Cleanse: Days 6-9

I have successfully made it a full week on my cleanse. To be honest, I am craving pizza and steak. This surprises me since I don't really eat that much pizza and steak. It is an ever once in a long while thing for me. On the other hand, we eat a lot of hamburgers and not once have I craved a burger. I don't know what that means about my current diet, but I expected all cravings to fade by this point.

Days six and seven fell on the weekend. I have a rule about not cooking on Sundays. In fact, I try not to do anything or go anywhere other than church on Sunday. Sundays are meant to rest and rejuvenate. So, that's exactly what I strive to do. with all the leftovers eaten, I ate salads for both lunch and dinner with my vinegar and olive oil dressing. Eating raw was a nice break from all the cooked vegies. I thoroughly enjoyed eating raw broccoli.

Saturday, I did cook. I steamed mostly: cauliflower, green beans, and broccoli. I am having trouble finding recipes for cauliflower and broccoli that aren't full of non-cleanse ingredients like cheese or canned soups. So, I just eat them plain or with a pat of butter. The green beans I tossed in a skillet with a tablespoon of oil from a can of sun dried tomatoes. Then added a couple of tablespoons of sliced sun dried tomatoes. I tossed them a few times till they started brown. This is my favorite way to eat green beans! The combination of the sweet green beans and the tart tomatoes is such a perfect combo.

Both days, I consumed 1200-1300 calories. I have lost a total of five pounds over the course of the first week and lost an inch and a half at the small of my waist and an inch at the belly button. I'm pleased with that. I feel I have detoxed all the extra water weight from all those breathing treatments over the summer. But, I still have two more weeks to go!

Monday was day eight and the beginning of week two. I have less fiber and cleanse pills to take, and I have gotten used to them, so I can swallow them two capsules at a time.

My sweet hubby was down in his back so I spent the afternoon taking him to the chiropractor. So, no time to cook today. I am noticing an interesting trend. Without my crock pots to aid my meals, I am completely hopeless in the kitchen.

Day nine was better. Tuesday, I steamed cauliflower, cooked some more lentils, baked a sweet potato, and washed some broccoli. I ate the latter raw. I like having something in the meal with a different texture. The sweet potato is such a sweet treat. It needs nothing more than butter.

Day ten brought out a crock pot. Yes, my friend helped me cook dinner on the busiest day of our week. I cooked lentil soup with sweet potato and carrots. It also had a lot of chili powder in it. I am not a huge fan of quite so much spice courtesy of acid reflux. Overall, the soup was good and nourishing, just spicy. I also polished off the steamed cauliflower and had some more raw broccoli.

Only twelve more days to go! If you have any good recipes for lentils, broccoli or cauliflower, please share them in the comments section. I'll be happy to give them a try!