Our post-Christmas family gift

Water, water everywhere but not a drop to drink...

You need to check out this series by my friend Heather, on all the icky stuff that's in our water and what to do about it!

We didn't win the giveaway, so we decided that come tax return time, we'd use some refund money to splurge on one of these! I really didn't want to wait 2 months to have good water, but since it wasn't a true emergency, taking money out of savings wasn't an option.

Little did we know, an unexpected check was headed our way! We received some Christmas money last week so we were able to buy the Big Berkey earlier than planned. YAY! I'm so excited, to say the least. No more driving to Bedford for RO water and lugging the jug around, no more hoping my fridge filter is better than tap, no more buying cases of plastic bottles that leech chemicals and take up room in my recycling bin.

So, in a few days it should be delivered to my front door! Can't wait =)

I talked to the Berkey guy (Jeff Gleason) on the phone a couple weeks ago during the 40 Days of Christmas (prizes for answering bible trivia on Riley's facebook page). He so generously donated a Sport Berkey Bottle for the giveaway, without having even purchased anything from him. How cool is that?! I'm so glad I get to support his business now, and get an amazing water filter system for our family! Plus it will match our other stainless appliances. OOOOHHHH...!

The Berkey system is the best choice for filtering your water! It's cheaper per gallon, more eco-friendly, and better at purifying than bottled purified water, brita pitchers and even reverse osmosis. So, definitely take a looksie at Mommypotamus' articles on water, and put the Berkey on your shopping list!

Christmas Questions

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Totally depends on the gift. If it's in a box, definitely wrapping paper. If it's weird shaped and I have a bag that fits it, bag. (I can't remember the last time I actually bought any bags, because I reuse them) I buy one or two rolls of paper each year though.

2. Real tree or Artificial? We have a tiny artificial one right now, because that's what we bought our first Christmas together when we didn't have room for a big one. Growing up my family had real ones a few times.

3. When do you put up the tree? ASAP after Thanksgiving!

4. When do you take the tree down? Newyears-ish.

5. Do you like eggnog? Idk I can't remember the last time I tried it, if ever. Will be adventurous this year if given the opportunity!

6. Favorite gift received as a child? I got some really great things while growing up, but the first thing that popped into my head is the Dual tape deck CD player huge stereo that I wanted really bad! I think my sister has it now, she bought it from me when I moved to Spain. Ok that's so off the subject but anyway it's still in the family! Also I remember a phase where I was obsessed with teddy bears and my mom got me a ton of teddy-bear type stuff.

7. Hardest person to buy for? Nobody really anymore. Kids are easy, Riley just tells me what he wants and we get it (I know, not fun at all!), and adults in the family do a chinese exchange so that takes the pressure off!

8. Easiest person to buy for? Julia!

9. Do you have a nativity scene? No, but we do have a couple figurines that have Mary Joseph and Jesus.

10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Snail mail! I know email is so much cheaper but who doesn't like to have a bunch of Christmas cards to deck their halls with every year?

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Hmmm, I must've blocked it out of my memory.

12. Favorite Christmas Movie? Elf and It's a Wonderful Life

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? November.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Probably.

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Cookies! Of course that goes for any time of year.

16. Lights on the tree (colored or clear)? Clear. At least that's what we have this time.

17. Favorite Christmas song? Baby It's Cold Outside (ok I know that's not really about Christmas but still) and O Come All Ye Faithful.

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? I've only traveled away one Christmas and that was when we went skiing at Red River, NM. So I guess I prefer staying at home!

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer's? Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen, and Rudolph!

20. Angel, star or ribbon on top of tree? Star, at least this year.

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? One on Christmas Eve and the rest in the morning!

22. Favorite children's Christmas song? I want a Hippopotamus for Christmas!

23. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? Everyone wishing "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas". Hello... everybody knows the 25th is called CHRISTMAS. Also right up there is making Santa more important than Jesus, and everybody obsessing over gifts. Don't get me wrong, I love to buy gifts, but when it gets to the point of stress, the point has been totally missed.

24. Favorite ornament theme or color? We don't have a theme, we just have different ones that we've collected or been given over the years.

25. Turkey or ham on Christmas day? Turkey! I can enjoy a little ham though.

26. What do you want for Christmas this year? Boots, skinny jeans to go with said boots, some socks I saw at Kohl's that were thermal on the outside and super soft on the inside, real peace in the family, a day at the spa, a trip to Ireland/Italy/Caribbean, a sewing machine, and a Big Berkey Water Filter System. Is that too much to ask? ;)

27. Does anyone in your family dress up as Santa? No.

28. Age you discovered who Santa was? I never really remember believing in Santa. My parents did a really good job of telling us the truth, while we did know who Santa Claus WAS.

29. Eggnog, hot chocolate, or apple cider? Hot chocolate and apple cider!

30. Traditional colors (red and green) or other colors? I usually decorate with the traditional colors, but I love the winter blues.

31. Do you have any Christmas decorations on your roof? Nope.

32. What is your favorite holiday treat? Hmmm I like them all but I always go overboard on my mother-in-law's White Trash. Yum!

33. How does Santa get into your house? Riley and I both own keys to our house. He goes in the front door and I go in through the garage.

34. Do you prefer gifts or gift cards? I like gifts, but gift cards are fun too!

35. Favorite children's Christmas Cartoon? Oh I don't know, Frosty?

OK, now its your turn!

Sometimes I eat poop.

I grabbed a handful of Honey Nut Cheerios and sat down on the couch.

Josiah came over to me and I gave him a couple.

He put his hand up to my mouth like he's giving me one. How sweet.

Well, I didn't get a Cheerio in my mouth and it tasted horrible. What the heck?

I look down at his hands and he's got poop on his fingers. Yay.

I peek down the back of his diaper and nothing. Hmmm.

I look over and notice the toilet brush on the kitchen floor. Oh NO...

There's a little bit of poop on the floor next to it. I guess there was poop clogged in the toilet and he was trying to be a good little boy and help mommy clean.

Nope, no poop in the toilet. Clean as a whistle.

HUH? So the little brush holder has poopy water in it but that's all I can tell. No idea what in the world happened. All I know is,

Today was my first time (and hopefully the last)...

to taste poop.

