21 Day Detox – Day 19

January 19,  2015

We thoroughly enjoyed our time with our friends this weekend. My friend and I are like two peas in a pod in so many ways. We each have our own quirky habits and routines but we are so comfortable with one another that we don’t even care.  Most guests would have had a hard time being here while we were doing this detox but it was no big deal for her. It was great to spend quality time together in person.

We ate leftovers and quick meals all weekend so I didn’t end up cooking a real meal at all. It was nice to have a little break from more time intensive cooking but of course I still spent a lot of time in the kitchen preparing meals and snacks. It seems the kids are always hungry! I used my Vitamix a lot to make smoothies because they are such a great way to get nutrients in easily and quickly (for myself and the kids).

Only a few days to go and I’ve definitely had treats on the brain. We had an employee party at the Y last night and they had cookies that looked so good. I almost saved one for Thursday but decided against it. I’m definitely not going to go crazy when this is done but I am going to have something small for sure. I’ve also been pinning lots of yummy sounding desserts that are made with healthier ingredients. I’m sure it doesn’t help me to be looking at all that!

Tonight for dinner I made these Crash Potatoes with some of both red and sweet potatoes. If you’ve never made this recipe, try it out! I love the way the skin gets all crispy. I seasoned them with garlic powder, sea salt, and pepper. I had the potatoes with half a black bean sweet potato burger, roasted zucchini, and sauteed onion and garlic on a bed of greens. I made this recipe for Almond Parmesan Crusted Chicken Tenders for the rest of the family. I used half almond meal and half cashew meal and replaced the parmesan with nutritional yeast since Scott isn’t eating cheese. They liked it other than the fact that I overcooked the chicken.

I did a lot of yelling again this weekend and this afternoon. We have a pretty small house so all the energy with the kids running around (especially the boys!) put me a bit on edge. I am still feeling very emotional and I get so mad at myself when I yell. I need to work on not letting my emotions get the best of me. I recognize my need for control so much in how I respond to the kids and it’s frustrating to me. Tomorrow is a new day…praise God!

“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”
Jeremiah 29:13

21 Day Detox – Day 18

January 18,  2015

Today’s been a mentally and emotionally challenging day for me…..one of those days when I would have turned to food for comfort before the detox. I’ve been struggling with trusting God in an area of my life that I have wanted to control for so long but He keeps reminding me that it is not in my hands. I have been on an emotional roller coaster and it’s exhausting. I’m almost to the end of this detox journey and I feel like it has been a necessary stop along the journey God is taking me right now. I’m so thankful for His presence with me each day.

Today’s reading in Sarah Young’s Jesus Calling: Enjoying Peace in His Presence couldn’t have fit more perfectly:

“I am leading you along the high road, but there are descents as well as ascents. In the distance you see snow-covered peaks glistening in brilliant sunlight. Your longing to reach those peaks is good, but you must not take shortcuts. Your assignment is to follow Me, allowing Me to direct your path. Let the heights beckon you onward, but stay close to Me.

Learn to trust Me when things go “wrong.” Disruptions to your routine highlight your dependence on Me. Trusting acceptance of trials brings blessings that far outweigh them all. Walk hand in hand with Me through this day. I have lovingly planned every inch of the way. Trust does not falter when the path becomes rocky and steep. Breathe deep draughts of My Presence, and hold tightly to My hand. Together we can make it!” (Based on John 21:19, 2 Corinthians 4:17, Habbakkuk 3:19)

“For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” 2 Corinthians 4:17

Lord, I know you have me on the path I should go but it is hard not to be able to see where I am going. I want to get there fast and on my schedule. Help me to avoid the temptation to take shortcuts or circumvent your directions. Stay close to me, dear Lord, hold me tight and lead the way.

On a much lighter note…here’s a pic of the sunflower seeds I’m sprouting. I was so excited to see sprouts late last night that I ate some this morning already. I’m going to keep it going for at least another day before I eat the rest.

We’ll be saying goodbye to our friends tomorrow before they travel back to their new home. We are enjoying our last night with them and savoring the moments we’ve shared together.

