Detox Protocol Days 8-14

Hello All! Well, we have completed week 2 of our plan and are headed into the last week - the home stretch if you will! This was by far the strictest phase of the plan. The only meat allowed was in the A.M. Lunch was mostly veggies and Dinner was either a sweet potato or rice and beans.

Here is what the food looked like for week 2.

Breakfast: chicken breast

 

Chicken - again. 

Mid morning snack : Berry Smoothie with Almond Milk and Fruit with Almond Butter

Once again, apples and nut butter saves the day 

Lunch : Salad with nuts, seeds, and avocado with a side of veggies

Lots of veggies 

Afternoon snack: Berry Smoothie with Almond Milk and Nuts

Berries and Pistachios 

Dinner: Brown Rice with lime and cilantro, black beans, avocados, salsa made from jalapenos & onions, sriracha and cilantro

Vegan dinner goodness 

We had a few different types of vegan dinners but most were beans and rice or a sweet potato

Sweet potato with butter bean and salad 

Vegan Black beans, brown rice, bell peppers and cilantro 

We also had some alternatives for breakfast using ground turkey

Taco ground turkey with peppers, avocado & pineapples 

We had different kinds of snack that fit the meal plan

Kale chips - half curry and half Himalayan salt

Smoothies with Almond Milk, pineapple, strawberry & cantaloupe

Crunchy Chickpeas

Amazing how sugary carrots taste - Sushi being supportive - still wishing for bacon 

We had one night of eating out and had great success with going to the Mongolian Grill. They had a huge choice of veggies as well as chicken breast. You also create your own sauce so we could skip the soy sauce, since we cannot have soy, and used things like ginger, lemon grass, garlic and basil.
I added a small amount of chicken to mine but Mikes was 100% veggie. Once again, he has stuck to the plan with zero cheats.

Mike mixing up the sauce options

The grill of goodness!

Mikes plate of fresh veggies and tons of basil 

In this second week some things were noticeably different. Without having basically any sugar for two weeks, I'm blown away by some foods as being very sweet. We grabbed a juice at Juiceland this weekend and the strawberries tasted sugared even tho they weren't. Moods have been different this week as well. I think a combination of giving up the vices of everything from caffeine to cigarettes to sugar to alcohol leaves blank space for release.  After a few days of being a bit hot tempered, we both ended the week in good moods so at least crankiness was temporary.

I feel like my skin has been still clearing up. I have a problem area on my chin that always seems to be broken out in some ways and it basically clear tonight. The scale has been weird this week. I lost another pound and a half early in the week and then the scale didn't budge. I did however have a fun afternoon in my closet trying on clothes that were too tight before and fit nicely now. That was super great!

Mike has been up 2 lbs and down 4 and back again depending on the day. Earlier today, he was down a full 3 more pounds this week for a total of 10-11 so far. I haven't been on the scale for a few days so I need to check to see if it possibility went down more. I feel like it should since this was such a veggie heavy week. I did eat chicken breasts a few times at lunch where Mike did not. I just wasn't getting full and with my work being either in a store or a car, it was nearly impossible for me to eat every 2 hours. I didn't have any cheats this week tho as far as food off the list. I'm pretty excited that we get meat again 3 times a day for the last phase. Its gone extremely fast and hard to believe our next update will be when we are finishing up the program.

Thanks to everyone's support and following along on this clean up quest. A special thanks to our guests Jessica and Bruce for eating along with us while they were here these crazy meals. This meal plan is not akin to being social.

** update - weighed myself this morning and down another 2.5 lbs for a total of about 3.5 loss this week. Hurrah!! 

Adventures in Cauliflower Rice

During this detox plan - most grains are totally out. White rice is pretty much out from now on for us anyways so I was happy to stumble upon some recipes on how to make rice alternatives.

The best looking thing I could find was a take on fried rice using cauliflower and onion. It was really easy to make and surprisingly tasty! There are a million different ways of making this but here is how I did it.

Step 1: Wash and trim down the whole cauliflower head. Cut your cauliflower down into pieces that can easily fit into your food processor. I found I had to do this in 2 batches just so you dont over process the caulflower. You dont want it mushy but like a rice grain consistancy.

Process until a rice grain consistency 

Step 2: Chop up a small white onion and add to pan with 2 tbsp Olive Oil

Brown onions for 5 minutes 

Step 3: Add blended cauliflower "rice" to pan with onions and cook over medium heat until all the veggies start to brown. Add salt and pepper to taste and serve! You can also add spices like curry!

 

 

 

 

Cook until browned - about 7 mintutes 

And this is what you get! Really tasty! I bet your kids wouldn't know the difference! Give it a try!

