Look What I Got! And Days 3 and 4

Yesterday I bought two things that made me very happy

The book Crazy Sexy Diet by Kris Carr and a Yoga mat. I read Carr's book some months ago and LOVED it. I know the name sounds funny but it's a legit read! Carr is a cancer survivor who basically treated her disease by making some drastic lifestyle changes. Here is  the Amazon.com synopsis of the book

"Infused with Carr's signature sass, wit and advice-from-the-trenches style, Crazy Sexy Diet is a beautifully illustrated resource that puts you on the fast track to vibrant health, happiness and a great ass! Along with help from her posse of experts, she lays out the fundamentals of her Crazy Sexy Diet: an anti-inflammatory, vegetarian program that emphasizes balancing the pH of the body with lush whole and raw foods, nourishing organic green drinks, and scrumptious smoothies. Plus, she shares the steps of her own twenty-one-day cleanse, and simple but delectable sample recipes. Carr empowers readers to move from a state of constant bodily damage control to one of renewal and repair, making this a must-have for anyone who seeks to be a confident and sexy wellness warrior."

Meh...I don't think that accurately portrays the book's awesomeness but at least you have some idea what it's about. Anyway, I was very sad when I had to return the book to the library. There was so much information that I didn't have enough time to absorb. I knew that I had to get my own copy one day; it's been on my Amazon.com wish list for months. Well, I made that wish come true yesterday! I can't wait to read it again! That probably won't happen for at least another week though because I'm currently working my way through The China Study. Loving it so far. ::Sigh:: I get so excited reading about food and nutrition!! You know how your mouth waters when you're really hungry and you get a whiff or catch a glimpse of the delicious meal you're about to eat? Well that's what my brain does when I read about this stuff. Yes...reading about food and nutrition makes my brain salivate..and it always wants more! Next on my list is The Starch Solution. I almost walked out of Barnes and Nobles with it yesterday but I couldn't justify spending $26.00 on it when it's less than $16 on Amazon, and free from the library if I just wait a couple of weeks.

As for the yoga mat: I do yoga fairly often and plan to do it even more regularly so I thought it was about time I invested in a mat. I learned this morning that doing yoga on a yoga mat instead of on a rug, a quilt, or a regular exercise mat makes SUCH a big difference!

Now onto food: I've officially completed FOUR WHOLE DAYS of being gluten, sugar, and dairy free (I would say vegan but I had that fried egg on Sunday)!  I am so proud of me. Only 38 days to go...It's been tough. It's hardest at the end of the day when I'm really tired, I get home and I still have to make dinner (a process that took me about 2.5 hours tonight) and I really just want something sweet to boost my mood. For the few days I think I may have been using too much oil and salt in my cooking so I'm trying to be more mindful of that here on out. Here's what I've been eating:

Day 3

Breakfast: "Nut Shake"- 1/4 cup almonds soaked overnight, soymilk, 1 banana, 1/2 avocado, 2 dates, 1tbs flaxseeds, 1 tbs hemp seeds, 1tsp cacao powder

Lunch:
Leftover Tofu Scramble, Grilled Polenta, and spring salad mix

Dinner: "Spicy Black Beans" (I used this recipe as a reference but basically only seasoned them with garlic, onion, Bragg's liquid amino acids, and nutritional yeast), Baked Plantains, Brown Rice, and Raw Kale Salad (I love raw kale when I prepare it this way: with olive oil, lemon juice, sea salt, raisins, and raw cashews, ahhh so good).

This has been my favorite dinner so far!
Snacks: a banana, baby carrots, too many handfuls of cashews,  and a pack of pistachios

Day 4:

Breakfast: "Very Very Banana-Blueberry" chia pudding

So "normally" you make chia pudding by soaking chia seeds in milk from anywhere from 20 minutes to a day or two. I usually make mine by soaking the seeds in soymilk or raw almond milk with some agave syrup. Well since I'm currently not using any form of sweetner that isn't a fruit I decided to try something new. I made a banana blueberry smoothie and then soaked the chia seeds in that. That's the first picture. I quickly realized if I wanted to be able to actually eat the pudding I'd have to spruce it up a bit. So I added a banana and some blueberries in their whole form. It wasn't the best but it was very edible. And I felt pretty great after eating it!

Lunch: Leftover Raw Kale Salad and Spicy Black beans (beans not pictured here).

Dinner Part 1: Brown Rice and Kimchi (making dinner tonight took a LONG time. So to avoid passing out from hunger, I had to have an "appetizer.")

Dinner Part 2: Breakfast Burrito Bake - This ended up being alot so I'll probably be eating it for lunch and dinner for the next couple of days! I loved this because it's made up entirely of vegetables, beans, and spices: mushroom, zucchini, onion, red bell pepper, potatoes, swiss chard, cilantro, black beans, and pinto beans. I did not love this because it was a completely oil free and salt free recipe and that took some mental adjusting.

I didn't have enough potato topping. womp.

Snacks: walnuts and raisins, baby carrots, a banana, an apple, raw cashews

Alrighty, that is all for now!