Snacks

Here's what I've been snacking on lately:

• Homemade roasted red pepper hummus with rice crackers
• Trader Joe's Eggplant Garlic Dip on rice crackers too! This one is a real winner!
• Apple slices dipped in all-natural almond butter
• Dark chocolate squares (70-90% cacao)
• Single-serving nuts from Costco (a box with three individually-packed varieties: cashews, almonds and peanuts)

What didn't go down well:

• A London Fog with skim milk. Yucky yucky in my tummy.
  

What I Ate: Maintenance or "Day 28"

Now that I've re-incorporated nightshades (in what I consider to be reasonable quantities) I have been eating a wider variety of foods!

Yesterday I made a green soup: onion, garlic, leeks and celery as the mire-poix, with broccoli, zucchini, peas and spinach added during cooking. At the end I did a fridge- and freezer-check and found some dill that I could add, as well as some lentils I'd cooked earlier and frozen. Voila- greens and "beans"!

I also made an omelette: two eggs cooked omelette-style, filled with onion, garlic, cherry tomatoes, spinach (gotta use up what didn't go in the soup!) and goat cheese. I ate this with two slices of the Kinnikinnick gluten-free bread that I mentioned in a post earlier this week. Breakfast for dinner- what a treat!

And today I started my morning with an apple sliced and dipped in natural almond butter- a little change from my norm!

Edging Off the Wagon (and Post #100!)

I cheated a bit (well, a lot) today and had a quarter of a pumpkin scone at Starbucks. I feel like I'm going to poop my pants; my stomach is that upset. My body wants some peas and carrots! What a way to mark my hundredth post!

A Better Gluten-Free Bread

I wrote earlier about not being impressed by the Glutino gluten-free bread I'd bought, and I'm happy to say I've found something much yummier: Many Wonder Multigrain Rice Bread by Kinnikinnick Foods. The taste and texture are both far superior. You should be able to find it in the freezer section at your local health food store- give it a try!


(Image courtesy Kinnikinnick Foods website.)

Day Twenty-Four: Maintenance

Technically, I finished the detox on Saturday. But since I'm feeling good, I've decided to stick with most of the principles. One thing I've done is re-introduced nightshades: tomatoes, eggplants, zucchini and bell peppers have all been an integral part of my rainbow-hued lunches this week. Another thing I've done is re-introduce certain fruits: I had a stockpile of frozen fruits in my freezer and have now been adding some frozen berries to my morning smoothies. To expand my taste horizons I've had a small amount of dark chocolate (70-90% cacao) as well as a drizzle of balsamic vinegar. The key things I've stuck with include: no gluten (including wheat, duh), no bovine dairy, no sugary treats, no acidic/calorific fruit juices and no coffee or black tea (I'm vegetarian anyways so red meat isn't an issue).

I've also upped my exercise a bit. The first time I Joshi-ed I lived in a tropical climate, and the energy boost got me walking twenty blocks in each direction to and from work each day; it's not warm enough to include a walk like that in my work commute here. While I can't walk to and from work, I do feel good about getting my money's worth from my gym membership.

Day Twenty: What's Next?

So tomorrow will mark the end of the three-week detox period. I would say I've stuck to the detox plan 99.9% (once I asked for soy milk in a cup of herbal tea but I suspect they gave me regular milk). Now I have to think about how I want to move forward.

The first time I followed the plan I did it for three full months because I was feeling so amazing. I don't know when I started to feel amazing (or how "amazing" it really was, relative to how bad I may have felt before due to my poor lifestyle choices), so I'm not sure if it just hasn't kicked in yet, or if this is as good as it gets. I would like to reincorporate some nightshades (zucchini, tomatoes, bell peppers, eggplants and potatoes), but I know those things often end up being accompanied by cheese and/or wheat, so I'm reluctant to head down that path straightaway. One thing that's on my agenda in the immediate future is a fantastic-looking "frittata" I saw on the New York Times' website: a Persian Herb Frittata. I wont' be including the barberries (no idea where to buy them here!), but I can't wait to try the rest of the recipe! A piece of dark chocolate would also be nice!

