CLEAN – Day 12

Today started off well, but I have to admit, I am a bit tired of smoothies.  So, I decided to go out to lunch.  By the time I got to lunch, I decided to give myself a day off.  Just experimenting here.

So, I ate normal food today, had some nutritious things (like the salad for lunch, although the dressing had tomatoes and dairy in it I am sure, and corn too), and some not so nutritious things (Three Musketeers candy bar in the afternoon and a pretzel for dinner), plus a soda too.

The verdict…I am exhausted.

Gone is all the energy I have had for the past week, and I feel just downright sluggish.

The good news is that so far my digestive system has not revolted.

But, I’ll be back on track tomorrow.  If nothing else, I need the energy back!  Plus, I just felt better.

It was all I could do to finish a book I was reading today, and write this post.

Off to bed I go…

Could be just because I have been up late lately.  Or, could be the food.  I don’t know?  Sluggish digestion = sluggish feeling, right?

Right now I am craving a big glass of green juice.  Hmmmm….craving nutritious food?

And, another thing I have noticed is that when I do the dishes, the foods that are more natural, raw, and nutritious come right off the dish, even if the dish has sat for some time, unlike the SAD (standard American diet) foods I was eating, that really stick to the dish and are hard to get off?  Coincidence?  Easier to get off the dishes = easier to get through your digestive system?

Enough babbling….night night…

To your success,

Dr. Laura

Tags: Clean, Detox

Over half way done on the 21 day CLEAN program.  For those who haven’t seen what this is all about…it’s about my search for potential food allergens!  Fun and exciting.  But, really, I have been feeling much better.  I’m looking forward to reintroducing each food type (wheat, dairy, soy, eggs, etc.) to see where the potential problem lies.  It’s hard to avoid all of the common allergen foods, but I guess worth it, since in the end, it will allow me to find out what is causing my digestive problems.  I’ve also been told by my doctor that it could be hormonal as well, since my symptoms seem to be linked to my cycle.  But, for the past 15 days on the elimination diet or on the CLEAN program, there has been no problems at all.  And, my energy level is fantastic!

Today was simple, since it’s still busy here

Breakfast: Raspberry/Peach Smoothie

Lunch: Turkey Fried Rice (leftovers from the freezer)

Dinner: Berry Smoothie

Late Snack: Cinnamon/Sugar Pretzel

I know.  I know.  Pretzels are not allowed (they have wheat and dairy in them…two common allergens), but I seemed to tolerate the pretzel 2 days ago, and unfortunately, we still have an entire container full of them.  So, maybe we can count this as my wheat test?

Here’s where I wish I had a chest freezer (my upright freezer is all full, and yes, we are coming into the vegetables in the garden too at the same time!!!), so I could just freeze those lovely pretzels away until I was done with the CLEAN program.  I can’t think of a better wheat test than homemade pretzels

Let’s see what tomorrow brings.  Other than feeling a bit “heavy”, I’ve not had any problems from my other pretzel outburst.  In all honesty, I was still hungry tonight, and I really wanted the pretzel.  So I ate it.

To your success,

Dr. Laura

Tags: Clean, Detox

Another crazy day in my home!  Today was busy.  Fun, but busy, and we had lots to do.  Again, I was so thankful for the increase in energy and how good I have felt for the past 2 weeks.  This really further confirms the suspicion that something I have been eating has been causing my digestive issues for the past 15 months.  So, it is possible I am allergic to something…hence the elimination diet.

So, it’s day 10 of the CLEAN program, and almost half way through.  Today was a good day.

Breakfast: Green Juice (Spinach/Lemon/Ginger/Apple) – had to go on the light side because of yesterday

Lunch: Nada, was still full from the green juice for breakfast.

Dinner: Mixed Green Salad with a Cucumber Salad on top – I think there was a bit of dairy in this, but it came pre-made and I couldn’t control that.  I didn’t add any extra dressing, however.

See you tomorrow!

To your success,

Dr. Laura

Tags: Clean, Detox

Well, today (day 9 out of 21 on the CLEAN program) started out well.  But, it went downhill fast.  Here’s the full confession:

Breakfast: Berry Smoothie

Good start so far.  The problem began at lunch.  We went to a Greek Festival today for lunch, and I was thinking – okay, not a problem, I’ll just have chicken and salad and pick out the parts I can’t have.  That was a good plan, but when I was served, everything got thrown together, including the Tzatziki and the salad dressing.  So, I did pick out the tomatoes and tossed the pita bread, but I ate the rest.  It was good too.  So, the only boo boo here was the Tzatziki and salad dressing (which usually in traditional Greek food is just oil and vinegar anyway, so that was probably fine).

