Cleanse Me, Baby!

My detox is over and I know you've been on the edge of your seat to see how it went!

Overall, I think it went quite well. This detox gave me pause to consider and reflect on my current diet, eating habits, and my overall thoughts of "being healthy."

I have organized this nice, neat list of my reflections. You're welcome.

Eating Habits and Portion Control
Portion control. Something I very clearly lack. I'm a "clean my plate" kinda girl. Even though I was detoxing, the constant urge to stuff my face was ever present. However, I became much more aware of when, what, and why I was eating. Remember the M&M story? I have become more mindful of eating when I'm hungry, leaving food on my plate when I'm full, and making better choices when I want something to snack on.

Blood Sugar Control and Insulin Usage
My blood sugar was awesome during the detox! It's probably related to the almost complete lack of carbs, but still. I don't think I have seen such great blood sugar numbers. In addition to great numbers, my insulin usage was significantly reduced. I was changing reservoirs on my pump that still had 20+ units in it after 3 1/2 days! Seeing such a change in numbers is definitely motivating to stick with a diet that more closely resembles this detox then what I had been eating.

Sugar Addiction
I realized how incredibly dependent I had come on sugary treats. Things that hadn't even occurred to be as being sugar laden were. Though my cravings for sugar didn't necessarily disappear, I drastically reduced the amount of my sugar consumption. It's amazing how we can become addicted to something and not even realize it!


Body Image
I definitely have issues when it comes to my body image. In my mind, I'm always fluctuating between too thin and not thin enough. I commented on this in my last post. It definitely takes a toll on my self-confidence. Overall, I felt less bloated and had a greater sense of healthiness.

Boozin' 
Overall, I felt healthy on this detox and especially in relationship to drinking less alcohol. While I enjoy my weekly bottles of wine far too much to give them up completely, this detox encourages me to drink less often. Maybe just reserving it for the weekend? Maybe.

Hydration
It seems like such a silly thing, especially since every health magazine you ever pick up tells you to drink water, but it's really true. I can definitely feel a difference in my concentration levels, energy, and hungry when I am well hydrated. And I mean water hydration. Drinking tea or coffee is not the same as plain ol' H20.

Summary
In sum, while I looked at this detox as just a three week diet plan, it has showed me a better, cleaner way to eat. I hope to incorporate into my every day life. While, so far, I've been pretty bad in following that way of life, I'm hoping to get back on track. Any that helps me to keep my toes is all good thing in my book!**

**Creepy diabetes amputation reference

Knock-off

My "I can make that!" mojo is in full effect, my friends!

During my detox, as a replacement for all the other naughty stuff I eat, I became addicted to LARA Bars. I know the purpose of a detox is to eliminate the physical dependency on food, but what can I say? I'm an anomaly! 

In case you've never seen or heard of a LARA bar, they are fruit and nut-based bars that have no artificial ingredients, additives, or sugars. In fact, I don't think I have seen a Lara bar with more then five ingredients on the label. My favorites are Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip, Cashew Cookie, Ginger Snap, and Lemon Bar. Are you noticing a cookie trend here? 

Once my detox ended, I was a little hesitant to keep LARA bars as a substitute for my daily Kashi granola bars. On the one hand, LARA bars are much higher in fat (because of the nuts) and carbohydrates (because of the dates) then my usual granola bar. On the other hand, my Kashi bars also have a lot more then five ingredients and definitely includes a sugar additive.

Then, I found out that dates, the primary base of LARA bars, are good for you! Dates are an excellent source of carbohydrates, contain no cholesterol, are high in fiber, and boast a wide range of nutrients. They aid in digestion and help to regulate blood sugar levels. SOLD!!!! Sign me up!


Except they come at anywhere from $1.29 to $2 a pop. Ouch. 


I decided to make my own to see how cost effective it is. The judges have yet to weight in. 


I'll share my recipe, but there is this great post that goes into significantly more detail on how to make the LARA Bars. Hop on over to Enlightened Cooking for more info. 


Cashew Cookie LARA Bar
Makes 3 large bars


Ingredients
2/3 c chopped dates
1 c raw cashews

cinnamon, to taste

Method

1. Place the dates in a food processor and pulse to a paste. Transfer dates to a medium bowl (don’t clean processor).
2. Add cashews to the processor and pulse until finely chopped. 

3. Add the nuts, along with the cinnamon, to the bowl with the date paste. 

4. Use your fingers to knead the nuts into the paste.
5. Divide mixture in thirds (or fourths, if you're really stingy!) Place each one on sheets of plastic wrap. 

