Well hello everyone! First, I want to apologize for not posting yesterday about my lunch that I had on the first day of my cleanse. The first day went so smoothly and wonderfully but then the second day I truly felt awful. I wasn’t able to get the full 8 hours of sleep due to my work schedule so that got me in a bad mood straight off. After being up for a couple hours I felt weak and shaky and had a migraine so bad if I could have ripped my head off I would have. I couldn’t really figure out what was going on for the longest time but now I realize. DUH caffeine withdrawal! So needless to say I was in no position to post. I never really thought I consumed that much caffeine but when I took a good hard look at the things I regularly eat and drink (tea, chocolate, coffee), I realized I probably take in wayyy more than I thought. I never thought I would feel THAT bad! This has opened my eyes and I will really try to monitor that a bit more post-cleanse. Because yesterday was really unpleasant!
I also recently read something about a “healing crisis”: based on Herings Law of Cure that when you detox your body will heal itself from the head down, inside out and in the reverse order as the symptoms were acquired. I wonder if the headache and weakness could be attributed to that? I get migraines that I often cave and take medications for, so that seems plausible as well. If you want to read a little more on that, check out this article at Renegade Health: The Detoxification Process — Does it Really Exist?
But today I feel so much better! Still a little tired but I’m hoping that will sort itself out soon. But well enough to do a WIAW post! Since yesterday I really wasn’t thinking about taking too many pictures, maybe I’ll just showcase a couple things I’ve been eating over the last 3 days!
WIAW- A sampling of the first 3 days of my cleanse!
Breakfast:
green smoothie, classic and cleanse-friendly!
raw strawberry banana buckwheat porridge
Lunch and Dinner:
Banana Romaine Wrap (recipe below!)
Kitchari
Update: recipe for Red Lentil and Quinoa Kitchari is here!
Hemp Seed Alfredo with Zucchini Noodles
Update: click here for the Hemp Seed Alfredo recipe!
Green Smoothie again! (unpictured though)
Snacks:
Lemon-Apricot Hemp Seed Power Bars
Update: click here for the power bar recipe!
Unpictured Sunflower seed hummus with chopped bell pepper
Unpictured Berries with almond milk and coconut flakes
Unpictured pears and apples
Drinks
Hot Almond Carob Drink
Naked Green Machine Juice
Dandy Blend and Pukka Vanilla Chai Herbal Tea
So hopefully that gives you all an idea of what my days have been looking like! While I wasn’t actively trying to add an additional cup of veggies to my meals and snacks, I have definitely been eating my fair share! If anyone is interested on more specifics, let me know! I am planning on sharing a couple of the above recipes so stay tuned!
Banana Berry Romaine Wrap (Vegan, Gluten-Free, Sugar-Free, Raw)
Adapted from the recipe in Dr. Fuhrman’s Eat to Live.
These are great as a snack or lunch and have all the flavour of your traditional almond butter, banana and jam combo, with the crispness of the romaine. Best of all completely raw, no grains and completely added sugar free! Make sure to use raw almond butter for completely raw.
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1 or 2 romaine lettuce leaves
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almond butter
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sliced banana
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berries of choice (I used raspberry)
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cinnamon
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sea salt
So this is really easy. Just take 2 large romaine leaves and carefully spread on almond butter on one half. Add sliced bananas, berries and sprinkle cinnamon and a tiny bit of sea salt.
Carefully roll up starting with the side you spread everything on. Cut in half for easier eating.
And that’s it for another What I Ate Wednesday! See you all soon :)
good luck gabby! doesn’t look too bad :)
XO!
It’s actually been surprisingly easy so far! Hardest part is working at a cafe and not drinking the drinks lol
This wrap is so unique – I love putting raspberries in them :D
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
I could eat raspberried all day everyday. They are my favourite! So of course they had to make an appearance here :)
Love the raspberries in the wrap. The concept is great. I have been eating way too much bread lately. I need to get back to being a good vegetarian, not a lazy one!
I hear ya, bread is so convenvient, so I’m trying out ways of making vegetables just as convenient. And this really isn’t any harder than making a sandwich!
Caffeine headaches are no joke! People dont really understand until they have one – they can wreck an entire day!
Oh for sure. Really shows you just how addicted you can be- you go through actual withdrawal! Scary!
