April 29
Breakfast: lemon water, green tea, shake made from vanilla almond milk, chocolate almond milk, hemp protein powder, canned coconut milk, frozen blueberries, fresh strawberries.
Lunch: small glass of coconut water, 2 fried eggs, multicolored baby carrots with guacamole.
Dinner: I made the Spicy Thai Chicken Zoodle Salad from Nom Nom Paleo. I don't have a spiralizer (what is that, even?), so I just used a vegetable peeler to shave long pieces off my zucchini and carrots, then julienned whatever I couldn't accomplish with the peeler. The chicken was some boneless thighs that I baked, then shredded. To my somewhat surprise, this salad was both delicious and filling. And it had a flavor profile that was totally different from the salads with vinaigrettes that I've been making the past couple of weeks: sunflower seed butter, sriracha (which technically has a little sugar in it, but I cheated the tiniest bit), cilantro, sesame seeds, scallions, lime. And, no lettuce, or spinach, or arugula, or any of the other salad greens I depend on-- the bulk of the salad is made of zucchini. A nice change of pace! It was pretty and colorful too.
Breakfast: lemon water, green tea, shake made from vanilla almond milk, chocolate almond milk, hemp protein powder, canned coconut milk, frozen blueberries, fresh strawberries.
Lunch: small glass of coconut water, 2 fried eggs, multicolored baby carrots with guacamole.
Dinner: I made the Spicy Thai Chicken Zoodle Salad from Nom Nom Paleo. I don't have a spiralizer (what is that, even?), so I just used a vegetable peeler to shave long pieces off my zucchini and carrots, then julienned whatever I couldn't accomplish with the peeler. The chicken was some boneless thighs that I baked, then shredded. To my somewhat surprise, this salad was both delicious and filling. And it had a flavor profile that was totally different from the salads with vinaigrettes that I've been making the past couple of weeks: sunflower seed butter, sriracha (which technically has a little sugar in it, but I cheated the tiniest bit), cilantro, sesame seeds, scallions, lime. And, no lettuce, or spinach, or arugula, or any of the other salad greens I depend on-- the bulk of the salad is made of zucchini. A nice change of pace! It was pretty and colorful too.
Snacks: 2 cups rooibos tea with chocolate almond milk, 1 cup green tea, package of sesame seaweed, small glass of chocolate almond milk (unsweetened! But the chocolate still tastes good), 3 strawberries.
April 30
Breakfast: lemon water, green tea, shake made from coconut water, hemp protein powder, avocado, frozen blueberries, fresh strawberries, kale and arugula.
Lunch (brought home from work, 3:30): grilled flounder with a sauce made from peppers, onions, and I am not sure what else. Steamed carrots on the side. There were also some grilled mixed vegetables but they tasted like they were going rancid so I didn't eat them.
Shopping (Co-op): cashew milk, carton of coconut milk, cashew butter, balsamic vinegar, blackberries, dried organic mulberries, green pepper, 2 avocados, 3 small orange tomatoes, organic dried dates (for kid). $38.
Dinner: We did have a big salad, but also a couple of side dishes. One of the side dishes was Madhur Jaffrey's Spinach Bhaji. It ended up with a lovely depth of flavor from all the cooked onions, garlic, and chilis, but I still have trouble with just how slow-cooked and mushy most of her Indian spinach recipes are. You have to really like that gelatinous texture. The other side dish consisted of some yellow split peas which I cooked, adding a tarka at the end of olive oil, cumin, ginger, and red chili. This was so extremely simple, and yet the flavor was wonderful. The tarka is a technique I learned from Jaffrey-- the taste is so much better than simply adding the spices to the peas while cooking, or even my usual method of panfrying the spices and peas in the oil before adding water.
April 30
Breakfast: lemon water, green tea, shake made from coconut water, hemp protein powder, avocado, frozen blueberries, fresh strawberries, kale and arugula.
Lunch (brought home from work, 3:30): grilled flounder with a sauce made from peppers, onions, and I am not sure what else. Steamed carrots on the side. There were also some grilled mixed vegetables but they tasted like they were going rancid so I didn't eat them.
Shopping (Co-op): cashew milk, carton of coconut milk, cashew butter, balsamic vinegar, blackberries, dried organic mulberries, green pepper, 2 avocados, 3 small orange tomatoes, organic dried dates (for kid). $38.