6. Wrap the plastic around each bar and start squishing into a bar shape form, 3 and 1/2 inches long, 1 inch wide and 3/4-inch thick); press against counter top to flatten bottom side, flattening top side and ends with flat of hand. 

7. Tightly wrap the plastic around each bar and store in the refrigerator.

Retoxing

After coming to the end of my detox, it didn't take long for me to retox. It started with beers and brains (yes, actual pork brains) on Thursday night at my favorite Japanese street food restaurant followed by the sharing of three completely unnecessary desserts on Friday night! The retoxification of my system was punctuated with a Saturday morning blood sugar of 375. Awesome.

Well, really, not awesome, since it ended up making me a moody, cranky bitch for the next few days.

One thing that is very clear to me, but I never really want to admit, is that my personal self image and weight are very much intertwined. I feel more attractive and confident the thinner I am.

There. I've admitted it. I'm one of those girls.

With diabetes in my life,  my focus on health and fitness are even more intense! Rather then view one night of overeating as an accidental indulgence, I (sometimes) see it as a failure of character. If only I had better self-control...if only I  ordered the healthiest item on the menu...if only I said no to dessert and didn't eat that piece of bread...I would be a better diabetic. I'd be thinner. I'd be happier.

I beat myself up. I put myself in a crappy mood. And it sucks.

I know all is not lost. I know that whatever weight I put on over the weekend can be lost. Whatever crazy blood sugar numbers that happened can be changed. Whatever bruises I inflicted on my self-esteem can be healed.

I thought I'd share these thoughts just so you know it's not all happy workouts and detoxes over here. And because I think we all have these thoughts at one point or another. We're not always happy with what we eat, how we look, and the way we treat ourselves. Sometimes, I think it's good to hear that. Just so we know we're not alone.

So, hey there, you're not alone.

I'll have a more uplifting recap of my detox soon.

Desperately Waiting....

In Week 3, I am able to add gluten-free grains and dairy back into my diet. I have know idea what grains are gluten-free and which aren't, so I'm taking my ignorance to mean that I can eat whatever grains I want. That logic works, right? Your lack of response tells me you agree.

 If I thought that gluten was a problem in my life, then I would be a more conscious about not adding it back in. That whole "Never want to stop eating" thing is really my life's problem.

Either way, I have been desperately waiting for Week 3 so I could make this dish for lunch!

I've changed some of the ingredients slightly to fit what I had in my kitchen, to be more diabetic-friendly (more veg then carbs), and what is in season. I found vine-ripened tomatoes grown in MA at Whole Foods!


And, by the way, the dressing for this recipe is fucking amazing!

Protein Power Bowl

Ingredients

3/4 cup uncooked green lentils

3/4 cup uncooked farro

1/2 tbsp olive oil, for sautéing

1/2 large red onion (~1 & 1/3 cups), chopped

1-2 garlic cloves, minced

1 red bell pepper, chopped (not seasonal, I know!)

2 tomatoes, diced
3 cups spinach or kale, roughly chopped

1/2 cup fresh parsley, minced

1 batch of Lightened Up Tahini-Lemon Dressing (recipe below)

salt & black pepper, to taste

lemon Wedges & lemon zest, to garnish

Method
1. Cook lentils and farro (or grain of choice). I did this the night before to save time.
2. Prepare the Tahini-Lemon dressing in food processor (see below for recipe).
3. In a large skillet over low-medium heat, add your olive oil and sauté the chopped onion and minced garlic for a few minutes, being careful not to burn.
4. Add in the chopped red pepper and tomato and sauté for another 7-8 minutes.
5. Stir in the chopped kale or spinach and sauté for another few minutes, just until tender.
6. Stir in the full batch of tahini-Lemon dressing, the cooked & drained grains and lentils, and simmer on low for another few minutes.
7. Remove from heat and stir in the minced parsley. Season with salt and pepper to taste and garnish with lemon wedges and zest.

Tahini-Lemon Dressing

Ingredients

1/4 cup tahini

2 garlic cloves

1/2 cup lemon juice

1/4 cup Nutritional yeast or a bit more, to taste

2-4 tbsp Extra virgin olive oil, to taste

1 tsp kosher salt + freshly ground black pepper, or to taste

3 tbsp water, or as needed

Method
1. In a food processor, add all ingredients and process until smooth.

Our House

I am not a romantic person.  I don't believe in fairy tales. A relationship is something you work at for happiness. I'm not one of those girls who have been waiting for Prince Charming and planning her wedding since she was 5. It's just not me.