40 Days of Christmas-- Bible Trivia Giveaways!

This is day 3 of what my husband has deemed "The 40 Days of Christmas." Basically he started with giving away a Dallas Cowboys t-shirt to the first person to answer correctly how many animals Noah brought onto the ark. Then the next morning he got this great idea to make it something bigger. Translation for me: "The 40 days of cleaning-out-a-bunch-of-great-stuff-we-don't-need-and-other-people-would-love!"

Everything we'll be giving away is brand new (unless otherwise indicated) and all you have to do is be my husband's friend on Facebook to participate. (Riley Moore)

Every day he will post a new bible trivia question and the first person to answer correctly wins the daily prize. No cheating! As in, you can't go through your bible or google it or wiki it or ask somebody else. Unless of course nobody gets it after a couple hours then he may allow you to look it up.

Here are a few of the prizes we have coming up-- keep checking back on Riley's page to see if the one you want is up that day! And hey, if you don't want it then it will make a great Christmas gift.

1.5" Photo Frame Egg Rabbit (wine-opener, pre-owned) Handmade Scarf (crocheted by me, you pick color) iPhone case iPhone skin iPad case Thermohygrometer iTouch case + stand Sandisk 4 GB MP3 Player Bob Dylan CD

We have no agenda, this is just a fun idea my brilliant other half came up with. The only thing we'll be gaining out of it is getting to bless others and create more space in our home!

Oh and the best part is, on the 40th day there will be a GRAND PRIZE drawing-- all of the winners from the first 39 days will be entered to win something really awesome-- to be determined!

So what are you waiting for? Hop on over to my hubby's page and get in on the action!

Dear Long Lost Library

Dear Long Lost Library,

I feel guilty. For not taking my daughter to story time until she was 2. For not getting a library card until today.

I'm sorry I didn't return the turtle books from 2004 on time. It's weird that the library I live by has information from Burleson. I really don't remember borrowing them. The fee was only $3.75 so I didn't want to argue with the nice cute librarian girl.

I promise to come more often. Thanks for being free. I'm sure I'll save lots of money on books and movies now. I'm sorry I forgot you existed. I think Julia and Josiah both will learn to love you. She really enjoyed picking out a book about Prancer, Clifford, and Corduroy, and the Dora and Toy Story DVDs. I'm glad I looked at the ones she grabbed before checking them out, or we would've come home with a Ramadan book. I can't believe we'll be able to check out 50 items after this. That seems really crazy. Does anybody really do that? I mean, I guess if you have 3 weeks to return them it's possible. But I could never carry that many things with my munchkins in tow.

I love the kiddie section at the Keller Branch. Y'all did great on making that one so cute and welcoming. It's hard to believe how comfortable I felt with stepping away to the counter while Julia stayed there exploring. But she loves books so it was cool. We won't be able to come to storytime every Wednesday but it will be a nice treat whenever we have to miss bible study. Maybe we can find a good time at another branch.

See you soon!
Love,
Joanna

Post-Cleanse Interview and Fave Recipes

As promised, here are the questions I asked Riley and his responses regarding the cleanse:

1. Are you glad you did it?
Yes.  It was a nice journey, and while it was hard at times, I think I really needed it.
 

2. If so, what tips would you offer to others who are considering it?
Plan a little more than we did… we decided to do it ‘tomorrow’ when we decided.  That’s all good, but I wish we’d thought through all the parties we had to attend and starve!  My grandmother did graciously provide us with a wonderful spread of things we could eat when she hosted some family for lunch.  Thanks Mimi!  You RAWK!
 

3. What was the best part about it?
Sitting on toilet this morning and looking down… ooh, gross… not into the pot- at my jelly roll that used to be my belly.  Now I look like the biggest loser jelly roller!  Now to keep with the healthy stuff and work out more often, maybe I can lose a few more pant sizes!
 

4. What did you hate?

The zucchini meal Joanna attempted.  I did my work and ate a helping, but that was the only real disappointment.  The rest of the meals were all pretty good!  It was also hard saying no to foods we KNOW are healthy, but not part of the plan.  Since when is it not ok to healthy stuff?!  But the reasons are just a little harder to tease out.  Just stick to the plan- it’s there for a reason.
 

[It was a zucchini soup recipe that I did not create myself, btw]

5. Did you make middle of the night trips to fast food joints while I was asleep?
Fast food?  No…. well, not while you were asleep…. But this one time… I snuck downstairs to eat … no, never.
 

6. Favorite new recipe(s)?
A bunch.  Coconut oil is the best!  And I only mildly like coconut.  Squash Apple Soup was good, and a ton of others!
 

7. What food did you miss the most?
Helado [ice cream]! And horchata when I had to make a run to the junk yard for a car part.  I usually get a 32 oz Horchata out there… I’m not big on soda, coffee, or any of that, but I was sure ready for a good waffle this morning!  Mmmm Bread!

8. How have you changed?

I had a bad experience when I tried to reintroduce meat.  I think my mindset about meat has changed a good deal, in part after watching Food, Inc.  As much as I enjoy some restaurants, I am much more wary about what I would consider eating at them.  I have a much greater appreciation for my wife’s cooking, and I think I could manage to eat meat free one week a month or something and still enjoy my diet.  Contemplating a gluten-free diet, and learned that the ‘stalk’ of cauliflower helps it not to smell and aids in digestion and allergies!! (ok, I learned that from a sales pitch on an unrelated matter, but still!)

9. When (if ever) would you want to do this again, or is there a different one you'd like to try next?

Sure.  Kinda expensive, so there is a level of commitment there… would like to continue not eating bread, etc after 4 pm as a general rule.

[I think he means cabbage, but it could be true for cauliflower as well].

Thanks Riley! You rock my socks off.

And now for some of our favorite new meals, snacks and shakes... 

* Holiday Harvest Soup at Souper!Salad! --iirc, it's got wild rice, mushrooms, celery, leeks, carrots, chicken, and parsley. I know it doesn't sound exciting, but it's really delicious. Not sure what they use for broth, so I'll play around with chicken/veggie/creamofsomething.

* Red Curried Lentils and Brown Rice

* Squash Apple Soup

* Dehydrated Sweet Potato Chips-- slice with mandoline on thinnest setting, drizzle with EVOO and sea salt, dehydrate for 6+ hours at 135.

