Note about Detox

Thought I should throw this out there-- Just because you're eliminating foods/food groups DOESN'T, I repeat DOESN'T, mean you are necessarily eliminating calories.

DETOX DOES NOT EQUAL WEIGHT LOSS

It can definitely help, and that's not to say it won't happen, however, there are plenty of foods still allowed on detox that add a lot of fat and calories to meals. Olive oil, avocados, nuts and seeds, and nut butters, while healthy and definitely good for us, should be portion controlled if weight loss is desired. If you're looking to gain weight, go to town! The foods I mentioned are undoubtedly awesome, but like I said prior to day 1, anyone can do it even if they want to maintain their weight and are looking for a way to just get healthy and challenge themselves nutritionally. Just some food for thought (ha! get it? ...Yes, I'm aware I'm a food nerd).

Vegan AND no grains AND no dairy week

Sooo honestly, you would think that cutting out basically everything would be hell and that everything around you would take on forbidden food shapes BUT actually, I've felt the best today than I think I have in awhile. Haven't felt hungry at all and stocked up on some awesome goodies today at Whole Foods for the rest of the week :) 

Todays menu consisted of:

Breakfast- Vegan Chocolate Milkshake- 2 cups ice, 1 1/2 cups (roughly) unsweetened Almond Milk (35 calories/cup), 2 tsp peanut butter, 1 tsp cocoa powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, blend. Tomorrow I'll add 1/2 a banana to it and decrease the almond milk to 1 cup. Totally in love with this shake in case you didn't notice. Super quick and easy to take on the go!

Snack- Kombucha with maybe 1 cup fruit pieces total- pear, blueberries, strawberries, etc. Today was my Kombucha refill day meaning I had to make my new batches and flavor the now-ready Kombucha, which I add fresh herbs and fruit to to flavor them. 

Lunch- Stir-fry veggies with tofu. Green beans, mushrooms, carrots, sun dried tomatoes, onion, and anything else i could find with some balsamic vinegar and a little bit o'honey. 

Snack- pear and more Kombucha (seriously, I am in no short supply of the stuff!)

Dinner- Whole Foods Hot/Cold Bar Randoms- Just checked all the labels to make sure it did not contain wheat, any kind of meat, eggs or milk and I was good to go! Ended up with a lot of Kale-Pecan salad, marinated mushroom goodness, lentil tofu stirfry, and a mixed greens salad. 

Post Work-out Snack- Leftovers from Whole Foods and you guessed it, more Kombucha. 

Tomorrow will be a tad more diversified just because now I actually have groceries so we'll see what I come up with, but fo realz, I feel awesome. You should try it! PLUS you're helping out the environment and with Earth Day being yesterday, every little bit counts :) Check out this website on Meatless Mondays for more info on how exactly you're helping the environment by cutting out meat and other animal products plus, recipes and other ways to get involved. 

Detox Chocolate Milkshake!

Day 9 and we're eliminating grains! Sorry, I suck at this constant posting thing-- not really in my nature to share what i'm doing 24/7 and traveling gets in the way sometimes. P.S. just got back in from Austin this past weekend and we managed to get 8 people (3 of which were dietitians) to the farmers' market in downtown Austin (4th and Guadalupe) before 9am. It was awesome. We then proceeded to Whole Foods where we stocked up on deliciously healthy goodies to take with us camping in San Marcos. Here we are at the farmer's market:

Anyways! I discovered this wonderful detox friendly snack and it totally is just like a Wendy's Frosty! Ah-mazing! Here it is being enjoyed on my back patio with my dietitian friend Natalie:

Sam's Chocolate Milkshake

Serves 1

1 1/2 cups ice

1 cup fat-free milk

1/3 cup Stonyfield Farms Fat Free Vanilla Yogurt

2 teaspoons peanut butter

1 teaspoon cocoa powder

1 stevia packet

cinnamon and nutmeg to taste

Use a blender on high to adequately mix and Enjoy! 

Nutrition Info: 223 calories, 6.5g fat, 0.7g saturated fat, 240mg sodium, 24.7g carbs, 1g fiber, 16.3g protein

Day 2 Detox- Better Late Than Never!