With that said, I do still have a vag (as in vagina). I may get sentimental from time to time. Jerry might even describe it as hormonal, but I think that's a little exaggerated. Don't you? Well.....don't you?!

The other night, he and I were driving home from my parents' house when the song "Our House" by Crosby, Stills, and Nash came on. Jerry announced that this was his favorite song from when he was five and turned it up. It's a song that we all think we know the words to only to realize that there is more to it then "Our house is a very, very fine house." And that there's only two "very's" and not the three hundred we squeeze in there.

The next lines of the song is "With two cats in the yard./Life used to be so hard/Now everything is easy 'cause of you." Listening to the song, I let out an  "Awwww," paused and followed up with "With two cats in the yard!" Jerry pointed out the other (actual) sentimental piece of the song, which is that life use to be hard, but was easier now that they were together.

I let his comment sit with me a moment.

Then, I busted out laughing, realizing that tears had actually began to form in the corner of my eyes. I suddenly felt an odd connection to those lyrics. Of "our house" with our two cats and my life seeming so much easier because Jerry's in it. Okay, fine! Maybe I was mildly hormonal!

This is basically my long-winded, not exactly connected way of telling the few readers I have that Jerry and I are moving in together! Yay! The process has already started with the end in sometime in May.

New Favorite

I'm sad that it took me this long to find this detox plan because it has now supplied me with my favorite winter salad.

Except that it's no longer winter.

Now that we're on the cusp of spring and all my winter veggies are going out of season, I'll be craving this salad until November! Thanks, Universe!

If you're never thought to eat raw sweet potatoes, you should definitely give it a try. It's much more mild then its cooked counterpart. Bonus: This salad was pretty good on the ol' blood sugar!

Sweet Potato, Celery, and Apple Salad

Ingredients

2 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger

2 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

1 small sweet potato, peeled and finely julienned

1 tart apple, cored and finely julienned

1 stalk celery, thinly sliced

2 scallions, thinly sliced

3 radishes, finely julienned

3 tablespoon TVP (for added crunch!)

1/4 cup packed fresh cilantro leaves

Method

1. In a small bowl, whisk lemon juice, ginger, and oil. Season with salt and pepper.

2. In another bowl, combine sweet potato, apple, celery, scallions, radishes, sesame seeds, and cilantro.

3. Drizzle dressing over salad and season with salt and pepper.

Oh...Duh!

Here I am posting about my second week of detoxing and didn't even update you on the first!
Here's a quick run-down.

What's Off Limits During the Entire Plan: processed food or beverages, added sugar, dairy, gluten, caffeine, and alcohol
What I Ate During Week 1: fruits, vegetables, and plant-based fats, including nuts, seeds, and oils
What I Added Back in Week 2: seafood, beans and lentils, and organic soy
What I Will Add Back in Week 3: gluten-free grains and dairy

How's the detox going so far?
So far, this detox hasn't been too bad. Except for getting a cold. Which really can't be blamed on the detox, but more on the booger-handed kids I work with. The majority of my cravings haven't been for what I was expecting, like desserts and other sugary treats, but for all food in general.

I. Just. Want. To. Keep. EATING!!!

It's not because I'm hungry. I just feel this incessant need to put things in my mouth! ::Insert dirty joke here:: I've also really missed my Friday/Saturday/"whatever night of the week it might be" glass of wine.  Ah, my mother must be so proud!

Overall, this detox has definitely made me more aware of what I have been feeding my body. Initially, I joked that I had a sugar addition, but I do truly believe that it is true. In fact, studies actually show that we can become physically addicted to fat and sugar. Our bodies starts to crave it the way it would coke or heroine. How fucked up is that?!

In the two weeks that I have been following this plan, I have had amazing blood sugar, more energy, and more restful sleep! I have developed a wicked addiction to Lara Bars, which is better then candy bars. I see that my portion control has definitely been out of wack. Lastly, I have realized how mindless my eating can be.

For example, I went into our supply closet at work where we keep snacks, juice boxes, etc. for the kids in our group. While I was sorting through it, I came across a bag of M&Ms. Immediately, my mind thought "Oo, M&Ms!" and I reached for the bag. I, then , stopped because I remembered I was on this detox. When I took a few more minutes to think about it, I realized how mindlessly I would have eaten that handful of M&Ms. I wasn't even hungry. I didn't need a chocolate fix. It was just there.

Oh. And do I need to point out that I'm a diabetic? Handfuls of M&Ms really shouldn't be in the daily repertoire.
If I walk away from this detox with nothing more then an increased awareness of what I feed my body, I feel this detox has done its job.