* Chicken Broth made from scratch

* Dehydrated Cinnamon Pear Chips-- slice with mandoline on 2nd thinnest setting, sprinkle cinnamon on top, dehydrate for 4-6 hours at 135.

* Cleanse Cupcakes

* Asian Explosion-- inspiration here; 
 ~What I did was cook a 16oz pkg of brown rice spaghetti, topped with the following mixture sliced/chopped and sauteed in 1/4 c coconut oil:
1 roma tomato
3 leaves red chard
1 red bell pepper
6 radishes
1/2 red onion
2 carrots
1 yellow squash
1/2 bunch broccoli
4 cloves garlic
Add organic tamari to taste.

* Crockpot Lentil/Veggie Stew-- inspiration here;
~What I did differently was only used 1/2 onion, left out the rice, and just threw everything into the crock pot for I can't remember how long. But since there wasn't any meat, probably 2 hours on high.

* Brown Rice Rotini with Basil Pesto

* Brown Rice Spaghetti with Eggplant/Tomato Sauce
~I think I got this recipe from Dr. Cindy, but not 100% sure:
1 medium eggplant, cut into 1" cubes
1 pint cherry tomatoes (I used grape tomatoes because that's all I could find)
3 cloves garlic, whole (I always double the garlic in any given recipe, so we used 6)
3 T EVOO
1 t salt
1 t pepper
1 t red pepper flakes (this is pretty hot, so we left it out)
1/4 c toasted pine nuts (we left this out during the cleanse)
1/4 c torn fresh basil
3 T EVOO
1/2 c grated Parmesan (omitted during cleanse)
- Preheat to 400. Combine 1st 7 ingredients in a bowl, spread onto baking sheet (with parchment paper or oil). Roast 35 min. If you want to toast the pine nuts, do so on another rack for 8 min. Save 1.5 c of the liquid from the pasta you cook. Transfer roasted veggies to food processor/blender. Add basil and EVOO. Transfer mixture to pasta bowl, add parmesan. Stir, adding cooking liquid 1/2 c at a time until pasta is saucy. Sprinkle pine nuts over the top and serve.

* Canyon Ranch Asparagus Guacamole

* Bare Naked Cinnamon Apple Chips (bought at Sprouts)

* Mango Lassi

* Peach Pie Smoothie

* Blueberry Cherry Smoothie- equal parts blueberries and cherries, one banana, 1/2 c coconut milk, powdered supplements.

* Citrus Berry Splash Shake

* Dr. Cindy's Smoothie

* "Gioanali" Original Smoothie

I'm feeling great as of 1 day post cleanse, and looking forward to the next few weeks as we settle into new eating habits! Surprisingly, I've been resisting things that are "permissible but not beneficial." I did make some zucchini oatmeal cookies that were (key word, were) scrumdiddlyumptious! And I've got a surprise homemade dessert waiting for Riley in the freezer. =) 

Tonight's dinner was Pumpkin Chili recommended by Kate Cole, recipe here (I used coconut oil instead of vegetable, doubled the garlic and instead of yellow bell pepper I just did a whole green one). I ate two bowls, then while I was putting Josiah to bed, Riley washed my dish (along with most of the others, thanks babe!) so I had to sit down with the big pot and ladle to eat some more. That's how good it was, even a little cold. Going backwards, for breakfast I made sweet potato waffles (from a mix), my signature easy cheesy eggs (Homestead Farms' eggs, scrambled with a big handful of shredded cheddar), and orange slices. We'll see what tomorrow holds!

Thank you so much for joining me in our journey, and I hope you'll stick around to read more (although I can't promise to blog every day from now on)!

Day 21, Standard Process Cleanse

YES!!!

We did it. We really completed 3 long weeks of grueling really healthy eating. I feel so accomplished! And there's no way I could've done it without my wonderful husband, Riley. Especially because, well, it was his idea.

It would've been so easy to throw in the towel the past couple of days, but that would be like quitting a marathon at the 24th mile just because you already ran "enough". Absolutely not! We had to cross that finish line.

I would have to say I felt my best at the end of the first week, and then the second week I started getting bored with the same old things, and then the third week we started eating out (as rule-abiding as we could be, however) so that really showed me what a big difference "that kind of food" does to my digestive system. So while I've been sooo ready to eat all my old foods again, I think learning how different foods make me feel (something I didn't notice before, because my body was so full of so many toxins it couldn't trigger a signal to my brain) will motivate me to eat in more often, as often as possible actually. Which means I need to kick my meal-planning butt in gear! I really want to get super-organized with our food budget and shopping trips and weekly menus. Like, spreadsheets and all. Because I'm finding it really hard to stay within our budget. But, I'm convinced that with a little lot of work, it can be done. It has to.

There are so many new recipes I've come across the past 3 weeks that I tucked away in my mind for after the cleanse, so I'm sure I'll be making a bunch of yummy goodness real soon!

Alright now, who's motivated to do the cleanse now that you've seen how easy good for you it can be???

Oh, I almost forgot, I'll do one last post tomorrow with links to our favorite recipes during the cleanse, and perhaps a mini-interview with Riley. So stay tuned! =)

Day 19-20, Standard Process Cleanse

I know you all dearly missed my blog post yesterday, ;) so let me apologize for that up front!

Last night I really should've taken that Gymnema stuff (helps with blood sugar and cravings). I haven't had to take any this whole time but I guess I need to start if I really want to cross that finish line Tuesday morning.

We were headed out for dinner with no idea where to go. First mistake. So as we drove toward our non-dinner destination, we just started pulling up nearby restaurants on our phone. Scrolled through so many temptations, and I settled on Boston Market, thinking we could just get chicken and veggies. Well right before we walked in, Riley vetoed and said that it would be too hard to not get the mac-n-cheese, and I knew I'd want a brownie or something. So, starving, we continued on to Souper!Salad!.

Which was a good idea. Couldn't really have any salad because all the good dressings were filled with prohibited ingredients. I just can't stand oil and vinegar, sorry. But, we both found a real winner: Holiday Harvest soup. We had like 7 bowls between the both of us, not including two other bowls of soup, fruit, etc... It had mushrooms, carrots, leeks, garlic, parsley, wild rice, and I don't remember if anything else. SO.GOOD! I'm gonna try to repeat it at home sometime.

