Day 15 - Chocolate, Chocolate!

I finished my two week cleanse on Sunday. Yay! I was not completely sugar-free, but I think I did pretty well over all. I am planning on continuing to keep my diet low in sugar, wheat and eggs for the rest of the month.

Except for one wee little thing . . .

Cupcakes!

I had been thinking about making a sweet Valentine treat since my cleanse began. First, I was going to make Chocolate Sugar Cookies but, I couldn't quite handle the thought of royal icing.

Then, I decided to make White and Dark Hearted Brownies and set out to Michael's to find a tiny heart shaped cookie cutter. However, when I arrived at the store, all I could find was flowers, bunnies and eggs. No good.

Who knew that Valentine's treats required so much advanced preparation?

In the end, I decided on my old standby, cupcakes. Sweet, chocolaty and loved by all.

Chocolate, Chocolate Baby Cakes, mmm.

Days 9 through 12 - West Coast Muesli

Despite my lack of posting, I have been continue on fairly well with my cleanse. I have not eaten the following items in the past 12 days:

- diary

- wheat

- eggs

- coffee

- and very little refined sugar (only what's in my soy milk and daily handful of chocolate chips)

In fact, I have not had coffee for the past 14 days so that part of my cleanse is done. Yay!

In the past week I have eaten:

* West Coast Muesli (recipe below)

* Green Tea

* Veggies, Almond-Flax Crackers and Lime and Black Pepper Cashew Dip

* Dried apricots stuffed with cocoa nibs

* Borsht

* Red Onion Soup with Almond-Flax Crackers

* Red Lentil Dahl and Rice

* Apples

* Tortilla chips with salsa

Just two days and plenty of yummy ideas to go!

West Coast Muesli

Combine:

1/2 cup oats

1/4 cup pear sauce (I used this recipe, but replaced sugar with honey and vanilla with cinnamon and purred the final product)

3/4 cup soy milk

small handful chopped hazelnuts

small handful dried cranberries

1 tablespoon hemp hearts or flax seeds

Stir well and refrigerate in sealed container overnight. Eat!

Day 7

One week of my Free and Frugal February done! I can't wait to drink coffee again and am already planning my first trip to a cafe next weekend (my coffee fast ends on Saturday). But, aside from coffee and dairy, I think I may stay (mostly) sugar, egg and wheat free for the rest of the month. I don't feel any different than I did a week ago, but I am definitely eating more vegetables and less bread/pasta, a goal of mine.

Today I ate:

Breakfast

Coconut Rice Pudding

Green Tea

Lunch

Red Lentil Dahl with Rice

Snacks

Salt and Vinegar Kale Chips

Unsweetened Vanilla Rooibos Tea Latte

Kale chips are stinky, but provide a delicious salty hit when required.

Dinner

Veggies, almond crackers and Lemon Cashew Dip

Coconut Rice Pudding

Chocolate Chips (oops!)

Herbal tea with honey

Bottom Line: I ate a lot of rice today!

Day 6 - Coconut Rice Pudding

After a week of Wasa bread, I now have some ingredients to make my Free and Frugal February a little bit more interesting.

Today I ate:

Breakfast

Oatmeal with maple syrup

Green Tea

Lunch

Broccoli, carrots and rice crackers with Lemon Cashew Dip

Snack

Salt and Vingar Kale Chips

Dinner

Salad of lettuce, sunflower sprouts, shredded carrots, shredded beets and smoked honey salmon. Homemade dressing.

Coconut Rice Pudding (recipe below)

Coconut Rice Pudding

I adapted this recipe from a "Mango Rice Pudding" I learned at a Thai cooking class with Chef Heidi Fink. This recipe combines some traditional English rice pudding elements with some Thai cooking ingredients.

Ingredients

1.5 cups Sweet Thai Rice (can be found in traditional Thai or Chinese grocery stores)

2 oz Unrefined Palm Sugar (can be found in traditional Thai or Chinese grocery stores)

1 can Coconut Milk

1/2 cup Soy Milk

1/2 teaspoon Vanilla

1/4 teaspoon Salt

1/4 teaspoon Cinnamon

1 pinch Nutmeg

1 pinch Cloves

1 pinch Cardamom

Instructions

(1) Soak rice in water for at least 3 hours (or overnight) before cooking. Drain.

(2) Steam rice in a bamboo basket or in a steaming basket covered with cheesecloth. Sweet rice should not be submerged in water. Steam, covered, for 40 minutes.

(3) As rice is steaming, combine remaining ingredients in a medium sized pot and combine over medium heat. Once coconut cream and sugar has melted, turn off heat. (Note: you can break up the palm sugar using a hammer or shred it, as I did, on a grater).

