cleanse update.

the cleanse is honestly going great and is not nearly as hard as i thought it would be. although when my cousin, noah (who is about to graduate as a pastry chef from le cordon bleu), brought me a freshly-baked garlic thyme foccacia and a baguette, i may have teared up a bit. the loaves, however, are tucked in my freezer for another day and my cleanse is intact.

eating at bar la grassa on tuesday night went fairly well i'd say. no matter what when you're eating out, though, it's hard to be entirely sure what all is in your food. but i asked our waiter a lot of questions about ingredients (yes, i'm sure he loved me) and tried to make the best choices i could. out of the appetizers we ordered i had a couple of grilled prawns and a few bites of prosciutto, then i had a small salad with endive, crab, grapefruit and olive oil, and for my entree i had the roasted chicken with spices, lemon and olive oil (and removed the skin). the food was all really good and i felt happy being able to stick to the cleanse even while at a restaurant.

here's a glimpse of what i've been eating on an average day:

breakfast: oats made with unsweetened almond milk,
almond butter, honey, and  a banana

lunch: salad with leftover roast chicken,
red peppers, olive oil, and roasted red pepper hummus

snacks: water, pineapple, clementines, raw revolution bar
(ingredients are: organic cashews, organic dates, organic sunflower seed kernels,
organic agave nectar, organic coconut, organic almonds, and organic sprouted flax seed)

dinner: tostadas with black beans, ground turkey, and avocado

i have been very satisfied and don't feel hungry at all. finding snacks that aren't just fruit is probably my biggest challenge. you can only eat so much fruit. i just recently got acquainted with larabars. they have only natural ingredients (nuts, dried fruit, etc.) and no flour or added sugar in them, which makes them perfect for the cleanse. when i went to the grocery store the other day, they didn't have any larabars. annoying. fortunately, i found a recipe online, so i gave them a try myself last night. i made them as balls instead of bars because it was easier, but they'd work fine either way, i'm sure. here's the recipe (from mywholefoodlife.com):

coconut cream "laraballs"
makes sixteen servings

15 medjool dates i used 20 regular dates because i couldn't find medjool
1/2 c toasted almonds
1/2 c cashews with sea salt
3/4 unsweetened shredded coconut
2 T coconut oil
2 T water

line a baking sheet with parchment paper. put the almonds, cashews and coconut in the food processor until fine. add the dates, coconut oil and water and mix until a dough forms. roll into balls and place on baking sheet. refrigerate for about an hour or until set.

just five ingredients: coconut, coconut oil, cashews, dates, almonds

mix the almonds, cashews and coconut in the food processor until fine

add the dates, coconut oil, and water

roll into balls and refrigerate!

well, there ya have it! tonight will be a challenge- i have my monthly cooking club with several of my friends. we all bring a dish to share, usually based around a common theme. this month's theme is ina garten (the barefoot contessa) recipes, or recipes you've been wanting to try for a while. i'm sure all the dishes will be so good, but probably not cleanse-friendly. i am kind of embarrassed to draw attention to myself that i'm on this cleanse, but i don't think i can really get away with just not eating the food and have no one notice or comment. oh well. i'm bringing a side dish and since i couldn't really find an ina recipe that fits the cleanse but isn't just boring roasted veggies, i'm making a giada recipe i saw on her show a while ago. grilled asparagus with melon salad. i can eat everything except for the mozzarella, which i can just pick off. hopefully it will be good!

i'll leave you with a cute pic of ben eating lunch at daycare the other day. we were going out to dinner that night, so they wanted to keep his shirt clean. he doesn't seem to mind eating naked!