Lunch: Chicken Souvlaki Salad (with Tzatziki)

Then, around mid-afternoon, my mother-in-law made me take a partially eaten box of chocolates, because she could not have any more (like I could?!?).  As the ever faithful daughter-in-law I took the box, and then had a few several on the way home (and I even shared with one of my children).  They were good too.  Mistake #2.

Snack: Chocolate

And the last mistake of the day.  I decided to make homemade soft pretzels for my little one (thanks Heavenly Homemaker).

And of course, he wanted cinnamon and sugar.

And of course, since this was the first time I had ever made these, I had to try them, just to be sure.  So, I took one small bite.  Then I got my own plate.  Here’s how the ending went…

Well, unfortunately, it was good as well, and now I have 13 more pretzels sitting and waiting.  BUT, I do feel heavy and although the pretzels were healthy (made with whole wheat and white wheat flours), they were still VERY illegal.  I’ll see if I have any problems tomorrow.

So, for now, I am off to read, with a promise to “push the restart button” and start over tomorrow.  I am human.

To your success,

Dr. Laura

P.S.  My little one just ate another pretzel, so we are down to 12 more.  I don’t think we’ll ever visit Auntie Anne’s again.  These were too easy, too good, and way less expensive!

P.P.S.  Made another trip to the grocery store today, and I am noticing a shift in my pantry toward healthier foods.  As we have finished off the less healthy stuff, we are replacing it with a healthier choice.

Tags: Clean, Detox

Time just keeps ticking along…day 6.  I am really not missing breakfast and dinner either on the CLEAN program.  This whole process is quite the adventure, but I still feel great.  Good energy levels too, especially for how late I have been staying up lately!

Here’s today’s menu:

Breakfast: Mango/Cherry Smoothie with Brown Rice Protein Powder

Lunch: Salad with Chicken (pasture-fed)

Snack: Apple Pie Larabar

Dinner: Green Juice – Apple/Ginger/Lemon/Spinach

Yes, so green juice indeed!  This is my second green juice experiment, and this was was sweeter than the first, and easier to drink, although I am not a big “pulp” fan, and I seem to have a lot of pulp in my juice.  Well, I guess that is good for the insides, though.

I’m also enjoying the Larabars, perhaps will experiment in the kitchen to see if I can recreate it?

And, lots of salad because I have lots of greens ready to eat that I don’t want to go bad.  But, I will be baking up a batch of chicken fried rice here in another day or so.  Yum.

Have a great day!

To your success,

Dr. Laura

P.S.  I am working on getting all the recipes together.  When I do, I’ll post them here.  Be patient

Tags: Clean, Detox

It’s day 5 and I am settling down into somewhat of a routine.  I must say that I feel great and have had NO digestive issues at all for the past 9 days (4 on the elimination diet, and 5 on CLEAN).  I’ve only had a few cravings, and most of them are for something that’s not all that exciting either, but usually has one of the “no” foods in it…like eggs…which are in…like everything.

I am looking forward to reintroducing foods at the end and egg is probably going to be first.  Tomato and cheese follow close behind and bananas too (because I love banana smoothies).

This morning was a smoothie experiment and I really didn’t like either of the ones I made, so I ended up just having a few sips of both and then was done.  By lunchtime, though I was hungry.  Here’s how the day went:

Breakfast: Blueberry/Carob/Almond Milk Smoothie (few sips) and Energy Smoothie with Almond Butter and Cardamom (few sips)

Lunch: Lentil/Chicken Quesadilla with Fresh Guacamole – I used store-bought Rice Flour Tortillas this time, because I didn’t have all the ingredients to make the tortillas when I made them at home the other day, and they weren’t the best.  They weren’t awful, but not the best either.  Store-bought ones were tasty.

Dinner: Berry Smoothie

I also experimented with raw “ice cream” made out of cashews, and I even added a vanilla bean to it.  I tried just a bite and it needs to chill some more.  Tomorrow, or Friday, I’ll give it a try.

Have a great day!

To your success,

Dr. Laura

Tags: Clean, Detox

Ahhh…a true CLEAN day.  No cheating

Last night after the amazing berry smoothie, I had to try it again.  This time, I used almond milk instead of coconut water and also added some brown rice protein powder.  Was good, but I think the original was better (but I like to add protein to beef up the smoothie a bit, so worth the slight compromise in taste – next time I will use coconut water and brown rice protein powder to see if there is a difference there).

Here we go:

Breakfast – Berry Smoothie

Lunch – Lentil and Chicken (pasture-fed) Quesadilla (minus the brown rice tortilla)

Dinner – Apple Smoothie – another one I liked

Off to watch a movie!

See you tomorrow.

To your success,

Dr. Laura

Tags: Clean, Detox