(4) When rice has finished steaming, scoop it into the sweet coconut mixture. Stir to combine and allow to sit, covered, for 5 -10 minutes.

(5) Enjoy! This dish is best when eaten immediately, but can be reheated.

Day 5 - Lemon Cashew Dip

I have been on my cleanse for 5 days and coffee free for 7 days. I cannot believe it. I don't think I have spent more than two consecutive days coffee free since I started grad school in 2004.

Although, I have done cleanses before so that might be a lie.

I've probably just

blocked it out.

In any case, my organic food box arrived yesterday and I picked up a few additional supplies today, so week two of my cleanse is bound to be a bit more interesting than week one.

Today I Ate:

Breakfast

Green Tea

Melissa's Muesli

Lunch

Apple Parsnip Soup

Rye Wasa bread topped with peanut butter and honey (yum!)

Snack

Unsweetened, Soy-Milk, Tea Latte (my first trip to "the big green star" in a week, and it was good)

Apple

Dried apricots and cashews

Dinner

Rice crackers with Lemon Cashew Dip (see recipe below)

Salad (lettuce, beets, carrots, sunflower sprouts and hot-smoked honey salmon) with homemade dressing

Blackberry tea with honey

A handful of Chocolate chips (I can't seem to let go of this)

Bottom line: I am feeling pretty good about the cleanse today. I ate well and have more plans for the weekend.

I spent some money, but on necessities only.

Lemon Cashew Dip (Adapted from this recipe by Dreena Burton)

(1) Soak 1.5 cups of raw cashews in water overnight (covered, in the fridge).

(2) After soaking, place cashews in blender and add the rind and juice of one lemon, a scant 1/4 cup of water, salt to taste and pepper to taste.

(3) Puree for 2-3 minutes, scraping down the side of the blender as needed. Add more water 1 teaspoon at a time if required to achieve desired consistency.

(4) Serve with veggies and crackers or spread on bread.

(5) Enjoy!

Lemon Cashew Dip

Lemon Cashew Dip on Wasa Bread with Smoked Salmon

Days 2 through 4 - Roasted Greek Potatoes

Well, I am still sticking to my wheat, sugar, dairy, egg free plan. I have not been caffeine free . . . I just can't do it. But, I haven't had any coffee and have only been drinking tea, which is much lower in caffeine than my usual espresso-based beverages.

I REALLY miss coffee.

Days 2 and 3 were very much like day 1 diet-wise. A few changes in soups and nut butters were about all I altered.

On Day 4 I ate:

Breakfast

Green Tea

Melissa's Muesli

Lunch

Rye Wasa Bread with Yam Hummus

Orange

Strawberry Apple Sauce

Snacks

Mixed pecans, rasins, dates, dried apricots and cacao nibs

Tortilla Chips

Dinner

Small Beef Tenderloin Steak

Greek Roasted Potatoes (See recipe below)

Blackberry tea with honey and lemon

A handful of chocolate chips (Ok, perhaps my sugar quota has not been perfect either!)

Bottom line: I really, really miss coffee. Aside from that, the cleanse hasn't been too difficult, but I am not yet sure if it is worth it.

I still haven't spent a cent!

Greek Roasted Potatoes

(1) Peel and chop potatoes into large chunks (using as many potatoes as you would like).

(2) Boil potatoes in salted water until they are soft (about 15-20 minutes).

(3) Toss boiled potatoes with Lemon Oil and Olive Oil (or olive oil and the juice of a lemon), salt, pepper and oregano.

(4) Spread potatoes on a parchment lined baking sheet in bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes (flipping halfway through). If potatoes are not light brown and crispy by this time, broil for 5 additional minutes (watch carefully!).

(5) Eat!

Day 1 - Melissa's Muesli

Breakfast

Green Tea (not caffeine free, but as close as I am going to get)

Melissa's Muesli

1/2 cup oats

3/4 cup soy milk

1/4 cup apple sauce

6 chopped pecan halves

4 chopped dried apricots

1 tablespoon pumpkins seeds

1/8 teaspoon cinnamon

Combine well and refrigerate over night in a sealed container. Eat!

Lunch

Rye Wasa Bread with almond butter

Orange

Cucumber slices

Snack

Mixed pecans, rasins, dates, pumpkin seed and cacao nibs

Dinner

Red Onion Soup

Rye Wasa Bread with peanut butter

Pear

Dried Apricots dipped in chocolate (my sugar splurge)

Blackberry tea with honey and lemon

Bottom line: Not perfect, but I didn't spend a cent!