Clean freak weekend #1

So I've made it to Day 4 of my Wild Rose Cleanse. And through one full weekend, which can be a tricky time for a cleanse, because of social times! So far, so good.

I've been taking my herbal pills and drops every morning and night before breakfast and dinner. I've been drinking water by the barrel, it seems. I've had some odd belly gurglings, more toots than usual, and a little more bathroom activity than normal, but nothing shocking or disturbing. I wonder if this is because I tend to eat quite cleanly normally - I don't consume much wheat or red meat, drink occasionally, tend to only have one coffee a day anyway, and really have minimal dairy intake except for cheese. (gosh, that sounds boring, doesn't it?!) I'd say sugar and chocolate are the one big thing I consume the most of. So I guess maybe there wasn't a whole lot to clean out. I've had a few little achy headaches - I woke up with one this morning - maybe more detoxing happening. But I do notice that I'm feeling pretty great, all in all! Though my external body doesn't look or feel any different, I have this interesting feeling of feeling tight and firm inside. Like, there's no bloating, no puffiness, everything feels tight and great inside my abdomen. I don't know how else to explain it. But I like it a lot.

Sunday afternoon was tricky as I went over to a friend's place for some afternoon visits, and there was wine and beer and yummy crackers and all kinds of cheeses and spreads. I wasn't tempted, because I'm pretty committed to this, but my mouth was watering, and I could almost taste the brie, and the fig and black olive spread, and the asiago cheese dip. oh man. I do miss that kind of fun food. That might be my first "end-of-fast" indulgence:)

So I've been having such fun with the meals. The key, I learned the first time I did this, is to make sure you have all kinds of wonderful ingredients in your house, so you can cook what you want and have things to snack on when the urges and cravings hit.

Important things to have for snacking:

raw veggies cut up
almond butter
apples
berries. lots of berries.
Nuts and seeds. I'm loving sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds; almonds, walnuts and hazelnuts.
Make up some humus. Chickpeas bother my tummy, so I made red bean humus:

Great things to have on hand for cooking and creating:

Chicken
Fish (I cooked with tilapia last night - delicious and served with brown rice fried with coconut oil and almonds!)
All kinds of vegs  - lots of greens - just leave out mushrooms
Almond milk
Coconut milk and oil
Soy milk
Brown rice
Quinoa
Steel cut oats
Sweet potatoes. Yesterday morning I made the best breakfast, sweet potato nests! It was so delicious - sweet potatoes and coconut oil all mashed up, and an egg cracked in the middle. oh my god so good:

So, day 4, I'm having fun with it. Feeling just a little deprived of chocolate, but apple slices dipped in almond butter can distract me for a little while:)

speaking of which, I think I need a mid-afternoon snack of exactly that!
ciao for now