Ten on Tuesday

This week's theme - in no particular order - things I'm afraid of:

1. roaches...ewwwww...!
2. hospitals and medical procedures of all kinds
   
3. heights - my palms get sweaty just *thinking* about ladders
4. losing loved ones
5. pigeons - they'll peck your eyes out...those birds CANNOT be trusted!
6. getting pregnant before the bar exam, but also...
   
7. not being able to have kids when we ARE ready to
8. global warming and environmental damage
9. cancer
10. taking off in an airplane - I'm ok with flying, just not the take-off!
    

The End Beginning

So my cleanse is *officially* over! I did it - with only a couple of small unintentional mishaps - I went 21 days without sugar, gluten, animal products, caffeine, and alcohol.

Want to see some statistics? I lost...

• 11.5 pounds
• .8 of an inch from my hips
• 1 inch from my bust
  
• 2 inches from my waist
• 2 inches from my right thigh (I'm sure from my left, too, I just only measure one! ;)
  
• 3% body fat
  

And some non-statistics? I gained...

• more energy
• an increased desire to exercise
• better digestion (you don't need details but I do need to emphasize that I've seen near-miraculous improvements here!)
  
• a renewed awareness of how my eating impacts my health
• a new awareness of how my eating impacts animals
• a new awareness of how my eating impacts the environment
• more mental clarity and a better ability to focus
• clearer skin (I haven't had a "breakout" since shortly after starting the cleanse!)

So, basically I FEEL GREAT. :) So great, in fact, that I'm not really considering this the end, but rather the beginning of a lifestyle of making better food choices.

As far as what I plan to eat, I'm not going to change a whole lot! I am going to drink green tea and the occasional glass of wine, for sure. And I think I might try whole grain products with gluten, to see how well I tolerate it.

Besides the physical improvements, cleanses can have a tremendous impact on your motivation and are a great jump-start to a weight-loss program. What I mean is that this experience gives me a mental touchstone - when I later face a temptation, I can defeat it, realizing that I feel so much better without unhealthy foods, and that it is totally possible to thrive without it. Also, seeing results like I have (and like almost everyone would!) is PROOF of the power of food - the results show the direct correlation between what you put in your mouth and the size of your rear!

I welcome any questions anyone has about my experience - feel free to comment here or email me!

Thankful...early Saturday morning...!

Wow! Super late on the Thankful Thursday post this week! But better late than never - here it goes...

This week, I am thankful...

1. so so so SO thankful to have gotten an email from Kathy Freston!!!!!! (She's the author of Quantum Wellness: A Practical and Spiritual Guide to Health and Happiness and Quantum Wellness Cleanse: The 21-Day Essential Guide to Healing Your Mind, Body and Spirit- the cleanse that I'm doing.) I had emailed her to thank her for her work and let her know that I'm loving the cleanse, and she replied...TOO COOL!!!!
2. and also on that note, I really am thankful for the cleanse! I've lost weight, my digestion has improved, I have tons of energy, and I feel like I have more mental clarity and and a better ability to focus.
3. for the gorgeous Fall weather at the end of last week, and for surviving the record heat (94 degrees!) this week.
4. that I got a new, different type of project at my externship that I'm looking forward to!
   
5. for Whole Foods and their awesome selection of, well, whole foods!
6. that I was selected to throw a House Party! I'm looking forward to it!
   
7. that I did well when called on in Evidence on Thursday!
   
8. that I got called on in Evidence on Thursday...the professor goes in order, which means that I have a long time till I get called on again!
   
9. for the "Food for Thought" podcast about vegan living by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau, the author of The Joy of Vegan Baking: The Compassionate Cooks' Traditional Treats and Sinful Sweets. It's an awesome podcast - I particularly love Colleen's perspective of being a "joyful vegan" and her emphasis on living your truth.
   
10. for my mother-in-law and the sweet note she left on my Facebook wall. :)
    

Ten on Tuesday

Yes, I know the blog has been cleanse-heavy, but you know how I operate...one obsession at a time! ;) This week's theme - ten cleanse-approved delicious foods:

1. pistachios!
2. Larabars - they aren't at all like regular "diet" bars!
3. potatoes - especially baked sweet potatoes...yummm...
4. mushrooms - especially delicious sauteed in vegan margarine and olive oil with garlic
   
5. avocados
   
6. Chipotle vegetarian burrito bowl!
7. corn tortilla chips
8. my new favorite breakfast - a sliced banana with dried cranberries and raw pumpkin seeds
9. applesauce
10. Orville Redenbacher Simply Salted Natural popcorn - seriously, it's really, really good...!
    

