Green juicing

Another great green juice. Loving my new blender.

1 kiwi fruit
1/2 grated apple
Handful of mint
1/2 a lemon
Small amount of broccoli
Some fresh ginger
1/2 cup of coconut water
Cup of water

Blend with ice

Phase 3

So I took the weekend off my detox... Why u ask? Well I had reached 6 weeks after extending both phase 1 and 2 and I had visitor on the weekend so we enjoyed a few meals out a coffee and shared a bottle of red. All in all I was still pretty well behaved in my consumption.

So now I'm on to phase 3 which is the final phase and includes a powdered detox protein powder called Thermo Phase Detox and some tablets called Phyto Pro which are a herbal supplement for liver detoxification.
On the weekend I bought a new blender. Unfortunately not a vitamix but my sumbeam blender does the job!
This morning I made a green juice ( yep the new blender is powerful enough to pulverise) and a raspberry and banana smoothie with my detox powder. Here's the recipes.

Fresh green juice

- half a lemon
- half a lime
- handful of mint
- half a cucumber grated
- half an apple grated
- finely chopped broccoli
- teaspoon of vital greens
- half a cup of coconut water
- half a cup of water

Blend with ice if you choose

Metagenics detox smoothie

- 1 serve of (this is 3 level spoons of the spoon provided in the container)
- Tablespoon psyllium husks
- Tablespoon LSA
- Teaspoon macca powder
- teaspoon coconut oil
- Tablespoon Chia seeds
- 1 frozen banana
- handful of frozen raspberries
- 1/2 cup of almond milk
- 1/2 a cup of water

Blend with ice

Big cheat

Yep today I cheated. id decided last night as welll to do it. id been feeling pretty blocked up over the last couple if days and really needed a proper movement. coffee has always done the trick for me. Especially followed by some light exercise. So this morn I got up and headed down stairs( my new flat has a coffe shop underneath it... Handy) grabbed myself a small late and went for a walk along bondi beach. It is amazing the affect coffe can have on my digestive system. As soon as I was back I had movement.. Walah! In contrast coffee on excess can have the opposite affect in me. Strange. So what of this affect on the digestive system? Gerson therapy promotes coffee enemas. Yuck! Not sure I could do it...

This was a one off though. 3 more weeks to go!!

Phase 1 done! On to phase 2....

Phase 1
So I finally completed phase 1 of the detox and I thought it about time to tell u about it. I say finally as I decided to extend the 2 week period to 3 weeks. I was more than reasonably well behaved during phase 1 in terms of what I consumed, however the quantity of nuts was blown out of the water. I craved them and so I consumed them... That combined with the fact that I felt I wasn't expelling enough through my digestive system, I decided to extend it to 3 weeks. Plus the supplements in phase 1 were still going.

My first week if the detox went really well. I felt good, didn't have any cravings and was definitely feeling more fresh and clean on the inside and out. Wow I thought... This is going to be easy!

Week two however was another story. I felt hungry, emotional and sluggish. This is when I decided to extend a week and week 3 was much more palatable.

I'm on to phase two now... The first week down... It was a bumpy week. I was craving chocolate and protein which I tried to stave if by having done tuna and nuts. It didn't work and I ended up having a couple of nights where I indulged in some desert. It was a reasonably healthy chocolate pudding. However, the first time I was left feeling a bit bloated and on into the next day. This could be due to 2 things. Not drinking enough water with it... Without water psyllium can clog up your system. Or 2; the protein powder. I'm still playing around with protein powders and trying to establish what works and what doesn't with my digestive system.

Protein fibre packed pudding
Psyllium husks
Chia seeds
Shredded coconut
Raw cacao powder
Scoop of protein powder
Stevia

Mix it all together and let it sit for a short period to thicken up before enjoying!

Bunny time resistance

Easter... What a time to be detoxing! My workplace had a plethora of tempting treats on offer including hot cross buns, choco eggs, and a bake sale that had two tables worth of gloriously naughty treats! It was hard, soooo hard, but I resisted!