As I was devouring the food, I felt like I was eating my first meal in months. Because on our way there, it was really the time that felt most like we were fasting. I wanted to eat what I wanted to eat. I just couldn't wait for this thing to be over so I could have a freaking chalupa and ice cream. Well, after the soup, I felt happy again (must've been my blood sugar rising, not that there was sugar in the soup... don't ask me)!

So we have today and then tomorrow's the last day. I have no idea what's on the menu, so I better figure that out before we have a repeat of last night's agony.

Friday night we planned to go to Cafe at the Modern, but traffic rerouted us to Genghis Grill. Since the museum is free on Sunday, maybe we'll opt for that today instead. Just not sure how that will go with the kiddos...

Julia had a terrible cough all through the night, although she did sleep through most of it, and is still snuggled up in daddy's arms. Love for all my babies to be resting peacefully! Not sure if we can make it to church though. We'll see.

I went to a baby shower yesterday for my friend Juliana, and I was so looking forward to it that I completely forgot about the fact that I was going to have to resist sweets and other stuff. Well, resist I did although difficult. I did have this drink called wassail, which is apple cider with other fruit juices. So yummy! I ignored the fact that it probably had sugar in it. Sue me!

As we near the end of the cleanse, I keep worrying about what's going to happen afterwards. Like are we gonna totally binge on a ton of sweets and bread and cheese and beef after 3 weeks of denying ourselves? Well, I had a revelation of sorts. Hopefully that won't happen, but even if it did, it won't take long before we scale back to a happy medium. A medium closer to the cleanse diet than the one we were on before this whole thing. That's my goal anyway!

Well, happy time change Sunday! Come back tomorrow for the last day of our journey!

Day 18, Standard Process Cleanse

We're off the hook!


...


Well, just a little bit. See, we ran out of SP Complete (the powdered whole food supplement we mix into our morning and bedtime shakes each day) yesterday. I'm not sure why. Actually the container says it only has 30 servings which should've only lasted us a week. But according to the office, it was supposed to last us the whole 21 days. Not sure about all that, but anyway I called them and they said just don't worry about it the last 3 days, continue taking the other supplements and it won't drastically reduce the effectiveness of the cleanse. Cool!

Although I would've much rather been off the hook to eat a sandwich and a cookie. No such luck! Until Tuesday, that is. Muuuahahahaha!

We actually enjoy the shakes (now that I know which ones are good!) so I'll keep making the morning one with SP Whey Pro to start the day off. For lunch we had leftovers and for dinner went to Genghis Grill. Oh. My. Goodness. I'd never been there before. What a place! It was great. All four bowls =) But boy are my innards working out something fierce! It was also nice to just have an evening out alone with Riley... we got my niece to come over on short notice after Riley got off work early-- double score!

Dreams are already filling our palates for Tuesday's meals. What will we eat after this is all over? The same junk we use to? Not as much. The same stuff we're eating now? Moreso, but other things as well.

Riley and I admitted to each other that we've both had some mixed feelings lately about it being the end of the cleanse. With only 3 days left and not having to do any more shakes, why not just call it quits now? After all, we've had a (mostly) fabulous 18 days...

But NO! We did not come this far just to quit now. If for no other reason, I must finish because I need to show myself that I can finish what I started. See, I'm REALLY bad at fasting. I can't remember the last time I didn't bail on a fast. Well, except the 2 month long no-sweets one we did together this past spring. But that was excluding so much less than this is. Anyway, we've resisted so many temptations thus far, another 3 days will be a piece of cake! At least, we hope so, because we had to pass up a really nice one last night!

Well, I did some research on Saladmaster last night after blogging, and I've concluded that it's ridiculously overpriced, no matter how great it is. We may still do the show just for the free gift and free dinner with people over, but I don't plan on shelling out hundreds or thousands of dollars to them when I could get something probably just as good for a fraction of the price. So, those of you who have stainless steel cookware, what kind is it and do you recommend it and why? Anybody have any experience with titanium? SM's stuff is .5% and Riley is interested in looking into similar alternatives. Our plan is to buy some new pots and pans for sure. The old scratched up non-stick cancer-on-my-stove-crap has GOT TO GO ASAP.

It's late, so I'm off to bed... Nite-nite everybody =)

Day 17, Standard Process Cleanse

~I opened a bag of chips today, but they weren't for me.

~I buttered a piece of toast today, but it wasn't for me.

~I scooped a handful of cheerios today, but they weren't for me.

~I made a PBJ sandwich today, but it wasn't for me.

~I sorted through halloween candy today, but it wasn't for me.

~I sliced a piece of chocolate cake today, but it wasn't for me (even though it had veggies in it).

~I changed a few diapers today, but they were definitely not for me!


...Here's what I did do today for me:


*Opened a bag of apple chips (warning: when you first taste "Bare Naked" fruit chips you will be unimpressed if you've ever made your own, but then you will go back for more just because you don't have any homemade kind, and then you will be addicted, and then before you know it, you've finished off the whole bag, crumbs and all.)

*Ate pistachios for the first time in what seems like years.

*Made my own bowl of guacamole and thoroughly enjoyed it, and I don't even like avocados.

*Rejoined yourhealthsource.org.

*Spent some time making fabulous baby gifts.

...And tomorrow, I just might make a batch of cookies that we all can eat!


Dinner tonight was veggies and "fried" chicken at some friends' house for a Saladmaster presentation. Still chewing on everything (well, not the food, the other cookware information and stuff), planning to host a show next Wednesday if any of y'all are interested... If you come we'll get a really cool gift! Basically it is a health and nutrition cooking show, about proper food preparation. The food is delicious (the guy makes everybody dinner and dessert), we had a great time, and nobody has to buy anything!

Of course afterward I started feeling down because of my nasty non-stick cookware. Seems like it kind of defeats the purpose of doing a cleanse. Something must be done to stop welcoming those toxins into all our healthy food ;


Skipping the shakes tonight because we only have enough SP Complete for 2 more, and we'll do those in the morning. Not sure why it didn't last the whole 3 weeks, but hopefully we can get a small container to finish off the cleanse!

Four. More. Days. =)  =)  =) Bring on the cheesy bread and chocolate! The healthy kind, of course.

Day 16, Standard Process Cleanse

I'd like you to meet two of my very best friends. They have a very special place in my heart kitchen.