Yum! Cauliflower Rice!

Surviving Fun Fun Fun Fest on Detox Protocol

One of the benefits of living in Austin is live music! Not only are there 5 decent bands playing in any given bar and any given night, there are really great music fests here. My personal favorite is every fall - 3 days of music, skateboards, art and food - called FUN FUN FUN FEST! The year was extra special because my favorite band of all time, Jane's Addiction, (whose lyrics inspired the name of this blog infact), played Saturday night.

 

For the past 2-3 years, the weather for FFF Fest has always been sunny and warm. Most photos are us in tank tops and flip flops. In this year of El Nino - we've had tons of rain and more cloudy gray days in a row than I can remember in my 15 years in Austin. The weekend before the fest, Austin got nailed with rain and there was mass flooding. 6 days later started the fest but it was raining off and on all day. One of my favorite people and best friends of 20+ years,  Jessica flew here from Tampa and even her flight was canceled due to weather. So basically, the world was working against us and we didn't make it to the fest on Friday. Was super sad to miss Peaches but we would have been miserable since we were just getting over a very bad cough and cold.

We soothed ourselves with tacos - no tortilla for me

We then braved the rain to get fresh farmers market veggies 

 

Saturday, Mike was still feeling a little under the weather so he dropped Jess and I off for a day of festing! We watched skate demos, Mexican wrestling and lots of awesome bands. I had my most major cheat on food this afternoon. One of my favorite places had a pork belly bite that I could not resist. It was a small amount but yes, pork and wheat and most likely egg was eaten.

Rules were broken today 

Jane's Addiction show - best band ever!!

 

 

 

 

On Sunday we whisked Jessica off to the airport and then spent the whole day soaking up some sun. I knew there would be no cheating today as sticking to the diet is extremely important for Mike's health. Luckily we live in a town that caters to healthy customers so we were able to pull it off!

 

 

 

Soaking up the sun and the music 

Instead of beers, we had extremely tasty juice from Juiceland

Our best meal was at Kebabalicious where we were able to wrap that had hummus, chicken, onion, cucumber and spicy sauce. All things we could have on the diet plan! JOY!

Chicken Kebab for us? Yes please!

We didn't eat the wrap since it had flour but ate the inside with a fork 

A wonderful weekend and was pretty happy with the food choices made. Mike did awesome - he has not veered off the plan even the slightest amount.

Detox Protocol Days 1-7

We had our first full week of detox diet and I think we did really well. Mike had fasted for 48 hours before we began so everything he eats tastes amazing to him. I on the other hand did not fast and some things are better than others. But I don't think there was too much crying overall. Our choices for most meals were chicken, turkey, fruit, veggies, almond milk and almond butter. I didn't feel hungry necessarily but when there is no grain or bread, full just feels different. Maybe not as satisfying. I admit to dreaming of mac and cheese. Mike missed sugar. Not that surprising considering this whole diet is about regulating his sugars.

Some snaps of our basic meals for days 1-7.

Cooking restrictions: No Butter, No Grains, No Sugar, No Alcohol, No Soy, No Beef, No Pork, No Shellfish, No Dairy, No Tomatoes, Corn or Potatoes, No Bananas or Mangoes, No Eggs, No Pasta, No Peanuts, No Fried Food, No Dried Fruit

Breakfast

Breakfast: Baked chicken, turkey sausage, green peppers and onions 

and fruit - grapes, raspberry, strawberry & pineapple 

Mid morning snack

Mid morning snack: Fruit Smoothie - Berry blended with Almond Milk

with Pecans - I believe these are the Cajun Pecan from the farmers market 

Lunch 

Lunch : Baked Chicken Breast

Roasted with Olive Oil Butternut Squash 

Spinach Salad with Radish 

Afternoon snack 

Snack : Berry Smoothie - Berry mixed with Almond Milk

and Cashews 

And Dinner did not seem like a compromise at all - it was like a mini Thanksgiving Day meal plus we ate off of it for many days and many meals.

Dinner: Roasted Turkey with Olive Oil and Rosemary

with Roasted Carrots, Celery and Sweet Potato 

My husbands food bag was heavy those days! 

Both Mike and I got unexpectedly sick about mid week. It really kicked both our asses for a few days and we needed nourishment. I made a very simple chicken soup - onions, garlic, celery, carrots, chicken and broth and it was really really good. I also believe it gave us the boost we needed to take on a very busy weekend ahead of us. 

 

 

 

Chicken soup 

One night I made turkey tacos! We used ground turkey meat with seasoning. Grilled up some onions and bell peppers. Served in a lettuce cup with avocados! Very tasty! 

