Is There Life After Clean?

Life after Clean has been a bit confusing, we must admit. One tends to feel guilty when adding foods back in, afraid that all we've gained could be lost ever so quickly.

We indulged in our first glass of wine on our 22nd day. To One Iowa Girl's delight, we do still love a good glass of wine. She was a bit leery that our tastes had changed so much that we would no longer find a glass of vino delightful. Quite the contrary, we found it to be rather invigorating. We also found ourselves savoring every sip. Looking for the difference in flavor, etc. Seems a bit dramatic for a simple glass of wine, but we've realized that after 3 weeks of a very strict plan, we found our palates are much more sensitive than they have been in years. It seems as if we are tasting these wonderful things for the first time. If you are a red wine lover, then may we suggest to you the Casillero Del Diablo (yes, the house of the Devil - why not go big on our first night!) we know you will find this wine a pure delight.

As for our first weekend after the Clean, we both meandered off the beaten path a bit. Boat Guy succumbed to the pizza gods, while One Iowa Girl enjoyed a Mexican feast with her family. Neither of us over indulged, but each felt the tinge of guilt saying to ourselves, be careful, it's a slippery slope out there.

We will be sure to follow up with pictures very soon. In the mean time, stayed tuned to see how we ease back into the real world, without losing sight of our goals, yet enjoying the wonderful gastronomical world we've come to love!

Milestone

Day 21 is almost over, we have "completed" the Clean Program. I think that the completion of the 21 days has taught us a lot. We have proven to ourselves that we are not slaves to food and that we can be very disciplined. We are both feeling energetic and vibrant. A stranger today told us that we looked like magazine models (that doesn't happen every day).

The challenge before us is to transition into a less restrictive diet, but maintain the nutrition and detoxification benefits of healthy foods. We have found some foods that we love during this process (the boat guy wanted Quinoa for dinner instead of Chinese take out tonight!) and believe that we will continue enjoying the benefits of our healthier lifestyle.

We will continue to observe a twelve hour break for the body between dinner and breakfast. This allows the body to digest completely with a little time to spare for maintenance and detoxification. We are also going to continue to have a liquid breakfast consistently. Snacks will be a handful of raw almonds instead of a bag of Doritos. We also plan to "go Clean" for a week every time the seasons change as a tune up. All in all, we have developed some very healthy habits over the last 21 days that will benefit us for years to come.

So, you will continue to hear from us even though the initial 21 days have passed. We will be letting you know what happens as we go back out there into the wide wild world!

Infomercial Junkie

The Clean Program will kill a 30 year old food processor. One Iowa Mom (that's my momma!) won my current food processor while she was selling Avon in the early 80's. She got a brand spanking new one for Christmas a few years back and I inherited the Avoncessor. And now, I've killed it. I then turned to my trusty Magic Bullet.

Many of you know my fascination with with infomercials. Thanks to the great folks at IGLACC and OTC, I am the proud owner of one of the most popular infomercial products, the Magic Bullet. I am going on two years as a proud owner and I can recite the infomercial from heart (in case you can't recite it, click here). But, it has it limitations, and I have pushed it beyond it's wildest dreams. So, with sadness in my heart, but a skip in my step I purchased a new food processor today. I have done my research and have found the piece de resistance... the Kitchen Aid KFP750CR. It holds 96oz. and therefore I'm going to refer to it as the Ol' 96er. Needless to say at this point, I am pumped about this purchase. I also have to add, especially for Confessed Coupon Addict, I waited long enough to purchase that it was on the sidewalk clearance sale at Le Gourmet and I got it for $100 off!!!

But onto the real reason of our blog, the FOOD! I have to share with you the fabu dinner we

had last night. As has become our Saturday night tradition, we had our solid meal after Boat

Guy's customer event at the marina. I will slide in here that the theme for this event

was Rush Week, which came along with a menu of, what else, PIZZA. Damn, it looked good. But when we got home and had Stir-Fried Vegetables with Buckwheat Noodles, it put the pizza to shame. Also, on a Cliff Clavin note, buckwheat is not really a wheat, but a member of the rhubarb family. There's your useless info for the week.