And lastly, one of my favorite songs. If you’ve never heard it, check it out on Spotify or You Tube.

Lord, I Need You
by Matt Maher

Lord, I come, I confess
Bowing here I find my rest
Without You I fall apart
You’re the One that guides my heart

Lord, I need You, oh, I need You
Every hour I need You
My one defense, my righteousness
Oh God, how I need You

Where sin runs deep Your grace is more
Where grace is found is where You are
And where You are, Lord, I am free
Holiness is Christ in me

Lord, I need You, oh, I need You
Every hour I need You
My one defense, my righteousness
Oh God, how I need You

Teach my song to rise to You
When temptation comes my way
And when I cannot stand I’ll fall on You
Jesus, You’re my hope and stay

Lord, I need You, oh, I need You
Every hour I need You
My one defense, my righteousness
Oh God, how I need You

You’re my one defense, my righteousness
Oh God, how I need You
My one defense, my righteousness
Oh God, how I need You

21 Day Detox – Day 17

January 17,  2015

I taught this morning and then our friends arrived shortly after I got home. The kids were so excited to have their buddies here after several months of not seeing them. They’ve been bugging me for days about when they’d be here. It has been so fun for my friend and I to be together again and especially for us to catch up in person. I’m not much of a phone talker and I get lazy with texting so there’s a lot to tell each other. My kids were especially excited about having their friends sleep in their rooms. C has slept in her cousin’s room but this is her first overnight guest in her own room. I hope it goes well! Our bedroom is next door so if anyone calls out in the middle of the night I’ll be the one responding to the call (Scott never seems to hear them…or at least that what he claims :).

I didn’t make any new recipes tonight and we just had leftovers and some additional veggies for dinner. While the kids watched a movie my friend and I got out for a bit to go to a health food store for a few things I needed to pick up.

This verse has been on my bathroom mirror for the past year and has given me hope recently in areas unrelated to the detox:

“Yet this I call to mind and therefore have hope: Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, ‘The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.’ The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait patiently for the salvation of the Lord.” Lamentations 3:22-26

Lord, may my hope be found in You. Your compassion and concern for me is unfailing and is new every morning. I will wait for You even if I struggle in the waiting.

21 Day Detox – Day 16

January 16,  2015

I got home a little while ago from spending some kid-free time with a special friend. We were planning to meet at a coffee shop but it was closed so we went to UDF (her idea but I was ok with it). It wasn’t even tempting to me and I can’t believe I’ve gotten to that place. It’s not that I wouldn’t eat the ice cream if I could, but I was ok with not having it. It was so nice to have some adult conversation for a longer period of time.

I was busy in the kitchen today making another batch of Mark Bittman’s All-Purpose Tomato Sauce from his book VB6, making another batch of Salsa Picante, washing much of the produce we bought at the grocery store, spiralizing some veggies, making lunch and dinner, and a few other small projects. C helped me a bit with the chopping and spiralizing then she got busy coloring and painting. She finished her first paint project and I put it on the floor next to my chair to dry. Sadly, I stepped on it while it was still wet so I made a nice mess of acrylic paint on the bottom of my foot.

Many people have asked me “what do you eat?” since there is so much that I have eliminated during this detox. Believe me, there is a lot I can still eat. My answer is usually “a lot of fresh produce” and some other things too of course. Below is a pic of most of the groceries we brought home today from the store. I was at a few other stores earlier this week too so this isn’t everything we’ll eat for the next week but it at least gives you a good idea of what we go through each week. I have eaten lots of produce for a while but now that Scott’s ramped up the amount he eats I can’t seem to keep up! Here’s a rundown of some of what we ate last week: 6 zucchini, 6 bell peppers, 2 heads of cauliflower, 2 bags of broccoli (a few crowns in each bag), 1 butternut squash, 1 large eggplant, several sweet potatoes, loads of apples, probably about 30 bananas, more than a half dozen onions, a bag of celery, lots of spinach and kale, and much more. We were out of many things by this morning so I needed to get to the store before lunch. I like grocery shopping but I really don’t care for the unloading, washing and prepping part. My hands are already a dry, cracking mess so they only get worse on days like this.  I got sprouting jars for Christmas and tried sprouting sunflower seeds last week with no luck. I realized after reading more about sprouting online that I hadn’t properly followed the directions so this is my second attempt. I’ll let you know how it goes. It should take a few days before I see sprouts.

