Banana, Chocolate, Chocolate Chip, Muffins

We love chocolate around here and since we have moved to less processed food there hasn't been as much chocolate in our house.  Thankfully though these muffins fit the bill - mainly whole foods and lots of chocolate!  This is a really big batch, (more than double what is pictured) but sadly it only lasts about a week around here.

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees (since I use dark nonstick pans I only set it at 375) & grease your muffin tins.

Add the following ingredients together and lightly mix together:

• 4 cups flour (I use two whole wheat and two all purpose and/or mix some wheat germ in too.)
• 1 cup sugar (I often switch half of the sugar out with agave.)
• 2 tablespoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups of milk
• 1/3 cup canola oil
• 1/3 cup applesauce
• 1/4 cup of cocoa powder

Once you have lightly stirred those ingredients add:

• 2-4 mashed bananas
• 1 bag of chocolate chips

Bake for 18-20 minutes and enjoy all week long!

Day 7 through14

I'm still doing it!  I know I haven't updated in week, but life is still very busy, yet I have continued to follow the cleanse.  I have cheated a few times.  This week I had one slice of cheese pizza, one slice of delicious American Cheese, a piece of toast and I had some cream of mushroom soup that was added to something my family will be eating.  All of these were delicious, but I stopped.  Stopping is something I have always struggled with.  Although I still crave yummy, carbohydrate laden, sugar filled foods I can walk past them and say no.  This is something I was rarely able to do before. 

As for changes in my actual body, here is a list of a few things I have noticed:

• I have lost about 6 lbs. :)!
• My pores are smaller and my blackheads appear to be disappearing.
• I have more energy (so much more, it is amazing!)
• I am sleeping really well, finally.  At first this wasn't happening, but at the beginning of week 2 I started to sleep much better.
• I am waking so easily.  It is Saturday and I woke up without an alarm clock at 5:15 and got up without any problem and I could have stayed in bed.
• My sense of smell may be getting better - we will have to wait until next week to tell for sure.
• I am exercising more - I'm sure this has to do with having more energy.
• Oh and how could I forget - I am much more regular. Maybe you could have done without that info., but full disclosure is important :).

I am sure there are other things that I am forgetting and a whole slew of things that have gone undetected at this point like blood pressure, cholesterol, immunity, etc. 

This is my last week on the cleanse.  I hope I can finish it out well.  Wish me luck!

Days 5 & 6

Well, I am still going strong, maybe not as strong as I initially was, but I'm still going strong.  I have at times wanted more solid food (I eat two liquid meals a day), but I have been able to persevere and hang in there.  On Thursday there were all kinds of goodies at school in the teachers' lounge and I avoided everyone single one of them.  Friday was the day I worried the most about when I began planning to do this.  A very sweet lady, who just happens to make the most delicious sweets ever, brings to the school one of her amazing, scrumptious, make your mouth water and of course off my list of food I can eat deserts.  Thinking of those deserts really do help me get through the week and when Friday finally rolls around I am so excited to indulge in one.  So, today I had to resist and guess what....I actually did!!!!

As for the changes, I have definitely had more energy and a kinder, more peaceful disposition.  I have so much work to do and it really should be stressing me out, but it isn't :).  Another change I am supposed to see is a reduction in the size of the pores on my face.  I have been waiting for this, because I definitely have large pores.  Today was the day I noticed a difference!!!!  I am excited and I hope they get a bit smaller. 

I will try this weekend to give you a bit more details about the process and the changes I should see.  Enjoy the weekend!

Days 3 & 4 of the Cleanse

I have hit a bump in the road.  My stomach has been a bit upset today and yesterday.  I won't go into the gory details, but I think I am a little bloated.  The book addresses how this can happen (gory details), so it isn't totally unexpected or as scary as it could be since I was warned.  I still feel really good though!  It is amazing to me how I haven't eaten a cookie, pudding, bread, or for that matter any sugar that isn't naturally produced by plants!  I don't believe I have ever gone four days without those things!  I am also still exercising regularly and have had the energy to do so. 

On the note of energy, I have so much of it.  I have been an eight hour or more night kind of girl for as long as I have had kids.  I just might be turning into and eight hour or less girl thanks to all the good for you foods I am eating. 

Wish me luck as I continue.  I will need it to continue to resist those yummy goodies mentioned above.  It is picture day tomorrow and the yearbook staff always brings in the most delicious foods for all of the school's staff to eat, so I will really need good wishes tomorrow.

Cleanse Day 2

So, a little about the cleanse I am doing...

It is based on the book Cleanse by Alejandro Junger who is a cardiologist.  He advocates a whole foods diet with a majority of it being raw.  For two meals a deal I have a smoothie and for the other I have a regular meal.  There are plenty of foods that I must avoid: grapes, oranges, strawberries, bananas, red meat, dairy products, wheat, sugar, etc. 

But the moral of the precleanse is I have had so much E.N.E.R.G.Y it is amazing.  I have always had an obsession with sweets, but it is gone.  I made cookies on Saturday, they are now gone, but I did not eat a single one on Sunday or Monday (I didn't eat them all on Saturday either). I have been able to adhere to the guidelines quite well, if I do say so myself.  The one exception is that I need more food than the smoothie recipes call for.  Since snacking is allowed, I have just been adding some more fruit or veggies into the smoothie. 

Well, that is my update for today, I now have to go clean up the mess I made with my dinner :). 

Hello There - Day One of the Cleanse

I have been beyond negligent.  When I started this blog it was the end of the school year, the debate season was over (I'm the coach), my student's had taken their AP Exam, I only had one child in school & life was simply a little bit slower.  The opposite is true for all of the above now and something has had to give, hence the lack of posts.  But, in an effort to improve my mood and energy levels among other things, I am starting a cleanse.  I am so excited.  For the past week, give or take a day or two, I have been working my way into it and I am so pleased.  I have had much more energy than usual, a better mood, and considerably less stressed even though there is plenty to be stressed about. 

So my goal is to post once a day for the next three weeks about the cleanse.  I am hoping to do this for a couple of reasons:

• Simply record my thoughts on the cleanse and how it is affecting me for future use.
• Hold myself accountable.
• Share with anyone who cares and hopefully get some tips from anyone who is still reading at this point :). 

Wish me luck!  Day one has been incredibly easy!  Details on the how the cleanse works (the instructions I am following) will hopefully be fourth coming, but I'm not making any promises given my present track record.