T-minus NOW!!

Hi folks!

I want to begin by thanking Hilda, Erin, and Julie for poking me today. I have been off the grid for a few days, but all for a good cause. I had my sister come visit for a few days this past weekend and I was busy enjoying her visit :-) However, her visit came to a close and that meant it was time to JUICE!!!

Sunday night, my MIL came by with a small box-load of fruits for juicing. After we juiced all her stuff and went over the details of how her first day would go for her, I went ahead and juiced our breakfast and lunch. 

For breakfast, Sunset Blend juice:

1 large Sweet Potato
1 medium Carrot
1 Red Bell Pepper
2 large Red Beets
2 Golden Delicious Apples
2 Pineapple wedges
1 Orange

For Lunch, Spinach Blend Juice:

1 Fennel Bulb
1 Cucumber
3 Celery Stalks
3 cups Spinach

We tried both concoctions before packaging them up. The Sunset Blend was fruity with a beet background. Dennis liked it, but he said all he could taste was the beet. My MIL liked it. I loved it. The Spinach Blend was a bit more interesting. Dennis was not too convinced. He said all he could taste was celery. My MIL did not care for this one at all. I thought it would be OK so long as I could add a bit of salt and maybe some Tabasco. I think the main issue on this one, for me, is that it has fennel. The fennel is supposed to be a sweet anise flavor and honestly, I am not sure how well it blends with the other veggies.

So having said all that...

Day 1 

Starting weight: 231.4 lbs.

I got up early, weighed myself, got ready for work, packed my juices and headed out. Had the first juice done by 9AM and the second one...well, that was a different story. I added salt to it in the hopes it would taste better, but no go. Will need to rethink recipes that have fennel in them - not quite my thing. I will admit that I was not hungry all day between the juices and all the water I drank. The goal is to aim for 64oz of water daily in addition to your juices. 

The plan we are doing involves juicing twice daily and then a veggie dinner. First night was:

Green Vegetable Soup:

2 tbsp Olive Oil
2 Leeks, thinly sliced, white and green parts
3 cloves Garlic, minced
1 head Broccoli, trimmed to small florets
2 medium Zucchini, cut into half moons
1 head Spinach, roughly chopped
4 leaves Basil
1 tsp. Sea Salt
1/2 tsp. fresh ground Pepper
6 cups water
3 tbsp. fresh Basil, chopped

Saute first three ingredients over medium high heat for 3 minutes. Add next six ingredients and saute for 5 minutes. Add water and boil for 15 minutes. Add chopped basil when served.

This was actually pretty good and it was nice to end the first day of juicing with a hot meal. Gotta be honest...it was not rice and beans with a side salad, but it did the trick.

Day 2

Weigh-in: 229.6 lbs

I got up, used the restroom and weighed my self again - what works for me is to weigh every day at the same time of the day. The second day was pretty much like the first. I am a routine kinda girl. What can I say? :-)

The juice for today was as follows:

Carrot Apple Ginger Juice:

3 Carrots
2 Apples
1” Ginger

I made double the quantity and had it for both breakfast and lunch. I realized I should have had an herbal tea before breakfast, so I make sure to remember to tea-it in the morning - Lipton's Mango-Peach Herbal Tea. YUM! The rest of the day was a breeze, just like Day 1. 

Dinner tonight was:

Kale Avocado Salad:

2 cups Kale
1/2 cup Red Cabbage, chopped
1/2 Tomato, chopped
1/3 Avocado, diced
1/4 teaspoon dried Basil (or 1/4 cup fresh)
2 cloves Garlic, chopped
Sea Salt and ground Black Pepper to taste

Cut kale off of stems and chop. Chop red cabbage, tomato and avocado. Mix together in a bowl. Add 1 Tbsp dressing and toss. We used the following reboot dressing (it was fantastic):

Garlic Basil Vinaigrette:

1/2 cup Olive Oil
1 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
1 Tbsp Honey
2 cloves Garlic, chopped
Sea Salt and ground Black Pepper to taste

Blend the Olive Oil, Balsamic Vinegar, Honey, Garlic, Sea Salt and Pepper.

I enjoy salads for dinner, specially on days we do not have Connor at home. This was a nice meal even though there was no meat with it. I think I might get the hang of vegetarian eating and give it a go when I am off the reboot.

