Cleanse: Days 10-14

My apologies to my readers. I knew I was behind but didn't realize just how behind! We'll try to catch up in several posts today! (Hopefully!)

For the first ten days, you are pretty much a vegan. You only eats fruits and vegetables and your protein is from rice and lentils. I ate a lot of lentils as I found I needed more protein than what the rice would offer. Sometimes, I would mix the rice and lentils which gave them both a new flavor and texture. I also mixed rice and lentils with veggies into a stir-fry.

I made lots of veggie stir fries during the entire length of the cleanse. I also used a lot of coconut oil for the stir fry. Coconut oil is very, very healthy and great for your hair and skin.

On Day eleven, I could add chicken and fish to my meals! I was more than thrilled. I didn't do anything fancy with it since I am still limited on my ingredients. I made salmon on days eleven and twelve. I bought packages of four frozen salmon patties from Wal-Mart. They are from deep sea but not organic. My budget can only stretch so far. They are about 3-4 ounces and quick and easy to thaw out. I then put a tablespoon of coconut oil in a skillet and browned the fish on each side. If you wait for you oil to get hot, the fish will brown on the outside before cooking in the center. The secret to fish is not to overcook it, but you still want a nice browning on the outside.

I thoroughly enjoyed my fish. The first day, I cut the four-ounce portion in half and also at rice with it. So, I ate two ounces of fish and about a third of a cup of rice. It worked out to a nice amount of protein for the meal. I wasn't hungry all afternoon!

When I cooked chicken, I cooked it in olive oil with a little bit of seasoning and some salt. I ate it either with three servings of vegetables or as a salad topper. I tried to stick to 2 ounces of meat because any more than that and you don't get enough vegetables. On average I ate three cups of vegetables at each meal. I literally piled my plate high with food! My husband found it quite amusing that I was eating as much as I was and still losing weight. The effect of vegetables on the body is absolutely amazing!!

Day fifteen presented some interesting challenges so I'll leave it as it's own blog post...

To be continued...