In other news, my period arrived "out of the blue" today. I've noted in the past that this plan dramatically reduces my PMS symptoms, to the point where my period becomes a surprise, and today was one of those days! If you're dealing with horrible PMS, I would definitely recommend giving Dr. Joshi's plan a try.

Weekend Breakfast

On the weekend I like to make something different for breakfast, as I've got more time. Today I went with eggs and toast- "Italian style". Sorry for the blurry photo, I guess I wasn't holding my phone very steady when I took the photo (I'll never be a pro food blogger!).

For the eggs, I first sauteed some garlic, Italian seasoning and red pepper flakes in olive oil. Then I added in two scrambled eggs and allowed it to set omelette-style. Once it was flippable I turned it over and added some crumbled goats feta to the top, folding it in half when the bottom eggs had set.

The toast is Glutino Premium Flax Seed Bread, which I'll admit isn't my favorite gluten-free bread (but it's two dollars cheaper than the other brands!). On top, I've spread some homemade white bean dip, made from a can of canellini beans, an entire bulb of roasted garlic, fresh sage, salt and pepper. You can jazz this dip up further with tahini, lemon juice or toasted pine nuts (as recommended by the Rebar Modern Food Cookbook), but I was in a hurry when I made it the other day.

Link: Mulligatawny Detox Soup

I just made a recipe from the Gluten Free Goddess blog called Mulligatawny Detox Soup. I made a few minor adjustments based on the detox rules and what I had on hand: used olive oil instead of avocado oil, reduced apples to one (as I'm still on the no-fruit stage, but wanted the flavour), replaced both liquids with four cups stock plus two cups water, did not add salt, used light coconut milk and replaced brown rice syrup with honey. To make the soup meal-worthy I also cooked up two servings of brown rice (with a pinch of saffron) and will be adding a scoop into each bowl (I always like to keep grains like rice and pasta separate from the main soup so they don't get soggy). The soup came out a beautiful light orange color, which is great because new studies show that people who eat food high in carotenoids are more attractive!

Sample Shopping List - 2011

Last year I did some posts about my shopping lists. Let's see how things have changed:

Grocery
Generic chickpeas (15 oz can) - $1.59
Generic black beans (15 oz can) - $1.59
Generic red lentils - (dry, unsure of weight) $3.29
Vegetable stock - $2.50
Light coconut milk - $3.50

Refrigerator
Organic plain fat-free yogurt - $4.79

Produce
3 Bananas - $1.21
1 Apple - $0.77
2 Lemons - $1.00
1/2 Head green cabbage - $1.25 (most supermarkets will halve one for you if you ask!)
1 Sweet Potato - $0.70 (not sure if it's a nightshade or not?)
1 Head cauliflower - $3.89
2 Red onions - $1.36
2 Bulbs garlic - $0.53
1 Piece ginger - $0.40
1 Acorn squash - $1.56 (not sure if it's a nightshade or not?)
1 Bunch cilantro - $0.99

Health Food Store
I had to make a special trip to pick up Greek yogurt (which is not common in my country), where I also picked up some cheaper soy milk.

And that's that!

Things I'm Eating

Well I guess today is Day 10! At noon tomorrow I'll be halfway done!

I'm still eating a lot of smoothies for breakfast, mixing it up with oatmeal. I'd like to add in some egg dishes (I know I'm to limit eggs, so I'm trying to eat no more than four per week).

For lunches and dinners I've got a few things that I'm mixing and matching, including arroz verde, baked tofu, grilled carrots, red quinoa, white beans, spinach and kale.

I'm snacking on nuts, as well as rice crackers with either almond butter (if I haven't had other nuts that day) or hummous.