This is my precious Ninja. It works so hard and I've been using it at the very least twice a day for the last 15 days. It really is like a miracle machine. You can blend, chop, make snow, and more. It's a beautiful thing. If you haven't guessed already, this is what we've been making our shakes in.

This, my beloved readers, is my dear Oxo Mandoline. Without it, there would be no sweet potato chips in our house. And that would be a terrible, terrible thing. It can also julienne, make wavy edges and all sorts of wonderful things. My best non-edible purchase in the last two weeks.

I also spend a lot of time with my cutting boards, several different knives, spatulas, spoons, colanders, pots and pans and such. They're my old pals. Oldies but goodies.

Today we went to Spiral Diner for lunch and I got the Pasta Primavera, which was brown rice fettuccine with pesto and veggies. Delish! Riley got Ramsey's Protein Platter or something like that. We also shared the Tuscany Tomato Soup Special. Besides nibbling on our plates (well, not literally), the kids got all our bread.

Mmmm, I really miss bread. And cheese. When I gave Josiah a slice of cheddar today, I lifted the bag up to my nose and just took in the aroma. Ahhh. I have been forced to get creative with my recipe searches these days. Looking up beet hash browns, brown rice cookies and the like, have become the norm around here.

Dinner was a repeat and a newbie: Squash Apple Soup (left it chunkier this time for Riley, but just like my guacamole, I think I prefer it nice and smooth), and Red Curried Lentils with Wild/Brown Rice mix. The lentils and rice totally took the cake for me tonight. Not what I was expecting, so it was a pleasant surprise! Will definitely be keeping that around. Great source of protein! You can find the recipe here if you're interested.

Tomorrow's lunch will be leftovers (no complaints here) and dinner at Luke & Juliana's with a Saladmaster guy. I hope we're allowed to eat whatever he makes!

Well, I must be going... keep forgetting to sign back up for the organic produce coop so I need to get that email out in time for the next delivery!

See y'all tomorrow! Maybe before the cleanse is over I'll actually get to write the daily post before midnight. Hey, I can dream right?

Day 15, Standard Process Cleanse

Guess what? I have a non-boring full-of-photos blog, starting...

NOW!

This is what I used to snack on a lot and keep wanting to reach for, but I can't. So they're lasting a lot longer now that the kids are the only ones eating them.

This is what I wish there were more of but we finished the bag off last night.

This is what i came thisclose to eating a handful of today, but carefully put them back down. Why? They're covered in sugar.

This is what I wish would stop being advertised on TV for a while.

This is what I've been munching on all day.

This is what I am aching to eat come next Tuesday!

And now for the usual:

I went to the SmoothieKing website to get some shake ideas, and I'm really excited to try some of them out, starting as soon as I'm done typing this post!

We have a beet left in the fridge that I'm needing to come up with a recipe for. The thought "beet hash browns" popped in my head yesterday so I'm totally going to Google it and see what might happen in the kitchen.

Made my original recipe guacamole tonight to go with sweet potato chips, except this time instead of mashing I just stuck everything in the Ninja. Turned out super creamy and I loved it! Even better than before. Riley prefers it chunky though. Guess I'll have to start making separate batches ;)

My tex-mex chicken soup turned out pretty good, using the stock I made. Although I'm looking forward to when I can add cheese and organic blue corn chips again!

Six more days! IthinkicanithinkicanithinkicanIKNOWWECAN!

Anybody got any good tilapia recipes? I'll be making it for the first time ever.

Didn't vote today. Woah, put your stones down! Next time I'm hoping to actually do some serious research into each candidate's voting record so I can make a well-informed decision before November sneaks up on me. My main thing is that they are genuinely going to do things that promote the unborn's right to life, and I'm just not convinced anymore that a straight (R) ticket is the same thing. Ok, enough politics.

I can't stand this cold weather. Got put together a better winter wardrobe if I'm gonna survive the next few months without getting snippy. The good news is, I've got some great soups to make me feel all warm inside!

Alrighty y'all, time to go shake it up!

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 =)

Day 12-13, Standard Process Cleanse

Well there you go! An original photo. Because this is what I was faced with today, except on a grander scale.

And by today, I mean yesterday. It's 12:29 and I'm still up, so this post will count for today (yesterday) and tomorrow (today)... unless I decide to write again later.

So yes, this was the first time I had SERIOUS cravings. We went to Riley's grandparents house for lunch (hungry, mind you) where they had an aMAzing spread of food. Breads, cheeses, meats, chips, salsa, chips, dips, desserts, lemonade... and of course our beloved fruit and veggie trays that we resorted to the whole time! We did give them fair warning about our temporary diet restrictions, so at least we weren't being rude. But BOY was it really hard not to eat all that delicious looking stuff! And it probably was actually all pretty wholesome stuff compared to other parties you might go to this time of year. Alas, we cannot cheat and make the last 11 days count for naught. We're over the hump so I know we can push through to the end!

I've been learning how much I eat the kids food on a regular basis. Like their bits and pieces that they drop or a bite that I just snag from their bowl. Every time I have to catch myself and say, no, you can't have that popcorn/fortune cookie/cheerio/etc. Even today Josiah put a chip up to my mouth and I had to push it away. Oh my goodness that was really a challenge. So a few seconds later I lick my lips and get a taste of it, wow. Talk about temptation! Then everything I fed him that he had enough of and gave back to me, what am I supposed to do with it? Normally I would eat it but I can't do that, and I'm not gonna just put it back on the public serving dish...

Oh well, soon enough I can gorge myself on all those things I've been missing out on these 3 weeks. Although I'm hoping that even then I won't go overboard. I'm just not the kind of girl that can just take one bite. If there are sweets or yummy snacks at a party, I eat them all up. Don't get me wrong, I'm not going to take so much that nobody else gets any, but I sure don't worry about making sure there are leftovers at the end of the night, knowwhatimean?

We watched Food, Inc last night and the rest this morning. Talk about timing. Makes me wanna never buy anything from anybody unless I've talked to the farmer personally and know exactly how it's being made and what's in it and all that. I know it's more expensive, but I also know we're at a turning point. We can join the ranks of the general public who buy whatever's easiest to get out there, or we can be intelligent about what goes into our bodies, and make the sacrifices necessary to take care of them. The question is where to draw the line... how much do we cut from other lines in our budget to afford better quality food? I guess we'll be working on that together soon. I'm thinking seriously about getting back into our organic produce coop. We took a break from it when we moved and now seems like a good time to resume! Actually 2 weeks ago would've been good... might've saved us a chunk of change on all these fruits and veggies we've been stocking up on. But hey, hindsight is 20/20.