I picked up a large bag of yellow squash at Kroger that was on manager’s special and didn’t have a plan for what I was going to do with it. After looking around on Pinterest I decided to make this Best Ever Zucchini Hummus. I eyeballed most of the ingredients instead of measuring but for sure, I made the following changes: used less oil, less lemon juice, less tahini, less salt, and added nutritional yeast, and hemp hearts. I also threw in a few extra squash because the hummus seemed very thin. I think the squash I used was a little smaller than medium sized. It was still thinner than normal hummus even after adding the extra squash but it is very tasty!! I’ll probably use it as a sauce for veggies.

For dinner tonight I made this Skinny Buffalo Chicken Chili (thanks Andrea for suggesting the recipe). I made the ground meat in a separate pan so that I could have some of the chili. I got myself a bowl and then added the meat in for the rest of the family. I used homemade vegetable broth that I had stored from last week and pinto beans that I froze this past weekend. I went ahead and used a generic hot sauce that contained no sugar and just a few ingredients. I thought my homemade hot sauce would make it a bit too spicy for everyone to enjoy. I put a little cheese on top of the kids chili but Scott and I had it plain. It was spicy but everyone loved it. Buffalo chicken dip is one of Scott’s favorites so this was a nice reminder of those flavors.

In the midst of being a stay at home mom and parenting young children, my life can often feel insignificant. The every day tasks can begin to blur and make me feel like I’m doing nothing more in this life than just keeping it going and keeping the kids fed, clothed and bathed (which my mom would argue not nearly often enough). We all have a desire in our hearts to make an impact. To be important. To be needed. But let’s not get wrapped up in trying to be something big that we forget to live in and through the small things. I was encouraged by these excerpts from today’s devotional in the You Version Streams in the Desert Bible Reading Plan by George Matheson.

“Be willing to be only a voice that is heard but not seen…..Be willing to be a breeze that arises just before daylight, saying, “The dawn! The dawn!” and then fades away.”

“Do the most everyday and insignificant tasks knowing that God can see. If you live with difficult people, win them over through love. If you once made a great mistake in life, do not allow it to cloud the rest of your heart, make it yield strength and character.”

“We are doing more good than we know. The things we do today – sowing seeds or sharing simple truths of Christ – people will someday refer to as the first things that prompted them to think of Him.”

Lord, help me to worry less about being someone great or about accomplishing big things all the while missing the small moments and opportunities. Help me to focus on the small seeds I can plant, letting You take care of the rest. Great and big things may be part of Your will but may that not be my sole focus.

 

P.S. We will have visitors tomorrow through Monday so I’m not planning on spending much time on my computer but I at least plan to pop in for a quick update each day 🙂

21 Day Detox – Day 15

January 15,  2015

Two weeks down, one week to go! Looking back over the last two weeks I think overall this has been much easier than I expected. I’ve had challenges of course but not to the extent that I expected.

I taught at the Y tonight just before dinner time so we had leftovers when we got home. We still had chili, vegan lasagna, and Kung Pao Chicken for everyone to choose from. I went with the vegan lasagna and it was even more delicious than the other two times. I will definitely be making that again. I’ll cook again tomorrow but I’m not yet sure what it will be!

I feel really good both physically and mentally right now. My mind continues to be clear and I have not felt the anxiety I would feel when drinking coffee and eating sugar. It is so nice to not feel like that! I use essential oils to help with anxiety and focus but haven’t had to use them nearly as much. It’s probably a good idea that I just use them all the time no matter what but I normally grab them when I’m really feeling the symptoms. I haven’t had as much muscle soreness as I normally do either. I don’t know if it’s something that I cut out that was causing inflammation or if it’s the fact that I’m eating more bananas.

