Juice Cleanse: Day 2 - Why Am I Doing This?

Day 1 Recap:


Difficulty: 8

Physical: Great, minus hunger pangs.

Emotional: Not so great. Being hungry makes me uber cranky. In retrospect, I don't think I was hungry so much as I missed the ritual, excitement, comfort, etc. of eating.

Pounds Lost: 4 (Wow - a lot more than I anticipated after just one day.)


Moving on to Day 2 - yes, it's been harder than Day 1. Today is the first day I've seriously considered giving up on this stupid cleanse. I've spent nearly the entire day in bed, either sleeping or complaining. I was supposed to go to the gym and run today, but there was no way that was happening. Running makes me extremely hungry, and I knew, I knew, I'd break down and eat something on my way back home.

It's only 8:24 p.m., but I'm already drinking my cashew milk because I intend to go to sleep after finishing this post. I have to be up really early for an eye doctor appointment anyway, and I just don't have the energy to do anything else besides lay in bed and sleep. This cashew milk is the only thing that keeps me going, to be honest. It's so thick and delicious, and last night I found myself attempting to get every last drop out of the bottle. A new low, for sure.

Also? I skipped Juice 5 (green) again today. Honestly, the idea of drinking yet another one of those makes me want to vom.

I have nothing else to say except that I'm glad tomorrow is Day 3, and I'm glad I have work to keep me busy for most of the day. I also have to say that I am seriously considering breaking this cleanse tomorrow before dinner. Would that be awful?

How the HELL do people do this for any longer?!?!?!!



Day 2 Recap:


Difficulty: 10

Physical: Low energy, but no other detox symptoms evident.

Emotional: Miserable. Angry. Annoyed at myself for doing this.

Pounds Lost: Will report tomorrow...


 

Juice Cleanse: Day 1 (Almost) Over

This. Sucks. No, really, it sucks. Need evidence? The photo above depicts my lunch today and my roomie's lunch today. Hers? A portobello panini. Mine? Juice.

As if I needed any confirmation (and I really didn't), being hungry does not suit me. I get really cranky and at times, borderline tearful. I just want some freaking food! Sigh. I guess I should start at the beginning. I planned to start my juicing at 10 a.m. so that I could one every two hours (10, 12, 2, 4, 6, 8). But a very late bedtime meant that I didn't get rockin and rollin until around 11 a.m. this morning. And when I woke up, my mind and body instinctively thought: "BAGEL." Because that is, after all, what Saturday mornings used to be. Bagels or brunch or, at the very least, avocado toast (mmmm avocados). But this morning? Just juice.

Mistake #1: Starting a juice cleanse on the weekend. Unfortunately, I had to because I have a work lunch on Tuesday at which I absolutely cannot be drinking juice.

Moving on. I had Juices 1 and 2 before leaving the house. Blueprint's green juice is very easy to drink, but I agree with many others who say it's a bit too sweet. Like sickly sweet. I don't normally find this to be the case with green juices so they must add a lot of apple juice. Juice 2 was the gold juice - pineapple, apple and mint. It was very sweet, but very refreshing. Delish.

Today my roomie, Annika, and I made plans to have an NYC day of fun. First stop was the Museum of Modern Art - one of my favorite museums of all time. My firm has a corporate membership so Annika and I got in for free. Holla! I brought along Juice #3 (green) knowing that we'd be out for awhile. The weather today was snowy and frigid - PERFECT weather for a juice cleanse. ...

Mistake #2: Starting a juice cleanse on the coldest, snowiest day of the year. I swear if it were summer, this whole thing would be a whole lot easier.

After viewing several galleries, our hunger led us to the Cafe on floor 2. My sense of smell was on fire - I wanted to eat everything. But instead, I busted out my green juice while Annika ate the most delicious looking and smelling portobello panini. See photo above.

We spent the rest of the day shopping along Fifth and Madison during which I didn't feel hungry, exactly, just a bit empty. We ended our extravaganza at Starbucks where I ordered a green tea. The hot liquid definitely helped, but was it the same as a soy misto? Absolutely not.

By the time we got home, I was full on cranky. And full on hungry. Time for Juice 4 - spicy lemonade. This was surprisingly delicious! Perfect balance of tart and sweet, and the cayenne is barely noticeable. LOVED it.