We both continue to see success and are completely shocked at the amount of energy we have. As I chatted with my good friend Tito today, she asked the question that's probably been burning in all of your minds, "what are you going to do after your done?" Well, it's been a fun ride and we're excited to incorporate all we've learned in the last 3 weeks into our everyday life. I am proud to say that we have inspired at least one person to start the Clean, and he is already finished with week one! We've also heard from a lot of you that are thinking of starting. Please leave comments, etc and tell us how you're doing!

Unit Next Time - Happy Cleaning!

No hill for a climber...

So, we met at the grocery store after work tonight. As we mentioned last night, we planned to go to a high school football game tonight. A good all day rain (still falling) has changed our plans. Usually this would be no big deal to us, but we are growing a little weary of our liquid evening meals. We are also getting pretty good at making them, so it doesn't take much time. So we are finding ourselves saying "what do we do now?"

Our trip to the grocery store was uneventful. The "Red Box" movie rental machine did not render any movies that we couldn't miss tonight, and we are still saying what do we do now? We have determined that some fruit smoothies are in our near future. They sound kind of gross right now, but I am sure they will be good once we get started.

I know that the mood sounds kind of melancholy, the weather is awful grey today and we are used to warming up on a night like this in a booth of a restaurant enjoying a bottle of wine and some WARM food. We still feel great and are glad we are going clean, but tonight is a little challenging for us.

We have been trying to talk ourselves out of following the plan tonight, but we have come so far and will see it through. We also have to make it through the entire 21 days because all of you will know if we don't. Thanks for the support and for helping us feel accountable for following through.

Until tomorrow- HAPPY CLEANING!!

Beans, Beans the Natural Fruit

Going Clean has been a true adventure. As we enter week three, neither of us can believe how quickly the time really has gone. When we started this, I wasn't sure I'd make it through week one, let known be energized enough to want to see this through. I was hesitant to start this program at the time we did, because of the fact that Labor Day weekend fell as the last weekend of our program. Now, I have no doubt that we'll sail through the holiday weekend, including Boat Guy's customer cocktail party on Saturday night, with no problems at all!

I have to give BIG props tonight to wonder of Swiss Kriss. Unlike Boat Guy, the double shot of olive oil each evening, wasn't working it's natural wonders. Well Ladies & Gentleman, I have the miracle cure for you, Swiss Kriss is an all natural blend that will make your life fantastic.

As for our menu this week, I again ventured out for lunch today, and to my surprise, it is just a bit hard to get a regular salad from Applebee's. Every one of the salads on the menu include not only meats, but tons of extras. I asked for a side salad with just veggies. I was greeted with a gorgeous salad that included 1,000 croutons, the biggest chunks of bacon (real not fake) and enough shredded cheese to undo all the work of Swiss Kriss! Oh, the joys of Clean in the restaurant world. Boat Guy on the other hand enjoyed a yummy homemade meal of adzuki beans and brown rice. There's enough left over for us both to have lunch tomorrow - YAH! I took the liberty of making the adzuki beans into my supper tonight by putting the soup like concoction into the food processor. I'm not sure if this was an appropriate dinner, but it was liquid and on the "to do" food list.

Tomorrow night we are going to a football game, and I do have to say that game food is one of our ultimate favorites. Hotdogs (yes, I allow myself a hotdog now and then, because let's face it, are they really meat?) popcorn (NEED I SAY ANYTHING!) and of course hot cocoa. Stay tuned to see if the concession stand gets the best of us! After two weeks, I have no doubt that we'll enjoy the half-time show, with no bumps.

When you're here you're family...

The last few days have seemed very normal. We have fallen into so much of a routine that we don't even really discuss "Clean" or the effects. It has become enough of a habit that we even forgot to write a post yesterday (sorry to those of you who look forward to our updates).

Today was a big day for us. We decided to try going to a restaurant. The book suggests that it is OK to eat out, but to be cautious about what you eat. We went to an Olive Garden; their advertisements say that when you are there your are family, so we figured they would tolerate our quirkiness. We enjoyed their house salad (no croutons, no cheese) and a bowl of minestrone soup. We also asked that they not bring the ever wonderful, but ever terrible for you, breadsticks. A very smart move. All in all a great first trip out in the real world of food. We probably took some loose liberties with the "rules," but we really enjoyed having a meal in a restaurant for a change.