I’ve been reading a lot of articles about sugar and inflammation. I always knew refined sugar was not good for me but I didn’t realize the direct link between sugar and many diseases and illnesses. With this knowledge in mind, I get even more mad at the food industry for loading so much of our food with unnecessary sugar – especially the food that you don’t expect it to be in. Of course when you are eating a treat you expect there to be sugar, but pretty much any packaged sauce, salsa, dressing, broth, etc. has added sugar. A lot of times you can’t taste it….but it’s there! We all need to be more vigilant about reading labels very carefully and knowing all the different names that are disguises for sugar. Many packaged/processed foods contain several forms of sugar but unless we know the names of the different forms we will have no idea it’s actually sugar. The shorter the list of ingredients the better! And try to eat food with only ingredients you recognize. Does this mean I’ll never eat sugar again? No. I’m not committing to that at this point. But, I will be eating sugar with a better informed mind.

One of my best friends is coming into town with her two kids this weekend and we are so excited! They moved to Kentucky in October and it is so different without her here to hang out with every week. It was a huge life change for them (and for us!) and has taken time for them to get settled into their new home and life there. Change is hard….

I’m not really a person who likes change. I like routine, things to be in their place, comfort, normalcy, and the status quo (as long as the status quo is good of course). Because I like to feel as if I’m in control, change throws me off balance. In times of change, I often feel stressed, overwhelmed and completely out of control. I know change is good but it is hard for me. This detox has been a big change for me in several ways. I knew this at the start and that’s why I drug my feet for so long before I actually decided I was really going to do it. I used to have a small dish of ice cream after lunch and another larger dish at night. I was able to break the lunch time habit more than a year ago but still had the night time habit and the habit of having coffee during the kids nap/rest time. These aren’t “evil” in and of themselves, but I needed to make a change and break the habits because they were negatively impacting my health and mood. These diet changes, however, are minute in comparison to the major changes one might experience from a life altering event like an injury, loss or death. No matter how big or small a change might be, we all struggle to adapt at times and often wish things would just stay the same forever. We all know of course that everything in life changes. Friendships change, marriages fall apart, we or someone we love becomes ill, people move away, we experience times of financial difficulty, and the list goes on. So often it seems we’ve finally got something down and feel like we’re in a good spot and then boom….something happens and it all changes. Our lives can be like an ocean. Sometimes (though not often) the vast sea of our lives is calm and quiet. Sometimes there are small smooth waves of changes that we are able to ride easily. Then there are times when the waves of changes are so big that we can’t even imagine standing amidst them. Some people thrive on this. Me, not so much.

I was encouraged by today’s entry in Sarah Young’s Jesus Calling: Enjoying Peace in His Presence:

“My face is shining upon you, beaming out Peace that transcends understanding. You are surrounded by a sea of problems, but you are face-to-Face with Me, your Peace. As long as you focus on Me, you are safe. If you gave too long at the myriad problems around you, you will sink under the weight of your burdens. When you start to sink, simply call out, “Help me, Jesus!” and I will lift you up.

…….Fix your eyes on Me, the One who never changes. By the time those waves reach you, they will have shrunk to proportions of My design. I am always beside you, helping you face today’s waves. The future is a phantom, seeking to spook you. Laugh at the future! Stay close to Me.” (Based on Philippians 4:7, Matthew 14:30, Hebrews 12:2)

 Life is unpredictable,
It changes with the seasons,
Even your coldest winter,
Happens for the best of reasons,
And though it feels eternal,
Like all you’ll ever do is freeze,
I promise spring is coming,
And with it, brand new leaves.
-e.h

Only one thing in life is unchanging – our Solid Rock – the Lord. Dear God, when I feel swept up in the waves of change, help me to stay afloat and keep my eyes fixed on you – the target, the only One who truly matters, the only One who will always be with me. I trust that You will help me wade through these waves and carry me through to the other side when it’s time. When it’s YOUR time, not mine. And help me to keep perspective along the way.

