Changing my world, one step at a time















Showing posts with label books. Show all posts
Showing posts with label books. Show all posts

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Day Sixteen

Now that we're almost done day 16 it's really hitting home that we've just about made it through. In 5 more days we'll be done!! Mostly it feels as though this project has taken on a life of it's own. We seem to be sliding along pretty easily on momentum. Instead of giving you a run down of all three meals that we ate today, I thought I'd do something a little different. Let's talk about....books!!


The book on the left is my daily inspirational reading at the moment "Be the Change you want to See in the World" by Julie Fisher-McGarry. Some days give you information, others have you read an inspirational quote, on others you might find a recipe to try or an anectode from the author's life. I'm really enjoying it. I keep it on my desk, by my laptop in the kitchen. That way it's the first thing I reach for when I come downstairs in the morning. The book on the right is what I call my "purse book". It's the book that I keep in my purse just in case I get stuck waiting somewhere for more than two minutes. The book is good but not so in-depth that it requires steady reading. It's funny though, which is nice just in case I'm getting aggravated waiting in line behind the person with a million coupons who drops them all over the floor...you know?



This is my current read. Well, I'm actually only eleven pages in so I can't really give any kind of review at this point, but I've heard all sorts of great things about this book and have been looking forward to reading it.


This is the vegetarian/vegan cookbook section of my library. Now holding pride of place in the kitchen (not in the hallway with the rest of the cookbooks). A few of these were borrowed...thanks Melanie and I will get them back to you, promise! I had quite a few before this started but I have added a few others. I'll keep you updated on which ones I like best as I use them more.


This is our animal companion. Her name is...ahem, cat or kitty if we're feeling cute :) She's a year and a half old and she kind of landed in our laps. She's also an elegant egyptain princess. I swear she had to have been one in a former life, she's got the attitude and everything. And she is so very, very elegant! Here kitty and I are playing peek-a-boo.


And here's Maddie getting some kitty love.


The one excitement we had today (food wise) was this beautiful, extravagant, bodacious cauliflower! When I saw it at the farmer's market I had to pick it up, since I had never seen a prettier cauliflower in all my life!


So I cut some up and served it with red pepper strips and broccoli. I made an herb dip to go with it using Tofutti sour cream, which I actually quite liked...thank goodness because I was getting kind of worried that I wouldn't find anything that was palatable.


I served it with GF bread spread with earth balance and a lovely leek and potato soup. I did walk (slowly) for 45 minutes today so I'm on track with that. I was supposed to watch a sunset tonight but as I've been awake since 3:17 this morning I watched the sunrise instead. I also got some supplies because I'm going to attempt an agave sweetened blueberry jam. Hopefully tomorrow :)
Wishing everyone well
-Carolyn


Monday, July 26, 2010

Get ready, get set...

So the big, bad, basic rules for the 21 day vegan cleanse are as follows:

Refrain from:
1. caffeine
2. alcohol
3. gluten
4. animal products
5. sugar

Easy peasy right?
Well....

Alcohol: no problem, I hardly ever drink anyway.

Animal products: a little tougher but not too difficult. We eat vegetarian quite regularly. I will sort of miss steak and eggs though, together or served seperately, it doesn't matter! The harder part will be the dairy. We are going to be trying soy, rice and almond "dairy" options.

Sugar: this is where it starts to get hard. I'm a baker. I just love to make cakes, cookies and pies. And put sugar in my coffee...oh wait, no coffee for me! I'm going to be using agave nectar and stevia exclusively.

Caffeine: NO DIET COKE. NO COFFEE. No stimulants. Until I detox, it's going to make for some very sleepy afternoons and grumpy mornings! I've picked up a package of Teeccino, an herbal coffee alternative, in Java flavour. I'll let you know how it is.

Gluten: gluten-free (GF) is tricky. Some products and recipes taste great. And others not so much. It's probably going to take some disasters before I get this one figured out. I am going to pick up the "Healthy Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a day" book since I know there are a lot of GF (and hopefully some sugar free) recipes in it. The original book is my go-to bread bible. Which I will get to eat again in 22 days :)

I'm hoping that I will feel so good that I end up staying with many of these changes after the cleanse is done. We'll see...

As for cookbooks, information and menu ideas I'm using:

"Moosewood Restaurant: Cooking for Health" by the Moosewood Collective
"Ripe from Around Here" by Jae Steele
"Perfect Vegetarian"
"Babycakes" by Erin McKenna (just got this one and haven't tried any recipes yet)
"The Kind Diet" by Alicia Silverstone
"Skinny Bitch" by Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin
"Go Green, get Lean" by Kate Geagan
"The Gorgeously Green Diet" by Sophi Uliano
"Food Matters" by Mark Bittman
"Crazy Sexy Cancer Tips" by Kris Carr
"Quantum Wellness" and "Quantum Wellness Cleanse" by Kathy Freston

If anyone has any ideas or suggestions please leave a comment. We'd love to have your input.

We're ready to go!!

-Carolyn