Fake Coffee for Breakfast

In a quest to continue with this clean eating, 

I have decided to not drink as much real coffee.

I will still treat myself every now and then,

and you know I can't give up my 

Wednesday morning Starbuck's dates 

with my boy.

Just taking the coffee intake down a notch.

I found this recipe for fake coffee

and sort of twisted it to make it 

my own perfect morning treat.

So, Here is what you will need:

Almond Milk

Almond Butter

Chicory Root based Instant Coffee Substitute

Banana

Pittend Prunes

Step 1:

While your water is boiling,

place 4 prunes and 2 round tsps of coffee substitute

in a heat proof bowl.

 

Then add 1 cup of boiling water to the bowl and let steep 

for 10 minutes.

Step 2:

Meanwhile, in a blender 

add 2 tbsps of almond butter, and 1 cup of almond milk.

Slice up a banana and add that to the mix as well.

After the prunes are done soaking,

add the entire contents of the bowl to the blender.

Blend until smooth and then add as much ice as you would like.

I make mine the consistency of a frappuccino.

Enjoy your healthy morning pick me up!

The End of A Cleanse

Well it's over, and to be honest,

week 3's menu was so unappealing that we kinda 

just faked the last week.

Sticking to ingredient guidelines we decided to

take our diet decisions into our own hands.

What ever it was about being on this particular 

cleanse for so long did something to us.

We noticed a change, and not just the obvious

weight loss.

We noticed ourselves really truly feeling better

and making better decisions about food.

At "the end" we splurged with pizza

and pasta and sodas, and you know what....

we felt like shit.

Who knew? Well I guess we could have guessed it.

So after decided that we didn't want to gain the weight back and sink

right back into old habits, 

we have decided to make this change a bit more permanent.

While we are NOT by any means going to be following a strict diet

of only rabbit food, we will be using some of the recipes and eating clean-er.

I was so excited to get back onto the coffee train,

but I must admit it's just not the same.

I used to use a delicious powdered sweet processed creamer.

Well I cut that out because of all of the chemical-ish ingredients.

 For a substitute I started using almond milk and honey.

It just wasn't doing it for me, and I was finding myself 

making cups (for the ritual of it all) and only drinking half of them.

I am going to be skipping the daily 3-4 cups from here on out.

Not to say that I will stop drinking it all together, it will just

be more of a special occasion type of thing now.

I am going to try a Chicory Root smoothie substitute out 

and I will let you know how that works out and share the recipe.

This has become one of my favorite meals, 

Baked Salmon with Coconut Broth.

After making it the first time while on the cleanse,

I proclaimed to the hubs that he would be seeing this one again and again.

Really this is not problem for him, he thinks it's super yummy too.

I followed this recipe, 

but added some purple cabbage and a hand full of sweet peppers.

So all in all, I am so happy that we did this 

grueling cleanse and even more excited that I had such great 

support from the hubs and our friends.

I could have never done it with out all the encouragement.

Thanks you all so much.

Eat Cleaner and Greener

We are one week down, two to go.

My ideas about food are changing, wether I want them to or not.

My insides just don't lie.

Eating healthier makes you feel healthier.

I still miss my coffee, 

but I am finding that getting out of bed in the morning is so much easier.

And while there are some juices and smoothies that I hope never to encounter again,

I really was getting used to it.

I feel good about what I am putting into my body

and am reaping the benefits of the added energy and weight loss.

Down to 160 lbs.

That feels very good.

Although we have fallen into routine with our 

smoothies and juices for breakfast,

a solid food was welcomed with a smile this morning.

MMMMMMmmmmm. Banana Oat Pancakes.

You can find the recipe here!

These gluten free vegan pancakes were to die for.

They will definitely replace the old 'bisquick' kind.

I was a little thrown off by how filling they were, 

but after a week of feeling like I was on the verge of starvation,

I am not complaining.

We are looking forward to all the tasty 

meals and full bellies to come this week! 

Green Mushy Cheaters.

I have been surviving on this for what feels like and eternity,

actually only 3 days.

I guess when all you really eat for 8 meals straight is some sort of 

blended, puréed, of juiced vegetable or fruit

3 days is an eternity.

It's probably also why my "hangry" got the best of me.

Last night, in a fit of hunger rage,

when I could not stand another bowl of puréed broccoli and avocado soup,

the hubs and I broke down.

I couldn't say no to his sad starving eyes, so when he asked if we could have subs for dinner,

I couldn't say no.

In fact I bee lined so dang fast to the nearest Publix Supermarket

you would have thought there was some sort of grocery emergency.

Well needless to say,

my tummy regretted my poor choice.

Although my baby food diet has been working since as of this morning 

I was down to 162.

Thats 6lbs so far.

16 if you count the 178 I weighed three weeks ago.

Not bad at all.

Today started off a much brighter day, despite the all day rain storm.

I found myself getting out of bed easier 

and less grouchy.

I was pleased to get a little 

Pineapple Spinach Juicing in before everyone woke up.

My routine friday morning yoga class

seemed to have more meaning to me today.

It was more than going through the motions.

There was a lot of thought and intent behind my practice.

It felt amazing.

The boy's and my new favorite smoothie is this 

Blueberry Mint Smoothie.

It's so smooth and refreshing.

I made a little substitution to the ingredients though.

I have been skipping the honey in my green tea,

and adding it to my smoothies instead.

I have found that it helps balance out the 'green' taste. 

This little 'baby bella' and kale scramble

with fresh sliced tomatoes is now my favorite lunch.

For a little late afternoon pick me up,

I have been making mint infused green tea.

Just plain. No honey or lemon.

I think I like it best this way.

Plus making it in my reusable Starbucks cup

makes me miss coffee less.

Dinner was to die for.

French Lentil Salad with a mountain of fresh green beans.

I made the hubs a chicken breast to go with his,

the lack of substance was wearing hard on him and I didn't want him to back out 

on being my cleanse buddy.

These are the meals that I have been waiting for in this cleanse menu.

Luckily I tried out some of these later recipes in the weeks before starting our cleanse,

or after 3 days of eating green mush I would have said 

F* this!

Peanut Butter Puke.

The first day of our cleanse is behind us.

I woke up and didn't crave coffee.

That's not to say that I don't think about it non stop, but I feel like I can function with out it.

I rubbed my tired eyes so that I could see the numbers on the scale a little clearer.

168.

That's where I will start.

I was excited to make the first breakfast off of our three week menu.

Mango Tahini.

The blender whizzed the ingredients into a 

sort of muddy yellow drink.

I took one sip and damn near upchucked it back into the glass.

I sat watching the hubs, in retrospect this was kinda mean.

I knew he was going to hate it.

I was sitting there choking mine down anticipating his first sip.

One quick draw on that straw and his face turned to instant horror.

He promptly shook his head,

and quickly made his way to the kitchen to discard the remaining smoothie.

On his return he looked at me like I was nuts, 

and said that the smoothie tasted like

"someone puked peanut butter into his mouth".

Honestly there is no better way to describe this horrid taste.

Peanut butter puke.

And now that's all I could think of.

I tried to finish mine, but could only gag.

So we started over. 

Mango smoothies.

Just plain mango.

Which we dertermined we don't really like either,

but it's better than the alternative.