21 Day Detox – Day 14

January 14,  2015

I went to the gym early this morning and then headed to our counseling appointment in the late morning followed by a trip to Costco. I wanted to get a few more cans of the San Marzano tomatoes that I used to make tomato sauce and salsa. The tomatoes are so much better than other canned tomatoes and I want to keep some on hand at all times. We picked up a few other produce items we are low on while we were there. We spent the rest of the afternoon at home and then I headed out to take a yoga class before dinner. I practice daily at home but don’t often get out to an actual class so I was really looking forward to it. I got home just in time to finish dinner and then Scott and the kids headed to Awana while I taught.

Tonight I made this healthier Kung Pao Chicken recipe for Scott and the kids (not me since I’m not eating chicken). I used rice vinegar instead of coconut vinegar (which I don’t have) and peanuts in place of the raw cashews because I ran out of cashews. The original recipe is Paleo so I made it non-Paleo by using peanuts. For me, I planned to save some of the sauce to saute with these Vegan Eggplant Meatballs (I used flax meal instead of breadcrumbs) that I had stored in the freezer earlier in the detox. Unfortunately, there wasn’t enough sauce so I topped mine with a coconut milk based nut butter sauce that I have been using here and there. I’ll have to post that recipe and my edits another time. We ate the Kung Pao over a mix of brown rice and quinoa and added roasted cauliflower, broccoli, and brussels sprouts to complete the meal. I had a bed of greens on the very bottom too. Everyone loved the recipe!

This morning, our counselor discussed six different emotions we all have that if we were to personify, we could consider them different “friends” we know and hang out with. They are all different and ok “friends” to have but we like to spend time with some more than others and sometimes we don’t like spending time with a particular emotional “friend” at all. The emotions are joy, peace, and strength on the positive side and anger, fear and hurt on the negative side. I’ve been thinking about Joy since we left the appointment. All the positive emotions are challenging for me to feel (or allow myself to feel), but joy is particularly challenging. Yes, I feel happy as a result of certain circumstances or good things that happen around me. But living a truly joy-filled life that is joyous even in the midst of difficult circumstances or seemingly unanswered prayer is a struggle for me. This begs the questions: What is Biblical joy? What does true joy look like? I know it’s not based on any circumstance, happening or outcome. Psalm 33:20-22 says:

²⁰ We wait in hope for the Lord;
    he is our help and our shield.
²¹ In him our hearts rejoice,
    for we trust in his holy name.
²² May your unfailing love be with us, Lord,
    even as we put our hope in you.
Psalm 33:20-22

I also like Rick Warren’s definition of joy:
“Joy is the settled assurance that God is in control of all the details of my life, the quiet confidence that ultimately everything is going to be alright, and the determined choice to praise God in every situation.”

When we aren’t experiencing true joy we instead may feel a nagging feeling of frustration, sadness, discouragement, depression or emptiness. I know for me, I often feel a surge of happiness at something that goes my way, an accomplishment, a compliment, etc. But that happiness quickly fades and I’m left with a nagging feeling of emptiness. Then I feel bad/frustrated/confused about feeling empty and try to will myself out of the feeling. The key is that I’m trying to find joy on my own – without the Lord. We must not confuse happiness with joy. What I feel many times is situation based, earthly happiness and that is very different from true joy.

Today’s passage in Sarah Young’s Jesus Calling: Enjoying Peace in His Presence spoke directly to this:

“Let Me bless you with My grace and Peace. Open your heart and mind to receive all that I have for you. Do not be ashamed of your emptiness. Instead, view it as the optimal condition for being filled with My peace.

It is easy to touch up your outward appearance, to look as if you have it all together. Your attempts to look good can fool most people. But I see straight through you, into the depths of your being. There is no place for pretense in your relationship with Me. Rejoice in the relief of being fully understood. Talk with Me about your struggles and feelings of inadequacy. Little by little, I will transform your weaknesses into strengths. Remember that your relationship with Me is saturated in grace. Therefore, nothing that you do or don’t do can separate you from My Presence.” (Based on 1 Samuel 16:7 and Romans 8:38-39)

God knows and loves each of us through and through. He wants us to experience true JOY in Him. I believe we will never experience the joy He has planned for us unless we find it in Him. Anything else will leave us unsatisfied and looking for more. That looking elsewhere is a vicious and never-ending cycle that is not fun to be in. I know, I’ve been there and can still find myself there when my eyes and heart go off the target – the Lord.

