Our Eating Plan -- Post Detox

 Many have asked, 

"So what are you doing now that the detox is over?

So rather than tell it over and over again, 

I thought I'd just write it down here on the bliggity blog.

We're doing sort of a mix of a couple different things.

The bottom line? 

Our attempt is to continue to 'eat clean.' 

 

And then you ask,

"But what does that mean, Alysa?"

I thought you'd never ask.

Here's a recap:

• Avoiding processed food at all costs.

• Not drinking tap water (Tonnes of chemicals are put in tap water.)

• Fresh veggies and fruits when at all possible.

• Organic meat (you should do some research on what they do to non-organic meats. It's horrifying.)

• Organic for the dirty dozen  (see the list here if you want to know more about what that even means).

• Not doing the drive through any more. I recognize on trips we might have to do succumb to the drive-through world, but that'll be okay. We'll live to tell about it. We're just trying to minimize processed crap.

• No wheat, dairy, soy, corn. In a pinch I can eat these things but they definitely affect me (you really don't want to know the details, but if you really do, ask me and I'll share) I've had a few of these things over the past several weeks and they make me feel lousy enough where I really don't want to eat them. Crazy, I know.
•  
• Trying to not eat sugar unless it's in a clean recipe (definitely not white sugar)

• Reading labels on everything I buy.  

And sadly, this has ruined me for life.

Why? 

Because things that are marketed as healthy 

(like whole grain nutri-bars and the like) 

are loaded with chemicals.

It's frightening actually.

Most cereal is terrible. 

Crackers? Oh my.

Fruit snacks. Run to the hills.

Whole grain cereals. Buyers beware.

Chemicals in SO many things.

 Just try reading labels.

Triple-dog-dare.

 

And then you'll hate me for asking you to read labels

and our friendship might immediately come to an end.

So sorry to ruin the 'quick and easy' thing.

But honestly, we've gotta stop putting garbage in our bodies.

And, our kids' bodies.

 

What our daily life with clean eating looks like:

• Jack and I are still doing healthy shakes for breakfast. That has been VERY easy to maintain for me. I don't see that changing ever. So easy.

• Lunches are sometimes leftovers from supper the night before. OR, I make a new 'clean' lunch and then try another new recipe for supper. THAT, is a wee bit overwhelming for me, so I'm still trying to get a handle on how to do lunch and supper clean without being in the kitchen for hours.

• Tonnes of water throughout the day. I have the occasional unsweetened ice tea but really basically just having water to drink.

• Giving my body 12 hours to digest food overnight. So, if I eat at 6pm, I don't eat again until 6am. Or if we eat at 7pm, not eating until 7am. So that limits snacking, which is a good thing. I do, from time-to-time, make organic popcorn popped in coconut oil (yum-to-the-tum) on the stove as a snack. But again, if I eat that at 9pm, then I try to be strict about not eating again until 9am. The reason? Our body can naturally detox IF we give it time to do so. And our body needs 8 hours to digest the food we eat and then another 4 to detox. Now I'm no math wizard, but that equals 12 hours of no food. It really isn't that bad.

• I'm trying to get to the gym three days a week. And usually I get derailed by things like children up vomiting all night long and other such nonsense. But I will keep attempting to do this. My goal, if my left leg would cooperate, would be to run 4 mornings a week, from home. I'm not giving up, but every time I attempt to run, it still really hurts. That bums me out.

• Because it seems to really help me to be able to eat eggs and some occasional red meat, I'm basically following a Paleo clean eating plan. Now technically, the Paleo eating stems from cave men days or something like that.

Whatever.

I don't really give a rip about that portion of their plan .... 

Honestly, I like Paleo because it is no wheat, no dairy, no processed

(which is what my body needs)

PLUS 

I get to eat eggs and red meat

(which is what my body wants)

THAT's why it works for me.

What doesn't work for me is no cheese.

THAT has been hard.

And I am here to say, I have landed on an AMAZING cookbook.

Against All Grain.

I've tried probably close to 2 dozen recipes -- if not more --

from this book and they are VERY tasty.

Highly recommend you purchase it here. 

Worth every penny.

And I'm not getting paid to promote it.

I promise.

Jack's side of the family is a little bit of fun and 

a WHOLE LOTTA CRAZY.

See?

 

 Things that I'm struggling with?

Not gonna lie.

Sick of chicken.

Never been a big fan of pork.

Lamb is gross.

Ground turkey. Not bad. But again, tired of it.

So this week, because of that, I've added a few red meat recipes,

just so that I don't throw in the towel on the whole thing.

I suppose I'm finding that it's about doing a bit of adapting

and doing what works for our family.

I continue to try lots of new recipes.

And most are really good.

But it seemed like the end of last week I hit two or three recipes in a row that 

just didn't taste great.

Which got REALLY discouraging.

I think I may have said,

"I hate this."

But don't tell anyone.

[ Coco heard me say it but she keeps all my secrets. ]

Trying to figure out a meal planning and grocery purchasing system that works for me.

Never been great at either of these.

But finding that with clean eating, it requires much more time in the

store if I'm not prepared.

SO, I'm on a mission to be prepared.

I'll keep you posted on how that goes. 

And if you find me in the psych ward at Cook County,

you'll know it's because I never did land on a plan that worked.

[Not to make light of mental illness.]

It is still overwhelming to me to cook this many meals from scratch.

I just am not a huge fan of the kitchen.

I wish I was.

But I'm not.

But I will keep fighting for this lifestyle change because I believe it

is the best decision for myself and my family.

But it's not easy to me.
Definitely getting easier.

But not easy.

And I'm not sure it ever will be 'easy.'

It's just a longer process.

And if you know me AT ALL,

you know I'm little miss speed demon,

so anything that slows me down

tends to drag me down.

 

But if you like the kitchen and you like to cook,

then you would LOVE this.

Because it's a lot of both.

If this next photo doesn't stop you in your tracks, 

I don't know what would.

I'll explain later.

 Shopping is getting easier. 

I can totally take Whole Foods now.

It's got NOTHIN' on me.

And, in comparison shopping,

Costco is much more 'organic/healthy' friendly than Sam's.

I'm going tomorrow to get a membership.

I'll save the fifty-five bucks in a month's time on

things like frozen fruits and oils and produce.

Sure do wish it was summer. 

Soon enough I suppose.

So that's it in a nutshell.

20 pounds gone.

Feeling great energy still.

I totally feel it when I eat things like wheat and dairy.

I had NO idea before what it felt like to be bloated and gassy.

And now, when I eat dairy, I feel those things almost immediately.

It's CRAZY the connection.

I will still say that if I can do this, you can too!

No excuses for either of us.

Got it?

I feel the same way, buddy.

I really, really do. 

[ Jackson circa 2009 ish ]

And in the meantime,

if you're not eating clean,

I'd really REALLY like you to go eat a piece

of Lou Malnatti's deep dish pepperoni pizza.

And throw in a Diet Coke, too.

Would ya?

Thanks.

You're a grand friend to do that for me.