Master Cleanse

*some of this can be alittle TMI, but for those of you trying to learn what the cleanse is really like, I’m trying to be as honest as possible here. Sorry.

I am officially on Day 2 of my journey with The Master Cleanse. I began easing in over the weekend with soups and fruit/veggie smoothies and yesterday began drinking my "Lemonade" mixture all day long. I weighed in on Friday, April 20th and was 155 pounds.

Yesterday I felt like I was Starving all morning, but once 2 o'clock hit, things evened out. I got home around 5:30 as usual and didn't know what to do with myself. At that time, I usually started planning out and making what I was going to eat for dinner, but instead, I filled up another water bottle with water, lemon juice, grade A maple syrup and a few dashes of cayenne pepper, and drank away.

When that was finished I still didn't know what to do so I cleaned: did laundry, washed dishes, organized the bookshelves. Then I turned on the TV and watched a little Undercover Boss—that show always chokes me up at the end!

Around 7:30 I decided I was going to try the Salt Water Flush ( SWF) which is basically mixing 2 Teaspoons of seasalt in warm water and chugging it. I’m not going to lie, it was super hard to get down. I gagged a few times. It tastes really gross. Then I walked around a little bit, breathing slowly and finally sat down to finish the episode. I knew, from reading about the Cleanse that it would take about 30 minutes to an hour. Within 15 minutes I felt my stomach grumbling and moving around. Something was happening. But I didn’t end up going into the bathroom until about 8:30 and probably stayed there for a good 30 minutes. So… needless to say, I’m glad I didn’t do this in the morning. I don’t have all that time!

The flush itself, once it happened was not as bad as I thought. I thought it might hurt or be extremely uncomfortable, but it “went smoothly.” And was not painful or irritating at all. Once that was done, I brewed a cup of “Smooth Move Tea” (It is Chocolate flavored!) and steeped it for 10 minutes and got in bed to read, drink my tea, and fell asleep calmly.

I slept well except for the fact that I was paranoid I might wake up in the middle of the night and need to run to the bathroom. But I didn’t! All was well.

This morning I’m not too hungry. Definitely an improvement from yesterday! I had a very small BM this morning, but nothing frightening. Someone tried to scare me yesterday and said to “wear a diaper,” which did not make me feel very confident, but now I know this is not the case.

I feel like, once I get through today and tomorrow I’ll be more than good to go for the ten days. Who knows? Maybe I’ll push it even further!

Super Smoothie!!!

The last few days I have been slurping up Super Smoothies and they are super revitalizing and delicious ( did I mention, good for you too?!)

Yesterday I combined:
1 cup baby spinach
1 cup kale
1 cup strawberries
1 whole mango
1 whole banana
2 cups pure orange juice

and blended it up! Instant goodness!

Today I have a little more simplicity and a lot more kale:

4 cups kale
2 cups strawberries
1 large banana
2 cups pure orange juice

Did you know that 1 cup of kale has only 33 calories, but has 1g fiber, 2g protein and 206% vitamin A, 134% vitamin c, 9% of calcium and 6% iron!

1 large banana contains 120 calories, 31 carbohydrates, 4g Fiber and 1g Protein as well as 2% of your Vitamin A, 20% of Vitamin C, 1% calcium and 2% iron

1 cup strawberries contains 1g protein, 2% calcium, 149% vitamin c and 3% Iron

Pure orange juice contains 2g protein, 10% vitamin A, 3% calcium, 207% vitamin c and 3% iron

Mangos contain 3g fiber, 1g protein, 25% vitamin A, 76% vitamin c, 2% calcium, 1% iron

Spinach contains 1g protein, 1g fiber, 56% vitamin A, 14% vitamin c, 5% iron and 3% calcium!

G-Zen

This past Wednesday, my friends and I checked out this Fabulous Vegan restaurant called G-Zen in Branford CT. It's a cute little place that is completely vegan, organic and eco-friendly.

I ordered the Portabella Tofu Napoleon and let me tell you: The Tofu was marinated and cooked to the perfect firmness and taste. The portobello was thick and juicy and the asparigus was crisp and fresh. My favorite part of the meal, however, was the red-mashed potatoes with the Merlot sauce. MMmmm Mmmmm MMmmmm!

I also had a refreshing glass of fresh Zen-gria, which included a mix of red wine with fresh blueberry and pomigranet juices topped with a fresh slice of lime, lemon, and orange on top with skewered grapes!

For dessert, even though I was full to the brim, I had to take home a piece of Chocolate, Hazelnut cake to share with my boy. The mouse-like frosting was sweet and decidant- the cake, extremely moist and rich. And on top of it all, it came with a side of fresh raspberry coolie, which held just the right combination of sweetness and tartness to pair with the rich, chocolately goodness!

All in all, I'd give the experience and the food 5 stars! We had the sweetest waitress, the atmosphere was simple and soothing, and the menu had many creative and palate pleasing choices. ( I also snuck one of my friend's sweet potatoe fries and it was crisp, crunchy, and sweet-potatoey :) My favorite!)

The only thing to be weary of is their prices, but remember friends- Fresh, Organic, and House-made food takes extra cost and extra work, so go in with that in mind. I would certainly go back to this place and Highly recommend you give it a try- whether you're veg or not!!!

Hummus Pizza!

Going Vegan meant one thing for my habit of eating too much pizza: It had to stop.