Bah! Got almost all the way done writing this post and of course, my computer shut down erasing everything! Then I didn't have internet en route from here to ATX. So here’s the abbreviated version because I just don’t have it in me to re-type everything.

Anyways- So back on Day 2 Detox I went a little health crazy… started my day with cardio pilates and props and ended it with yoga with weights. Made Brussels sprouts, kale chips and 4 huge jars of sauerkraut in the same hour too (Who does that?!). Meal Plan for the day went something like this:

Snack: Grapefruit and a few almonds before Pilates (running late so it was a grab-and-go)

Breakfast: Greek yogurt (have you noticed how much I love this stuff yet?), blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, flax seeds, raw honey. 1 cup black tea with 1 packet stevia in the raw.

Lunch: Tortilla-less Burrito- boiled chicken breast (boneless, skinless, seasoned with Tommy’s all natural seasoning), 2 tablespoons black beans, ½ cup fresh diced Roma Tomatoes, 1 tablespoon Fage Greek Yogurt (awesome replacement for sour cream), 1/3 small avocado, fresh salsa. Mixed it all up in a bowl, grabbed a spoon, then went to town!

Snack: Pear and a few honey roasted pecans

Dinner: Salmon burger with a friend of a friend’s super awesome Brussels sprouts recipe that I’m about to share.

Snack: 3 kale chips (just to try then shared them with my friends while we watched frozen planet, which is a crazy awesome show if y’all haven’t seen it) and a cup of strawberries.

Sweet & Spicy Brussels Sprouts

Serves 1

Canola Oil Cooking Spray
1 cup halved Brussels sprouts (or more depending on what serving size you’re going for- don’t have to feel guilty about eating extra veggies!)
2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
Salt and Pepper to taste
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon raw honey

Pre-heat oven to 425. Spray baking sheet with cooking spray and add Brussels sprouts. Sprinkle with red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Bake for 20 minutes or until slightly browned and crispy. Place Brussels sprouts in a bowl and toss with balsamic vinegar and honey till coated evenly. Enjoy!

Kale Chips

Serves as many as you’d like!

5-6 cups fresh kale, rinsed and torn into “chip” size pieces
Canola oil cooking spray
Salt/Pepper to taste  (or you can use your own seasoning- Cajun works well but trust me, a little goes a LONG way)

Preheat oven to 425. Arrange kale on baking sheet and coat LIGHTLY with canola spray. Sprinkle with salt/pepper/seasoning of your choice. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until crispy.

Dietitian Says: Great Snack and so easy to do on your own without shelling out big bucks for the pre-made kind. Add any other thinly sliced veggies for some guiltless snacks to use for hummus or yogurt based dips!

I’ll add some nutrition facts in later but as of now I’m in my favorite city in Texas, Austin for the weekend with my fellow dietitian and pal, Natalie! She’s also detoxing with me and feel free to follow her blog as well here! 

Detox Time!

The countdown is on! One month till my trip back to the ATL for my little sister's college graduation and 37 days till we leave for Hangout Fest (got the pre-festival ticket so 4 day music festival on the beach in Gulf Shores, AL). In other words, bikini time. SO a good way to jump start some weight loss and cleanse the body of outside pollutants is with a good ol' fashioned detox. No, this is not a gimmick and no, you don't have to go out and buy some fancy smancy overpriced products. Alls ya gotta do is commit to cleaning up your diet (and yourself) for 28 days and let your body reap the reward :) Created by fellow detoxer and dietitian best pal, Jess and myself- we aimed to really clean up the diet and set challenges like increasing workouts as well. Okay, so here are the rules of our detox:

Overrall: No alcohol, gum, or nail polish
Phase 1 (Days 1-4): Clean-up i.e. no processed foods, no artificial sweeteners (stevia is ok), limit caffeine
Phase 2 (Days 5-8): eliminate above foods plus meat
Phase 3 (Days 9-12): eliminate above foods plus grains
Phase 4 & 5 (Days 13-20): eliminate above foods plus dairy and eggs. Kombucha and/or probiotic-rich sauerkraut daily
Phase 6 (Days 21-23): reintroduce fish and gluten free grains
Phase 7 (Days 24+): reintroduce everything- aim to keep a clean diet

Challenges: No microwaving foods, increase workouts (yoga and light workouts during days 13-20), use loofah/exfoliate daily, use perfume on clothes but avoid directly using on skin.