Turkey Tacos 

We can eat as many veggies and fruit as we want which is really whats getting us by. The sweetest thing I eat all week is Honey-crisp Apples. They are amazing! I wish they weren't so expensive but we are splurging for those! Which brings me to another revelation about this plan which is that living off fruit and veggies is really expensive. I swear Ive got to the grocery store to replace fresh produce every other day. You go thru it fast! 

Sushi is very supportive but wishes this was bacon 

Turkey breakfast at home - day 3

Mikes breakfast day 3 - turkey and pear 

Turkey and Apples breakfast 

Almond Butter and Celery - I like neither things

We have noticed some differences in the first 7 days. Mike has reported that his blood sugar had felt very stable and he has been testing it regularly. He did have a blood sugar episode one night when his fever broke from being sick. We still don't know why that happened but he will discuss with his doctor this week. His digestion has been really good & he has noticed a lack of puffiness.

I have felt pretty good all week - except when I was sick and then my energy levels were really low. 

I feel like my skin is looking clearer and I'm not really craving any sugar which really surprises me. 

We aren't doing this for weight loss specifically but Mike is down 6 lbs and I am down 4.5lbs in the past 7 days. We both can tell in our clothes already so I'm excited to see what happens in the next two weeks with that.

I must admit that the next phase - days 8-14 are going to be the hardest. We only get meat in the morning and after that lunch and dinner are things like beans, sweet potatoes and brown rice. I have already conceded that I will be stealing an extra piece of chicken here or there next week. And I don't feel bad about it. :)

Going to bed now - I will blog soon about how we did with food at the Fun Fun Fun Fest Music Festival - a 3 day music festival we went to in downtown Austin. 

Thanks for keeping up with us. More updates soon!

Pregame show of the 21 day detox protocol

Its safe to say that between now and November 23rd I will tell anyone who has ears that I'm dying. Like dragging myself across the floor,... dying. But please, don't call 911 as I will just be in the throws of a 21 medical detox diet. Ill be fine .... eventually. 

hyperboleandahalf.com

A little recap might be helpful of why my husband and I started changing the way we ate and where we shopped. Going back about 5-6 years ago, we both had our health issues and they were both pretty chronic. I was miserable averaging about 15 migraines a month. 

Mike has had hypoglycemia since he was 9 years old. It's similar to diabetes but results in the body dropping blood sugar dangerously low and in turn, causing seizures. It also overwhelms the adrenal system causing adrenal gland failure, high metabolism, inability to regulate sugar and many other chemicals in the body like cortisol, testosterone and cholesterol. When we first were dating, his seizures were common, often triggered by bad food, alcohol, cigarettes - monthly. They are incredibly scary and very dangerous. This caused Mike to lose consciousness from standing heights causing him to fall and hit his head repeatedly. He has also broken his nose, given himself many black eyes, taken expensive ambulance ride to the ER and caused me and his close friends to have great anxiety when not around to keep an eye on him and his blood sugar.

My migraines would often last 4-10 days with no relief. I was on a daily medication that was used to treat Grand Mal seizures as well as a very strong 2nd drug I would take when an actual migraine struck and I was still getting lots and lots of headaches. The pain effected my life pretty dramatically. After having a very active social life, I opted to staying home more because 1 drink would send me into a world of pain. I gained weight because I never felt like jostling my head around by running or jumping around. I missed lots of work and had to just learn to live with it while at my job or I would be unemployed. In general I was  just depressed about not getting anywhere with many medications or doctors. 

Once moving into our new neighborhood in northwest Austin, we found out there was a local farmers market that was really big every Saturday morning. The first few times we went I think we just bought tomatoes but soon we were adding snacks, meat, dairy, and eggs. We hadn't been going more than a month when we decided we were going to dump the grocery store and buy as much as we could from local farmers. The taste, the quality, the friendship with the farmers made it very obvious that this was the road for us to take. We also started replacing household cleaners with natural ones - things like dish soap, laundry detergent, floor cleaners, Windex, etc as well as personal products like lotions, soaps, tooth paste and deodorants. (Altho I'm forever searching for a good natural deodorant - its like finding the friggin holy grail I swear)

Our motto was chemicals out!

Over about a year we were transitioned to a much more natural products lifestyle and my migraines all but dissipated.  Fast forward 5 years later and I can say that I still get headaches from time to time but I often go months without any pain.

Mike has also made a lot of strides with his hypoglycemia - mostly due to lifestyle changes and being a lot more aware of what trigger them. Seemed like every year he was having less and less episodes - down to a few per year. But about 6 months ago, he was awoken from sleep at 2 am to pee and ended up crashing hard onto our bathroom floor in a full on low blood sugar episode. He has fallen in a way that he landed on his arm, pinning himself into the corner behind the door. I of course ran to him and tried to open the door which only resulted on me unknowingly repeatedly banging his head. It was like an 1800's puppet show that we can laugh at now. Long story short, he got a hell of  a black eye and has been in shoulder rehab for months. 

