Keto Day 5 - OMG Smoothie

OMG[oodness], I made (it was an experiment) the BEST smoothie this morning!!! Low carb, high fat, low-ish protein... it fit perfectly into my macros goal for a well-balanced keto meal!!! I will definitely make this again!

You must try this!

Throw all this in a blender (love my personal Ninja blender cups) and enjoy!
*1/2 avocado
*3 strawberries
*1 tblsp heavy whipping cream
*1 cup plain original almond milk
*2 packets of stevia/monk fruit sweetener

Yesterday morning, I also made an amazing meal that was perfectly balanced for keto and just as good as a "throw everything in the pan" meal that I used to enjoy a few times a year (mostly around my boyfriend, since he's more of a Spam person than I am).  The cauliflower and broccoli replaced the rice I used to use, and is by far a smaller amount.  I will also be making this again!!

Throw all this in a pan/skillet, cook till the spam is browned, and enjoy!
*1/2 cup riced cauliflower
*1/2 cup chopped broccoli
*2 oz Spam (1/3 can)

*1 tblsp extra virgin olive oil

*Half of a handful of dried roasted seaweed, crumbled (or crumble it on after everything else is cooked)

***Note: The batch in the photo is doubled so I would have leftovers.

Day 5

Yes, I'm writing about day 5 in the early afternoon of day 6.  After work yesterday I finished all of my homework that was due by tonight, then spent the evening with my bestie of 16 years and 3 of her 4 children.  Priorities people, priorities.

So, yesterday morning I decided to try a juicing recipe with pineapple in it.  I put my pineapple on the cutting board, grabbed a large knife, and thought, "Sweet, this is gonna be epic!"  Obviously, I don't cut up pineapple very often.

Half of a pineapple, 2 oranges, and a lime went into the juicer and made beautiful juice.  At work when I drank the first cup of it, I quickly learned that it was NOT delicious juice.  Major bummer.  Needless to say, I didn't drink my second cup of it.  I did, however, give it to my roommate to try just in case I just don't favor citrus and pineapple combinations.  She drank it recently, and since she's sick and her throat is not doing well, it was a good thing.  Her words: "It's a little bitter, but it's helping."  Score!

Not a great combo.....

The other concoction of the day was a much better combination of fruits (thank goodness).  I combined 3 strawberries, 1 orange, and the last of my green grapes.

Yummy!

I have one more thing to say before I tell you the results of my weigh-in: Love your juicer!  Take care of it! For the old Champion Juicer that I have, that means oiling it.  A little bit of olive oil on the metal workings keeps it happy! 

The Champion Juicer will outlive everyone!

Alright, and the moment you've been waiting for!  The results of my weigh-in! Since the morning of Day 1, I have lost a total of: 12.2 lbs.  Next weigh-in will be this coming Monday morning.

Day 4

It is Thursday night and the close of the 4th day of this juice cleanse.  I feel really good, the cleansing "side-effects" (if you've cleansed before you understand) are tapering off nicely.  As stated yesterday, this has been much gentler than cleanses I've done in the past.

On a side-note before sharing the juices from the day, my boss noted today that my skin looked really good.  She used words like "healthy", "glowing", "rosy", and "radiant".  I am already blessed with good skin, at least on my face (my eczema is a whole other topic).  I'm sure some of the change has to do with the cleanse, but I'm convinced there is another contributor... TOMATOES & SUGAR.

Yes, I am allergic to tomatoes, but only when eaten.  I have been taking a slice of a tomato, dipping it in sugar, and using it as an exfoliating scrub on my face.  One of the days I was home sick in the past, I was camped out on the couch with the TV running.  Good ol' Dr. Oz (my mom loves his show) recommended this technique as a nutritional benefit for the skin, and to promote healthy, younger looking skin (tomatoes have vitamins that are good for the skin, while the sugar exfoliates gently and helps the vitamins get absorbed).  Approaching 28 and being able to pass for as young as 19 to some (on average I'm guessed at 22), I do not need to look any younger than I already do.  However, I acknowledge that I am getting older and in a few years, things might catch up.  It is by far better to preserve what we have, than try to reverse the irreversible.  Anyway, this is actually much less weird than it seems, and rather refreshing. Perhaps since I haven't been able to eat tomatoes for so long, I just miss them so much that any exposure is welcome.