Day 3

Weigh-in: 226.1

This is just like any typical morning...very routine. Last night, however, I was tired and was a bit lazy in my picking a juice recipe so I went gung ho and made up my own. I juiced the following:

Ana's Special Blend:

2 Peaches
2 Oranges
2/8 Pineapple
2 Apples
1/8 Lemon
1 Pear

This was fruit-tastic! I loved it for my breakfast. I found it gave me a good boost of energy that lasted quite a long time. For lunch I had:

Ana's Lunch Blend:

1 Sweet Potato
1 Beet
2 Carrots
1 Orange

This was pretty good but I think I need to get back to drinking something more green for lunch. I will need to revert back to the menus. For dinner tonight we enjoyed the following:

Roasted Acorn Squash Stuffed with Mushroom and Sage:

1 medium Acorn Squash
1 tsp. Sea Salt
1/2 tsp. fresh ground Black Pepper
6 tbsp Olive Oil, plus extra for brushing
2 Garlic cloves, minced
1 large Portabella Mushroom, chopped
1 small Onion, chopped
2 tsp. Fresh Sage, finely chopped
Pinch Red Pepper Flakes, optional

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Trim off each end of the squash and stand the squash upright and halve lengthwise. Scoop out the pulp and the seeds and discard. Then brush each squash half with olive oil, and sprinkle with ¾ tsp. salt and the black pepper. Arrange cut sides down on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Roast the squash until the flesh is tender and the edges are golden brown, approximately 25-35 min. Remove from the oven, flip the squash halves over and set aside. While the squash roasts, heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium high heat. Add the onions and garlic and saute for 2 minutes, or until the onions begin to turn translucent. Second, add the mushrooms, sage, ¼ tsp. of salt and the red pepper flakes (if using), Saute for about 5 minutes or until the mushrooms begin to soften. Fill the roasted squash halves with the mushroom mixture and bake again for another 10 minutes.

I must state for the record that I am not a fan of portabella mushrooms. However....HOLY FREAKING AWESOME, BATMAN!!! This must be by far my favorite meal. It was perfect combination of sweet and salty and savory. Perfection in a squash...who would have thought that? Loved it!

Day 4

Weigh-in: 224.4

Woot!! 7 pounds FTW!! What a nice way to start off Day 4! :-) Here is my list of juices for today:

Ana & Dennis' Experimental Juicing:

2 Carrot 
2 Apple
1/4 Watermelon
2 Sweet Potato

Very yummy. Had this for both breakfast and lunch today. For dinner, we enjoyed the following:

Baked Zucchini with Tomatoes and Herbs:

5 sm Zucchini
4 Scallions (sliced, white and green parts separated)
1 sm Onion (chopped)
2 Plum Tomatoes (coarsely chopped)
2 tbsp Celery Leaves (from inner stalks, chopped)
4 tbsp chopped Basil Leaves
¼ cup Olive Oil
1 tsp Sea Salt
1/2 tsp fresh ground Black Pepper

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Slice the zucchini in half crosswise. Cut each half again lengthwise, and slice each of the halves into 4 equal, ½” pieces. (They should look like sticks.) In a bowl, mix together the zucchini sticks with the white parts of the scallions, onion, tomatoes, celery leaves and basil. Mix in the olive oil, salt and pepper and toss to combine. Pour into a 3 qt baking dish and bake for 20 min. Garnish with the sliced green tops of the scallions and the extra chopped basil.

Sweet Potato and Carrot “Fries”:

2 med Sweet Potatoes
2 lg Carrots
2 tbsp Olive Oil
1 tsp ground Cumin
¼ tsp Pepper
½ tsp Sea Salt

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Peel the sweet potatoes and carrots. Cut the potatoes in half lengthwise, and slice each half into 4 equal wedges. For the carrots, cut in half crosswise into two chunks. Slice each chunk lengthwise into 2 pieces, and cut
each piece into 2 or 3 wedges, making them roughly the same size as the potatoes. Put the potato and carrot wedges into a bowl and toss with the oil, cumin, pepper and salt. Arrange on baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 30 minutes or until the flesh is tender and the outside is lightly browned and the edges slightly crisp.

This is my second favorite meal so far. I am definitely enjoying the veggie eating. I thought it would be a lot harder to get through the first few days of juicing, but it has been very easy so far. I have not felt hungry except if I have lunch too early - sometimes at work that will happen. But otherwise, it's been a breeze. I am glad I did not opt to dive  into a full on 30 or 60 day juice diet. I think that would have doomed me to fail. I know me and I think this is definitely going to work. When the ten days of this juice cycle are done, I am going to move to the Classic Reboot. That one involves 5 days simialr to what we are doing now, followed by 5 days of pure jujicing, and ending with 5 days of juicing and eating.

I am excited to be doing this and if you feel that this is something you may want to try, I invite you to do so. So far, it has been great. I really have nothing negatove to say. I hope  to keep doing the juicing for as long as I can. Most likely I will end up being a once-a-day juicer with the scheduled full on juice fasts at periodic intervals. I am really excited that my road from Flab to Fab is off to a great start. 

Thank you again for the pokes, Ladies! I appreciate it. More to come tomorrow. Until then...

Ana