21 day Quantum Wellness Clease here I come.

So...it begins today.  21 days of no alcohol, caffeine, refined sugars, animal products, or gluten.  I might go INSANE or this might be the best thing I do in my life.  Time for a change.  Good...bad...who knows.  All I know is that I plan on challenging myself the next three weeks.

How did I get the idea for this cleanse you ask?  It is the Kathy Freston "Quantum Wellness Cleanse" That link goes to the book I got on Amazon.  Here is a link to Kathy Freston's actual page.  Worth checking out.  

Another way I plan on challenging myself is by ACTUALLY keeping up with my blog, both of them.  This one to journal how the cleanse is going and my other blog,  Not a Short Order to post the recipes I use.  This actual page will be a day behind.  I want to make sure I have recipes and my insights into the cleanse all worked out for the day before I start typing.   The other link will have recipes posted as I go.

So...see you back later for my thoughts and recipe links.  FYI...so far so good.  Tofu Scramble and mixed fruit for breakfast.  YUM.

Feel free to cleanse along with me, leave insights you may have, or even some yummy recipes to try.  Just remember the rules!  

No: alcohol, caffeine, animal products, refined sugar, or gluten.

Quinoa with black beans, corn, and avocado.

Say it with me.  KEEN-wah.  Not Ca-no-a like I pronounce it in my head.

This recipe is vegan AND gluten free, so safe for the cleanse!  I feel this might be come a regular recipe regardless.  Gluten is what given stuff the "chewy" feel, like bagels.  This has not gluten, but a nice texture to it.

This is rather easy to make.  Check your quinoa before you start cooking.  Some need to be rinsed before you cook it.  It is rather small so make sure you have a strainer with TINY openings or you will loose it all.  Or, you can go the quick route like me.  Mine was organic AND prewashed.  Just read the bag to find out.  I think a few cents more is well worth the hassle.

This would be lovely with fresh corn, but I forgot to get some at the farmers market this past weekend.  If you forgot as well, go with frozen.  When you use canned vegetables there is always a bunch of salt thrown in there.  With frozen vegetables, the vegetables are picked and frozen right away so the nutrients stay in.  Some frozen vegetables could even be fresher than your fresh vegetables!

If you notice in the picture the quinoa starts out like LITTLE dots, but when you cook it, it has weird squiggly threads coming out of it.  Perfectly normal.  :)



Ingredients:

• 1 cup uncooked quinoa
• 1 cup frozen, or fresh corn cut from the cob
• 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1/4 cup lime juice (about 3 limes for me)
• a handful of chopped cilantro
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 or 2 avocados (I am an avocado junky.  I used two)

Directions:

1. Cook quinoa according to package and set aside.
2. Saute the corn and black beans.  If you have green peppers that would be lovely.  I did not.
3. Once softened, add the lime juice and the cilantro.
4. Add quinoa to this and toss.
5. Top with the avocado and enjoy!  

This is yummy warm as is, or chilled in the fridge.  

Food and Nutrition: The Final Frontier

In my house, we have picky kids.  Super picky kids.  Well....one in particular.  Nate.  With all the kids they always were given what we ate.  Aidan use to gorge on Wheat Thins dipped in hummus.  Most of the time the Wheat Thin was just the tool used to shovel in the hummus.  Then something switched.  I have no idea what happened, maybe it was just the age, but everything seemed gross except the child basics: nuggets, fries, mac n cheese, and pb&j's.

Nate, he never even tried anything.  I can honestly say he has NEVER had a pea or carrot in his mouth, that wasn't baby food.  It is not that we haven't given then to him.  They were the first veggies we tried, he just will NOT eat them.
V seems to do well with everything we give her.  She even ate a raw green onion the other day.
This is going to make the next stage of my life a tad bit difficult. 
In about a month I am going to do The Quantum Wellness Cleanse, by Kathy Freston. I am starting after Aidan's birthday party, well because I am going to be making a big fat cake and I won a bunch of Blue Bunny Ice Cream.  I know me.  I won't make it through the day.
The cleanse is a 21 day cleanse where you "give up" the big five:

• alcohol
• animal products
• sugar
• gluten
• caffeine

Not gonna lie.  I am terrified of the no caffeine.  I need to start weaning myself soon.  In the past when I have given up caffeine, I get HORRIBLE headaches.    I think that is going to be my biggest challenge.  


I am currently reading my book and looking through other books for some good vegan, gluten-free recipes.    I have "The Kind Diet" by Alicia Silverstone.  Even if you don't go vegan it is a very good book to read.  Lots of compelling arguments and she writes EXACTLY as I picture her talking.  I have a tendency to write the same way and I like it.  It seems like you are sitting across from her, drinking a cup of Yerba Mate, and discussing all things healthy.
So...the big day for me is May 20th.  The day I start the cleanse.  Feel free to join me here and cleanse along with me.  The total cleanse is 21 days and 5 items.  I have brought it up to a lot of people and they respond by saying "I can do one or two...."  which is awesome.  But it is for ONLY 3 weeks of your life.  I think this is what is going to make the cleanse interesting.
Do you think you can hang for 21 days with me?