Sunday night!

So I didn't get everything on my list done, but it's ok because my horoscope told me it wouldn't be a good idea. See?


But I did get QUITE a bit done. See?


AND I even got a weekly card done. See?


AND...you may have noticed I even made a new header!!! See above! ;) (I know, I know, about time, right?!?)

And now I'm going to get ready for bed so that I can get up early to go exercise!

Happy Halloween!!

A mellow evening for us - watching "The Shining" and handing out candy to trick-or-treaters. I didn't even put on a costume - just slumming it in lounge clothes!


(Our insurance against getting TPed or egged tonight ;)

I did dress up - sorta - last night. Our Women Law Students' Association put on a Halloween party at the Florence Crittenton group home for girls. The girls really enjoyed it, and so did we! Lea and me dressed up as cats:


This morning I woke up not feeling too well, so I spent a good portion of the day resting, and even took a 3 hour nap!

For dinner, I made Travis four-cheese tortellini with meat sauce, and I made myself leftover stewed white beans, roasted brussles sprouts, and homemade gluten-free vegan cornbread!

I made the white beans on Thursday, and they were a bit hard, but I thought they'd soften up while they sat and when I reheated them. They didn't. :( The flavor was great, I just think I should have boiled them longer. Next time!

The cornbread was...pretty good! I adapted the recipe (to make it gluten free) from The Joy of Vegan Baking and also substituted agave nectar for the sugar. It needed a bit more salt, and a bit more agave (the recipe called for 3 Tbsp sugar and I used only 2 Tbsp agave - next time I'll use 3), in my opinion.

Here's the recipe I used:


I also didn't have any baking soda (I know! HOW did I not have any baking soda?!?) and my baking powder was WAY expired (like, two YEARS expired!) so I think it was more dense than it would be had I had proper ingredients. But it was still really good, and cleanse-friendly!

And speaking of the cleanse, I'm still doing quite well, and eating quite well!

I set aside for myself a roll of Spree candies, and I may or may not indulge tonight...I'm still debating. On one hand, I know that the "all-or-nothing" mentality doesn't work well for me, and candy and Halloween are so intimately intertwined that it almost seems a sacrilege to not have even one piece! But on the other hand, I don't really HAVE to have it, and I'm not even craving it. I look at the big bowl of candy, shrug, and say "eh."

So maybe I won't eat it - instead I'll have a gluten-free vegan brownie made by my friend Anya! Anya is an INCREDIBLE baker - you should see some of her gorgeous and delicious cupcakes! - and she made us Halloween treats! Our friend Lea has been (mostly) gluten-free for about a year (and is now also flirting with veganism!) so Anya made us special healthy brownies. She even packaged them in a black bat box with pink tissue - SOOO cute!


(Lea, Anya, and me)

Well, I'm off to tend to the rest of the trick-or-treaters, finish watching the movie, and then maybe a hot bath? Or just straight to bed! Gotta get my rest so I can be productive tomorrow - you saw my to do list!

To Do!

Thankful Thursday

This week, I am thankful...

1. that Travis is feeling (at least a little bit) better. He was sick this week with a crazy sinus infection!
2. that my professors were understanding when I ditched class on Wednesday to take care of Travis and catch up on some sleep.
3. for the good karma I built by giving a homeless man my fruit snack, even though the ungrateful BASTARD threw it away!
4. that I didn't let the dishes pile up, so I'm not faced with a big stack to do tomorrow!
5. for Southwest Airline's big sale - thanks to it I'll be able to visit BFF Alicia over winter break!!!!!!
   
6. for being about 1/2 way done with the cleanse and feeling great!!
   
7. that it's so cold! I love fall, and it feels like it today!
   
8. for Alicia chatting with me during my morning commute. Made it SO much nicer!
   
9. for Anya for making me and Lea gluten-free, vegan, cleanse-friendly BROWNIES. SOOO thankful to have a friend that is not only an amazing baker, but extraordinarily thoughtful!
   
10. for enjoying a wonderful lunch out with FABULOUS friends!
    

