Sprouts: Winter Challenge

I saw a great video that Meghan did and I wanted to share it with you guys:  

Did you guys ever do science experiments in grade school? You know, the kind where you have to enlist your parents to help you out? Well it seems I’ll be doing another one this year. In an effort to get some great local food, I’m going to make like Meghan and try to grow some of my own veggies in my apartment…and I’ll be asking my dad to help. 

Wish me luck!

Smarter, Stronger, Faster

If you read last week’s comments, you might have noticed this one from Steph:

“I’d be interested to know what changes you noticed physically from your detox? You mention your psychological relationship with food and your will power, but enquiring minds (well, mine) want to know: did you lose a significant amount of weight? Did your skin improve? Were you, er, “regular”? Are you smarter? Stronger? Faster?”

I guess it’s time for the dirty truth.

Body:  Did I lose a significant amount of weight? The answer is, unfortunately, no. I would have been thrilled if I dropped pounds, but since I did not go to Meghan to lose weight–I went to her for health–my diet rehab plan did not involve any sort of calorie counting; it was all about making sure I had a vegetable-based protein at every meal. I think I may have lost a pound or two, but I would say that has more to do with preparing my own food and less eating out. The diet was strict and so that prevented me from eating some of my favorite foods (some of which are quite fattening, i.e. cheese).  

Skin:  I was so nervous about my skin.  I have fairly sensitive skin as it is and since I went through some brutal acne during my teenage years, I was petrified that it would come back.  Meghan had warned me that I  may experience a break-out during the diet change, but believed it would go away. She was right. I did experience a break out initially, but it came and went within a week.  Plus, the breakout wasn’t all that bad–I had a bunch of small pimples, but they didn’t turn into big sores and never got infected–no scars!  

After my skin cleared up, things were good for about 6 weeks, but then I started to get really dry skin. Meghan suggested that the dryness might be from artificial heating, etc., and while I think that the weather contributed, I do think my diet influenced it as well. The reason I think it was more than artificial heating because of the lines that appeared on my toenails and how brittle my fingernails became.  I’ve never experienced anything like that and this lasted until I started getting some dairy back into my diet.  

Bowels: Oh the bowels! I have always had issues with regularity and while it certainly improved with the cleanse, I was ultimately disappointed. I’m not sure if my expectations were unrealistic, but I thought that all of my “issues” would be solved and they were not.  Granted, I found it really hard to adjust to drinking eight to ten glasses of water per day and while the water helps, it doesn’t always work the way I wish it did. In spite of this set back, I did find that while on the cleanse, I never experienced a feeling of being uncomfortably full, I did not experience any cramping or bloating which was a huge bonus! 

As for being smarter, stronger, faster–I do believe I am smarter about food and about health. I am a more mindful eater and a conscious shopper.  At one point during the cleanse I joked that the more I knew about food the less I ate–some of the reading I did really opened my eyes to the food  industry and there are some things that I cannot get past i.e. margarine–I will NEVER eat it again. 

I thought that I was stronger about food, but alas, I do not think I resolved my issues with food.  Since I was eating great food everyday during rehab, I did not worry about over eating, calories or fat because I knew that everything I consumed was heart and body healthy.  As soon as the cleanse was over and I had more freedom, the same feelings about food–fear and anxiety–came back; I still have a lot to work on in this area and I will be talking to Meghan about this issue.

Overall, the cleanse was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done, but I feel good about having done it and–for the most part–I felt good doing it. But I still have so much work to do. I need to learn how to negotiate aspects of the cleanse with my ‘regular’ diet.  

This week, I’ll be writing about aspects of the cleanse that I hope to maintain and what I will reject.

p.s. The photo above is a picture of the fruit bowl at my sister’s place–I’m trying to eat locally.

Friday Food Face-Off: Chocolate vs. Carob “Chocolate”

I enjoy chocolate.  Whether it’s milk, dark, plain, bubbled or filled with dried fruit and nuts–I like it all.  As much as I like it, I’m not crazy about it.  I’m not one of those women who, if I’ve had a bad day, crave chocolate. If I’m PMS-ing, I would rather have a savoury, salty something rather than a chocolate bar. But every so often, I enjoy a high-quality piece of European chocolate.

Much like “cheese”, “chocolate” is something that I would rather not eat.  ”Chocolate” is nothing like chocolate. It’s kind of dry, powdery and it does not melt on the tongue like regular chocolate.  It doesn’t smell like chocolate and it certainly does not taste like chocolate.

But people argue that carob is a healthier substitute.  Carob-chocolate contains no caffeine,  does not contain large amounts of sugar, butter and/or cream, and since there are no fermented cocoa beans used, there is less likelihood of additives or  contaminants in the product. 

Obviously, no one should be eating heaps of chocolate, but on average there are only about 30 grams of caffeine in a chocolate bar–the same amount of caffeine contained in two cups of green tea. 

The verdict is two big thumbs down for “chocolate”. I would rather never eat chocolate again than munch on this sorry substitute. With all of the variety available to us these days–organic, free trade–am I really hurting anyone (myself included) by indulging in this decadent treat every few weeks?

Plus, there are some organic chocolates that are made with raw cane sugar, butter and other whole, organic ingredients. With these options available, I think I will keep chocolate in my diet, but as an occasional treat.