Day 14, Standard Process Cleanse

I know, it's a terrible photo. But I'm doing whatever I can to avoid those other ones that I just couldn't stand anymore. You probably can't even tell what this is (other than dinner)... so I'll give you the inside scoop (well, not literally, because it's all gone).

We had Salmon with Caramelized Cherries from the Whole Foods website (minus the agave nectar), Salad (lettuce, red onions, red bell pepper, carrots, asparagus tips, tomato, and *drumroll please* a store-bought salad dressing that is cleanse-friendly AND tasty! Got it at Sprouts and it's called Organicville Sun-dried Tomato something-or-another), and dino kale chips. I kept hearing about this other kind of kale and finally found it at Central Market but I think I like the regular kind better.

So I cleaned out my spice rack today... no more soybean oil, sugar, cornstarch, msg, and other nasty additives. Threw away like 9 bottles, so now I have some wiggle room in there to find the good ones =)

Cleaned out my pantry a little too... GMO popcorn, MSG canned soup, chicken bouillon, and a few other things. Felt so good! And what am I doing with all of it? Why, donated it all to a canned food drive at Julia's preschool of course. Is that terrible?

The last couple of days have been really hard as far as cravings and temptation go. I'm starting to get concerned that after the cleanse is over I'm just gonna go crazy eating all the sandwiches and desserts in sight. Hopefully the 21-days-to-make-a-good-habit thing is gonna kick in. I thought I had it going for me after the first week but then it all went downhill. Luckily I have some tried-and-tasty recipes that I plan to repeat the coming week.

Riley and I decided to meet for lunch and go to Spiral Diner today. I had never been before and had heard great things so we thought it'd be great during the cleanse. Well, I didn't know they were closed on Mondays. What a let-down! So, we went to PeiWei. Again. And it kind of felt like cheating, what with all the inevitable soy sauce and wonton this-and-that. I'm trying to keep my head up and not feel like I've failed, because I really do believe that this is going to be a great experience for both of us, even if it's not perfect. I was really proud of the kids though, because they totally devoured the brown rice =)

Yesterday's lunch and dinner were from Central Market and Market Street because we were out and about and didn't have time before we had to leave in the morning to make food for the rest of the day. We had so much fun! Church and two fall festivals! I wanted the free candy and hotdogs so bad though. The good news is I resisted! I hope I will still be strong when all of these foods are "allowed" again. Although my goal is to continue excluding certain things from our diet. Like perhaps, only buying meat that is pastured, buying the majority of our produce from local sources, only eating sweets if it's a special occasion, etc.

My pee has been a lot clearer lately. Sorry, I know that is really out of the blue and maybe more than you wanted to know but, I am after all, documenting facts here. Anyhow, that's a good thing. A little bit surprising though because I have really been slacking on drinking lots of water. Need to step it up Jo!

I made my very first batch of chicken stock this weekend. Super exciting and really easy. But since I didn't already have the canning jars to store it in once it was done, it simmered for 2 whole days. Yikes! Hopefully that just means it'll be better. But, since it might be bad, I only kept 1 quart out of three. After all, I'm used to just throwing away the bones and all when I cook a whole chicken. But no more of that! Can't wait to use it. Might even whip up some tex-mex chicken soup tomorrow =) I was so happy to see the bones just crush right between my fingers like the pictures I saw online when I looked up how to make it (Crushing the bones is NOT how you make it, that's just the afterward evidence that the broth has absorbed all the calcium from the bones). I researched about the benefits of broth and felt healthier just knowing how good it's gonna be for our bodies when we eat (drink) it!

Well, it's technically tomorrow and I need to get some sweet potato slices in the dehydrator for tomorrow so Good Night everybody! I hope you're still enjoying my journey =)