Exercise is the devil!

Yesterday was Day 6 (of 21) of the Quantum Wellness Cleanse... and it was the day I was dreading...  Exercise day.

The Day 6 chapter of Kathy Freston's Quantum Wellness Cleanse gently nudges you to get your ass moving and do something as far as working out goes.  Now is probably a good time to confess that, with every fiber of my being, I absolutely hate the idea of "working out."  The idea of going to a gym and hanging out with a bunch of bicep-flexing meat heads just makes me want to hurl.  I mean, it REALLY does.  You can curl 50 pounds?  Wow, really?  Who gives a crap!?!? (By the way, I know that's not really what the gym is like but just indulge me, ok?)

Anyway, I guess I consider myself more "cerebral"... I could (and do) spend hours on end researching things, reading, learning, but the idea of spending even 20 minutes a day on an elliptical machine is just maddening.  I do, however, love being outdoors.  I love taking long walks with my dogs and I really love hiking.  That is the sort of "working out" I can actually do and enjoy (and if you haven't figured it out yet, if I don't enjoy something there is very little chance that I'll actually do it).

So I decided that I would bite the bullet and take the dogs on an a.m. walk.  It was nice.  I got to see the sunrise and the dogs were happy as hell.  However, I had just the tiniest hint of a migraine headache before the walk and should have known better than to do anything that gets the blood pumping.  Within about 30 minutes after my walk it felt like my head would explode right off my shoulders.  Today, Day 7, I am still dealing with the migraine.  Needless to say, there will be no exercise today.

Getting Stewed...

Irish Stew, that is.  Not your "typical" Irish stew full of lamb, but a kinder, gentler, vegetarian version. 

I received the latest copy of Vegetarian Times late last week.  I *love* trying out new recipes so as soon as it arrives I usually skim through and see what recipes fall in the "I might actually make this" category.  Since this is the March edition, and in honor of St. Patrick's Day there are a number of vegetarian recipes that are slightly modified versions of traditional Irish dishes.  Being an Irish girl myself, I was super excited to try out the Irish Lager Stew recipe.  It's got about a half hour left of cooking but it smells and looks *great*!!

Irish Lager Stew
1 Tbs Olive oil
8 oz sliced button mushrooms
2 minced cloves of garlic
1 cup diced leeks
3 diced red potatoes
2 medium peeled and sliced carrots
2 small peeled and sliced parsnips
1 1/2 tsp tomato paste
1 15-oz can crushed tomatoes
1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
1 1/2 tsp dried thyme
3/4 cup lager beer
1 1/2 Tbs quick-cooking tapioca
1 cup shredded cabbage
1 Tbs white miso
2 Tbs chopped parsley

Heat 1/2 Tbs oil over medium heat.  Add mushrooms and garlic and saute 8 minutes. Remove from pot.

Add another 1/2 Tbs oil and leeks.  Cook 5 minutes.

Add potatoes, carrots, parsnips and tomato paste.  Cook 2 minutes and add tomatoes, broth, and thyme.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer 40 minutes.  Stir occasionally.

Add lager, tapioca and mushrooms.  Simmer 10 - 15 minutes, stirring often.  Stir in cabbage and miso and simmer 5 minutes or until cabbage softens.  Stir in parsley and season with salt and pepper.

I'll be eating this with some sprouted Ezekiel bread.  I can't wait!

Over the hump

Well, I think I'm recovered from my caffeine withdrawal.  My morning is now filled with decaf coffee with soy creamer and stevia... and it's actually not a bad replacement.  I'm not feeling as tired as I was, and surprisingly, no headaches.  After reading about all the havoc that caffeine causes in your body, I just might stick with this.

In the meantime, I've resigned myself to pretty much cooking two dinners every night.  It's just too much of a pain to try to make things that both Mike and I will eat.  He wants chicken, I want tofu... and there's not a whole lot of room between the two to negotiate.  So, I accept that.  Although last night I offered to make some grilled chicken for him and he ended up eating the Chickpea and Kale Curry Stew I made instead.  Go figure.  Maybe just knowing that there was an OPTION of something else was enough for him.  The recipe is below.  It was pretty good with a piece of Ezekiel sprouted bread.