We also spent a lovely amount of time perusing the aisles of Akins Health Food Market. What a joy! One Iowa Girl has not had the fabulous effects of "daily elimination" that the book says you should have. So, we were on a mission to find an herbal supplement the book recommends, Swiss Kriss. We'll let you know how that all comes out - poor attempt at humor folks, but take what you can get! We were also very excited to come across Adzuki Beans. A Japanese bean that we'll be using in a recipe later this week as it calls for some overnight soaking of the beans. We'll be sure to share photos and a review!

As for tomorrow's menu, Boat Guy will be enjoying Asian-Flavored Tuna w/ Stir Fried Vegetables. Iowa Girl is going to stick with the stir fried veggies, you can't go wrong there!

Until Later - Happy Cleaning!

It Wasn't a Hangover... dang it.

I woke up the that &%$#*&%@* headache this morning. After a night of virtually no sleep, okay really the kind of sleep where you think you haven't slept at all, but probably drifted off a lot more than you realize. But I digress... after a night with little sleep, I woke to the same dreaded detox headache and thought to myself, I could have drank an entire bottle of wine by myself and felt better. But, I got up, made Boat Guy and I Blueberry Carob smoothies and to my relief the headache disappeared. I also drank 2 cups of green tea with lemon, so you be the judge of what helped the pain go away. I'll be honest, I would have drank a bottle of Calgon if it would have really taken me away!

Our menu today was new! After a small detour from the soups in the evening, let's face it I was tired of cold goopy stuff, I ventured back in with Pineapple and Avocado Gazpacho for dinner tonight. To my relief, and the joy of Boat Guy's taste buds, it was delicious. When making this however, I would recommend slightly un-ripened avocados, as they would just make the whole thing prettier to look at on the plate.

Boat Guy has now lost a total of 12 pounds in 12 days. He had a co-worker tell him that he looks like a completely different person than 12 days ago. But please don't misunderstand why we started this program to start with. This wasn't about weight loss for us, it was about rejuvenating our bodies, to be healthier. One of our final goals of this program is to have Boat Guy's good cholesterol in check. The weight loss has simply been an amazing side effect.

With that, Happy Cleaning!

Doritos, Doritos Everywhere and not a Chip to Eat.

We have reached the halfway point in our clean journey. We decided last night to wait until dinner to have our solid meal. No big deal, right? It sounds very nice to have a regular meal at night. UNTIL, I watch and smell my coworkers eat a Wendy's Chicken Sandwich, Taco Bell, and the piece de resistance... a personal pan pizza from Pizza Hut. Anyway, I went ahead and slurped up my pineapple and mango smoothie. After I busted through the cravings and aromas of the other foods, it was great. I continue to feel awesome and the last pounds are dropping off me pretty quickly (you know, the ones that don't go away with diet and exercise). I have determined that I am actually detoxing and the garbage that was slowing down my progress is working its way out of my system. They say that a majority of the toxins go out through your lungs. This must be the case, because it is not in the john.

One side effect that Iowa Girl is feeling tonight is the dreaded detox headache. It is promised in the book within the first week, so I was sure I had breezed by that issue. Not the case. It crept on about 3 this afternoon and is continuing to hang on. Being diligent to the Clean, I am not going to take an Advil - although let's be honest, we all know that would pretty much be the sweetest thing right now. As for not having our meal until this evening, Boat Guy said it right. It was a well conceived idea, just like last Saturday night. An evening together, drinking water from our wine glasses and enjoying a rather gourmet meal. UNTIL, I spent a lovely afternoon on the boat with Confessed Coupon Addict, her hubby and many friends. It was as if the Doritos

Fairy had dropped in to each of the boats. Cool Ranch, Nacho Cheese and all just inches from my now salivating palate. As I've stated before, OH THE HUMANITY!!! I, somewhat miserably, went to my cooler and pulled out my mango & pineapple smoothie. After some good natured ribbing about the amount of water and not cocktails I drank this afternoon, I was truly ready for a yummy, and yes it was yummy, meal with Boat Guy.

Until Next Time - Happy Cleaning!

