2 WEEKS....4 TO GO

Pictures of our beautiful Sunday lunch

2 weeks down and 4 to go. From now on in it will be much easier than the last two weeks. I have lost a bit of weight. I don't have scales as I dont believe in them but I am fitting into my jeans that I have had since I was 13 if that is any measure.

Beautiful sunny day 8...

Last night we went to Hugh's pop up restaurant. Hugh is the farmer who grows and harvests then cooks the food in a cafe in Chippendale Thursday- Saturday. Last night we had a mixture of things.

Week one success

It is Saturday again, which means I have completed my first week of the cleanse. It has been 2 weeks since I haven't had caffeine and chocolate and a week since eating anything processed, tinned foods, sugar, starchy vegetables (no potatoes or sweet potato) and grains or diary. I have been drinking lots of water and herbal teas, eating pasture feed organic meats, fresh fish, lots of organic vegetables and a few berries. I feel amazing, my skin is clear and I'm not one bit tired.

Day 5

First day back at college and I consider making the 8 week cleanse a 6 week as I looked at my diary and realised 6 weeks is Easter and 8 weeks means no chocolate Easter egg hunt : (

Day 4 of Cleanse

This morning I had the most yummy breakfast of two fried eggs and bacon. My dog Digby watched on very eagerly as I chowed down. I haven't had this for breakfast since I was a kid. I remember every Sunday my mum would make scrambled eggs with bacon and fresh orange juice. It was always such a treat as it was the only day the whole family would eat breakfast together. We were always a family that ate dinners together but not breakfast as much.

Tonight, I made a delicious Shepard's pie. I put some coconut oil in a large frying pan and chopped some rosemary, celery, shallots, leek, minced 4 cloves of garlic and grated some carrot.

Day 3 of cleanse

I had training this morning with Guss from Origin of Energy. We are now entering the meditative exercise week, which means 20 reps and 5 sets using a lighter weight. These exercises are to go with the cleanse to we are regenerating the body and building energy. After training I was very hungry. I always am but especially because of the cleanse. I have 3 scrambled eggs with some dill and a coconut. For lunch I had a fisherman's soup with lots of mussels, prawns and monk fish, made by my boyfriend who is an amazing cook and a salad of radicchio and fennel.

Day 1 of Cleanse

I had many criticisms yesterday. It was probably the hardest day to start. I had a friends birthday and a house warming. It's funny that everyone assumes that you are doing a cleanse for weight loss. I am certainly not on a diet. When did the words cleanse or detox become code word for diet?

8 week cleanse

Tomorrow I am starting an 8 week cleanse. This means no sugars (except for lemon, limes, green apples and berries), no grains, low GI vegetables, nothing fermented, no diary for first 2 weeks, no caffeine, no alcohol. Im doing it along with Aaron and Alana for Origin of Energy and with the assistance of Anthia, my naturopath from Ovvio.

My Favourite Ingredients

Grains

Quinoa is a gluten free and high in protein (12-18%) and is considered a complete protein. Although I would never substitute healthy pasture feed meat and eggs for a vegetable source of protein as vegetable sources of protein are much harder to absorb. For me, I use quinoa for the texture. I add it too my bread, soups, and stews. You can also steam it and use as an alternative to rice of cous-cous.

Amaranth is also gluten free and much the same as Quinoa is high in protein.

Buckwheat is from the rhubarb family. It is not technically a grain, therefore gluten free. I must admit I haven’t cooked with buckwheat as much as I would like to. I will be updating is section once I explore this grain a little more. I have a great recipe for Sourdough Buckwheat Bread .

Spelt is my favourite grain to bake with. It is the perfect substitute for wheat flour. Although it still contains gluten and is a close relative to wheat, I can still use the same recipes and achieve the same tastes and flavours but produce food that is easier to digest. These days wheat is in so many things, sauces, processed breads etc, and most people find they are intolerant to it.
 
Kamut and Rye are much the same as spelt. They still contain gluten but can be tolerated by those with a wheat allergy. I love using Kamut or Spelt pasta, I find I don’t feel as bloated after eating it. I use a combination of Rye and Spelt flour to make my Swiss style bread.

Oats Although not gluten free oats, are great to tone the nervous system and to fuel you for a busy day. I use organic whole rolled oats (not the quick oats variety).



Sugars

Someone once tried to argue that white sugar is the same as any other alternative to sugar such as rapadura. They are correct that the molecule of glucose in white sugar, honey, rapadura etc is the same. But I believe that we must have some pleasures in life and food is one of them. I use sugars that have a nutritional benefit as well to sweeten my foods.

Rapadura is full of vitamins and minerals unlike refined sugars because it still contains the nutrient dense molasses. It has a caramel taste and completely dissolves in water.

Black strap molasses is know as an old fashion remedy for just about anything.

Manuka honey has strong antiviral and antibacterial properties.

Oils/Fats

Butter I use Gympie farm butter if I can get it. If not any organic cultured butter is good.


Coconut oil Nui's is the best I think Click here to view Nui website


Cold Pressed Extra Virgin Olive Oil At the moment I am using up the last bit of Little General and then I am starting a new bottle of Nolan's Road.

Making Swiss Style Bread from Scratch

Today I am preparing bread for weekend breakfasts. There is nothing better than having nice crunchy toast with eggs on weekends. There are so may different types of breads out there that I can be confusing. Sometimes I buy sourdough spelt bread from the Sonoma Bakery in Paddington but there is nothing better than home made bread.