I did it.

I made it! Sunday was my first "normal" day after a full 4 weeks of the clean program. At first, I thought it was the hardest thing I have ever done. I was buying groceries that I had never heard of. I forced myself to practice discipline when it was the last thing I wanted to do. There was one day when I had a box of Chocolate Chex cereal in hand and I was so close to pouring myself a big bowl, but I didn't and it was worth it! I promise, if you have considered doing a detox like this it gets easier! I have still been mostly eating the foods I have eaten for the past month including clean smoothies for breakfast and eating healthy meals for lunch and dinner. I'll admit though, its really great to have a little more freedom with meals while continuing to eat foods that are minimally processed.
Here are some of the benefits I've noticed since I started.
- I feel lighter and my clothes fit better
- I have plenty of energy
- Hunger comes on slowly and I haven't felt the: OMG if I don't eat something right now I might pass out thing. In other words, I can tell my blood sugars are stable. :)
-  I usually have allergies thing time of year... no sign of them so far!
- I like different foods that are much healthier and am more aware of food labels and what to avoid.
So that's that! Ask me if you have any questions about clean eating or the program! I've become a big fan and am happy to help with recipes and ideas!

I also wanted to mention - my family and I took a mini day trip to the Milwaukee zoo/Trader Joe's on Sunday. Unfortunately for the Fox Valley, the nearest Trader Joe's is like an hour and a half away. Ugh.
Anyway, I could have spent the whole day there. Sad, I know.
But here are some of the foods I got!

Pasta Ingredients: Organic brown rice and water; so gluten free!

For smoothies!

I tried this last night. It's delicious and I believe it would have been ok during the cleanse too.

Ingredients: Stone ground whole wheat flour, safflower oil, honey, baking powder, yeast, and sea salt.

I put this in a smoothie yesterday and today instead of my almond butter. Ingredients: Dry roasted peanuts and salt.

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getting started on clean eating.

I have (almost) successfully completed 1 full week of the elimination diet from the Clean program! During this week, I was able to have 3 solid meals and snacks, but could only eat foods from the "foods to include" list. It has definitely been challenging, but everyday is easier and easier. I must admit though, on Saturday, we went to a party and there was this cake that I may have had a tiny slice of. It was a smores cake made beautifully by my friend over at Beth's Blue Plate and I couldn't pass it up... Maybe she'll do a post about it sometime. (hint hint Beth!)

 If you are considering doing a cleanse like this (there are many out there), there are a few things you can/should do to prepare.
1. Pick a date and stick with it. Give yourself time to be prepared.
2. Read lots of recipes, pick ones that you think you would like (pinterest helps - look at clean eating boards). Be a little adventurous but don't force yourself to eat things you hate or you won't last long.
3. Go grocery shopping for the ingredients you need. You may want to go to a few different stores - some have a better selection/prices than others. Be prepared for a slightly higher than normal grocery bill. (But we justify it since we wont' be eating out at all during this time.)
4. Get a good blender. After the Elimination week, you have 3 weeks of two liquid meals and one solid meal every day. You'll be using it a lot. The top of the line is the Vitamix. My parents have one and they love it, but we got a Ninja which was more affordable and still great. I love that it comes with two to-go mugs. You can blend your shake right in the mug, switch the cover, and go!

5. In the book he recommends eating organic food as much as possible. But for us, it was just way to expensive to do that. Just do you best - you'll still have great results.
 I have been doing liquid meals for breakfast and dinner and a solid meal for lunch since Sunday. So far, I can tell I am full faster than I used to be and don't need to eat as often. I haven't noticed any spikes in my blood sugar (hunger comes on slowly), I have lost 4 1/2 pounds, and I still have plenty of energy!
Even though there are many good recipes out there, most of what I've eaten is my own creation.
Here's today's lunch:

Brown rice, black beans (no added salt), chicken breast cooked in olive oil, taco seasoning,
homemade creamy avocado dressing, and cilantro

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a new discovery.

