Tag Archives: Juice Fast

Fruits, Vegetables and Juice Fasting – Day one

30 Nov

The day before starting our Detox fasting I went to get groceries buy and prepare the ingredients for the next day. Groceries were so expensive! I bought provisions for two days, and spent $103. I also bought Flax Seed Oil for $9, and 4 boxes of tea for $12. I didnt find cherries, mushrooms and some other stuff, so I will switch it around.Also, I did not buy it all organic, because of the prices. For example one bunch of organic red radishes is $1,49 vs. 49 cents of the regular kind.

I understand now why there is an obesity epidemic! Nobody can afford to eat healthy in America!

First thing in the morning

We woke up excited and anxious about the Fasting. Had a mate tea with lemon and stevia. I know I am not supposed to have caffeine, but I don’t consider mate to have caffeine, it is actually a different stimulant that it has. And well, I am very addicted to coffee, so just by eliminating it from my diet or ten days is a big difference already.

Breakfast

Breakfast was Baked Apples with Cherries, Raisins, Cinnamon and Agave. We didn’t have cherries, so I substituted for Pears. It was very good. I couldn’t finish the whole thing, and I had to save half and eat it forty minutes later.

Mid-Morning Juice

The mid-morning juice was fine, a mix of apples, kale, celery, cucumber, and spinach. It is not something you can just drink in one sip. It took me about an hour to finish it. And I wasn’t hungry.

Lunch

For lunch we had the Green Reboot Salad with Honey Mustard Dressing, which was basically all the greens you want with your veggies of choice. The dressing is a basic vinagrette that can be made in the blender, and very tasty. I added some alfafa sprouts, which are ok, but bean sprouts are not because they are hard to digest.

Snack

I was starting to get hungry when snack time came, and was excited about this concoction. It was carrot juice, blended with avocado, coconut meat, ginger, cayenne pepper, sea salt, and olive oil. It was a pleasant mixture of sweet,salty and spicy. I couldn’t finish the whole thing. I also started feeling sleepy, with low energy and had a headache.

Dinner

Dinner was supposed to be a green salad, and Broccoli, Snow Peas and Green Beans Steamed with Honey Ginger Garlic Soy Sauce Dressing. I said supposed to because we could not even eat the salad! Yep! That is how full we were. Pretty amazing! And the dressing is so delicious, it tastes great with the veggies.

Steamed Green Beans and Broccoli

By the time I was done with dinner my head was pounding, and I felt like my head was foggy, almost like I was dizzy. I took a nice bath and went to bed, proud for having being able to finish Day 1! And it was not so hard! I guess the hardest thing was not to have coffee in the morning. Okay, maybe the headache,bloating and indigestion are things I am happy about, but I guess it is my body reacting to the extreme changes I made in my diet today. And I am fine with that.

One thing that I noticed was that every time I changed the channel there was something about food, Fast Food Nation was on, then Dr. Oz show about families going hungry in America because they cannot afford to put food on the table. I think you just became more aware of what is happening.

The first day is over and I am looking forward for tomorrow!

Tags: , , , , , ,

Bye-Bye Thanksgiving, Hello Detox! Juice Fasting After the Holidays

29 Nov

Even though I didn’t grow up celebrating Thanksgiving in Brazil, I became used to looking forward the whole year for it, since it is my favorite American Holiday! I love all the autumn spices and flavors…Julian apple cider, brussel sprouts, pumpking, squash, and an endless list of awesomeness!

This year was not different, and I cooked again all my favorites: Herb Butter (Rosemary, Sage and Thyme) Roasted Turkey stuffed with Meyer Lemons and Sweet Onions; Brussel Sprouts Au Gratin, Mashed Potatoes, Cranberry Relish and Brazilian Farofa (toasted cassava/yucca) flour with shredded carrots, raisins and walnuts. A friend brought some nice iraqui flat bread. For dessert, I made Frozen Passion Fruit Mousse and Semisweet Chocolate Ganache Pie, and my chef friend brought Pumpking Bread Pudding with Rum Caramel Sauce…Heaven!!

Everything was perfect, and as we feast on these goodies the conversation went on to “Fasting”. It turns out there is a movie out called  “Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead” that inspired my friend to want to start juicing. Another friend, who is an expert on the subject ( I remember fasting on fruits this summer while camping on the desert because he convinced us it would be a great opportunity) started to go over the benefits, while my hubby said he did not understand why people do it and would probably never be one of these people.  Well, he already had agreed to do this Brazilian soup diet for a week with me after Thanksgiving, but see you he diet is not so strict. For a whole week you can drink a delicious vegetable soup plus solid foods which change on a daily basis, mainly fruits and vegetables but one day you can have one baked potatoes and on another 2 days you can have a small steak…Yep, this is how brazilians detox and do diets, keep the meat!

Well…Then two days later another friend came over and insisted we watch that movie, and he was also inspired to start the Juice Fast Program. Could this be just a coincidence? But I don’t believe in coincidences!Specially when you hear the same story from three of your closest friends – and they don’t even talk to each other! I took it as a sign, and after watching the movie and visiting their web site I figured: “What the heck? It doesn’t hurt to try!” I have done many Fastings before, but usually they involve solid fruit and veggies, and one time I did a Fast for a Spiritual Vision Quest where I didn’t eat or drink anything including water for four days…this cannot be that bad….

The hubby agreed we forget the Brazilian soup diet and try this one instead, so I went to the movie website and clicked on the link to the Juicing Program.

Reboot Program

It is called Reboot and you can fill out a questionnaire and register if you want, so they can advised which of their three plans is best for you.

All their Programs include solid fruits and veggies, so we choose to do the 15 day Reboot Standard Program, but we will do it for 10 days. The first 5 days it is a combination of solid fruits and veggies and the juice, then 5 days of only juicing, then it goes back to the first 5 days of mixed juices and solids.

We decided to say goodbye to food by having me cook a Brazilian favorite: Beef Strogonoff with Crimini Mushrooms, Basmati White Rice and Shoestring Potatoes. We even had soda and chocolate, to make the transition easier…

Not really because Reboot advises to prepare for a whole week before by eating healthier, eliminating processed foods, sugar, oil, animal protein, etc…

But well, it is the intention that counts, and we are very excited about detoxing our bodies and starting the New Year with a clean mind and body.

Wish us luck!!!

Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Newer Entries →