At least that's what I thought when I was getting into it. Little did I know there were tricks to the trade that provided endless ideas for glorious pizzas to come.

Yesterday I experimented with some hummus and a few ingredients I had scattered around my refridgerator, and ended up with a suprisingly delicious concoction!

Hummus Pizza!

*Buy a 2 pack of the Whole Wheat pizza crusts from your favorite grocery store. ( Or if you're really great, make youre own dough!)
*Buy a small container of Hummus ( I prefer Garlic and Sabras)
*Chop up some Green Olives, Sundried Tomatos, and Roasted Red Peppers.
*Spread the hummus all over the crust
*Add olives, tomatos and peppers with whatever residing oil there is from those ingredients.
*Sprinkle pizza with a dash of Nutritional Yeast
*Add Salt and Pepper and Red Pepper flakes to taste
*Bake at 350' for 20 minutes.
"YUMMMMMOOOOOOO

its gonna be good.

I also used my left over grilled onions and peppers from my burrito bowl yesterday, and with the other crust, spread some simple tomato sauce, sprinkled with basil, garlic powder, salt and pepper, and spread the grilled veggies on! Baked that up and ate it up! How easy, and no leftovers wasted!!!

Healthy Challenge: Day 1

Good morning and happy Almost-March!

The spring is approaching and it is time to set some new goals. I have decided to join the Corporate Cup events at my job and be a part of some sporty activities. One inparticular is going to be especially challenging. It is called the Healthy Challenge.

The rules of the game are that you earn a certain amount of points for completeing and doing certian healthy things, and lose points if you do unhealthy activities.

It begins today and ends May 21st. So thats a solid 3 months. Today I will take a pre-test of my health, begin a food diary, an exercise diary and refrain from smoking and drinking alcohol.

I will attend healthy meal classes and healthy choice classes for extra points as well.

I'll keep you all updated!

Giving up Mary Kay

I was a dedicated Mary Kay consultant and consumer for almost 2 years, when I found out this weekend that they were decieving me all along.

I remember, almost 2 years ago, in May- going to my first Mary Kay party- trying all of the skincare and loving it. There was a question and answer period, and I asked: "Are your products tested on animals?"
The consultant confidently answered, "No. Mary Kay has a firm stance against Animal Testing. Mary Kay was an animal lover and she wouldn't stand for it."

Shortly after, I became a consultant, began selling and using the products, and loving it. At every party I had, I shared the wonderful news that my clients were buying 100% cruelty free products, and I had a lot of friends who truly appreciated that.

Then came this weekend. PETA posted an article stating that Mary Kay, Avon and Estee Lauder were secretly doing animal testing. I went to Mary Kay to research this and make sure PETA had not made a mistake: after all, this is the company that time and time again, confidently boasted that we would never test on animals.

Soon after signing in to my Mary Kay Consultant account, I found a letter from Mary Kay President: Darrell Overcash. This is what it read:

UPDATE: A Message from Darrell Overcash
Published 02.17.12

Some of you may have seen or heard that PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals), the animal activist organization, has changed the status of Mary Kay and other cosmetics companies on its website, moving us from its list of “Companies That Do Not Test on Animals” to its list of “Companies That Do Test on Animals.”

Let’s set the record strait: Mary Kay is committed to the elimination of animal testing. Mary Kay’s policy has always been consistent- nothing has changed. Our commitment to the elimination of animal testing has never wavered. We do not conduct animal testing on our products or ingredients- nor do we ask others to do so on our behalf – except when absolutely required by law.

Regulations on cosmetics constantly change, but Mary Kay has never wavered from our commitment to use alternative testing methods. There was only one country where we operate, among more than 35 around the world, that by law under certain circumstances require cosmetics to be tested on animals: China. Please know that none of the products you have purchased here in the United States have been tested on animals.

Rest assured that our commitment to the elimination of animal testing has never wavered. We have been working to continue to work very closely with the Chinese government to demonstrate that alternative testing methods ensure safe and effective products. For more than two decades, Mary Kay has been a global leader in helping to develop alternative testing methods for product safety.

If you receive questions from your customers, you can assure them that despite whatever they may hear from PETA, at Mary Kay, nothing has changed: we remain firm in our commitment to eliminate the practice of animal testing.

Thank you for your support of this great Company.

Darrell Overcash.


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Now that you have read the letter as well, I'm sure you can understand that what I got out of this letter was this: "We don't animal test, except for in China ( but that doesnt count because it the law!" right?

I posted this on Facebook and was met with many remarks from my consultant friends that read things like:
"Well, why dont you call Mary Kay and see exactly what KIND of animal testing they do. It might not be dangerious to the animals."

This set a flame in my mind: Well what the heck does it matter what kind of testing they are doing? They are performing Animal Testing. They are confining animals to cages in laboratories and performing tests! These animals are not free to live their lives. They are most likely scared, and in pain, and not FREE.

Maybe I'm being overly eccentric here, but since when did an animal's Life become less important than a Human life?

So I quit.

I am no longer selling Mary Kay, and am getting rid of the rest of my inventory at 25% off, weaning off the rest of my supply of home use products ( because I also don't belive in wasting what you have), and shopping for a new line of cruelty free, skin care products.

Suggestions?

Vegan Wedding Ideas

I saw this site and thought it was wonderful for any friends who are looking for ideas for Vegan Weddings :)

Check it out!