Yay Salad Days

I love this time of year. Salads, Salads, Salads!

Since doing the Alkaline Cleanse I am making my salads even more alkaline.

Tonight: Romaine, Baby Red butter Lettuce, Spinach, Radish, Daikon (grated) small tomatoes (from on the vine), Celery, Broccoli, Avocado, 1/2 an apple, and 2 slices of smoked tofu cubed. So Yummy!

25 Vegan cheese recipes

I just found an amazing vegan cheese recipe source & one of them is made with sweet potatoes, no nuts or soy. check it out

http://www.onegreenplanet.org/vegan-recipe/amazing-vegan-cheeses-you-can-make-at-home/ 

Day 6 completed

Yesterday was a glorious summer's day so got some weeding done in the garden and then spent the whole day in the garden relaxing, reading and doing art. Perfect!
And the Alkaline Cleans fit in perfectly too lots of cool juice and smoothies. I did change some of the menu though and used recipes from other days as I wanted a cool soup for lunch and had no leeks for the supper soup. My weight hasn't changed for a few days. I put that down to being out for supper 2 nights and maybe the number of avocados is a bit high for my body. However, my energy levels are really good, better than they have been for ages and my sleep is much improved, which I assume is because my body actually feels nourished.

So today is the last day and I am looking forward to seeing what is on the menu.

The plan going forward is to see what Ross has in the Alkaline for Life follow-up to the Cleanse and go from there, adjusting it where I need, adding other alkaline recipes and keeping the acid producing food to 25% of the meal at most. I'll keep this blog posted as it really helps keep me on track knowing someone may just read it.

Day 4 and nearly Day 5

So I did well with Day 4 of the Alkaline Cleanse 'til supper time. Not that I did badly. I was out with Gwen and it was time to eat.... So I did manage to eat salads that were 90% alkaline so I am pretty happy with that. But this morning I was .3 kg heavier! Not a lot but a bit unexpected.

Today had gone well - but I am off out for supper tonight, so I will see how that goes....

All in all though this is the easiest cleans I have ever done and I am not hugry most of the time & when I do get peckish another few slurps of smoothie or soup do the trick.

Alkaline Cleanse Day 3 Done

Well yesterday went well and I was full all day. No weight loss, but that is expected as my body readjusts to this way of eating. The energy levels are really good and I am sleeping so much better. So I am a happy  Bunny!

Day 4 here I come...

Alkaline Cleanse Day 2 redone

Day 2 was interesting. While I really enjoyed all the items in the day, I knew that last week when I did the spit pea soup I could not get those peas to get soft. This means my batch is probably too old! So I swapped them with a tin of rinsed white haricot beans which are moderately alkaline. I also added a some kale and sea vegetable to the soup to add a bit more texture and flavour as courgettes/zucchini  have little flavour. Kale and sea vegetables are both highly alkaline which is a bonus.

I know they - whoever they are - say don't weigh yourself every day, but I am one of those who likes to chart progress and I know I can be up one day and down the next, so on the scale I popped this morning. Good news, another .3 kg loss. That's over half a pound! So I am happy.

Now on to day 3.....

Alkaline Reset Cleanse Day 1 Redone

I spent the week-end wondering if I should start again on day 1 or jump in at day 5. I decided to go back to day 1, after all I do want to get my body into an alkaline state. Past tests at the health clinic had show I was too acid so this is something I know needs addressing. Secondly my weight had sky-rocketed on the past 2 trips to Jersey so if I want to get back to healthy weight I need a kick start.

So yesterday I restarted the alkaline cleanse. I am so glad I did, I was full all day, the pea and mint soup was on the menu for supper & I do love that, and  it's so simple peas, mint, avocado and vegetable stock whizzed up in the blender.

I admit I didn't drink enough water yesterday so I do have a bit of a headache this morning, but I am on my second glass already this morning and looking forward to the lemon ginger juice in a few minutes. The great news is I lost 1.1 kg since this time yesterday.

Day 2 here I come....

Spicy cream of Butternut Soup

1 medium Butternut Squash, peeled and chopped
1 large red onion, peeled and chopped
1 large carrot, washed, topped and tailed and chopped
1 tsp coconut oil
1-2 tablespoons ground corriander
2 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp celery salt
pinch ground cayenne ( more if you want heat)
2 cups veg stock ( I use a vegetable bullion/sock cube and boiling water as I don't like the taste of the carton stocks)
1 tin lite coconut milk
Half tin creamy coconut milk (the rest can be put in a container in the fridge for a couple of days)

Melt the coconut oil over low heat, add onion and start to soften, add carrot and squash.  increase heat to medium low and cook for a few minutes until onion is softened. Add spices and cook for  minute stirring. Add a little water if they begin to stick. Add stock and turn up heat. When the soup comes to a simmer add coconut milk stir well and  bring back to simmer. Cook for 40 minutes or until squash and carrot are tender.

