I can hardly believe it has been 10 days!! So far the biggest tangible I have received from this detox is awareness. I had always thought I ate relatively healthy, however I have never spent so much time reading labels, buying groceries and looking for healthy recipes, like I do now. For example, I had no idea how much sugar was in flavored yogurt or how hard it was going to be to find a protein bar without dairy, gluten and sugar. I never gave it any thought when I downed 2-3 cups of coffee a day, drank wine before bed or ate cheese for dinner. And I feel different. I don't feel bloated and my stomach is flat. I sleep and dream and remember my dreams which is so rare for me. I have energy even without caffeine. I don't hit that point of time in the afternoon when all you want to do is put your head on your desk and take a nap. And I just feel rested and clear of mind, body and soul...ok a little cliche but there really is some truth to it. I actually think that some of these habits may be incorporated into my lifestyle after February 28th at 2359 hrs (11:59pm).



I was so excited when I was at Target yesterday and I found decaf Tazo Chai Tea. My morning ritual prior to February 1st was always a chai tea latte with real caffeinated chai tea and milk and I have missed that. Not even so much the flavor, but the ritual of having a warm, comforting, cup of something first thing to start my day, that is what I missed. So I started my morning with decaf chai tea and coconut/almond milk and well...it was ok. I think I had really high hopes for it and it is just different...not bad...just different...and sometimes change is a little challenging.


For breakfast, I had coconut plain yogurt and raspberries, which was a slice of heaven. The raspberries right now are just so sweet and with the yogurt it made me happy, slightly sweet and slightly tangy. Perfection!

For lunch, I ate leftover shrimp and rice. Right now my fridge is packed with leftover soup, leftover rice and shrimp and leftover sweet potatoes and mushrooms, so I am bound and determined to try and eat some of this for lunches this week.

For snack, I ate some oatmeal (plain), an apple and some baby carrots.


After work I went to spinning and ya know how sometimes you just want snacks for dinner, well one of the gifts of being single is that you can have snacks for dinner. So I had some chips and guacamole and some homemade hummus and almond crackers. Yes, I know I made hummus before, but tonight I made Roasted Red Pepper Hummus and I got much closer to hummus consistency tonight. My last batch of hummus was a little dry and this one is much more creamy and smooth. I like the hint of citrus from the lemon, the slight roasted red pepper taste and the earthy flavor of the tahini and garbanzo beans. Plus for those of you, unlike me, who do love Valentines Day, this is the perfect appetizer. It is easy, it is red in color and it looks like it was hard to make....just sayin'.

The recipe is also incredibly easy, basically take all of the ingredients and put them in the food processor and blend. The recipe says you should cut up the peppers and the garlic, but I figured why bother, that is what the food processor is for and it turned out great.

So take the following ingredients and put them in the food processor:

1/3 cup tahini
1/4 cup water
2T lemon juice
1/4 cup roasted red peppers from a jar
1/4-1/2 tsp salt
1-15 oz can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1 garlic clove


Doesn't get much more easy, right?