I made chicken stock for the first time today! Super excited about that. Will probably never have to buy it again, depending on how often I make a whole chicken, and how often I just need broth. Anyway so I used the bones/skin from last night's dinner, added water, apple cider vinegar, celery and half a red onion, and let it sit on low in the crock pot all day. Tomorrow morning I better have figured out where to put it all, since I didn't think that far ahead when I set out on this little adventure. May need to make a run for some canning jars.

We had dinner at PeiWei because we couldn't find Genghis Grill, they must've closed down or moved or something. Got the cool lettuce wraps, which is what I always get there, and this time did not disappoint! I'm not gonna lie though, I might have cheated. Those little white thingies and probably some soy sauce mixed in there (didn't add any from the bowl they brought so at least there's that)... but hey, I was starving and it was at least mostly cleanse-friendly. I haven't cheated this whole time (except for that absentminded handful of cheerios on Day 1) so I'm not gonna beat myself up about it. I just hope it doesn't "mess things up" or anything like that.

This is the 3rd time I've forgotten to take my afternoon supplements, despite setting myself an alarm. Gah!

Well I better run, gotta decide what to put in the crock pot for lunch after church. Have a great Sunday!

Day 11, Standard Process Cleanse

[Insert really mouth-watering photo of 

roasted chicken fresh 

out of the oven]

I really wanted to give you something different to look at, but iPhoto is being dumb right now. Or maybe it's just me. Probably the latter. Oh well, I'm tired.

Sorry for the late post-- I was so busy all day with, well, you know... being in my pajamas all morning, not doing the dishes, coloring with Julia, running up and down the stairs, hanging things to dry because there's a mysterious black something in my dryer and I don't want to ruin another load of laundry, doing the dishes, planning dinner... the usual ;)

But alas here we are at the middle of the cleanse, 50% there, halfway to the finish line! Yes, I hail from the department of redundancy department.

Anyway, meat day! I think I have been more excited about this than Riley. Not sure why, it's not like I'm getting anything new, well except for variety maybe. Maybe I just felt like I was getting back into familiar territory after learning the hard way that just making vegetables does NOT make my life any simpler in the kitchen.

Well, dinner was rather anti-climactic. I made a beautiful roasted chicken with rosemary, garlic, thyme, lemon, etc... but for some reason it just took forever to get to 165. So everything else (sweet potatoes, asparagus) was done at different times and after Riley ate his stomach started feeling bad. Either too much olive oil or his body was just not responding well to meat after going 10 days without it! Hopefully things will improve.

I'm planning to find more shake recipes-- not that I don't have any good ones, I have a lot! I just love trying new things and I know there's gotta be more out there. After all, we have 20 more to go before this cleanse is over!

Wow, I totally forgot to eat any nuts today, and I'm allowed to now! I did have to resist some marshmallows I saw in the cabinet while getting some dried cranberries that I really need to stay away from because I'm starting to eat too many! Guess it's become my candy substitute ;)

Ahh, we have a really busy weekend ahead! Typing out our itinerary would just be exhausting, so I'll save the highlights for after we find out what they turn out to be =)

Ok, so some of my goals for this cleanse have been: Form better eating habits, as in, more vegetables, less sweets. So far I've been really successful, because DUH, it's forced upon me. But I know one thing I'll be taking from all this is a lot of really delicious ways to incorporate healthy veggies into our diet. Plus knowing how great I feel when I eat healthy, versus how crappy I feel when I eat, well, crap. If I can just remember that every time I'm tempted by that sweet piece of poison, life will be good.

I was so excited about having scrambled eggs this morning for breakfast after the farm being out for so many days and resorting to buying them elsewhere. Bad call. Apparently I've been totally spoiled and the ones I got just didn't add up. So, back to Homestead I'll be going. I wish I could just get a standing order of 4 dozen eggs every other week!

I really need to get some more stuff a dehydratin' in the Nesco, but we've got so much going on the next two days I'm just not sure there will be time. It will be enough of an accomplishment just to plan our meals right so we can avoid Taco Bueno while we're out and about ;)

Alright I must be going... will try to still blog over the weekend to keep you updated! Happy Friday night everybody!

Day 10, Standard Process Cleanse

I really need to get some new pictures on here, don't I?! Don't worry, you're not the only one sick of seeing the 2 photos above. In fact, this is what I see in my kitchen every day. Produce and whole food supplements. All. Day. Long.

Ok, so last night's brown rice/lentil soup wasn't exactly in the top 3 dishes of the cleanse thus far, but it was good and my parents liked it enough! I may have even convinced them to go on the cleanse ;) The sweet potato/ apple/ pear "casserole" was really good too. Riley was pretty bummed that he couldn't have any cupcakes because of the eggs in them, but I'm wondering if he's allowed to have them after day 10 (ooh, that's today!)... so I'll have to ask Dr. Jim Bob.

The guacamole turned out reeeeally good, I am not a fan of avocados but my recipe is pretty tasty if I do say so myself. And it's safe to assume that my taste buds are changing because it tasted even better than it usually does! I think I'm also acquiring a taste for coconutty things (oil, flour, milk) because it doesn't bother me as much as it used to. Not that I'm running out to buy a whole coconut and bite into it. I'm just glad that I'm not completely grossed out by something that is SO healthy!

I made myself go to bed "early" last night. And by early, I mean before midnight. Usually what happens is I'm all showered and PJ'ed and ready for bed and then I "check my email" one last time before hitting the sack and before you know it 2 hours has gone by. I'm sure many of you can identify! But anyway, I got a decent night's sleep and thankfully this whole time it has been that way most nights. This morning I woke up to Julia asleep next to me, not even realizing she had climbed into our bed in the middle of the night. Sweet girl!

No idea what I'm making for dinner yet, but I have a few ideas. Pretty soon I'll probably just start repeating some of our favorites for the last half of the cleanse. Speaking of favorites, I finally made an original shake recipe that is actually REALLY yummy! Drumroll please...