Dinner: We did have a big salad, but also a couple of side dishes. One of the side dishes was Madhur Jaffrey's Spinach Bhaji. It ended up with a lovely depth of flavor from all the cooked onions, garlic, and chilis, but I still have trouble with just how slow-cooked and mushy most of her Indian spinach recipes are. You have to really like that gelatinous texture. The other side dish consisted of some yellow split peas which I cooked, adding a tarka at the end of olive oil, cumin, ginger, and red chili. This was so extremely simple, and yet the flavor was wonderful. The tarka is a technique I learned from Jaffrey-- the taste is so much better than simply adding the spices to the peas while cooking, or even my usual method of panfrying the spices and peas in the oil before adding water.
,Snacks: 2 cups green tea, 1 cup vanilla almond herbal tea, 1 cup rooibos tea with chocolate almond milk, 2 scrambled eggs with chili paste at work.
May 1
Breakfast: lemon water, 2 cups green tea, shake made from chocolate almond milk, coconut water, cashew milk, frozen strawberries, fresh blueberries, hemp protein powder, cashew butter, and a lot of romaine lettuce. Think the lettuce sounds weird? So did I. But actually this was one of my favorite shakes. The romaine gave it a lightness and freshness that we really enjoyed. I'd do it again.
Lunch: we decided to invert our salad and non-salad meals today, and go to Sweetgreen for lunch. Sweetgreen is a delightful local chain that serves top-quality, perfect choose-your-own salads, along with interesting, low-sugar beverages. My salad contained spinach, kale, romaine, swiss chard, tomato, carrot and mushrooms, with avocado, pecans, and chicken, and a spicy cashew dressing. I think, by the taste, that the spicy cashew dressing had some sugar in it, but it tasted really good and I did ask the restaurant worker to point me away from the sweetest dressings, so it was surely not the worst choice among them. We also each had a flavored seltzer water, made with real juice. Mine was raspberry-lime. I love this place, but we spent $34 on two big salads and two cans of seltzer. It might have been worth it, though, it was that good.
Dinner: Madhur Jaffrey's Greek Mixed Greens, quinoa mixed with french lentils, hamburger patties. Generally unremarkable, except that Jaffrey had us oversalt the cooking water for the greens. That woman does love salt. Either that or she uses very coarse salt and neglects to tell us.
Snacks: 2 cups green tea, 1 cup rooibos tea with cashew milk.
May 2
Breakfast: lemon water, green tea, shake made from cashew milk, hemp protein powder, avocado, frozen blueberries, and romaine lettuce. This was not my best work, being much gloppier and less sweet than the previous day's. It was almost too thick to blend. While avocado is a great thickener, I'm finding that the cashew milk also tends to thicken more than other nut milks.
Lunch (after work, 2:30): leftover Greek greens, leftover quinoa and lentils, leftover hamburger patty. It's like the old days, when I used to eat proper leftovers for lunch!
Shopping (Co-op): 2 boneless top sirloin steaks, organic baby kale, 3 rolls Seventh Generation toilet paper, very large container Fage 2% plain Greek yogurt, smoked trout, coconut water, six-pack of berry-flavored sparkling water, quart of Brown Cow vanilla yogurt, organic olive oil, sweet pea shoots, strawberries, frozen strawberries, roasted unsalted cashews, Tillamook 3-year extra sharp cheddar, 2 avocados, 2 cans tuna, 3 lemons, $93.
Dinner: salad consisting of romaine lettuce, broccoli sprouts, pea shoots, cilantro, green pepper and orange tomatoes, with 2 hard-boiled eggs apiece, avocado, green peas, and canned tuna, and a lemon-olive oil dressing. For some reason, it had barely any flavor. Needed salt badly, I think.
Snacks: 1 cup peppermint tea, 1 cup green tea, 1 cup rooibos tea, cooked carrots (at work).
May 1
Breakfast: lemon water, 2 cups green tea, shake made from chocolate almond milk, coconut water, cashew milk, frozen strawberries, fresh blueberries, hemp protein powder, cashew butter, and a lot of romaine lettuce. Think the lettuce sounds weird? So did I. But actually this was one of my favorite shakes. The romaine gave it a lightness and freshness that we really enjoyed. I'd do it again.