May we seek and find the joy-filled life God has planned for us. Joyous living is not an easy thing but it is possible when it’s done with God.

21 Day Detox – Day 13

January 13,  2015

I taught dark and early this morning and was not surprised that I had a class of one. I’m sure most people were sleeping in to recover from a late night watching the Scarlet and Gray pull out a victory! I made it until about half-time and then fell asleep on the couch. I had a restless night of sleep between attending to C when she yelled out for me (more than normal) and just overall not sleeping soundly. I expected my sleep to be better during the detox but on the whole I think it’s actually been worse. For a while I’d go to bed exhausted and pretty much conk as soon as my head hit the pillow. Since I started the detox, I still fall asleep relatively easily but I have been waking up a lot throughout the night. I don’t feel extremely tired during the day but it is very frustrating to be waking up so much. I’m trying not to dwell on it because I know that only makes it worse.

I’ve been thinking a lot about my cholesterol lately and wondering what (if any) changes I will see when I retest in a few weeks. A friend was talking to me the other day about inflammation and heart disease and research that shows an even stronger correlation between the two than that which exists between cholesterol and heart disease. I’ve started to read some articles about this and am fascinated. It’s funny the things that peak my interest these days.

We had leftovers tonight since we had extras from two meals and last night’s meal was pretty labor intensive. I had the vegan lasagna and enjoyed it even more than last night as I think the flavors intensified after sitting overnight. Scott and the kids had chili. We still have more of both meals and it’s not really enough to freeze so we’ll probably be having leftovers again in the next few days. After dinner I took the kids to the library to get books and then to Menchie’s for a special treat to celebrate E’s good report at his conference today. I did surprisingly well getting their frozen yogurt and toppings for them without feeling tempted or sad that I was missing out. Of course I had banana as soon as we got home 🙂 I’m getting more and more used to not having sugar filled treats in my daily life. It gets easier each day.

My theme for my class this morning was filling our minds with positive thoughts. This quote resonated with me as I relate to doing all these things in my mind – often in a detrimental way. Many times it would be helpful for me to just stop analyzing every little detail and situation and instead let them be what they are.

“A person’s mind is so powerful. We can invent, create, experience, and destroy things with thoughts alone.” Author Unknown

My prayer is that I (and you!) would let only the Godly, good, real, truthful, logical, and rational ones in and stop spending mental effort on thoughts that don’t serve us in a positive way.

21 Day Detox – Day 12

January 12,  2015

Happy Monday! I’m sitting here at my computer with the big game on in the background. If I weren’t out here typing I’d probably be asleep already so I guess it’s okay that I’m not actually sitting in the living room watching the screen. Most of my extended family are die-hard Buckeye fans so this is a big night for us. My Grandpa sent an email to the family spread out across many states (including the one up North) this morning to get us in the spirit early. He and my mom are together tonight having their own little tailgate party. I have so many fond memories of tailgating on my grandparents old property by the pond. We’d have a big bonfire and Grandpa would drive his truck down filled with a giant spread of lunch meat, cheese, and snacks prepared by my Grandma. He’d often play the game on the radio and we’d cheer the team on together as a family. Of course sometimes the mood would be a little more tension-filled, but win or lose we were together as a family enjoying something together. Scott teaches at OSU and starts back tomorrow at 9:30. I’m guessing he’s going to have a small class! Nonetheless, go Bucks! Bring us home a win.

We were about 2 degrees shy of another day off school today. I wasn’t sure I’d be going to the gym early this morning because of all the freezing rain we had last night but the roads seemed okay once I got out onto the main road. Ice is so much scarier to me than snow but I didn’t  have any trouble. Of course E was bummed he had to go to school after I suggested last night that he might be off. It’s funny that even now as a parent I get a little excited about the potential for snow days. It brings back memories of childhood.