Ten on Tuesday

This week's theme - my favorite TV shows:

1. Biggest Loser
2. Dateline
3. Lockup (on National Geographic channel, about prison)
4. Oprah
5. Young and the Restless
   
6. Sex and the City (I know it's not on anymore, but I have the DVDs!)
7. Desperate Housewives
8. Wheel of Fortune
9. the local news (Channel 12)
10. Intervention
    

Skin Update

My appointment went really, really well. I saw an AWESOME PA - she made the whole process go very smoothly.

As expected, she did the whole body check, including my scalp!

She said that there are a couple of spots she wants to check again in four months, but that aren't really suspicious.

BUT (there's always a but, isn't there?) I didn't come out of there uncut!


(the tray all set up with the torture tools)

She took a shave biopsy of a discolored spot from my scar from my melanoma surgery. She said that removed moles really shouldn't come back through a scar. In her opinion, it's probably not bad because it was very light brown (dark would have been a very very bad sign) but she said she wasn't going to take any chances with me! That's comforting! I should hear from them about it when it comes back from the lab in a couple of weeks.

I handled the biopsy LIKE A CHAMP. Of course, this was the easiest one I've ever had, so that helped. :) Because it was already in scar tissue, she thought it might be difficult to numb - I guess sometimes the keloid is so thick that it's hard to even get the needle in - and then for the same reason difficult to cut through. So I was mentally prepared for the worst - head turned, eyes squeezed shut, hands clenching the exam table. When she said, "you're going to feel a sharp poke," I took a deep breath and steeled myself...and...nothing...I BARELY FELT IT. Yep, I barely felt the numbing needle, much less the scalpel!

When it was done, she asked if I wanted to see it - I said NO WAY!! But then she told me it wasn't icky at all - not even any blood, just a little white spot. So I looked. CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?!?!? I LOOKED! And didn't pass out, or vomit!!

And this is what came off of me:


(No, it wasn't purple - that's from the special marking pen they use so that they know where to cut!)

Keep your fingers crossed that that little hunk of skin isn't the big C!

Skin Cancer Screening

I'm headed out to a doctor's appointment - my full-body skin cancer screening, to be exact. This is something I've been putting off for, well, ever, but specifically since my melanoma diagnosis last year.

I'm really uncomfortable going to doctors besides my family practice doctor who I know and love. And I'm psychotically uncomfortable about getting poked or cut, by any doctor.

So I'm really afraid that they'll see a suspicious spot and biopsy it and I'll pass out. Eeek!

Please think good thoughts for me that there will either be no suspicious spots or if there are that I won't pass out and that they won't be melanoma!

A Cleanse "Lean In" Experience

So my cleanse is going well. I haven't been any hungrier than usual, and I don't feel deprived.

However, I had my first restaurant meal last night at an event for Women Law Student Association.

We had a mixer at Macayo's - Mexican food. The organization paid for non-alcoholic beverages and appetizers...and Macayo's has NO vegan appetizers! And nothing that could be adapted, either. But that's ok, a lot of people get meals, so I ordered a side of Mexican rice and a side of black beans. (I was pretty sure that the refried beans would be made with lard, and in case you didn't know, lard = pig.) Perfect solution!

EXCEPT that I forgot to ask if the beans came topped with cheese...and they did. And since I didn't ask for them without cheese, I didn't want to send them back, because it was my mistake, and because our two poor servers were already overworked helping our group of 35 ladies! Honestly, if I were with a smaller group I might have briefly explained my situation to the waiter before I ordered, and hopefully avoided the situation.

I thought about trying to pick off the cheese, but there wasn't a whole lot, and what there was was kinda shaped onto individual beans...so I considered this a "close enough" situation and just ate the beans. Life happens. While I totally would have preferred plain beans, IT IS OK.

The (very strong) perfectionist in me wants to say, "ok, start over, count today as day 1, so that you can reach your goal of the 10 perfect days," the (weaker, but strengthening) realist in me says that's lame. The goal is progress, not perfection.

I did notice, though, that I woke up with a stuffy nose, like usual, but NOT like yesterday. I wonder if there's any connection or if it's a total coincidence. We'll have to see how the next few days are!

HAPPY FRIDAY!!!!!

Thankful Thursday

This week, I am thankful...

