That’s right, folks. 5/7 days of the week I’m vegan, but today I start on my 21 day cleanse. Since re-reading Kathy Freston‘s Quantum Wellness I’ve just begun to realize that wellness is a 24/7 practice.
And while I’m always doing great in one area, there’s always work to do somewhere else.
I’m two years, 3 months vegetarian and counting (with the odd wavering during special occasions). In 2010, I began to have some major digestive problems. Since going to the doctor and testing out various over the counter meds and food, I’ve been able to cut down on the bouts of stomach acidity but it hasn’t quite completely left me yet. So after much binging on seafood, ramen noodles and the best pork I’ve eaten in my life for 8 days in Tokyo, I’ve decided to get my body back in gear. For 21 days, these are the guidelines I’m going to adhere to as recommended by Freston in her book:
- No alcohol
- No caffeine (I know – what will I do without green tea?)
- No gluten
No sugar (the hardest challenge) - No casein – Since I’m already mostly vegan, this is the additional challenge aside from meat products. Casein appears in some cereals and veggie-based meats.
Yesterday I walked my way to Famous Foods so I could get my regular groceries and some additional goods I knew I couldn’t find at the PriceSmart I usually drive to.
Since I only had to get half the groceries for this week than usual, I was hoping I wouldn’t spend too much. Shopping at places like this can be expensive. I went $6 over my $35 budget but it wasn’t too bad since a lot of the items will last me at least two weeks.
On the list for this week:
- Organic bananas
- Broccoli
- Strawberries
- Soy yogurt
- Quinoa
- Nature’s Path organic flax multibran flakes cereal (not my usual maple pecan, but I know my colon’s gonna love that bran)
- Blueberries
- Onion
- Lime
- Organic lettuce
- Green onions
- Brown mushrooms
- Van’s gluten and sugar-free apple cinnamon waffles
- Peanuts
- Black beans (I know I shouldn’t buy canned, but the bulk is EXPENSIVE)
- Green pepper
For the next few days I plan to make a quinoa-based salad and then a veggie stir-fry with brown rice. The soy yogurt and berries will be a new change from the peanut butter sandwiches I eat for breakfast, along with oatmeal as well. Eating out will also be a challenge but I LOVE raw vegan so we’ll see how many places I can manage.
I’ll blog again on April 12th to let you know how I’m doing.