But as much as I loved it, I still wanted food. I honestly can't tell if I'm hungry or if I just don't know how to handle not having solid food in my tummy. I'm super pissy. I pitched a massive fit while sitting in my roomie's bed (we watched Friends With Benefits - highly recommend). I just. want. some. FOOD.

I haven't had Juice 5 (another green) yet, and I don't think I will. It's already 10 p.m., and I think I just want my cashew milk and my bed. Honestly, I can't bear the thought of drinking another juice juice anyway. Le sigh. I really hope tomorrow's easier.

Day 1 Recap:


Difficulty (1 being easiest, 10 being hardest): 8 - As tough as it's been, I haven't really been tempted to break the cleanse and eat something.

Physical: I feel great. Just fine, really, minus the really-pissing-me-off pangs of hunger. No caffeine withdrawal. No low energy. I feel fine.

Emotional: To be honest, I felt pretty good for most of the day until we were sitting at Starbucks, and I thought about going home and curling up in bed with a good movie. Because along with PJs and a good movie, I also wanted some Thai takeout. By the time the movie was over, I got REAL cranky, and my mind started saying all kinds of nasty things about myself and my body to myself. No bueno, my friends. I'm feeling a little better now. Am going to get my cashew milk and watch Vegucated.

 

Juicy - My Attempt at a 3-Day Juice Cleanse

My diet over the last month has been... less than ideal. Needless to say, the number on the scale is not what I hoped it'd be by this time, and I'm feeling a big slow, sluggish and bloated (and don't even get me started on my conscious). Who's to blame? Well, I am, of course! An endless number of holiday parties, plus my sister's visit to NYC for her birthday (hello, Babbo!), and a nasty week-long cold that left me unable to go to the gym and unwilling to cook my own food, have reminded me of a fact I absolutely know to be true - when you eat crap, you want crap. And it's really tough to break the cycle.

Fast forward to now: I'm in a wedding next weekend for which I hoped to be about 5 lbs lighter. Also? I have lost that lovely vegan glow, both inside and out, and miss it desperately. Now, I have no illusions that I'll be able to follow a perfect vegan diet while I'm in New Orleans (for, by the way, what is guaranteed to be the wedding of the century). But nonetheless, in an effort to revive my pasty, lumpy bod, I've decided to embark on a 3-day juice cleanse a la Blueprint, an NYC favorite.

I've never done a juice cleanse. Heck, I've never even fasted (I once attempted a 24-hour fast and gave up about 3 hours in). But I've heard wonderful things about them (and I've also heard not-so-wonderful things about them), and I'm willing and ready to give it a shot.

Blueprint offers three levels of cleanses: Renovation, Foundation and Excavation. I chose the Foundation level since I wanted a little more variety than the Excavation, but I also wanted at least half my day to be green juice goodness. Here's what my daily menu looks like:

1 - Green juice (a mix of greens + apple + lemon)
2 - Gold juice (pineapple + mint)
3 - Green juice (repeat)
4 - Yellow juice (a spicy lemonade)
5 - Green juice (one more time!)
6 - White juice (cashew milk + vanilla + cinnamon)

Basically I'm just supposed to drink a juice, in the order shown above, every 2 hours. The last juice is actually a milk, a heavenly thick and delicious cashew milk that tastes like a really healthy and good-for-you milkshake. I'm really excited about ending my day with one of those babies.

I've read several reviews, and everyone says the same thing. Day 1 is kinda cool. Day 2 blows. You're never hungry, but you desperately miss chewing. And by Day 3, you will be thinner, glowier and have a sugar ton of energy. Now, I know me, and I know what I'll miss is the savory. These juices are all sweet, and I have always preferred savory over sweet. The smell of baking bread, a sizzling hot pizza, a steaming bowl of chili... those smells will be tough to ignore. Also? It's supposed to snow tomorrow. Who wants to drink nothing but juice on a cold, snowy day?? Le sigh. The things I do...

Anyway, I plan to blog about the cleanse because well, I'm sure I'll have a lot to say (or scream). Feel free to juice cleanse with me! ;)

 

Tis the Season

{photo from weheartit}

I hit a wall Friday night. A day that began with a glass (or two or three) or champagne at 1:30 in the afternoon (party #1) and ended with a late night karaoke shindig (party #3), Friday showed me that I'm not cut out for all that drinking and partying, no matter what the occasion. I came home that night tired, sad and quite pissy to be perfectly honest. I had to slow down. So Saturday night? All mine.