Lunch: we decided to invert our salad and non-salad meals today, and go to Sweetgreen for lunch. Sweetgreen is a delightful local chain that serves top-quality, perfect choose-your-own salads, along with interesting, low-sugar beverages. My salad contained spinach, kale, romaine, swiss chard, tomato, carrot and mushrooms, with avocado, pecans, and chicken, and a spicy cashew dressing. I think, by the taste, that the spicy cashew dressing had some sugar in it, but it tasted really good and I did ask the restaurant worker to point me away from the sweetest dressings, so it was surely not the worst choice among them. We also each had a flavored seltzer water, made with real juice. Mine was raspberry-lime. I love this place, but we spent $34 on two big salads and two cans of seltzer. It might have been worth it, though, it was that good.
Dinner: Madhur Jaffrey's Greek Mixed Greens, quinoa mixed with french lentils, hamburger patties. Generally unremarkable, except that Jaffrey had us oversalt the cooking water for the greens. That woman does love salt. Either that or she uses very coarse salt and neglects to tell us.
Snacks: 2 cups green tea, 1 cup rooibos tea with cashew milk.
May 2
Breakfast: lemon water, green tea, shake made from cashew milk, hemp protein powder, avocado, frozen blueberries, and romaine lettuce. This was not my best work, being much gloppier and less sweet than the previous day's. It was almost too thick to blend. While avocado is a great thickener, I'm finding that the cashew milk also tends to thicken more than other nut milks.
Lunch (after work, 2:30): leftover Greek greens, leftover quinoa and lentils, leftover hamburger patty. It's like the old days, when I used to eat proper leftovers for lunch!
Shopping (Co-op): 2 boneless top sirloin steaks, organic baby kale, 3 rolls Seventh Generation toilet paper, very large container Fage 2% plain Greek yogurt, smoked trout, coconut water, six-pack of berry-flavored sparkling water, quart of Brown Cow vanilla yogurt, organic olive oil, sweet pea shoots, strawberries, frozen strawberries, roasted unsalted cashews, Tillamook 3-year extra sharp cheddar, 2 avocados, 2 cans tuna, 3 lemons, $93.
Dinner: salad consisting of romaine lettuce, broccoli sprouts, pea shoots, cilantro, green pepper and orange tomatoes, with 2 hard-boiled eggs apiece, avocado, green peas, and canned tuna, and a lemon-olive oil dressing. For some reason, it had barely any flavor. Needed salt badly, I think.
Snacks: 1 cup peppermint tea, 1 cup green tea, 1 cup rooibos tea, cooked carrots (at work).
May 3
The last day of the cleanse proper!
Breakfast: lemon water, green tea, shake made from cashew milk, coconut milk (the thin kind from the carton), hemp protein powder, cashew butter, frozen strawberries, fresh strawberries, and kale.
Lunch: multicolored "baby carrots" (the kind that are really just trimmed sections of big carrots) with cashew butter; whole cashews. Lot of cashews today, probably too many.
Dinner: salad consisting of kale, romaine lettuce and pea shoots, with roasted broccoli, avocado, marinated artichoke hearts and sirloin steak, and a red wine vinaigrette. The last salad dinner! (For a while).
In a way I feel kind of disappointed that the cleanse is over, and I can tell my husband does too. When I said it was the last salad, he paused, and then said tentatively: "I mean, we will have salad again, right?" And he's already let me know that he wants to go on having smoothies for breakfast indefinitely.
Snacks: 2 cups rooibos tea, 1 cup green tea, cashews, dried mulberries.
The last day of the cleanse proper!
Breakfast: lemon water, green tea, shake made from cashew milk, coconut milk (the thin kind from the carton), hemp protein powder, cashew butter, frozen strawberries, fresh strawberries, and kale.
Lunch: multicolored "baby carrots" (the kind that are really just trimmed sections of big carrots) with cashew butter; whole cashews. Lot of cashews today, probably too many.
Dinner: salad consisting of kale, romaine lettuce and pea shoots, with roasted broccoli, avocado, marinated artichoke hearts and sirloin steak, and a red wine vinaigrette. The last salad dinner! (For a while).
In a way I feel kind of disappointed that the cleanse is over, and I can tell my husband does too. When I said it was the last salad, he paused, and then said tentatively: "I mean, we will have salad again, right?" And he's already let me know that he wants to go on having smoothies for breakfast indefinitely.
Snacks: 2 cups rooibos tea, 1 cup green tea, cashews, dried mulberries.