Patience Young Grasshopper

Alright readers out there, one of the downsides to the Clean is my current skin condition. Not since high school have I seen such work. And let me tell you, it pretty much makes you feel the same way it did in high school too. UGH. The book promised that as you continue to detox you will notice blemishes, rashes, etc. I am noticing the small bumps under my skin, you know the ones that make it feel like you haven't washed your face well enough, yeah, those. Boat Guy is reaping many, many benefits, but the zit monster didn't miss him either, he has a red zonker that is apparently painful... that's what he said when I pushed on it anyway :)

But, as our one week mark arrives Boat Guy & I can physically attest to the wonders of Clean. He has now lost 10 pounds and is seeing a steady rise in energy. I boycott scales if I can possibly help it, however my pants that fit snugly a couple of weeks are at least one (maybe two) sizes too big! My energy level is on a constant up swing as well.

We finally got brave this morning and tried the Green Smoothie. Up to this point we have been enjoying morning smoothies that are quite reminiscent of pina-coladas. This thing we had looked like a grasshopper (you know, the ice cream drink bartenders worldwide HATE to make) but tasted like a blended up corn stalk with a hint of mango!?! Anyway, we decided that our taste buds and cravings have changed because we both thought it was good.

Tonight we are enjoying an awesome blueberry/raspberry smoothie that I don't want to spill on the keyboard.

See you tomorrow - Happy Cleaning!

And Then We Crashed!

Well Readers, it has happened, the one week crash that the Book promised us. Yesterday (Monday 8/24) we both felt fantastic. Great amounts of energy throughout the day and a great clarity of mind. We felt so great that by 8 p.m. last night, we had forgotten all about making our soup for the evening. We luckily had leftover Carrot & Ginger soup, that I do have to say was pretty good on day two, however I ended up drinking a cup of hot green tea.

The Boat Guy (that's me!) went ahead and had a bowl of soup, but the Iowa Girl only had a few bites. Today was a day of ups and downs feeling bursts of energy, then kind of drowsy. The Iowa Girl felt hot and then cold a few times during the day, and got a little sleepy a couple of times. The book warned us that the beginning of the second week would be filled

with temptation to go off the program. The author states that it feels strange when all the toxins are releasing into the system to be eliminated. A challenging week for sure, but we are hanging in there.

I (Iowa Girl) have to say that I am having a few cravings, but when I see foods that we usually enjoy on TV or in a

magazine, they don't interest me in the least. The odd feeling in my stomach isn't hunger, but it's the feeling that I think we as Americans assume we're supposed to feed. It could be boredom,

tiredness, etc. As for our menu the last two days, I do have to say the highlight was the Green

Lentil salad we had yesterday for lunch. It was amazing I think attributed to our energy.

Til the Next Post - Happy Cleaning!

Not Exactly a Glass of Wine...

Sorry we missed you yesterday. We had a FABULOUS dinner on the patio (see the photo!) and were enjoying after dinner cocktails, one of our favorites "the blue dolphin." For those of you who have never heard of a blue dolphin, we are sure you have had one; it is a fancy way to say "glass of ice water."

I will let One Iowa Girl share the food preparation and menu info, but I can attest that the meal was better than I could have gotten in a restaurant! If this is what Clean feels like, I am in. As far as how the program is making me feel, I feel great! This morning I sprung out of bed ready to exercise like a wild man, and then felt like I could conquer the world. I also felt a sense of clarity today, but it could just be the placebo effect. Even if it is all in my head, it sure feels awesome.

As Boat Guy said, I can also say that today has been a day full of energy. I'm not sure if we've mentioned it or not, but we go for a 2 mile walk each morning. Friday, I had a hard time with the walk but have not had that feeling since. Nor have I experienced hunger pangs yesterday or today. Now you will notice that we did fudge the rules just a bit yesterday and had our solid meal in the evening. The Book does say that you can do this on occasion, but suggests you don't make a habit of it during the 3 week detox period. Boat Guy and I love to have a nice evening out, especially this time of year when you can be on the water. So, we knew that we would be disappointed if we just had a smoothie on Saturday night. And, as you can see by the picture, it was a nice evening!

Here's our menu from the last two days:

Breakfast: Sat - Blueberry, Carob & Almond Milk Smoothie. Sun - Berry w/ Coconut Milk & Cinnamon.

Lunch: Sat - Mango & Coconut Smoothie. Sun - Leftovers from Sat. night.

Dinner: Sat - Tri-Salad Platter of Hummus, Tabbouleh, and Marinated Kale (the photo). Sun - Carrot & Ginger Soup.