But hopefully that is behind me now :) I’m really going to try to limit my caffeine intake from here out. Make it more of a treat than a daily thing- especially with coffee. Tea I may have to make an exception for.
glad you are feeling better!
Thanks :) Hopefully smooth sailing for here on out!
wow almond butter with banana?maybe hummus with apples also goes!!!
oh definitely. The sky is the limit :)
Ack, sorry that you were not feeling well! I was right there with you when I detoxed coffee, I was MISERABLE. I had tried to kick the caffeine twice before and failed and the last time I decided failing was not an option! I haven’t started again because I don’t need it and I don’t want to go through that again! I’m glad you are feeling better and trust me you’ll feel even better after it’s out of your system and your energy comes from fresh, nutritious foods!
Your meals are so creative! I love the lettuce wrap and the zucchini pasta with hemp seed alfredo sounds SOOOOOOO good! The lemon apricot hemp seed power bars sound great too! Any chance we can see those recipes? ;)
Congrats on a very successful first three days! You are an inspiration for sure!
I totally wasn’t expecting coffee withdrawal to be that bad, but man does it open your eyes- caffeine is a legit drug and you get addicted. I mean I always knew that but never really got it. I definitely feel better already, I can’t wait until a couple weeks of this goes by!
I can absolutely share those recipes, soon, I promise ;)
And thank you for your support :) It wasn’t an easy start but I’m glad I stuck with it!
I love your romaine wrap idea! I do a similar wrap with a flat bread or tortilla, but what a great way to use something fresh (and raw!) and get more veggies in your day…will have to try soon. I bet using collards would be great too!
Thanks! Collards would definitely work! I couldn’t believe how simple it was0 putting something sweet in a greens wrap- but I mean fruit goes well in salad right?
Everything looks so yummy and healthy! Hope that by day 3 you are feeling fantastic!
Definitely getting there :) I think the caffeine issue is finally working itself out!
Berry romaine wraps? That’s very creative. I like it!
I’m sure if you stick with it, you’ll feel better with the cleanse. And if not… then maybe you shouldn’t do it if your body is reacting so badly to it.
Thanks :) I mean why not right? And the crispiness of the romaine definitely works with the softer fillings/
I am definitely starting to feel better, which is good. I really wanted to see this through!
I’m glad you feel better! xo
Oh, that is really not fun about your migraine! I am glad you are feeling better!!! Interesting article, thanks for sharing! Btw, you’ve mentioned in your earlier post that you are/will be reading a bunch of books for inspiration and guidance throughout your cleanse. Do you mind sharing your reading list? I really like Crazy Sexy Cancer, Eat for Health (I did not read Eat to live) and Why we hurt? the most.
Have you tried the lettuce wrap with coconut butter or chocolate coconut butter (like CacaoBliss)? And how do you make your Hemp Seed Alfredo with Zucchini Noodles?
I’m sure you can relate with the migraine. Thankfully it only lasted about 2 days and is clear now!
Sure! My reading list wasn’t too extensive, but these are the things I used most:
Crazy Sexy Diet (you probably know this one but awesome positive affirmations and info about cleansing!)
Thrive Diet and Whole Foods to Thrive both by Brendan Brazier (not really about detox but I love his approach to food- very clean and high raw)
Health at Every Size by Linda Bacon (geared a bit more towards overweight people but great for self-acceptance and positive thinking advice)
Making Love in the Kitchen (this is a website by Meghan Telphner- lots of great food and detox tips. Great ebooks too- the green smoothie cleanse one I have and used a bit for this)
Joyous Health- another blog with good recipes, self-love tips and just general healthy practices
Eat to Live- Dr Fuhrman
Kristen’s Raw- another raw blog with loads of clean living tips!
A few other books I really like too (if you haven’t checked them out yet):
The China Study
Engine 2 Diet
Practically Raw
Blissful Bites
Forks over Knives
Whole Life Nutrition Cookbook
Hope that helps :)
And no I haven’t trip wraps with that yet, but now I’m going to! Sound delicious :)
I will post that recipe soon! It was very tasty :)
Oh, thank you for such a detailed answer :)
Very interesting combination of ingredients, I will def have to try this one! I love romaine wraps :)
I was surprised how good it was! I can’t wait to try it out with other fruits and nut butters!