Chickpea and Kale Curry Stew
1 Tbs Olive Oil
1 tsp curry powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground tumeric
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1 large onion, finely chopped
4 cups chopped kale
1 15-oz can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 15-oz can diced tomatoes
4 cups low sodium vegetable broth
1 15-oz can low fat coconut milk
1/2 cup chopped cilantro

Heat olive oil over medium-high heat.  Add onion and spices and saute for three minutes.  Add kale, chickpeas, tomatoes, broth and coconut milk.  Stir to combine and let simmer for 1 hour.  Add cilantro immediately before serving.

Doing My Sleeping Beauty Impression

Well, yesterday was Day 1 of the "Quantum Wellness Cleanse"...  Since I'm only reading one day at a time, I gathered that I wasn't supposed to have caffeine or sugar, and I was supposed to reduce/eliminate my gluten intake.  I don't understand the gluten thing... as far as I know, unless you have a gluten sensitivity like Celiac disease, there's not really any harm in it.  I don't know.  I guess maybe I'll learn more as I read through the book.

On Friday night I tried out one of the recipes from the book for dinner that was gluten free.  It was Spaghetti with Pesto Cream.  The recipe is also vegan and I wondered how the Pesto would turn out without the parmesan cheese.  To my surprise, the pesto was awesome.  There were some odd ingredients in it, like white miso and nutritional yeast, but the end product tasted exactly like regular pesto... and may have even been a bit better.  The spaghetti, on the other hand, was made from rice (I assume semolina has gluten).  Rice spaghetti is definitely not for me.  The noodles were mushy and sticky and just gross.  Not good.

So yesterday, Day 1, I followed directions and skipped my usual morning coffee.  Actually, I made decaf instead.  I know decaf is not really that great for you either but I think my attachment to the "ritual" of morning coffee is just too strong to skip it all together.  I'm not sure whether it was caffeine withdrawal or just a regular old migraine, but at about 9:30 or so my head was just on fire.  I took an imitrex and went to sleep.  I didn't wake up till almost 3:00 pm.  I pretty much lost the entire day.  Of course, I had a million things that I was planning on doing, but so much for that!

Last night I went out to dinner with some co-workers to Santiago's in Bisbee.  I have absolutely no clue whether or not I "cheated" with Spinach Enchiladas (I think they were made with corn tortillas which SHOULD be gluten free) but I'm pretty sure the cheese was verboten.  Oh well, I think the fact that I skipped the caffeine (and dessert) is pretty impressive either way.

Oh, one last thing... also part of the cleanse is a mandatory meditation.  I don't think I have the ability to meditate.  The whole time my mind is racing.  Breathe in.... How long do I have to sit here?  I have so much to do.  Breathe out... I wonder if that was a deep enough breath.  Am I getting enough oxygen?  How long do I need to sit here???

The Life of an Addict

I've come to the realization that I might be an addict.

As soon as I wake up in the morning, I've got to get my fix.  If I don't, my head hurts, I can barely get out of bed, and I pity anyone who crosses my path.

I am addicted... to coffee.

As part of Kathy Freston's 21-Day Quantum Wellness Cleanse, I know that at some point I will be asked to give up caffeine.  Since I'm only in the "write down what you eat" phase, I am still pretty much able to do whatever I want, I just have to 'fess up to it in writing.  So, after logging my food for the day I realize that I must be going on a bit of a caffeine bender.

Don't get me wrong, I realize there are much worse things I could be addicted to, but the very idea of a substance, no matter how benign, being "in charge" of me really kind of irks me.  As a self-professed control freak, I'm not really interested in anyone or anything being the boss of me!

So, I know it's coming...  I'm somewhat in denial and probably making things a lot worse for myself by completely going over the top with caffeine right now, but I guess it's all just part of the process.  I'm seriously wondering about my ability to give up caffeine...  and as I sit here and write this blog, I'll give you one guess what I'm drinking.  :)

Food log for Thursday, Feb 10:
5:00 am:  Coffee with half & half and sugar
5:30 am:  Coffee with half & half and sugar
6:00 am:  Bowl of cereal with almond milk
8:00 am:  Sugar free Carnation instant breakfast with almond milk
10:00 am:  Coffee with half & half and sugar
11:30 am:  Penne pasta with artichokes and sun-dried tomatoes
2:00 pm:  Two small pieces of chocolate (maybe 2 oz all together?)
7:00 pm:  Leftover dinner from last night (cowboy casserole) and a slice of honey oat bread

One more day of the food log till I hit Day 1 of the cleanse...

