The Results are In!

So as I blogged on Wednesday, I decided to detox from the Easter disaster with a little juice detox.

I started on Wednesday.  I did my interval workout on an empty stomach, which is pretty typical for me.  Then I walked over to Ardens Garden which is a block from my condo (lucky me!).  I picked out a few blends that seemed tasty enough, yet healthful.  One called “PH,” which is simply distilled water, kale, celery, a touch of lemon, a green juice which is sweet, “Yoga I,” and a red beet & veggie juice, “Paradise.”  (Tip – if you mix the PH juice – which can be VERY vegetabley – with a half a tablet Nuun, it goes down very smooth!  Plus you get some electrolytes!)

Each day I’ve had nothing but the pure (mostly) veggie juice supplemented by the occasional raw red, orange or yellow peppers or cucumber or carrot sticks.  Friday and Saturday after hard workouts, I had a quick protein shake consisting of 8 oz. Nuun (best sports drink ever!) and one scoop Sunwarrior Warrior Blend vegan raw protein powder (I mix it up post-workout in my Blender Bottle so I don’t have to wait until I get home).  I eat it with a GoGo Applesauce (so many good flavors!) or a small piece of fruit to get my carbs in.  Saturday pre-workout and Sunday pre-post workout I added in a sliced banana topped with a bit of homemade cranberry apple preserves and cashew butter (expensive, I know, but this brand is SO worth it.  Pure goodness, no crap).

Then I would have a simple sensible dinner and no snacks afterwards.  This part was SO hard for me.  But I made it through the first day.  I ignored the grumbles and rumbles and powered through.

And as the days went on, it got easier.  I also found that I have been filling up quicker.  In fact, the past two nights, I didn’t even finish my whole dinner!  A miracle!

 Although I must admit, I was quite a bit cranky those first couple days.

Best of all, on weekends I usually go hog wild.  But this weekend I got only one dessert, one snack – a raw, vegan, gluten free, no sugar added coconut cheesecake square (thank god for Cafe Sunflower!).  And I only ate half Saturday night and half Sunday night.  That was it.  Yay me!

I feel so much better after doing this.  I feel emptied out of all the leftover sugar and crap, and I lost about four pounds in the process.  Tomorrow I’m going to start upping the food intake again, but I think I’m going to leave the juice for at least one meal.

The only issue is on Friday I tried to do my workout (6 miles plus one hour weights) on an empty stomach.  I typically do it on an empty stomach no problem.  But what I forgot is typically the night before I’ve eaten a bajillion calories in snacks…not so much this time.  So it was pretty tough getting through my weights session on the juice fast.  But, I lived and learned, and now I know better.

Today I volunteered at the Southeastern Endurance and Multisports Expo which was held by a great guy Mike Lenhart who runs an amazing organization, the Getting2Tri Foundation, which helps those who have suffered traumatic injury participate in endurance sports.  Amazing organization, check them out sometime!

Today I discovered some new juice – called Chuice – seems like some good stuff.  How did I discover it?  Well SBM friend Elizabeth came up to me and declared that there was some funky looking juice at one of the booths that looked right up my alley.  Come to think of it, I did remember seeing a guy carrying around a half gallon jug of some gross looking green substance with some crap floating in it.  And when I saw it, you can bet I said, ooooh I want some of that.  Nothing goats love more than gross looking concoctions!

Full of all sorts of raw foods – sweet potatoes, beets, brussell sprouts, ginger, honey, chia, herbs, the list goes on and on!  It also has a crunch to it – via nuts – hence the name Chuice – Juice you Chew!  It tasted great, so I’m excited to add it into my repertoire.  It is also heavier in calories, carbs, fiber, protein, fat, etc.

I probably should have posted a picture of the owner instead.  According to the ladies at the expo, he was hot.  He was a big dude with some Lenny Kravitz type hair.  Of course, goats thinking like we do, when I saw him, the first thing I thought was, oooh look at his arms.  I wonder what kind of exercises he does, and if they will make my arms look like that.  And so goes a goat’s brain.

Back to the matter at hand, the juice “detox.”

So what now?  Well first things first – an allstar Goat Breakfast – here’s the recipe:

THE GOAT SHAKE

Ingredients (serves one goat):

• 1 cup liquid (I typically go with half water/half unsweetened vanilla almond milk…if you want more calories, go with some coconut water or fresh juice)

• 1 cup frozen fruit (I typically go with berries; OR pineapple/mango/banana; OR cherries + a couple spoons cocoa powder; OR peaches/blueberries; OR peaches/banana/strawberries….bananas + PB2 powder…you get the idea!)

• A good handful spinach

• Optional things – vanilla extract; almond extract (good with the cherries + cocoa powder); coconut extract; unsweetened coconut flakes (good with the pineapple/mango/banana)

• 1 scoop Sunwarrior Warrior Blend raw, vegan, protein powder (usually I use Vanilla, but the Chocolate is good too.  The natural is ok, takes a little more getting used to)

• 1 spoon stevia in the raw (more or less depending on your taste for sweetness.  Also if you are using the natural flavor or if you are adding cocoa powder or PB2 powder, you may need an extra spoon)

• 1 large spoon flaxseed or Mila Chia

Directions:

Put everything in the blender and blend like crazy!  Best way to do it is liquid first, stevia + protein powder + any other type powder + extract + chia/flax next, spinach, then frozen fruit last.  Add more liquid if you need it.

Different shakes are good for different things.  Berries are good for everyday – they are lower sugar and lower carb/calorie.  The tropical – mango/banana/pineapple/coconut – good for a treat – or good for immunity boost…sometimes if I have an orange laying around, I add a little OJ too!  Need something anti-inflammatory?  I go with the cherries + dark chocolate cocoa.  Better than an advil!  (pineapples and tumeric are also great inflammation fighters!)

More recipes to come soon! (next time I’ll include photos too like a real blogger)

Happy eating!