And back to juicing...

All of the juices today were DELICIOUS (and one was just me throwing stuff in the juicer in a hurry to run out the door)!

My coworker's roommate obtained a bunch of "fresh" organic oranges from Florida (fresh, as in flown up here with a friend) and has been sharing them with us at work (apparently there were a ton).  She gave me 2 oranges yesterday, and this morning I juiced them!  There is NOTHING like fresh juiced GOOD oranges; holy moly, I'm in love!

Oh yeah, that's fresh orange juice!!  

 The first juice concoction made this morning consisted of 2 oranges, 1 mango (my favorite fruit), and about a quarter of a cantaloupe.  When I drank this at work, I shared with a coworker and got rave reviews!

So excited about the mango!

Ready to juice!

I confess that I was running out of time when I needed to make the second concoction of the day.  My goal was to combine fruits that I didn't have to do a lot of prepping for, and then pray the juice came out tasting good.  Believe you me this, my desperate experiment went FAR better than planned.  In fact, it might be my favorite juice yet!  I took the last of my strawberries, a bundle of black grapes (and then a few extra), and 1 kiwi fruit and juiced them in a big hurry.  Again, it came out sooo good.  After I drank the first cup of it at work, I was actually looking forward to when I'd feel hungry later so I could drink the other cup.  Crazy, I know.

This made the best juice yet!!!!!

Juicing IS possible with a busy life.  I work full time, am going to school, and it is totally doable.   And there you see my phenomenal studying snack!

Well, it has been a long day so I'm turning in for the night. Tomorrow morning is the next weigh-in.  I'm not all concerned about numbers right now, but am genuinely curious.  If anything, numbers are something to track.  I'm thinking next week I should add in exercise, especially now that I am getting some energy back.  It's a good thing to start feeling human again, right?

Day 3

Day 3 is done and I'm still alive and kicking!  I've had no "hunger headache" since the first day, and have not cheated at all.  I have energy, and for the first time in over a year I don't feel perma-bloated (that's a really bad feeling); my abdominal muscles are my own again!

I've decided not to weigh myself every day like others who have blogged their juice fasting adventures.  Weighing every day can really mess with your head.  I will be weighing myself 3 times per week; Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.  Today is Wednesday so it is time to report.  Between Monday morning and this morning, I dropped...

7.8 pounds

Crazy, isn't it?  I'm fully aware and very sure that it is all water and crap (literally).  I'm OK with that, it's probably why my digestive system is feeling so much better.  I've always been a "go-er" (TMI, sorry) but this is different.  I know this is a cleanse, and I've done other cleanses (herbal and mineral) in years past; they were always rather rough on "the system".  This cleanse, thus far, has been less traumatic on my body with more positive results (namely the happy abdomen).   

Below are the juices of Day 3:

1/2 cantaloupe + 6 strawberries = YUMMY 

Next time I will add a few more strawberries.  It was delicious, just a little heavy on the cantaloupe. 

1 cucumber + another cucumber = 2 cucumbers

100% cucumber juice is very light and though I woke up this morning craving some, it's not all that super. 

All ready to go to work!
PS. If you have a problem with drinking something green... yeah, avoid cucumber juice.

Day 2

Folks, this is going to be a quick check-in... I'm very tired due to a long day and night.

Concoction number 1:
2 carrots, 2 cups of strawberries, and 1 orange

Ingredients of #1

Concoction number 2:
2 grapefuits
1 lemon
1 orange

#2 is on the right

BOTH absolutely DELICIOUS!

I have felt well today, no hunger headache, and I had energy.  The jars in the photos above are made by Ball and are BPA-free plastic.  They hold about 8 oz of liquid, are just the right size (GENIUS), and don't leak.

I had an epiphany today that made me feel really good; relieved even.  With my food allergies, when offered food my response always seems to go something like this: "Sorry, I can't, I have food allergies", which usually gets people to leave me alone.   Well, with this juice-fast project/adventure, my answer can be something along the lines of: "No thanks, I'm on a juice fast."

See the difference?  With the allergies, it's a mandate (or else I get sick)... with the juice fast, it's a CHOICE.  I am CHOOSING to not consume a, b, or c.  This is LIBERATING.

For tracking purposes, I will be weighing in on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays.  Stop by and check out the post for Day 3 to see if anything has changed!

Goodnight World!