Day 3: Dinner!

Seeing as it is Friday night, my BFF and I decided to get dressed up and go out for dinner. I was a bit nervous, considering the many restrictions of this cleanse, but ended up being delightfully surprised. We chose the new organic-gluten-free-vegan restaurant that just (conveniently) opened up this month. 

Our waitress was amazing about the substations, holds, and sides I needed too, which made me feel less like a pain in the butt. 

I ended up with the black bean quinoa burger (sans le bun, sauce on the side) with lettuce, tomato and avocado, cashew 'cheese' (on the side), and a spring mix salad with tomatoes and cucs (dressing on the side). Like I've mentioned before, I'm Italian. So wholesome, rich, creamy, thick, fatty foods are my forte. However, this incredibly healthy alternative was a real treat. And I didn't have to cook for a night!! 

Day 3: Lunch!

Lunch today was one of my fav salads - modified. 

My aunt is the Salad Queen, so whenever I'm at her house, the salad of the meal is usually my favourite part. 

Typically, I make this salad with spinach, strawberries, pomegranate seeds, candied walnuts, quinoa, and light, sweet vinegrette dressing. I opted to leave out the quinoa, because I was planning a big dinner, and left out the pommy seeds since their "exotic" and therefore not allowed. I also swapped the sweet candied walnuts for regular toasted ones. For the dressing a just used a touch of extra boring olive oil, and let strawberries be the main flavour focus. 

Day 3: Breakfast!

One of my recent fav finds at the grocery store, is a premix bag of frozen fruit. Sound simple enough, but I always used to buy fresh fruits and use those for smoothies. Now that I'm in school, I don't have as much time to wash and chop things in the morning. I'm not lazy, I swear. I just don't like waking up earlier than I need to. #collegelife 

So the frozen mix is perfect. And delicious! The one I'm currently using is a mix of blueberries, strawberries, and peaches. I usually do about 3/4 cup of the frozen fruit, 1 full fresh banana, 1/3 cup of almond milk (unsweetened), 2 tablespoons of chia seeds, and 1 tablespoon of vanilla protein powder. 

It fills me up and tastes amazing. 

For this cleanse, I swapped the banana for fresh peaches, and the vanilla protein powder for original. 

Ps. Isn't my Mason Jar-Smootie-To-Go cup adorable?! Winners - $8

Day 2: Dinner!

I'm quite pleased with day 2 dinner. It was the second time IN MY LIFE that I've cooked salmon, and I have to say, it was perfect. Paired with a spring mix salad with chopped up pears and walnuts, it was a fab dinner.

Directions: 

Salmon- Preheat oven to 350• Place salmon on lightly buttered aluminum foil, lining baking sheet. Season with preferred spices/herbs. I used a premix for salmon that I found at Safeway. Cook for 15-20 minutes (depending on how flakey you like your fish). Done!

Day 2: Snacks!

Quick snack for today, homemade guacamole! I found the recipe here --> http://hklovebites.com/2012/01/17/wild-rose-detox-day-1-what-you-can-and-cant-eat/

The site is also great for referring back to the dos and dont's of the program. 

Paired with a couple rice cakes, this was a pretty good snack!

Wild Rose Detox - Day 2

Day 2! Woohoo! I've made it 24 hours without carbs! Let us a take a moment to reflect on my progress thus far...

Trust me, people, this is huge. My friends are still in shock. 

So for breakfast today, since I have a later class I have a bit more time, I decided to step *far* outside my European comfort zone and try oatmeal. 

Some of you are probably surprised that I haven't tried oatmeal once in my twenty two years. Well, I asked my parents why we never had it growing up, and my dad replied "Probabaly because your grandparents can't even pronounce it." 

*insert laughing smiley with tears rolling face here*

Well I made the oatmeal. Poured it into a bowl, added 2/3 cup of water and popped it in the microwave for 1:30. 

It's not my intention to offend anyone with this blog, so if you're a bit sensitive, please skip the next five sentences... Oatmeal tastes like shit. I'm sorry for the language, but seriously wtf is this. Who decided this heated cardboard goopy mess was for human consumption??? And where is this person so I can physically assault him, which is what I feel this oatmeal did to me. 

My little sisters response was *by far* my favourite of the week....

"Have you ever tried oatmeal?" -Me

"Yes. Have you ever tasted a**h***? They're very comparable." -Sister

LOL.

So after eating two spoonfuls of this 'food' that's somehow allowed on this cleanse (just looking at it feels like it would clog an artery... Or a New York City sewage system) I quickly mass texted my friends (here on referred to as my white friends, and asked 1.How they could willingly eat this, 2. Please tell me I did it wrong, 3. How do you make it better, 4. Yes I did that, it didn't work.

Apparently adding cinnamon isn't enough, but since this cleanse doesn't allow sugar, brown sugar and syrup were out of the question. A few of my friends said to add fruit (bananas, blueberries, strawberries) so I'll be doing that next time. 

Anywhas, Day 2 Breakfast = fail. 

Someone invent vegan-lactose-free-sugar-free-flourless pancakes. Please. 