I also want to share with you some fun facts... since Wednesday we have gone through 4 limes, 4 lemons, 3 cumbers, 1/2 a butternut squash, 1 bag of mini carrots, 1 bag of regular carrots, 1 stalk of celery, 1 red onion and an entire 16 oz. bottle of olive oil!

Until Tomorrow - Happy Cleaning!

Third Time's The Charm

Boat Guy titled our post today, and with that, I turn the keyboard over to him!

I chose the title today because after two days of lackluster, tasteless mush, we finally figured out how to make this stuff taste good. I enjoyed a fantastic mango and pineapple smoothie for breakfast. At noon I had something that I couldn't remember what the hell it was called (but it was good enough that people in the lunchroom were jealous!). Tonight we had a great zucchini, basil, onion and celery cold soup that actually tasted good. I do not feel tired tonight, just feel like I do every night. Hopefully the surge of extra energy promised by the book will arrive tomorrow!

Thanks Boat Guy! Well for my part of the post I have to say that I didn't start off all that well this morning. We went for our usual walk, and much to my chagrin, I had to turn back half way through due to being light-headed. On my way back home my thoughts turned to a very guilty pleasure, I was dreaming of Pizza Hut Pepperoni Pan Pizza being left over in my fridge. I was even able to conjure up the pepperoni being picked off and the little grease pools being left behind. Oh the humanity! But, I shook off the craving and moved on to creating the meals that Boat Guy mentioned above. After I had my smoothie, I felt great. Part of the Clean is to be sure to have 12 hours in between the last meal of the day and first meal of the next day. So, this is what I'm attributing the light-headedness to.

Here's our menu from today:

Breakfast: Pineapple & Mango Smoothie w/ coconut milk.

Lunch: Quinoa (pronounced keen-wa) w/ chopped almonds, carrots, parsley, lime juice, olive oil and cumin. YUM!! See the picture.

Dinner: Cucumber and Basil Soup - it includes olive oil, celery, onion, sea salt. This one was very much like a chilled pesto, another household favorite. I will happily post the full recipes at anytime, I'm just keeping the posts short and interesting.

On a slightly graphic note, the 2 tablespoons of olive oil and the Quinoa super grain did their "duty" so to speak. After a few quick trips this afternoon, I shared with my office partner (Confessed Coupon Addict - check out her blog!) that I guess it's just all part of cleansing!

Til tomorrow - Happy Cleaning!

And So It Begins...

Well, we're coming to the close of Day 2 of the Clean. I have to say, so far so good! There have been a few hunger pangs, but nothing that I haven't experienced in a regular day. I'm going to do my best to describe our journey and not leave out details. So, just know you've been warned!

Here's a quick recap of today's menu:

Breakfast: Berry Smoothie, with fresh blueberries, raspberries, agave, cinnamon and ice.

Lunch: Homemade Guacamole (two avocados, 1 lime and 1 garlic clove) with celery sticks and carrots.

Dinner: Chilled Cucumber Soup with cucumbers, lemon, pine nuts, olive oil and mint.

We discussed that we'll need to start posting pics of our rather interesting menu. It may be pics of the before ingredients because let's be honest, a bowl of green goop isn't all that pretty.

I'm not feeling the AMAZING effects of the program yet. However, besides the bottle of wine that we absolutely love to indulge in, we don't eat much differently than this program. To the disbelief of many friends and family, I have been a vegetarian now for two years. The major difference in this Clean program is the lack of chewing for breakfast and dinner.

As for energy... Boat guy is feeling a bit tired this evening, however, as many of you know, he puts in a lot of energy at work and this isn't all that abnormal. He also, just got home at 9:30 p.m. from a band gig, so take that as you will. I haven't noticed much of a difference in energy. We both experience odd sleep last night, several dreams, and since we're supposed to be POUNDING water, a few bathroom trips as well.

Now onto the fun part of the day... 1-2 tablespoons of cold pressed olive oil for "go to bed dinner" (that's a Heimensen thing). This apparently will lube the system. As I said, you've been warned of the content!

Happy Cleaning!

We're going Clean!

My husband - Boat Guy - and I are beginning a new adventure. We are going CLEAN. I have recently read the book Clean by Alejandro Junger, M.D. You can check it out here. After finishing the book, I can truly say that I am very excited and want to make a lifestyle change to help my body "heal itself".

We are going to blog about our journey, why we started, the next 3 weeks, and of course After The Clean.

Stayed tuned for more!