Transfer all veg to a liquidizer add the half tin of creamy coconut milk and puree. Be really careful as this is hot and some liquidizers spurt.

Return the mix to the pan and stir to combine with the soup liquid. Season with lemon pepper.

If you are serving to guests you may want to use a little of the remaining coconut milk to make a swirl and garnish with a little cilantro/corriander leaves.

Alkaline Cleanse next steps

Well I completed 3 full days of the cleanse and felt great - I also last 3 kg weight.

Then Tues to Friday involved a lot of eating out, so all the meals I produced were vegan, gluten free and alkaline and I did my best at eating safe foods that were produced by others.

Yesterday I did pretty well and made a delicious butter-nut soup.

So today I am going back on the Alkaline Cleanse, I just need to decide if I go back to day 1 or start at day 4 or 5......

Alkaline Cleanse: Day 2 and 3 completed

Day 2 was interesting; I locked myself out of my apartment as I left to go to church. Fortunately I had my morning smoothie with me, because it was about 2:30 before I got back in.

This means all the time plan of the cleanse was thrown out. I managed to keep to the various menu items apart from deciding to add another bowl of the pea and mint soup as by the time I ate I was ravenous, I also ate both servings of the supper soup.

So I didn't actually lose any weight when I weighed myself this morning.

However, I have had two of the best night's sleep I have had for weeks and my energy levels and mood are are also the best I've had for months, so I am very happy.

Day 3, another interesting day, back at work so seeing how this cleanse would fit in. It's actually been ok and when the food was brought out for the dedication of our new Children's Centre I ate only veg that is included in the cleanse. So I felt very self-satisfied having forgone carrot cake which is one of my absolute favourites.

Tomorrow and Wed I am on a working retreat and have made arrangements for vegan, gluten-free meals, so even though I won't be on the cleanse I will be eating foods in line with it.

The plan is to resume the cleanse on Thursday - I'll see how that goes then.

Blessings
Debbie

Alkaline Cleanse: Day 1 Completed, welcome Day 2

Day 1 of the Alkaline Reset Cleanse was actually really good. I was not hungry, though I did get peckish at times. Thankfully there was always more of the smoothie to go to and I still have a bit left which I think is because I added all the pulp from the juice. So that with the additional water means I probably made more than Ross's recipe. I hate the idea of throwing out that good dietary fibre so I always add it to smoothies and soups later when I juice.

The most amazing meal was the soup for supper. Basically a raw pea and mint soup. It was so delicious. I admit I left the onion out as I had enough raw onion in the lunch soup for the day. I think though if I used a shallot or some spring onions another time that would be ok. Anyway it was so good, it will be on my recipe list from now on. It can be found on Ross's website at http://liveenergized.com/alkaline-recipes/alkaline-recipe-21-alkaline-springtime-soup/ 

I didn't have any of the usual cleanse side effects such as the detox headache either. Yay!

I weighed myself this morning and was really surprised to have lost 1.1 kg.

The reason I am surprised is because the sheer amount of veg I actually consumed is more than on the vegan diet I usually eat! There were 37 portions of vegetables and 2.5 avocados. This is an astounding amount of food, which of course I could not consume if it was not made into juices, smoothies and soups. Eating two and a half avocados in one day seems a lot especially when years ago I was told not to eat more than one a week as the fat content is so high. Of course the research has changed and now we know that the fat in them is really healthy and because it is contained in the whole fruit with all the fibre and other goodies our bodies digest it very differently than if you ate the same amount as processed oil or spreads.

So I am looking forward to what today holds.
Debbie

Alkaline Reset Cleanse

Well life has been hectic for so long that I feel I have let so many things go. My health is the biggest one! I have not eaten well- in the sense of healthy for the past year. I have spurts and spasms of eating vegan and gluten-free and then something happens I go somewhere and I think just a little won't hurt. Of course it does! My weight sky-rockets, my energy plummets and my mood goes on a downward spiral with brain fog and lethargy rising and the arthritis and other aches and pains increase.

So the Master of Divinity is finished & I have graduated.... YAY!

So now it is time to take charge of the health issues. So I am trying kick-starting it with going on the Alkaline Reset Cleanse. You can find out more at http://liveenergized.com/

I have been following Ross Bridgeford's blogs and articles, videos etc on the liveenergized web site for a long time and have been alkalising my water on and off for the past year. So I thought it was time to take the bull by the horns and actually do the full cleanse, which can be 3, 7 or 10 days. I am starting with 3 days, but plan to then do the 7 day starting a week from now.

Today is the first day and so far I have had a Energise Alkaline Green  Drink which is veg juice for breakfast and an Antioxidant  Green Smoothie mid morning. The recipes are on Ross's liveenergized site.

I am not hungry and feel good so far.

Plan is to put a bit on here each day so I have some accountability..... we will see how that goes.

Be blessed and don't give up.
Debbie