Day 1: Dinner!!

When I lived at home, dinner was my favourite part of the day. My mom always cooked a delicious meal (usually complete with cheese, butter, bread, and meat - I did mention were Italian. Veggies either come on pizza or in with the pasta sauce) and the four of us would sit around the dinner table and quite literally stuff our faces. I mean, it's hard not to when you've got pasta primavera doused in freshly grated Parmesan, marinated seared beef tenderloin, chicken parmigiana with homemade sauce, antipasto platters, salami, mortadella, prosciutto, all the cheese you could possibly imagine - Parmesan, friulani, old cheddar, mozzarella, Asiago - risotto Milanese, chicken cacciatore, roasted lambchop a with andouille.....

I think it's safe to say that at the end of day one... My cravings have taken over my body. 

I knew this would happen though, and in prepared myself! On the menu tonight, Spanish "rice" with kale and fresh tomato sauce. I'm hoping the thick, sauceygoodness with taste like home without breaking all the rules. 

I found the recipe here --> http://www.hummusapien.com/spanish-cauliflower-rice-let-eat-kale-cookbook-giveaway/

I don't think I've mentioned that while I LOVE to eat, I'm not much of a chef.... 

Even when following a recipe, something's just do not turn out.

After following this recipe *exactly*i was sort of let down. It didn't have the thick consistency that I was looking for, though the taste was quite enjoyable.

I forgot to take an after picture (I blame the hunger) but I'll upload one when I have it agin later this week (the recipe is for four, I am only one... Yay leftovers...)

Day 1: Snacks

It's about 2pm over here. I've just left my last class of the day and I'm starting to get a bit hungry. Normally, I would go home, 'make' a pizza pop, cucumber sandwich (which is really more cheese and dressing than cucumber), or bowl of soup before dinner. I know, healthy right??

Following the Wild Rose good guidelines, I've opted for original rice cakes with sugar free almond butter. I'm not going to lie, I never would have eaten this before. If it looks like cardboard, it must taste like cardboard.... And who tries to replace peanut butter?! 

Yet, it was actually pretty good. Go figured. Maybe I'm just hungry?? 

Three rice cakes and two giant tablespoons of almond butter later, I'm surprisingly full. For now. Dinner will have to be spectacular. 

Wild Rose Detox - Day 1

So it's day 1 with the Wild Rose detox. I generally don't eat a very big breakfast (if at all) since my daily class schedule is quite short I tend to have a bigger lunch and light dinner with some occasional snacking. But since this cleanse requires you to have breakfast-type meal everyday, I've compromised and chopped up 1 1/2 cups of fresh organic strawberries. I've taken the 6 supplements (tasteless, flushed down with water), and the 40 drops of the CL Herbal Extract. That was the grossest part. It's not that it has a particularly strong smell or taste, but it smells like I something I recognize and can't quite place. I put the 40 drops into a tall glass of water, hoping it would dilute the taste more.

Alright, off to class! 

Wild Rose Cleanse

To kickstart this fun little food blog of mine, I've decided to share my 12 day detox with the Wild Rose Cleanse program. Having never done a cleanse or detox before, (is there a difference between the two???) I was very skeptical, to say the least. I wanted to know exactly what it would entail, what I would be eating/drinking, how the process worked in my body, and what the outcome would be. So here is a bit of info about the cleanse itself...

This is taken straight from the Wild Rose Website

"The Wild Rose Herbal D-Tox has been used in Canadian clinics for over 30 years to provide a complete multi-system detoxification of the colon and kidneys; acts on the urinary tract and the gastro-intestinal system; and has an effect on the liver. By following the Recommended Diet and taking the herbal formulas provided, the Herbal D-Tox program helps to keep a healthy balance of assimilation and elimination.

Whether to stay in good health, to clear a congested system, or to use after over-consumption, a detoxification program can be an integral part of your continued health. For many, a D-Tox is the beginning of a new lifestyle, and a time for breaking unwanted habits."

The cleanse kit itself includes three bottles of herbal supplements (Biliherb, Laxaherb, Cleansaherb) from which the user takes two pills each before breakfast and dinner, for the 12 days of the cleanse. 40 drops of the liquid Herbal CL Extract must also be taken with the meals.

In addition to the supplements, there is a strict food plan, excluding certain foods, while focusing on others. 

Eat Lots of:

- Veggies & Fruits (all except tropical fruits, bananas, grapes)

- Fish (except shelled fish)

- Beef, Chicken, Pork

- Nuts, herbs (except peanuts)

Do Not Eat:

- Bread/Flour Products (breads, pasta, cakes, pastry, flour based foods ie. sauces, gravy, soup)

- Dairy Products (absolutely no cheese, milk - almond milk is ok!)

- Fermented Foods (absolutely no alcohol/wine/beer, soy sauce, dried fruits)

- Sweets (no sugar, syrups, chocolate, candy)

Being that I am Italian, the thought of giving up PASTA for 12 DAYS is rather unfathomable, so this should be an interesting couple of days. 

So here we go! Wish me luck! 

(And I promise to share all of the ups and downs along the way!)