1. for my Momma! She sent me a card this week - just because. Love her!
2. for my Dad! I was stuck in traffic yesterday, and when I glanced over at the car next to me, saw a man wave at me. I was like, huh? Then I realized it was my dad! Seeing his friendly face in traffic somehow made it not so bad.
3. that Law, Science, and Technology was canceled on Monday. One less class made it easier to come back from break.
4. that Evidence was canceled today!
5. that I was able to find the long dress I love (and have in black) in BLUE!!!! Yay!
6. for S, my fellow student rep. Working with someone cool makes my job even cooler.
7. that the books I ordered arrived right on time.
8. that I had fun at tonight's Women Law Student Association event, and it seemed like everyone else did, too! (I planned the event, so I'm extra-thankful that it went well!)
   
9. that my cleanse is going very well.
10. that (for me, anyway) this week is over...bring on the weekend!!!
    

Thoughts on Eating

So I was watching The Biggest Loser last night. (Love the show!) In case you didn't see it, half the group was sent home for a week, to deal with life and weight-loss without being in the artificial universe of the show.

At many points, I saw the contestants at restaurants and saying "I can't eat that," or some form of that statement. My first thought was what the heck are they doing eating out? Personally, I'd have my family and friends over to see me at my place, so I could cook and be in control. But the argument can be made that eating out is a part of life, so they need to learn how to deal with it, and I agree to a point. And they were probably also told/required to go out to eat by the Director or Producer or whomever is in control.

My second thought was that the "I can't eat that" mentality is bad, and if they're thinking that there are foods that they CAN or CAN'T eat, they aren't making significant changes and their weight loss won't stick. I'll admit, I was judging...hard.

But then I stopped myself - who am I to say what mentality will lead to permanent weight loss? Look at the TONS of weight I've dropped and picked back up! Hi, my name is Pot...nice to meet you, Kettle.

AND who says what is RIGHT?!?! Just because I don't think that mentality wouldn't work for me doesn't mean it won't work for them.

But for me, I'm pretty sure it won't work...I don't want my life to be that strictly structured. For instance, this gluten-free, vegan, sugar-free, alcohol-free, caffeine-free cleanse...I think I can handle it mentally because I know it's for a finite time. I DON'T think it would work for me to claim to "be" vegan, or to "be" gluten-free, because that implies FOREVER. I don't do well with commitment, at least when it comes to food! :)

And I was really struggling with that reading Alicia Silverstone's book, The Kind Diet: A Simple Guide to Feeling Great, Losing Weight, and Saving the Planet. She's a committed vegan. And her book, and Quantum Wellness Cleanse, and Skinny Bitch, and a lot of other books I've read, are really compelling...they make me want to join the church of veganism ASAP. Where do I sign up?!?! I've never really liked steak (I can hang with filet mignon, and sometimes prime rib, but that's about it), I hate ham (eww), and while I like chicken all I have to do is see a vein or ligament or think too hard about it raw and my stomach turns. Eggs are iffy - if the white is undercooked even the slightest bit I'll darn near puke on my plate. I don't drink milk, hate cottage cheese, and like but could live without regular cheeses.

But the thought of NEVER, EVER, EVER again having brie or manchego with crisp apple slices? Or a fresh chevre and sliced tomatoes on whole-grain bread? Or sushi...or shrimp cocktail...or seared scallops...?

CAN'T DO IT.

But the good news is that I don't have to.

:)

I can eat clean most of the time, and indulge when I really want to, when it'll really be worth it, and still feel good knowing that most of the time I'm eating in a way that is kind to my body and to the planet.

And that's comforting to me. It makes me feel like I'll have more strength when faced with something tasty but icky...it's not worth the huge harm to my health and the Earth for a drive-thru cheeseburger, but I'll take a small hit for good salmon nigiri!

Ten on Tuesday and Cleanse Days One & Two

Ok, so far, so good!


(Baked sweet potato, roasted brussles sprouts with olive oil and fresh ground pepper, and mushrooms sauteed in Smart Balance.)

How could I be unsatisfied with this delicious dinner?!? Or last night's black bean burger with avocado on a brown rice tortilla? Mmmmm...

The biggest challenge is going to be dinners when I'm cooking for myself AND Travis. I don't think it'll be so easy to find meals that fit my dietary requests and his culinary requests!

So in honor of the successful completion of two days, this week's Ten on Tuesday is ten foods that I love that fit my cleanse eating plan!

1. salad greens
2. rice!
3. avocado
4. steel cut oats with a little drizzle of maple syrup, dried cranberries, and chopped walnuts
5. olives - green (especially garlic stuffed!), black, kalamata
   
6. beans - black, northern, pinto
7. squash - zucchini, yellow squash, acorn, spaghetti
8. fruits - peaches, apples, grapes, bananas, pineapple
   
9. all natural peanut butter
10. Smart Balance light "butter" - tastes better than regular margarine!

