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!

The Cleanse is Back!

Okay, I'm pretty embarrassed for how long it's taken me to post on the blog.  Let's just say that life has been crazy at work, home, and everywhere, but I'm back in the game! And I'm going really big....CLEANSE TIME!

I'm sure everyone is in a similar boat where we ate way more than we wanted to during the holidays and feel (and probably are) about 5-10 pounds heavier.  I also just watched Hungry for Change a documentary about how the way we eat makes us sick and some of the foods we ate, especially sugar, are pretty much like a drug that makes us addicted! I knew about some of the things they talked about, but this really hit home.  

Well, I wanted to RECHARGE my body and start over! So, I'm going to be posting about some of the recipes I used on this cleanse and hopefully this will inspire others to join my 21 day cleansing challenge!  If I can get my husband in on this...you can do it too :) 

Day 1:

Breakfast:

Veggie Shake (to be honest, it's not one of my best, since I don't have our juicer we used to use...but not too shabby)

P.S sorry I don't have pictures for this...I realized later in the day that I would posting recipes.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup of water
• 2 bunches of kale chopped (or spinach--whatever tickles your fancy)
• 1/2 lemon (juiced)
• 1/2 cup of orange juice (fresh, not from the carton)
• 1 Fuji Apple (any type of sweet apple)
• 1/2 cup of berries
• 1/2 tsp of grated ginger
• 1 tbsp of chia seeds

Directions:

• Put the above ingredients in a blender in the order they appear in the list.
• ENJOY!

Lunch:

Butternut Squash Soup with Sage (from my site)

Almond Baked Chicken Salad (Chicken from Live2Eat).  See below.

BTW, this chicken was NOT very crispy if you follow the recipe from the site.  To make it crispy, I put the broiler on for the last 4-5 minutes of cooking.  Made a HUGE difference in the taste!

Ingredients:

• Almond Baked Chicken
• Organic Baby Romaine Lettuce
• Organic Arugula
• 1/4 cup of organic cucumber
• 1/4 cup of organic sweet red pepper
• 1/2 rip of celery
• 1 tbsp of dried cranberries (no added sugar)
• 1 tbsp of sliced almonds
• Gluten free diva's vinaigrette (see recipe below)

Gluten Free and Dairy Free Vinaigrette
Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

2/3 cup olive oil
1 tbsp lemon juice
4 tbsp white balsamic vinegar (or vinegar of your choice)
2 tbsp dijon mustard
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tbsp chopped fresh basil (I used 1/2 tbsp because I only had dried)
1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1 tbsp chopped fresh dill (I used 1/2 tbsp because I only had dried)
salt and pepper to taste



Snack

Fruit and Nut Bites 
(Disclaimer: I used half the amount of nuts because then it's actually possible to make into bite-sized balls.)

Dinner

Almond Chicken Bake (see above for link) and 
Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Apples Recipe (adapted from OhMyVeggies.com)

Ingredients:

• 1 lb of brussel sprouts (trimmed and halved)
• 1 apple (I used Fuij)
• 1 tbsp of olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup of cranberries
• 1/4 cup of chopped walnuts
• 1 tbsp of maple syrup (optional--I didn't use it because of the cleanse and it still came out great!)

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Toss brussels sprouts and apple slices with olive oil, salt, and pepper on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until brussels sprouts are tender and browned on edges, stirring halfway through cooking time.
• Transfer brussels sprouts and apple to large bowl. Stir in cranberries, walnuts, and maple syrup (optional).

Best Pumpkin Muffins Ever!

I apologize for the delay in a post! To be truthful, Danny and I have not been as healthy as we would like to be and I took a little hiatus from baking.  Perhaps it's been looking for a house and stress at work that has kept me out of the kitchen and on the phone ordering Naked Pizza (yes that's the name).  

However, I am back to cooking and experimenting with various dishes.  In particular, I've been doing a little bit of experimentation with pumpkin bread/muffin/etc recipes and this is by far my favorite.  

I found the recipe and adapted it from this website: Hungry Healthy Girl (I'm trying to achieve one of these traits, but definitely am known for the former--let's just say this is one of my favorite quotes...see below)

Okay, enough talk...here are the muffins!  (Yes, there are two missing, because well...they just smelled too darn delicious!)

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups of whole wheat flour
• 1/2 tsp of cinnamon
• 1 tsp of baking soda
• 1/4 tsp of baking powder
• 1/4 tsp of nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp of pumpkin pie spice
• 1/2 tsp of celtic sea salt
• 1/2 cup of pure all natural honey
• 1/3 cup of melted coconut oil
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup of canned organic pumpkin
• 1/4 cup of raisins

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a muffin pan with liners and set aside.
• Combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl.
• Combine all wet ingredients in a medium bowl.
• Fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients. Don’t overmix.
• Fold in raisins last.
• Scoop large spoonfuls of batter into muffin pan so it’s evenly distributed. 
• Bake for 20 minutes and until tops are golden brown.
• Store at room temperature for 2-3 days or refrigerate for a week or freeze for longer.

ENJOY! We did :)

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 :)