After a financing planning session (more on this later) avec my NYC big sis, I picked up some Indian food and a vegan whoopie pie  a la the Vegan Goddess at Cafe Indigo at the Whole Foods in Columbus Circle and went home to enjoy a night of solitude.  I can't tell you how happy I was to crawl into bed at midnight.  Although I didn't fall asleep for a couple of hours, I woke up something like 9 hours later and felt completely and totally rested and ready to tackle the day and week ahead.

Opening my filofax, I see my week ahead is a big one. 

• Monday - Holiday party #1
• Tuesday - Holiday party #2 (at Buddakan!!)
• Wednesday - Traditional Union Square Holiday Market and Wined Up date avec fave roomie
• Thursday - first a cappella group rehearsal (more on that later)
• Friday - ALL MINE!
• Saturday - 4 Course Vegan dinner (so excited!!)

As for tonight, I'm going ice skating at Bryant Park to be followed by dinner and a walk up Fifth Avenue to see the tree at Rockefeller, the lights at Saks, and the gorgeous windows at Bergdorf's.  I heart NYC Christmas (but I don't heart the inevitable masses of tourists - ugh).

Happy Holidays, y'all!

Life Lately (In Pictures)

*homemade cranberry sauce*sweet potato casserole a la Oh She Glows*

*wild mushroom stuffing*roasted brussels sprouts*

 *my go-to breakfast in Cali*

*admittedly, I did have some fries, but they were tres mediocre*

*merci, Nordstrom in San Jose*

*taking this pic to my hair appt on Sunday*

Vegan Tomato is Back!

Bonjour, friends! TGIF - am I right?? Just wanted to let you know that the Vegan Tomato is back, baby! So if you're a fan of food (and particularly a fan of food and the animals, as none were harmed in the making of this post), you should definitely head on over for my latest restaurant review. It's yumtastic! :D

Easy Peasy Pumpkin Pancakes

Forgive me in advance - if you are one who likes recipes for their specificity, then you probably won't like this one. But I urge you to try making these pancakes with a lax attitude, as that is the best way to start a lazy Sunday.

I'm not a big pancakes person.  Eating them?  Sure!  But making them?  Augh.  Just as I detest baking, I detest making pancakes for the same reasons - messy flour, multiple ingredients and measuring cups.  But when this time of year comes around, I can't resist the siren song of pureed pumpkin.  And so, this year I was determined to find an easy way to whip up 5-minute pumpkin pancakes whenever the urge hit, and I can confidently say (after several batches), that this is one of the easiest pancake recipes (if you can even call it a recipe) on the planet, and it's pretty healthy to boot!  (And duh, it's vegan.)

Easy Peasy Pumpkin Pancakes

- pancake mix of your choice (I use Highland Sugarworks' Organic Multigrain Pancake Mix because it's vegan and includes simple ingredients - whole wheat flour, corn flour, rye flour and sea salt)

- almond milk of your choice (I prefer Silk or Almond Breeze - both the plain, unsweetened variety)

- pumpkin pie spice

- pure maple syrup (get the good stuff here - I brought mine back all the way from Vancouver!)

- Earth Balance (or butter)

- pureed pumpkin (yes, from a can)

So you've got all your ingredients.  Now you just combine until you get the desired consistency (which can vary depending on what you like - I like mine a bit thick).  I usually start by adding the pancake mix, pureed pumpkin (use about 1/3 of the amt of pancake mix you use) and some almond milk until I find a decent consistency.  Then I add a generous sprinkle of pumpkin pie spice and a drizzle of maple syrup (which I swear makes the pancakes ever-so-subtly sweet from the inside without using sugar, which is a big plus for me). 

Then just heat a skillet over medium heat (you can use a griddle if you are fancy like that and have one), coat it with nonstick spray and Earth Balance (this is KEY to making your pancakes goldeny brown and delightfully crispy around the edge) and use a 1/4 cup measuring spoon to make each pancake.  Easy peasy!

Note that you can store any leftover batter in the fridge and use it the next day or maybe even the day after that.  I usually just put plastic wrap over the mix and the bowl (as in directly on the batter so a weird film doesn't develop) and keep it in the fridge.  When I'm ready for another pancake, I just let it sit out of the fridge for about 5 minutes and then fry that sucker up.

Serve with warm maple syrup (and Earth Balance, if you so desire, but I don't find it necessary since you're cooking them in it).  Enjoy!