Day 23

Made it through my husband's birthday and my son's weekend wrestling tournament. I have been sticking to the same recipes and I have decided to add smoothies to some of my mornings when I am doing more activities or I am just out and about and I need to stay full. I have also really bulked up my salads and added quinoa. I still have days that I feel very hungry but I will just either add another juice or I eat fruit or vegetables. I always have berries fresh and frozen and I always have baby carrots, celery, and peppers ready to eat for myself and the whole family. I can't believe I have made it this far. I continue to put together recipes that will allow me to continue living a vegan lifestyle and get my family excited about the food also. So far our favorite is banana ice cream, we will add other fruit to it and it takes it to another level. It is so delicious and I don't even miss dairy ice cream. My blender does a great job but I believe we are going to buy a Yonana, I can already imagine the possibilities.

Day 17

Feeling a little blahhh!!

Well I won't lie and say this has been easy. I absolutely love juicing and I love how it makes me feel light and fresh. My hair is shiny and my skin is glowing. I have also lost a little bit of weight which is awesome but I have been missing food. I thought the longer I did this the easier it would become. For me, that has not been the case. I don't know if it is because my family has to eat, so I have to cook and smell the food. My family is vegetarian, so what they eat is very healthy and very tempting. I am making myself drool thinking about it!

I have been doing well though and I am going to make it!! I have sticking to a very similar routine and have found a couple juices that I really like and some that I didn't. I have been pretty much doing the same green juice and I am trying to cut the orange/grapefruit juice down to 3 times a week. I really love the carrot/ginger juice and find it very refreshing. When I do get the need to chew I will have an apple or a very large salad, depending on the time of day.

One thing I have noticed is that my energy is up and down. I will have days that I am at full peak and I love it! I will also have days my energy is lower and I don't feel like doing anything. I do make myself do something even if its a leisure walk with the dogs or just 15 minuets of yoga. I do believe getting outside is important for everyone. The sun has so many healing properties and it definitely gives you a great happy bump!!

Even in the winter and with snow on the ground you gotta love to walk outside. Most days I long for the beach with warm waters but I appreciate this view also.

Good Morning Day 12!!

So I woke up at 6 am this morning and went for a brisk winter morning walk. Kids went to school and I went to grocery store and to my surprise they had my favorite oranges on sale! Blood Oranges, yummy!! So this morning I decided to make my usual orange juice (only blood oranges) but make a blueberry green smoothie. OMG, it is so delicious.

Here what I put in:

Purple Non-Cow Smoothie

Yeilds: 32 oz

1 cup frozen unsweetened blueberries
2 very ripe bananas (i mean very, very ripe)
1/4 frozen unsweetened mango
1 1/2 cups of fresh orange juice
2 oz of spinach

Mix the juice and spinach on high speed until the spinach is juiced (mixed) completely then add rest of ingredients and blend until smooth. Great way to start the morning post work out to keep energy up and it taste great. I drank the whole thing.

The Internet went out at about 10:30 and so we went for another walk with the dogs. Checked the mail and jogged around with the bull dog!

Belle (English Bulldog) & Joker (Yorkie)

For lunch I had a green juice I found online by Freshly Grown. I modified it to my taste and quantity I need to feel full. But her recipe is great and a great cleanse juice. I spent time yesterday looking for Juice and Smoothie Recipes to had more variety to my diet. I found a lot out there and I will be trying and posting my favorite.

Oregon Green Juice

8 Kale leaves
1/2 bunch of parsley
3 handfuls of spinach
1/4  bunch of cilantro
5 celery stalks
1 lemon
1 cucumber
1 pear

Dinner is going to be another Juice today, my family is having pizza because it's FRIDAY! We have so much going on between practice after school and late practices also. So it is just easier to have another juice with all the running I have to do tonight.

Hulk Jucie

10 Kale leaves
3oz Spinach
1/2 bunch of parsley
5 celery stalks
2 cucumbers
1 lemon
1 inch ginger root
1 green apple

I make this juice all the time and it taste so good. It is my go to juice for any time you want something refreshing and good for you.



