 2 minutes cool down
• repeat for 7 times
• 5 minute cool down

Daily Burn Workout

I pay for the Daily Burn for $10 a month and get workouts.  The workout I did today was called "Powerball Strength". You did four different circuits of repeating 2 moves for 30 sec each 3x.  Here is a sneak peak of some of the moves:

• Ball tuck (in a plank position on the ball, with the ball under your shins, and you pull your butt up without bending your legs--so you look like an upside-down V--if this is too hard, you can bring your knees into a tuck instead)
• Mountain Climbers
• Patty cake plank (In plank position pretend your playing patty cake by lifting one arm out at a time)
• Push up on ball (With shins on the ball in push up position, complete regular push ups, if this is too hard, go down to the ground on your feet or knees)
• Side squat with ball raise (hold the ball in your hands with arms out in front of you with feet together, squat to the left side and at the same time lift arms over head, then go back to starting position and then repeat to the right side)
• Chest press on the ball
• Alternating lunge with ball (Start with ball over your head and feet together.  Then, lunge forward with your right food while you bring the ball to the outside of your right foot, return to starting position.  Repeat on the left side)
• Washing machine (hold arms out with ball in hand with feet hips distance apart.  Shake arms back and forth without moving your hips or legs).  

Lunch:

For lunch, I had a kale salad with avocado, cucumbers, tomatoes and cooked quinoa.  Then, I tried to eat some of the leftovers from yesterday (cauliflower, butternut squash, and chickpea coconut curry), but I was super full so only had a few bites.

Here's the picture:

If you want the recipe for the salad:

Ingredients:
Serves 1

• 1 cup of kale
• 1/2 avocado
• 4 grape tomatoes
• 1/3 cucumber
• 1/4 cup of red onion
• 2 tbsp of cranberries (no added sugar)
• 1 tbsp of sliced almonds
• 1/4 cup of cooked quinoa (cooled if possible)
• 1-2 tbsp of fresh lemon juice (I used half a lemon)
• drizzle of olive oil
• salt and pepper

Directions:
Add all the ingredients up to the quinoa in a bowl. Mix around well and add lemon juice, olive oil, and salt and pepper.  (Optional: I added a bit of my vinaigrette from Day 1 of the cleanse.  Tasted great!)

Snack:

Trail Mix:

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup of your favorite nuts (I used almonds, pecans, and walnuts--roasted but not salted)
• 1/4 cup of your favorite dried fruit (I used dried apricots, raisins, and blueberries)
• 1/2 tsp of cinnamon
• 1 drop of vanilla extract

Directions:

Mix it all together in a bowl and bring it with you to the movies! Like I did :)

Dinner:

Filet Mignon at Clydes with potatoes and veggies!

Fabulous! Except, the potatoes weren't that tasty...but added some pepper which made it better :) It always does!

Cleanse Day 2

Cleanse Day 2!

So today begins the second day of my cleanse :) Yay! It feels like it's been a week, but it's only been a day so far (wah wah wah....)  I've been feeling pretty good! I have lots of energy, but I did have a headache yesterday and last night I was pretty hungry before going to bed.  But, all in all, I've really been enjoying this so far!

Today I started out with a MUCH better breakfast smoothie.

Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of kale
• 1 apple
• 1/2 cup of berries
• 1 tbsp of grated ginger
• 1 1/2 cup of almond milk
• 1/2 lemon (juiced)
• 1 tbsp of chia seeds

Directions:
Put all the ingredients in a blender and liquify! Then enjoy :) 

After enjoying my smoothie, I took the metro and a long walk (well pretty quick walk since I was running late--a lot farther than I thought!) to go to my barre class.  YES, that is how it is spelled.  If you live in DC, I HIGHLY recommend checking out BFitDC.  It is an amazing studio with fantastic teachers of the barre method.  I definitely notice my legs, hips, butt and arms working and it is relaxing and energizing all at the same time.  It's a nice break from running and doing more intense cardio and a great break after work!

Then, I came home and made a DELICIOUS and very filling lunch.  (Wow, I use a lot of CAPS and parentheses...sorry if that's annoying!)  Anyways, check it out below:

Butternut Squash Soup and Chicken Salad with Avocado and Vinaigrette  dressing.

Most of these recipes came from this blog....which was probably adapted from another blog :). So check it out below!