I was pretty disappointed in a cheese replacement I bought, though. Oh, the taste was just fine, but they aren't vegan...it contains eggs. Strange. But I'm going to continue to eat it, because it is mostly soy, and eggs are listed pretty far down on the ingredient list, and because I don't want to waste it. So I'm putting those in the "lean in" category, making peace with it, and moving on!

Fall Cleansing!

Ok, so you may remember that last year, around this time, I did a cleanse. I think there's something about Fall that makes me do a radical 360 about my eating and health habits. Maybe it's the change of seasons or something, but I'm inspired again. This time, it's the Quantum Wellness Cleanse: The 21-Day Essential Guide to Healing Your Mind, Body and Spirit. (This is technically the companion to the book Quantum Wellness: A Practical and Spiritual Guide to Health and Happiness which was written first, and explains Freston's philosophy.)

So basically, I'm going to shoot for 21 days without what Freston calls "the big five":

• animal products,
• gluten,
• sugar,
• alcohol,
• and caffeine.

(Hard to tell which will be the hardest to do without, but my money's on gluten!) Freston advocates following the plan as close as possible, but without guilt, even if you slip up. She says that you don't always have to jump in, but can "lean in." I'm going to try to jump in - my goal will be to follow the program to a T for 10 days - and then maybe add back whole grain products that contain gluten.

I've also started reading Alicia Silverstone's new book, The Kind Diet: A Simple Guide to Feeling Great, Losing Weight, and Saving the Planet.



She, too, advocates a diet free of animal products, refined white flour, and sugar. And her book has a LOT of delicious-looking vegan, sugar-free recipes. Plus, her book suggests three phases, so to speak, of clean eating - "flirting," vegan, and "superhero," which is vegan with macrobiotics. She also shares a lot of well-researched information on the huge negative impact factory-farming has on the environment.

Which leads me into the documentary I watched today, King Corn.



It's a thorough (and frightening) look at how corn dominates our food, offering "irrefutable proof that the US is virtually drowning in the stuff."

I found the portion of the film about corn as livestock feed particularly interesting. Basically, cows are only fed feed, which fattens them up FAST. It also kills them...well, it would, if we didn't slaughter them first. And then we eat them. The movie also touches on the environmental impact of cattle - 150,000 cows produce the same amount of waste as the 1.5 million residents of Manhattan. (And that waste is leaching into the water supply. Eww.)

So anyway, starting tomorrow I'm taking a gluten-free, animal-free, sugar-free, alcohol-free, caffeine-free 21 day journey. Starting with a walk and steel cut oats in the morning!

I'm sure I'll blog (and Tweet!) about my experience, so stay tuned! :)

Twitter!

So now that I text, I've been using Twitter more than before. So I thought I'd add a little Twitter box to the blog.

Check it out, over there:
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:)

Halloween Brunch

I really have been a bad blogger lately! This past week was Fall Break, but I spent two FULL days at my externship, so it really only felt like two long weekends.

But I did have fun yesterday when I hosted a Halloween Brunch for my school friends!

I sent out these on Monday...

...even though we had already decided on the date, I think getting a paper invitation just makes people feel special! I can't take credit for the design - it totally came from Martha here: Spider Invitations.

Of course I had to make a cute "table-scape"...


And even though I didn't assign seating, place cards are just cool...


And here's a pic of the spread...


Menu:
Brain Juice Punch (cranberry juice, lemonade concentrate, ginger ale)
"Rotting" veggie tray
Fruit "of the Poisonous Tree"
"Mold & Mildew Cups" (a.k.a. Savory Vegetable Mini-Quiches)
Cheddar Witches Fingers
"Bloody Pasta" (a.k.a. Sundried Tomato Pasta Salad)
Spice cake skulls
"Cups of Mud" (a.k.a. Pecan Tassies)

I just loved that punch! And I especially loved the ice skull! I flavored it with lemonade so that it wouldn't dilute the punch as it melted, but the color would be light enough to still provide a good contrast with the punch...


Overall, it was a great time!! I had fun, and so did my friends. :)

Clearly Hotmail does not do targeted marketing...

...or it would know that 25% less alcohol does NOT interest me...! :)

To Do!