Hi friends! Happy almost-Friday! I feel like this week is just flying by…
Yesterday I did pretty well with cutting back on the sweets. I saved my very ripe bananas:
I simply sliced them up, and stored them in containers in my freezer.
Frozen bananas make the BEST smoothies and soft-serve. 
I decided it was probably best to make my meals as un-sweet as possible, so I opted for a big salad for lunch:
Topped with two Trader Joe’s Vegetable Masala Burgers and a spoonful of my homemade vinaigrette. It was so tasty! I love these veggie patties because they’re all vegetable-based– no soy or dairy! And they taste like a vegetable pakora to me.
This salad lasted me well into the evening, and when I was ready for dinner, all I was craving was roasted broccoli! I asked my husband if that sounded good to him, and he replied, “I’ve eaten like a SEWER RAT all day– I need something healthy!” He cracks me up. 
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What does a SEWER RAT eat, you ask? All I know is that he had Taco Bell for lunch (bean and lettuce crunchy tacos), and two blended Mocha Frappaccinos. Not exactly health food, but he sure does manage to get away with eating like that and NOT gain weight! I’m so jealous.
So for dinner, I tossed an assortment of fresh veggies with coconut oil and Spike seasoning:
I roasted them for 20 minutes at 400 degrees.
Meanwhile, I cooked up a batch of quinoa:
1 cup quinoa + 2 cups water, cooked for 20 minutes until fluffy.
It was a perfect dinner:
I could seriously eat this every night! And it is a perfectly acceptable meal on the CLEAN program, so I’m a happy camper.
I loved hearing all of your thoughts on detoxing yesterday! I think you definitely have to be in a certain mind-set to have a successful detox, and I absolutely agree that you don’t have to do something DRASTIC in order to cleanse or detox your body! Making simple changes such as switching from processed foods to whole foods is a SERIOUS cleanse, and something to be really proud of! In fact, it’s not smart to jump into something too cleansing all at once– transition is key! It’s taken me years to get to the place that I am now with my eating, and it certainly wasn’t a week-long cleanse that got me here. I just love challenging myself to try new things, and I think 3 weeks is a very doable thing for me right now– especially since juicing and green smoothies are already a big part of my regular diet.
Plus, this type of detox is a really good way to test food sensitivities! After reading Ultra-Metabolism a few years ago, I realized that I am sensitive to gluten– something I would have never known had I not cut it out of my diet for 3 weeks! Perhaps I’m sensitive to other things as well, but I’ve never given myself the chance to find out! I think it’s exciting to learn these things about your body, which is why I choose to try these sorts of detoxes. But like I said before, this choice is NOT for everyone– and only YOU can decide what’s best for you!
Cutting coffee out is definitely NOT for everyone!
See what a good girl I’ve been this morning? Green tea!! And you know, I really don’t miss coffee right now. For me, it’s more about the smell and the warmth, than actually drinking it! In fact, I rarely finish a whole cup of coffee in a day! But there is something comforting about the idea of coffee… and if I find myself needing it later in the day, I’m doing it! My father-in-law is visiting us this weekend, and he’ll be here tonight! I don’t want to be a caffeine-deprived GRUMP in front of him! Ha ha.
Hope you’re all having a good day so far! I’ve got an appointment to look at an apartment this afternoon, and I have high hopes for this one! Wish me luck!! I really want somewhere to live next month!
Articles to read:
Mm those roasted veggies look amazing. And I love the TJs masala burgers too – -I like to crumble them on top of my tortizzas! Delicious.
Those veggies look awesome! I’ve been craving veggies (raw and cooked) like crazy for quite awhile now. It’s insane but I love it.
I’m experiencing with gluten because I’m trying to see if I have an intolerance to it and I have this little fear that I might be. And I really don’t want to be because it’s in so much things! It’s hard enough not eating dairy but no gluten? Scary. :/
yum, I love quinoa and veges, such a great dinner! Isn’t it s annoying how men can eat so much more and not gain weight??
What an awesome dinner. I could eat roasted veggies everyday too!
Ahh, Ratatoullie! I love that movie! Haha, I’d be jealous, too – although I am jealous, because my husband is the same way! You quinoa dinner looks delicious and healthy.
Have a great day!
Your day looks so yummy and healthy!!!
Very interesting articles – particularly the one on raw food. It sort of speaks to the “all or nothing” approach that I think a lot of people take with their food. Do I try to eat tons more raw foods bc I feel better when I do and think it’s great for you – Totally. However, I have zero plans to cut out cooked foods completely or be militant about food combining all the time. I think there’s a huge benefit to raw food (and seaweed for that matter), but small changes… exactly what you were talking about in your post actually. It needs to be an organic change over time in my opinion for healthy habits to truly stick and not be simply a fad.
it’s great that you are making your decision to cleanse based on so much research. and i love the fact that you are giving yourself the flexiblity to have coffee if you need it.
good luck apt hunting!
Love Ratatouille! He’s so cute! I totally agree on your view about cleansing. Just eating less processed food and eating whole, pure foods really helps clean out your system. I also enjoy warm water with a lemon slice and a bit of honey in the morning. Instead of honey, you can add ginger too. Another blogger out there is doing a 28 day cleanse if you’re interested. I’m not going to do the cleanse, but I am interested in getting some good raw recipes that I can start to incorporate into my diet. Her website is http://sexyfoodtherapy.com (select the blog).
I always feel better when I’ve had smoothies, oatmeal and salads all day. It’s the way to go.
It seems you have read a lot of books on nutrition. What are your top ones? I’m looking for some good reads on the subject.