Hitting the "restart" button

It's really funny how the foods we eat are often reflective of our mood.  For the last two weeks or so, I have felt pretty crappy for a lot of reasons.  Both my physical and mental state have been pretty bad after dealing with some personal struggles and losses.  So, accordingly, I've been stuffing myself with garbage... which only serves to make me feel even MORE like garbage.

So, it's time to hit the restart button. 

I was watching an episode of Oprah the other day and she had Michael Pollan and Kathy Freston on to discuss the food system in America.  I was already familiar with Pollan after reading some of his books, but Freston was a new face.  She is an author, and a vegan, and I was impressed by not only WHAT she had to say, but the non-judgmental way of HOW she said it.  So I did a little research on her and came across her book "The Quantum Wellness Cleanse".  It's a 21-day program that, from the description, is not the typical juice-fast type of "detox cleanse" but rather a physical, mental and spiritual cleanse.  Needless to say, I could stand to clean out the cobwebs in all three so I figured I'd give it a shot.

I'm in the preparation phase, which is basically just three days of writing down what you eat and why.  Now THAT is easy.  I'm not sure what will be with the rest of it, but this part is a breeze.

So, here's a summary of yesterday:

• 5:00 AM, Coffee with half & half and sugar
• 5:30 AM, Bowl of cereal with almond milk
• 7:30 AM, Sugar-free Carnation instant breakfast smoothie with peanut butter & almond milk
• 10:00 AM, Cup of watermelon cubes
• 11:30 AM, Lemongrass chicken (yeah, I actually ate chicken), white rice, salad
• 2:00 PM, Pomegranate seeds (about 1 cup)
• 7:00 PM, Vegetarian "Cowboy Casserole" (veggie crumbles, canned tomatoes, kidney beans, potatoes, salt, pepper, garlic - sort of like a non-chili version of chili), honey oat bread, salad

I'm really trying not to read ahead in the book so I don't get too overwhelmed.  :)  Who knows if this will make me actually feel any better... at the very least, maybe it will take my mind off of my mood. 

So, follow along as I give this a shot!

Wingin' it...

In theory, I'm a creative person.  I mean, I like the idea of being the "artsy" type.  I have been told I look the part (I guess people assume lots of tattoos = some kind of artistic talent?), but the truth is I am pretty talentless in that area.  I can't sing, I can't draw, and beyond a few years of middle-school flute playing, my creative outlets consist of two things:  making candles and cooking. 

The irony is that both of those outlets are really less about being creative and more about chemistry and following instructions.  I am great at following recipes... just like I am great at doing paint-by-numbers.  My creativity is BOUNDLESS!  (As long as I am told exactly what to do...)

So, this brings me to last night's dinner.  After a few days off from cooking (I was sick) I was back in the saddle.  My grocery list was made and I was going to whip up the "Poblano Chile-Cheese Enchiladas" from my recently purchased Vegetarian Times "Healing Foods Cookbook."  Chiles, according to the cookbook, have anti-inflammatory properties - great news for those of who suffer from migraines. 

I arrived at my local Whole Foods, list in hand, ready to roll.  I was pretty familiar with everything on the list, except for one obscure ingredient - "2 1/2 oz. dried New Mexican chiles."  Thankfully, I was accompanied on this shopping trip by a friend who is what I would consider to be an expert on all things chile.  After some discussion, she knew what it was we were looking for.  We walked the aisles for a while in search of this mystery ingredient.  Nothing in produce.  Nothing in the spice aisle.  Finally we asked the girl making about 8 pounds of guacamole in the produce aisle where we could find these dried chiles.  In the end, we were out of luck.  There were no dried chiles to be found.

At this point, I had been running around all day and did not want to go to another grocery store in search of the elusive dried chiles.  Instead, I opted to spread my creative wings... and wing it.  In lieu of dried chiles, I bought three green Anaheim chiles.  Instead of drying them, I roasted them in the oven, chopped them up and added them when the dried chiles were called for in the recipe.  My biggest fear was that the red tomatoes + the green chiles would = some kind of enchilada sauce that was reminiscent of the contents of an infant's diaper (red + green = brown, right?).  Thankfully it ended up as an orangey kind of sauce that was pretty delish.  I also topped the whole thing with some extra shredded monterey jack and some chopped cilantro, and covered the whole thing with foil prior to putting it in the oven.

These enchiladas were STUPENDOUS.  The real test is whether or not my carnivorous husband will eat whatever vegetarian concoctions I come up with.  Prior to eating this he said "I hope there's some chicken in here..." After trying them, I didn't hear a word until the plate was wiped clean.