B: Purple Non-Cow Smoothie
L: Oregon Green Juice
S: Carrots, Peppers, & Cauliflower
D: Hulk Green Juice

W: 2 Liters
E: 1 - 45 min walk
    1 - 30 min walk
    20 min Yoga sequence
    15 min ab work out

I guess I worked out a little bit today!! I feel great and that is what counts. I guess my energy is totally up and that is what I love.

Day 11

Everything has been going great. I weighed myself today and I lost 12 pounds! My goal has not been to just lose weight but to challenge myself to a vegan diet and help cleanse my body. I am hoping at the end of this challenge I will be more aware of what I am eating and how it make me feel. I am also hoping I will maintain a vegan diet. I have been vegetarian or modified vegetarian for years and I have had several attempts to eliminate dairy and eggs from my diet and have failed several times.

My energy is up greatly and I am sleeping at least 8 to 9 hours a night. I wake up so rested and fall asleep so easily. I have been doing yoga and meditating on a daily basis. My diet has been very much the same, I juice in the morning and I juice for lunch and then I usually have a large salad for dinner or I will also juice again.

Today:

B: fresh squeezed grapefruit (2) and orange (7) juice (32oz)
L: 1/2 watermelon
D: red cabbage, turnip, carrot juice (32oz)

W: 2 liters
E: 45 min walk and yoga

Day 9

Since my last post I have pretty much been doing exactly the same juices and large salads for dinner. My energy kind of drop but it has started to return. Looking forward to my walk this afternoon and so are the dogs.

So far today I have had 24 oz. fresh squeezed grapefruit and orange juice for breakfast and for lunch I made a green juice.

2 Turnips
1 bunch of Spinach
8 Carrots
1 Green Apple
1 Pear
1 inch Ginger
2 leafs Swiss Chard
1 bunch Collard Greens
2 Cucumbers
5 Stalks Celery

This amount of produce made 12 cups of juice with my juicer. I gave my husband 16 ounces of juice and I drank the rest for my lunch. Very full right now.

Super, Super, DELICIOUS!!

I keep drinking water, lots and lots of water!! It is key to this cleanse.

What!! Day Six!

I can't believe I made it 6 days already!!

Yesterday was a good day, my energy is up and my sleeping through the night is getting better.

Day 5:

B: Carrot Juice
L: Cantaloupe/Celery Juice
S: Strawberry, Blueberry, Banana Smoothie
D: Romaine Lettuce Salad with Avocado Dressing

W: 2.5 Liters
E: 90 minutes walking


Today was also a good day - energy is up and I feel good overall. I am still battling being hungry - this probably wouldn't be a problem if I didn't have to help with the meals with my family. It sometimes smells so good. But so far so good, I have been able to resist so far.

Red Juice Recipe

2 Medium Beets with greens
1 Medium Parsnip
1 Lemon
5 Carrots
1 inch Ginger


Day 6:

B: Fresh Orange/Grapefruit Juice
L: Carrot Juice
D: Red Juice

W: 3 Liters
E: 90 minutes walking

Goodnight Day Four

Good night! I am very tired today and I am ready to go to bed after a long hot bath.

It is the end of a long day. After the wonderful carrot juice I had for breakfast I made a refreshing juice for lunch also.

6 stalks celery
2 cucumbers
2 granny smith apples

This made about 6 cups of juice and I drank around 4 cups and the rest I mixed with another juice I made.

1/2 cantaloupe
6 large strawberries

This made about 4 cups of juice then I mixed it with the other 2 cups of green juice. I put the juice in pint jars and vacuum sealed them for tomorrow at work.

B: Carrot Juice
L: Celery Juice
D: quinoa with large Salad

I didn't do so great today with the calories but I didn't have much of an appetite today.

W: 2 Liters
E: none today (really tired)