• Butternut Squash Soup
• Almond Baked Chicken (except this one was from another blog)
• Vinaigrette Dressing (Scroll down)

Besides the almond baked chicken, I put these in the salad, as well: 

• 1/2 avocado
• 1 tbsp of sliced almonds
• 1 tbsp of dried cranberries
• 1/4 cucumber
• 1/4 of a red pepper
• organic mesclun lettuce
• organic arugula

Now seriously, this was SUPER filling.  I almost couldn't finish it.  Maybe it was the avocado, or the chicken, or the soup or the combination of the two...but this is a definitely for someone who is hungry after a great work out :) 

Snacks:

• Some more fruit and nut bites
• Some roasted and salted almonds :)

Dinner

For dinner I whipped up some cauliflower, butternut squash, and chickpea coconut curry!  I had some leftover butternut squash from the soup I made a few days ago and didn't want any vegetables to go to waste! 

Check out the recipe:

Cauliflower, butternut squash, and chickpea coconut curry

Ingredients:

• 1 lb of cauliflower
• 0.5 lb of butternut squash (this is how much I had as leftovers, but use as much as you want!)
• 1 15oz can of organic chickpeas
• 1 yellow onion (feel free to use less, I just love onions!)
• 1 13.5 oz can of light coconut milk
• 1-2 tbsp of olive oil
• 1 tsp of coconut oil
• 1 tsp of cumin
• 1-2 tsp of curry powder (I used 2 because I LOOOVE curry)
• 1 tsp of thyme
• 1 tsp of minced garlic
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Cut cauliflower and butternut squash up into bite sized pieces.
• Put cauliflower and butternut squash in a medium bowl and drizzle with 1-2 tbsp of olive oil and top with salt and pepper (as much as you like).  Then mix around.  

• Place cauliflower and butternut squash on a baking sheet and roast vegetables in oven for 25-35 minutes (until lightly golden and easy to put a fork through the vegetables).
• While cauliflower and butternut squash is cooking, chop up some onions.  Grease a saucepan with coconut oil.  Put the onions in the saucepan and sauté on medium-high heat for 3 minutes.
• Rinse chickpeas and let strain.
• Add spices to onions and cook for 2-3 minutes.
• Add chickpeas to saucepan and let cook for 5-8 minutes at medium to low heat (until cauliflower and butternut squash are done).

                                                         

• Add cauliflower and butternut squash to saucepan.  Cook on medium heat for 2-3 minutes.
• Add coconut milk and bring to a boil.  Then let cook for 5 minutes.
• Then enjoy!  This is great as a side with the almond chicken (like I have shown below).  Or, it is a great as a stew over quinoa!

                                            

After this delicious dinner, I SERIOUSLY had a tough time not cheating.  I don't know why, but I was pretty hungry.  Looking back, maybe I should have added a salad or something.  Let's just say that 2 Christmas Cheesy Hallmark Movies saved the day by keeping my mind off of it! Thank GOD for Netflix! (PS I highly recommend Christmas Kiss.  

Christmas Lodge was cute but pretty terrible acting.  

I mean TERRIBLE lines as well.  But still cute!).   PHEW! It was a close one for cheating on this cleanse.  Well, hopefully tomorrow is a little bit easier :)

My new exercise routine...

I'm not a person who loves running outside or using the elliptical.  I LOVE fitness classes, working out with other people, and playing tennis or some other outdoor activity with a friend.  I know it is important to work out, but I have been reading so much about whether it is important to work out twice week, three times or up to five times per week! It's very confusing!

My fitness goals currently are to tone up a bit and slim down.  To do this, I've gotten into this amazing class called "The Barre Class".  I do not attend "The Bar Method" in Washington, DC because I've heard its more like yoga then a real sweat dripping class (which is what I like).  However, there is a studio in DC called Bfitdc which is amazing! I definitely recommend this place and these types of classes if you like pilates, yoga or a fat-burning routine that focuses on leaning rather than building.

So, if you're into working out, but not going crazy, I definitely recommend you check it out! Here's the site: www.bfitdc.com

And in case you're wondering, here is a more detailed outline of my workout routine :)

• Day 1: Jillian Michaels Workout DVD (20-40 mins, depends on which DVD)
• Day 2: Rest
• Day 3: B Fit DC Barre Class
• Day 4: Run 2-3 miles
• Day 5: B Fit DC Barre Class
• Day 6: Rest
• Day 7: Workout DVD or Run 2-3 miles

Workout DVDs I like best:

• Jillian Michaels 30 day Shred
• Jillian Michales Banish Fat, Boost Metabolism
• Amy Dixon's Breathless (HOLY CRAP HARD!)
• On a side note, I'm thinking about trying "The Bar Method" DVD so I don't need to keep paying so much for the studio classes. If you've tried it, let me know! I'd love to hear about what people think :)