P.S. drink plenty of water!!!

I'll be posting meal ideas going forward but tomorrow's meals will look something like:
Breakfast- greek yogurt, flax seeds, blueberries, blackberries, raw honey
Snack- Grapefruit plus 10-12 almonds
Lunch- Salad (mixed greens, carrot, tomato, alfalfa sprouts and anything else i can find) with tofu and honey roasted pecans with homemade balsamic vinegar dressing
Snack- pear with peanut butter
Dinner- salmon burger with sauteed veggies (most likely brussels sprouts, onion, beets)
Snack- glass of organic milk and ??? (we'll see)

Workout: 1 hr class yoga plus 20-30 mins weights.

Beet it Beer Braised Red Cabbage

On my trip to the farmers' market this past weekend I encountered the biggest beets I've ever seen! I couldn't resist. I just had to have them so here they are posted above! P.s. my hands are kinda small but seriously, that thing is a monster! and all for $4! What. a. bargain.

My saturday morning grocery trip concluded with fully stocking my fridge with fresh produce and also emptying my wallet (whoopsie!) BUT i got some great stuff I won't have to get again for awhile. Anywho- decided last night to test out a beer braised red cabbage recipe by looking over a couple then winging it myself. Here's what I did:

Beet It Beer Braised Red Cabbage
Serves 4

Ingredients:
Canola Oil Cooking Spray
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 onion, chopped
2 organic farm fresh carrots, chopped (looks like they were JUST picked from the ground)
1 beet, chopped (the smallest one pictured above- saving the big guns for later)
3 cups chopped red cabbage
4 oz tofu (optional)
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
6 oz beer (I used Budweiser because my roommate said it was okay to take his beer)

Instructions:
1. Heat skillet over medium heat. Spray pan and add garlic and onion, let cook until by itself 2-3 minutes. Add remaining ingredients to the pan.
2. Cover and let simmer 12-15 minutes or until veggies are tender.
3. Uncover and stir until half the liquid evaporates. Salt and pepper to taste and Serve 'er up!

Home-Made Kombucha!

Special thanks to my BFF, Jess, for helping me out with this one! So to explain-- Kombucha is made from a culture so there is a mother culture, which then produces offspring (I know it sounds really creepy BUT it's awesome). Therefore, Jess received her culture from a lady at the farmers' market she knows that is a pro kombucha maker, Jess's culture then produced a culture, which she then gave to me. Local cultures are probably best for your own kombucha making, however, you can google "kombucha cultures for sale", add in your city for a more specific location and have it sent to your doorstep! If you want more info on the health benefits click here for my prior post on Kombucha!

If you do decide to embark on your kombucha-making quest, Here's how you would go about it:

Ingredients:
3 quarts filtered water
1 cup sugar
5-6 tea bags (organic is best)
1 cup kombucha from previous batch (if none available, use 1/4 cup distilled vinegar)
1 kombucha culture

Instructions:
1. Fill a large pot with water over stovetop and bring to a boil.
2. Add tea bags and sugar to water and remove pot from heat.
3. Allow pot to cool to room temperature.
4. Once tea is lukewarm, pour into large glass container, such as the one pictured above (Bed, Bath & Beyond $19.99- use a coupon for $5 or 20% off!).
5. Add culture using your hands to place it into the tea (culture may sink or float- no worries either way).
6. Add 1 cup pre-made kombucha or 1/4 cup distilled vinegar.
7. Cover top of the jar with a coffee filter and secure with rubber band.
8. Let sit for one week. It should start to thicken and if you shake the jar every once in a while, the kombucha will come out more carbonated.
9. Fill up individual bottles and flavor them to your liking! I'm going to try a ginger pear and a lemon honey to start! Enjoy!