C and I spent the morning working in the kitchen making nut butter, prepping a few things for dinner, washing veggies, and starting a muffin recipe. We then played a few games before we headed out to the chiropractor, Kroger and Trader Joe’s. I love to hit up Kroger for manager’s specials on produce. I got 4 bags of apples for $0.99 each today. The kids typically have at least one apple each per day and I use them in smoothies and for recipes so we go through them fast. I often find bags of peppers, oranges, zucchini, lemons, potatoes and more. And when I’m lucky the bag is filled with organic produce! I don’t normally go to Trader Joe’s every week but there are a few items I buy there that we seem to be going through more quickly than normal. I should just buy more each time but C likes to go there so much to push the kiddie cart, eat cheese samples, have animal crackers, and search for the turtle that it’s a fun little outing for us. I like it even more when I’m eating sweets because they have a lot of fun selections. I just tried not to let my eyes rest too long on any of those things today. Encouragingly, I haven’t felt as tempted by sweets lately and feel so good about myself for not eating them that it’s almost hard to imagine eating them. I’m guessing this might change but we shall see.

Tonight we had a vegan roasted vegetable lasagna that I made using components of a few different recipes. It was a veggie packed meal complete with eggplant, zucchini, butternut squash, cauliflower, broccoli, and kale. The kids ate it without a single complaint about all the veggies, which was a total surprise.

The lasagna uses roasted eggplant and zucchini in place of noodles. I loosely followed this Vegan Eggplant Zucchini Lasagna recipe for the overall dish and specifically the roasted veggies. I made the cashew cheese and broccoli sun-dried tomato pesto from this recipe. I left out the rosemary in the cashew cheese and added a few tablespoons of blended roasted red pepper to the pesto. I also used a combo of roasted and raw broccoli. The cashew cheese works great as a substitute for ricotta. Some recipes call for tofu but since I’m not eating tofu on the detox I had to find another alternative. I am a fan of the nut and nutritional yeast based cheeses. For the sauce, I used the All-Purpose Tomato Sauce from Mark Bittman’s VB6 Cookbook (that I made last week and stored in the freezer). I left out the shredded vegan cheese topping since I’m not eating that type of thing on the detox but did put a little regular shredded cheese on the kids side and heated some chopped chicken in tomato sauce for Scott and the kids to add to theirs.

I have been feeling so much less anxious since starting this detox. I think it was the caffeine that was messing with my nervous system. Whatever it was, it feels so much better to not feel as high strung and jittery. Praise God!

Well, that’s all for now. I’m heading in to watch a bit of the game before I’m out for the night. I teach at 6:30am so I don’t think it’d be wise for me to stay up for the whole thing (not that I’d make it anyway).

 

21 Day Detox – Day 11

January 11,  2015

Today’s been a jam packed day starting with helping in the 4-year old room at church, then eating a quick lunch before teaching the first of a 4-week beginner series yoga class followed by meeting with our church small group tonight (where Scott and I watched everyone else enjoy the dessert I made last night packed with chocolate and peanut butter). I prefer not to have so many activities in one day but it was all good!

With a little planning and prepping ahead last night, I was able to make a few things today. I made a batch of pinto beans to store in the freezer, Veggie Queen’s 5-Minute Vegetable Stock in the pressure cooker, and this Clean Eating 4 Bean Chili for dinner. I used black, pinto, and mayocoba dried beans that I had soaked, cooked and stored in the freezer instead of canned beans and the veggie stock that I made in the pressure cooker. We had some meatloaf leftover from the other day so I just chunked that up and put it in the chili instead of opening a new package. It made a nice big pot so I’ll be able to use it for their lunches or freeze it to eat at another time. My original plan was to make some for Scott and the kids with meat and some for me without, but I accidentally put meat in all of it so I ended up eating something else.

I continue to feel good and have started to think about what I’m going to do after this detox food wise. I feel great right now but there are definitely foods I enjoy that I’m not eating. Yes, maybe they are not the most nutritious choices for my body to have all the time but I wonder how I’ll feel about having them sometimes. I constantly battle in my mind with doing what’s best for my body all the time which definitely takes more prep, work, and thought, and just letting go sometimes and simply enjoying without worrying about every little ingredient or the harm I might be causing my body by eating a certain food. I don’t think I have to choose one or the other but it’s definitely been on my mind.