Here we are, on day 4 of clean eating. I miss chocolate. I have been trying to come up with some way to get it while still obeying the "foods to include list" Unsweetened cocoa powder is acceptable, and so is raw chocolate (no dairy, no sugar). We discovered a fun little natural foods store in Neenah called The Red Radish. But they were sold out of raw chocolate. I don't even know what it tastes like, but I know I want it.
I managed to come up with a delicious shake, but it involves one cheat... Bananas. (I figured if I'm going to eat something I'm not supposed to, a banana is probably not the worst choice. Right??)
So here you have it:
1/2 cup of organic rice milk
4-5 ice cubes
1 banana
3 spoons of almond butter
2 tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder
Stevia, to taste

i have a feeling that almond butter and I are going to be spending a lot more time together. I had never had it before! I mean, its no peanut butter, but it works! Unfortunately, I could only find one kind and its about 3 times more expensive than a jar of peanut butter and half the size...
Good thing this is only for 3 weeks, right Brenton? ;)

Unfortunately I have no before, during, or after pictures. I drank it pretty fast I guess.

In other news, this is what a really good daddy looks like:

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clean eating.

Does anyone else feel like it's hard to figure out what to eat these days? One article says, it's good for you, another one says it's not, blah blah blah. Back in February, I came across a blog post done by a mama of three, who tried a 3 week detox program. After much reading and recipe hunting (and doubting), I finally decided to try clean eating. It seems the most logical to me so I bought the book Clean by Dr. Alejandro Junger. I have read most of it, and I must say, even though he has some great pointers, I can't say I recommend the whole book (Organic clothes? Really? I'm sorry, not in this house...) But, he focuses primarily on what we eat, and here's the basic principal of the program: We need to get our bodies out of our current toxic state. Because of the way food is made now, we have built up toxins in our bodies that are linked to the poor health conditions in our country. If we give our bodies time to recover but omitting these things from our diet for 21 days, we can have a fresh start and will, apparently, feel younger, more energetic, and overall "clean". One thing he has said, that has stuck with me, is that A person who is in a toxic state craves toxic things, and vice versa...
Now, for me, this is mostly just an experiment. Something to work towards, another way to practice discipline, a challenge, etc... And hopefully I can swap some of my eating habits for better ones. But for some people, this program could seemingly be life changing! There were many shocking testimonials throughout the book!

I'm on day three. And I have already considered quitting. What was I thinking. Why am I doing this.
No dairy, no caffeine, no chocolate, no refined sugar or flour, no bread, no gluten, no eggs, no red meat, no potatoes, no tap water, no soy, no peanut butter/peanuts. Ouch.
So that leaves.... fruits and vegetables, herb tea, purified/distilled water, nuts and flax seed, chicken, fish, quinoa, brown rice, olive oil and spices, etc...
At first, I thought, so that leaves stir fry, salad without dressing, and fruits and vegetables. Hmph.
However, I have been quite impressed with Pinterest and some of you bloggers out there! This concept of clean eating has become so big, and it's not hard at all to find a variety of creative recipes using just a few ingredients! Again, I'm only on day three, so there's much more experimenting to be done, but I'll continue to document and am happy to share what I'm learn along the way. 
{forgive me if i quit and leave you hangin'}

This morning's breakfast: Quinoa, cinnamon, stevia (a natural sugar substitute), slivered almonds, and blueberries.

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what kind of couple will you be?

Lately, I have been spending some extra time making sure I have my priorities in order. I started noticing that I became, naturally, drawn to baby everything. And it's great to love your babies, but God has used many other lovelies in my life to encourage me as I sought to find balance again. By God's grace I am finally feeling settled. There is nothing better than being intentional with your time, realizing that the only reason you woke up this morning is because GOD gave you another day. At least for now, I have learned to set aside specific times for Brenton and for Madeline, for friends and family, and for my own hobbies, interests, exercise, etc...  I am certain there are ups and downs from here on out, but right now, I can only see ups and for that, I am thankful.

A conversation Brenton and I have been having a lot lately is as follows, "What kind of couple will we be?" I share this with you, because it has been really neat for our marriage to dream up all kinds of things we want for our future. We've talked about dream jobs, possibly going into the missions field for a short time, having more kids, vacations, hobbies that we can't afford now but hopefully some day, short term and long term goals, etc.. Some things serious, some things lighthearted. We've also talked about coming up with a family mission statement. Something we as a family are working towards or striving to be. And when we decide on what that will be, I will find some sort of Pinterest craft to make it into and it will be hung/painted/written somewhere in our home.

So couples, this one's for you. Take your best friend, go out for coffee/tea/hot chocolate or whatever, and talk about what kind of couple you will be!

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