Joanna's Yet-to-be-named Smoothie

(serves 1-2 people depending on how big a glass you like)

1.5 c strawberries (we used frozen but fresh is probably fine too)
1 banana
juice from 4 key limes
small handful of fresh spinach (optional, but practically tasteless so you might as well throw it in for extra nutrition)
2 T flax oil (optional)
our powdered cleanse supplements (SP Complete, SP Whey Pro)
1/2-3/4 c water (depending on whether or not you include the spinach and how thick you like it)

The key limes really give the typical strawberry banana shake a nice refreshing zing w/o being too tart. Delicious! It was so good that last night after I had drank mine and washed dishes, I accidentally took a sip of Riley's (he was putting Julia to bed upstairs) and then before swallowing realized oops! So I ever so carefully released it from my mouth back into his glass *shh, don't tell him* It was then that I realized I had truly made something great. So, we had it again this morning! It's really pretty too, with little pink and green specks!

We don't have a scale so we don't know if our weight's changed. Hopefully I haven't lost any, I'd actually like to gain 5-10 lbs (don't hate). Riley probably has, I guess he can find out next chiro visit. Today is supposed to be his last day without meat but from the sound of it, he might not even want to add it back in yet. Guess we'll find out tomorrow! I stocked up on more chicken, and got some salmon and tilapia too. Which means I need some good tilapia recipes from y'all since I've never even tasted it, much less cooked it.

It goes without saying (except I'm going to say it anyway) that my grocery trips have been more frequent the last 10 days, but I get a really good feeling when I get to the cashier and almost all of what I pull out of my cart onto that conveyer belt is fresh vegetables and fruit. Makes me feel healthier just knowing all that's gonna be working it's way through my system very soon! Reminds me of Michael Pollan's famous quote, "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." Well, that's what we've been doing lately, there's no doubt about it.

Alright I'm starting to feel like I'm reaching for stuff to write, so I'll go utilize Josiah's naptime in more relaxing ways! Be sure to leave me some comment love =)

Day 9, Standard Process Cleanse

Well, here we are at day 9, still going strong! Never mind that I was up till 2 am after a late night of fall festivities, spending what seemed like an eternity getting Josiah to sleep, making shakes, washing dishes, reading half a chapter for Bible study, etc...

Good thing I got to sleep till almost 830 this morning! That rarely happens.

I forgot to mention yesterday how nice it was to have a clean house! Special thanks to Brooke Sailer for coming to help! Living in an orderly place makes such a difference. I look forward to finding the balance between keeping it that way and doing all the other important things in life =) ahh, someday.

Ok-- so, cleanse. Let's see, last night's dinner was Dr. Cindy's spaghetti squash. It was my first time to eat such a thing, and now I know why they call it that! I wish I had known though, how hard it was going to be to cut that blasted thing open! It took me like half an hour, no joke. I started to panic because I was making no progress and was on a time crunch and didn't want to have to come up with something else to make. All that turned into brute force! I was not going to let this plant beat me. So, cut in half it became after seven knives, sawing and stabbing pulling apart and Julia cheering me on with encouraging remarks like "you're getting really good at that!" Not the cleanest break but oh well. It did look kind of like spaghetti, but tasted crunchier. The best part is that Josiah actually devoured it! Haha! I finally fooled him. He can be very picky when it comes to veggies. Seaweed is the only one that comes to mind that he will really eat. But I guess that's one of the best so I can't complain!

Gateway's fall festival was fun, but I wish we had arrived earlier. We managed to limit Julia's candy intake to very little, so that makes me glad! She got to ride a rainbow pony and they even had little games for Josiah to play... woohoo!

Once again I failed to create an original shake recipe that was really great. It was way too tart! Which says a lot because I've always really liked sour candy. Raspberries, Strawberries, peaches, mango, and coconut milk. It didn't taste bad, I just couldn't finish it. So, into the fridge it went, then for this morning's shake I just added a banana and the powder supplements. So much better!

I haven't heard yet how it turned out, but Riley planned to go to PeiWei for lunch today. Hopefully he found something cleanse-friendly and delicious! I'd like to try out Spiral Diner sometime during the cleanse, because I've heard they have lots of stuff that's allowed.

My thumb is still sore from the mandoline incident, but said appliance is still my new best friend for this cleanse! I'm slicing practically everything with it =)

My dad and MamaB are coming over for dinner and the Rangers World Series game tonight! So excited. It will be nice to visit and eat together. Hopefully the lentil and brown rice soup I have planned will turn out yummy! If not, I also have sweet potato chips and will make some guac to go with that, and some leftover cleanse cupcakes that are delicious!

I've been having egg withdrawals because the farm I usually get them from has been out lately every time I call. So I had to go elsewhere. Hopefully the ones I got will be just as good. I haven't had any in a week and I just couldn't wait any longer! So yay, eggs for breakfast to go along with the morning shake tomorrow (well, just for me)!

Two more days till Riley can have chicken and fish. Although he said last night that he's not sure he even wants to add it back in yet. Yeah, you read that right.

Yesterday I made pear chips that turned out sooo good! Cinnamon on top... I could smell them dehydrating from upstairs. Yummy! They didn't last long at all. Will have to make more. Ooh, that reminds me, I'm also making sweet potato apple pear casserole for tonight. Should be good. Really simple. Slice 'em all up, layer 'em in a pan, stick 'em in the oven. Voila!

Seems like there's more I wanted to share, but it's all escaping me right now. Plus Josiah just woke up from his nap so time to feed him and head to good 'ol Sprouts!

See y'all tomorrow! Thanks for keeping up with me through this, it's been great knowing I have a support system out there and I think writing updates each day has made it that much better of an experience. I'm hoping to post a bunch of the successful recipes at the end so you can try them out and enjoy for yourself!

P.S. I could literally smell the Starburst as soon as Julia handed the little funsize packages for me to hold after winning a game at the festival. Took me back to my candy-craze days. I resisted. I overcame. I am superwoman! Ok, maybe not. But in that moment, I felt strong =)

Day 8, Standard Process Cleanse

"Bananas are the real key to the shakes."

Bananas are also a real culprit in the constipation department.