So this excerpt today’s reading in Sarah Young’s Jesus Calling: Enjoying Peace in His Presence is perfect:

“Trust Me by relinquishing control into My hands. Let go, and recognize that I am God. This is My world: I made it and I control it.”

This goes against every ounce of my fleshly being that wants to be in complete and total control of every little detail of my life down to the morsels of food I eat. But it is refreshing and freeing to know that no matter what, I am not in control. No, that does not mean I don’t have responsibility because I have tremendous responsibility, but ultimately God has control.

Lord, I trust You and I let go of my seemingly (to me) perfectly laid out plans. Instead, I surrender to Your will and plan. Laying aside my worry, burden, and anxiety of all forms and replacing it with Your love, grace, and freedom.

21 Day Detox – Day 10

January 10,  2015

Today was a good day overall. I took the morning off from teaching to go to E’s basketball game. He’ll be playing every Saturday for the next two months during the time I teach. We got there and realized it was just practice today. Oh well, I got to see him practice and chat with friends. It was very strange to be home on a Saturday morning. I’ve only not taught on a Saturday for the last several years when we’ve been out of town. The kids and I were able to play a few rounds of Jenga and read an extra book before we headed to basketball which was nice. We spent the rest of the afternoon at home and Scott had to go out of town so we had friends over to play.

We ate leftovers for dinner since we had quite a few things to choose from. I haven’t missed a thing that I cut out of my diet other than sweet things. The rest of it, even eggs, I have been fine without. It’s been fun to try so many new recipes. I feel like I had been in a rut before starting the detox in terms of cooking but my interest was renewed when I started looking around for recipes that fit my plan.

I had to make a dessert today for our small group meeting tomorrow. I made peanut butter cookie bars that have chocolate chips, chopped peanut butter bells (leftover from Christmas), and peanut butter M&Ms. That was very tempting! Normally I would eat several bites of the dough because it always tastes better to me raw and I think chocolate chips taste better in raw dough than they do out of the package or baked. Strange, I know. Anyway, it helped that my friend was here to distract me while I made them so that I didn’t just give into temptation and dig right in.

I also made my first attempt at miso soup using Eden Foods Genmai Miso. I’ve read a lot of good things about miso so I figured why not give it a try. I’m not yet sure it’s my thing. I need to try it a few more times. I have a quart of it now and I’m sure nobody else in my family will go for it so I’ll probably be trying it more than just a few times. I really don’t like waste – especially when the ingredients were expensive.

After making the cookie bars I had sweets on the brain. I had a few bites of banana earlier and then decided to whip up a little “shake” with banana, a medjool date, Califia Farms Toasted Coconut Almond Milk and a scoop of canned coconut milk (I have a can open in the fridge that needs to be used up). Oh my goodness was it delicious! C drank almost all of it so I ended up making another when the kids went to bed. It satisfies my craving for the smooth and creamy texture of ice cream.

My heart is heavy today as I heard of yet another acquaintance who received news this week that they have cancer. I don’t know her well but my heart is aching for her and her family as they process this news and what the immediate future will hold for them. There have been several people in my close circle who have family members or friends with recent diagnoses or death. It is hard for me (and surely for them) not to question God and ask “why them, why now”, etc. Only God knows and unfortunately we may never know on this side of heaven. Today’s reading from Sarah Young’s Jesus Calling: Enjoying Peace in His Presence spoke to this directly.

“Every time you affirm your trust in me, you put a coin into My treasury. Thus you build up equity in preparation for days of trouble. I keep safely in My heart all trust invested in Me, with interest compounded continuously. The more you trust Me, the more I empower you to do so.

Practice trusting Me during quiet days, when nothing much seems to be happening. Then when storms come, your trust balance will be sufficient to see you through. Store up for yourself treasure in heaven through placing your trust in Me. This practice will keep you in My Peace.” (Based on Psalm 56:3-4 and Matthew 6:20-21)

Wow! We know storms WILL come (if we aren’t in one at this moment) and there is no promise that they will be short or easy. May we continuously offer ourselves completely to the Lord and affirm our trust in Him so that when they do come, we will be able to find peace in Him amidst the crashing waves.