Which bring us to today and this 21 day detox diet we are embarking on ...... 

My husband has found a homeopathic doctor that he trusts in and the two of them have been dissecting aspects of his life to try to get at the root cause of his hypoglycemia. This has included months of medical testing, blood work, all kinds of fluid work and allergy tests. The results have been extremely interesting and include the knowledge that he is allergic to gluten and dairy - casein specifically. The doctor has prescribed a very intense and strict 21 day food plan that essentially removes anything that could be an allergy or that would cause inflammation of any kind. To put it simply, we will be eating a lot of fruits, veggies, beans and chicken.

Altho this diet was prescribed for Mike, I will be joining him in the food plan. Im hoping that cleaning up my own system will help with my migraines as well as fertility that we have been struggling with for years.

The NO LIST: No milk, cheese, butter, shortening, yogurt, no grains of any kind, no tomatoes or tomato sauces, no alcohol, coffee, black tea, soda, sugar, sweeteners, soy, beef, pork, cold cuts, bacon, hot dogs, canned meat, sausage, shellfish, potatoes, corn, fried food & dried fruits

The YES LIST: Turkey, Chicken, Fish, Veggies, Fruit, Nuts, and Beans. 

Farmers Market goodies for the detox plan

Today is November 1st and Mike is doing PHASE ONE by himself - which is fasting. I was on the fence is I should do this aspect with him as well as the food plan and I decided against it. I don't even have a good reason other than I didn't want to. Ya know, sometimes that's the only reason you've got. 

He's been drinking a mixture of limes, organic maple syrup and water all day long - I think he's up to 2 gallons today. This concoction will keep his blood sugar stable as well as resets the glucose metabolism function. 

 

He is going to try to go for two days, so we will officially start the 21 day food plan on Tuesday. 

I'm going to use this blog to document our journey. Im afraid I will make my Facebook friends crazy if I talk about this plan too much on there. I invite you to join us along this science experiment. I apologies ahead of time for being over dramatic about missing types of food. Im guessing there will be full on cheese withdrawal, sugar temper tantrums and I want a Cheese-it meltdowns but as my husband keeps reminding me, its only 21 days. 

See you on the other side!! 

Im going to have a final bowl of cereal!

Homemade Blackberry Sauce

Halloween is my absolute favorite holiday of the year and we have a big party we call the BOO BASH every year! Its a great costume party with all our friends. We have all kinds of spooky food and we always have a signature cocktail. The spookier the better. For this years party, we decided to do a take on a Thai Basil Lime aid. We got hooked on these at a local Austin Indian store called Shandis. To make this drink suitable for the Boo Bash - we need to add dry ice, vodka and I loved the idea of a little ribbon of blackberry syrup on top. The mixing of the green and black would be very Frankensteinesk plus the flavor of lime and blackberry just go together! 

I hunted around both Whole Foods and HEB but mostly found blueberry syrups - not black berrys.

With a little research online I found a great recipe to make your own homemade syrup.

 

 

So you will need some basic blackberries - organic if you can. I found these on sale for under $2!

$2 score! 

 

The best thing about this recipe is that its only 3 things and easy to make

 

You will need:

Approximately 4 cups of blackberries

1 cup organic pure cane sugar 

(or you can use everyday sugar)

1/2 cup filtered water 

 

 

 Rinse blackberries and put into medium saucepan along with the sugar and water

Sugar goodness

Over a medium/high heat - bring to a boil and then cook on medium/low uncovered for 30 minutes

As it cooks, the red color comes thru over the black

 Your kitchen will start to smell awesome now!!! 

 

 

After 30 minutes, remove from heat and get your immersion blender out. Blend for 2 minutes. 

 

 

Blendy blendy

 

 

 Since this batch was specicially made for Halloween, I decided to add a few drops of blue food coloring. It make it much more deep purple. This does not effect the flavor - just the color.

Nothing natural about this step

 

 After a few minutes of blending, pour contents thru mesh strainer with bowl underneath. Use spatula to push all contents thru strainer to get everything but the seeds.  

 

 

 

Pour into jar, label, refridgerate and use within 4-5 days. 

 

 I will post updates after Halloween to see how it looked in our spooky cocktails! 

 

Here is a link to the orignal recipe that I tweeked up a bit for my Halloween needs.

 

 http://www.spoonandsaucer.com/blackberry-syrup/

 

 

 

Id love any comments!

 

Thanks for reading and sharing!