So, Riley has requested I leave them out for a day or so. No problem! I tried to come up with something original last night w/o bananas, only to fail AGAIN. I couldn't take more than one sip. He drank mine and I made myself another one from a recipe. This morning I just made ours separately, his w/o the banana but the same kind-- Orange Julius. Yum! When the cleanse is over I'm gonna have to try it again but with vanilla =)

Before I forget, please learn from my mistake yesterday: Always use the food holder when slicing with a mandoline, even if you're 29 years old and think you don't need to. My thumb thanks you, and has chosen not to invite any other thumbs to keep it company in its misery. Here's what I usually do: I hold the food in my hand until it gets low and then I grab the food holder for the rest of it. Guess I didn't grab it soon enough, because I felt my thumb get a little too close to the blade. I wasn't sure right away, but after putting some pressure on the skin, the blood that seeped out confirmed that I had indeed done something stupid. So, I ran upstairs to throw a bandage on it and get back down to the boiling noodles and continue slicing away, thi time with the prescribed safety procedures added.

I ended up making twice as much as I thought we would need, which was a good thing because it was a real winner! There was enough left to send with Riley for lunch today but that's it. Julia even ate 2 bowls! It was called "Asian Explosion" inspired by my friend Heather during her husband's cleanse a few months back. I don't know what she put in hers but basically it's brown rice pasta (like spaghetti) with stir fry veggies on top. I wanted to make it interesting and colorful so I put practically the whole rainbow in there-- red bell pepper, radishes, tomatoes, carrots, yellow squash, chard, broccoli, red onion, garlic...I may be forgetting one but you get the picture. 1/4 cup coconut oil in the wok, some organic tamari on top and voila! IT.WAS.SO.SO.SO.DELICIOUS! It felt like we were eating at a fancy restaurant, except we knew it was actually nourishing our bodies. Oh my goodness, if I keep having as many successful meals as we've had lately, we may not even feel the need to add back in all the bread and cheese and beef! Oh, who am I kidding... of course we will! BUT, we'll also be maintaining the things we were missing out on before we started the cleanse.


We decided to go to the gym after dinner for some hot-tub and sauna time. Ahhh. So relaxing! It was already the kids bedtime so obviously later than I wanted to take the kids out of the house, but we really needed to go and they have free childcare so we went. First we spent 10 min in the jacuzzi, then 10 in the steam room, then another 5 in the dry sauna, rinsing off in between each. It was a real sweat fest. But, I've heard that's really good for you to detox. So, I think we're gonna do that the next two Mondays as well, which is the end of each cleanse week.

We haven't been that great about the exercise part, which is really important because the lymphatic system needs to get going so that it can do it's purifying thang. But I figure, I'm chasing the kids around all day, working hard in the kitchen, picking toys up, doing laundry, walking up and down the stairs... all that counts as a daily workout right? And Riley walks to and from his office from the parking garage so that adds up too. Plus with all the activities and events we have on our calendar this week, we should get a lot of walking in!

So, are you inspired yet to do this cleanse yourself? Or do I need to step it up and tempt you with pictures of our scrumptious meals?

Day 7, Standard Process Cleanse

Woohoo! We're a third of the way there... well, at least we will be at midnight ;)

I wish I had more pictures than just that food and supplement duo, sorry. I know it would be much more exciting for y'all to read this. Oh well!

So yesterday was really overwhelming. After I posted the day 6 blog, I kind of had a meltdown over the phone with Riley. The day just hadn't gone as I'd hoped in terms of time we were going to be where and it ended up that we hardly got to see eachother all day. The kids wreaked havoc all over the downstairs half of the house while I tried to make dinner, the hand blender wasn't working and I really needed it to for the soup to turn out the consistency I wanted, messes everywhere and Julia not responding to instructions very well, Riley's gonna be late, Riley's gonna be later, will I always have to choose between an orderly place to live and good food? And on and on.

It's a good thing dinner was really tasty.

Dr. Cindy's squash apple soup was a hit! Riley kept going back for seconds and thirds and maybe even fourths... we both had it for lunch today and there's still some left. I hate it when there's a bunch of leftovers of a dish that was a dud. Not the case here, thankfully! The butternut squash was a real bear to peel though. Oh my goodness! I feel like a pioneer woman... washing all the dishes by hand because our dishwasher sucks right now, cooking everything from scratch, churning butter. Ok, just kidding on that last one. But still, I'm reminded of the Proverbs 31 woman: "Her arms are strong for her tasks." Well, that's because her tasks are such a workout! Gym, Schmym, all I gotta do for exercise is spend half the day in the kitchen and half the day chasing my kiddos around. ;)

During dinner I looked at Riley and said, "This whole time you've eaten everything I've served you, and I really appreciate it." He responded lovingly, "You've served me everything I've eaten this whole time, and I really appreciate it." We hugged and kissed, and I think I teared up a little. I felt like we grew closer as a couple in exactly that moment. Who knew that vegetables could bring improvements in the marriage department?!

So, some people say the first three days are the hardest, in our case it was the 4th, some say once you get past the first week it's easy... I guess we'll find out tomorrow! The supplements change on day 8, so Riley will be done with 21 of his daily capsules, but we add in 10 of a different kind for both of us. Nice for him, not so fun for me. I can swallow a pill, I just don't like having to do that many. I'll get over it I guess.

I'm happy for Riley that he'll finally get to have chicken with me on Friday! I don't know if I could've made it this whole time without animal protein, so I really admire him for hanging in there. I already know what I'm gonna make (a repeat of something I made a few weeks ago that he loved)! I also need to get some fish and learn how to make it. The only kind I've ever cooked is salmon, which we like, but it's probably important that we have more of a variety. Riley suggested tilapia, and I had halibut once in a restaurant but have no idea how expensive it is or how to prepare it. Any advice?

I've discovered that coconut milk really makes our shakes so much better. I've never cared much for the taste of coconut, but it's so good for you, and it adds a wonderful creamy texture. I'm trying to replace some of the butter and olive oil that I'm used to using (although they are good too, and much better than vegetable oil or margarine) with coconut oil. Perhaps it's an acquired taste.

The house is looking better, after Riley's big dose of help last night! And my sister-in-law/friend Brooke is coming over later to clean with me some more... woohoo! Today is a new day and things are looking up =)

Tonight will be a new Asian dish, and I've got sweet potato chips dehydrating as we speak, so I need to go make some guacamole to go with it! See you tomorrow!