Clean Banana-Nut Bread...

Since my cleanse a couple months ago I've been more and more interested in eating "clean". I LOVE banana nut bread and I've adapted my recipe from Martha Stewart's. Hope you like it!

3 c. whole wheat pastry flour
1 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. salt
1 large egg
2 large egg whites
1 c. agave nectar
1 1/3 c. canola oil
2 Tbs. vanilla extract
1 Tbs. coconut extract
4 over-ripe mashed bananas
1 c. chopped pecans (or walnuts)
1/2 c. almond milk

1. Preheat the oven to 350. Coat two loaf pans with cooking spray; set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
2. In the bowl on an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the eggs, agave and oil on medium-low speed until combined. Beat in flour mixture. Add vanilla, coconut, bananas, nuts and milk and beat just to combine.
3. Divide batter evenly between prepared pans. Bake until cake tester comes clean, 45 minutes (in my oven). ENJOY!!

I typically keep one to enjoy now and freeze or share the other.

Days five, six and seven...

So, there really wasn't much to report for days five and six as they were pretty much the same as two through four. But now that I've gone through a full week I'm happy to report that I never felt tired, hungry or irritable. I've noticed that my skin has cleared up and it even has a bit of a glow to it. My dark circles under my eyes have faded (slightly) and my stomach is a bit flatter. I've also lost a grand total of 6 pounds, but that wasn't the reason I wanted to do this cleanse. It feels as though I've hit the reset button for my body and now all I have to do is keep up the (relatively) clean eating.

I'm going to try to institute "meatless Mondays" into our menus and incorporate some smoothies for breakfasts. I've also decided to cut milk (not all dairy) out of my diet because I really wasn't a big drinker anyway and I actually prefer the taste of almond milk. I'll still eat yogurt and some cheeses but they'll be limited. I feel great and I actually did find a recipe I plan on repeating the taco bites meal was FANTASTIC!
I just realized that the truest testament is to also show you how I look without make-up. I haven't retouched anything. (bare w/the picture it's from my phone)

Day Four...

Day four is complete and I've lost 3.5 pounds! I have a feeling most of it is water weight and will come back once I start eating meats and (some) dairy again. But regardless I feel great and that loss was a bonus! Today I had the strawberry/banana "cereal" for breakfast, pepper salad w/ eggs (it called for sauted eggs but I personally don't like them so I made an omlette of sorts) then for dinner was the baked potato (I found an amazing way to make them here) w/ chickpea chili. Throughout the day I snacked on lots of fruit and a larabar.

Days One, Two and Three...

For some reason Blogger wouldn't let me post for the past few days so here's the compilation of days 1-3:

Day one is complete and surprisingly it wasn't too bad of a day. I didn't feel crappy (like I usually do after the first day of some past diets/cleanses). It started off with a breakfast of quinoa mixed with almond butter (actually pretty tasty) and almond milk. It was a different texture and taste than what I was expecting (to be honest probably not something I would do on a regular day) but still satisfying. I didn't eat again until lunch time, which I plan to do different tomorrow. Lunch was a spinach salad topped with a veggie burger & salsa followed by 2 apples and some more almond butter (I think next time I'll just have one apple). I drank water with lemon throughout the day and completed 9 glasses! My mid-day snack was a LaraBar. I had heard of them but never had them before and was pleasantly surprised if you get the chance, try them (I found a box of 18 at Sam's Club for $15). Dinner was the chickpea chili topped baked potato. I think this is definitely doable for 6 more days and who knows maybe I'll find a new recipe I love...the "chili" was pretty good, though I think I'll tweak it the next time I make it.

Day two wasn't bad either. But I realized that I should have only been snaking on just an apple not an apple and almond butter (which incidentally is real good). I feel awesome and I noticed that I didn't need my afternoon pick-me-up (aka coffee). Today, I followed the menu as it was on the website.

Day three went great until tonight. I lost my drive and binged a bit tonight before bed. I could blame the fact that I'm PMSing but that would be a cop-out. Anyway, this morning I noticed that my shorts fit better! and it was an all around good day (not counting this evening). I didn't really care for the veggie stir fry, so I'm gonna try to think of a way to revamp it with out adding a bunch of needless ingredients.

7 Day Whole Food Cleanse

Starting tomorrow I will be doing a week-long "whole food" cleanse. I've never been the type who can skip meals or maintain my sanity on a juice fast so this seemed right up my alley. The fact that I will be systematically scrubbing my "innards" clean while still enjoying eating real meals is what sold me. Basically we'll be eating nothing but whole grains and LOTS of veggies, which in the grand scheme of things is something we should be doing anyway, right?

The reason for this cleanse is mainly because I've been feeling as though my body hasn't been living up to it's potential and (if I may go a little granola here) I haven't been treating it as a temple, rather a trash can to hold all the crap I can cram into my face (hello, animal cookies, red vines and reeses pb cups). I hope that after this week (which I'll be blogging about daily) I feel re-energized, lighter and maybe have a bounce to my step! My goal is that this week long spring cleaning will help springboard me into eating more healthfully and with more awareness of what I put into my mouth! Let the eating begin!

Cast Iron...

I just had to show off my new cast iron dutch oven!! I've been wanting one for a few years now and B got one for me! What a great hubby! I used it to make this recipe and might I say...it turned out mighty fine!!

Mission Organization...

It's been a while since I've posted; being a mommy and maintaining 2 blogs is just not going to happen, but I thought I'd at least post this: I'm planning to organize my home and I'll be using a bowl full of lemons 21 day challenge. Check it out!