Then a weekend with the family which is usually filled with healthy food (in large quantities) and red wine ( also in large quantities). On the first night we had baked snapper, wild rice and salad... It was the first animal product I had consumed in 3 weeks. Dad had caught the fish and it was fresh and delicious. Mum had made some yoghurt which I had with fruit for breakfast and it was rich and creamy without the after feeling you get from commercial yoghurt of clag in your mouth and a sugar headache.

 We had a family lunch on Sunday and as a special treat I made a raw vegan cheese cake. This is the second time I have made the cheesecake, however the recipe was slightly different both times. Like everything I make, there is a lot of flexibility in this recipe.

Raw Vegan Cheesecake

Base
1/2 cup almond meal
1 cup almonds
1/4 cup of ground linseed
1/2 cup of dried cranberries or dates
1/2 cup of dried coconut
Tablespoon of coconut oil

Quick pulse blend until the mixture starts to stick together but don't overblend.
Press the mixture into a Spring Form Cake tin or a cake tin lined with baking paper so you can pull the cake out at when ready. Make sure it is pressed in and even. Then put it in the fridge to set.

"Cheese"
2 Cups of raw cashews
Vanilla essence
Lime and Lemon
Tablespoon Coconut oil

Soak the cashews for a few hours then drain and rinse. Add the cashews to a blender and blend till smooth and creamy. If you need to add water the blend then just make sure that you remove the excess liquid by putting the mixture in a muslin cloth.

Then add a dash of vanilla essence, juice of a lime and lime and lemon rind, coconut oil and blend. Spoon the mixture onto the base and spread evenly. Top with some ground lime rind and then leave it in the fridge to set for at least 2 hours.

Vegan San Choi Bao

I know Im being slack on writing my progress, ill keep trying!

On the weekend I stocked up on supplies for week 3 of my detox. Saturday I went to Mr Vitamins on bronte road, bondi junction to get a few staples. I think I had been craving some protein so I picked up a bag of Tvp which is a vegan protein product that I have been using for a long time. It's extremely versatile, easy to use and very cheap. A bag is usually around $2.50 and you will get around 15 serves out of that.
On Sunday I went to the Marrickville markets with another health minded friend to stock up on organic produce. It was my first time to the markets and I instantly fell in-love. The vibe was one of a community and There was an equal distribution of fresh produce, yummy healthy market made meals and nick nacks new and old.

So withy fresh Produce and my TVP I decided to make a delicious Asian Dish that i have bern making for a while called San choi bao

This recipe is so versatile you can really change it up as much as you like. I'm going to provide my traditional recipe but I will highlight what changes I made for the detox period.

Ingredients
1 cup of TVP
1/2 Onion diced
tablespoon Ginger grated
1 Chilli
Tablespoon Sesame oil
1 cup Silken tofu
Soy sauce
Crushed peanuts
Mushroom
Zucchini
Red capsicum
Dice all of these veggies or use a thin grater
Lime
Mint and coriander
Big Lettuce leaves (any kind will do but iceberg or butter lettuce is good)

Soak the Tvp with water and soy for 15 mins
put sesame oil in the pan, fry up the onion, ginger and chilli then add the Tvp and fry for a couple I'd minutes
I use a thin mandolin grater for the zucchini, add this and the capsicum and mushroom to the pan for a coupe of minutes and you're done.
Lay big lettuce leaves down and scoop the mixture on to them. Sprinkle the herbs, nuts and line ontop and wrap up and enjoy!

So as I said, this recipe is very versatile. Try different veggies or nuts and I'm sure it'll still taste fab.

Last night I used mrs browns protein sauce instead if soy. I used a dash of olive oil instead of sesame. I kept the veggies raw and added Cherie tomatoes. And I sprinkled almonds ontop instead if peanuts.

Public Transportitis

Since moving to the city, I have really struggled with my daily commute. So many people and absolutely no courtesy.  I have always struggled a bit with crowds, but this was unbelievable. On one instance I let 5 trains go by with out attempting to board and then when I finally did, the train filled so quick there was no space and I was pushed by a mass of people to continue on to the train regardless. I flipped! I had no control over it either, pure panic attack. Needless to say I didn't get on that train either.

Catching public transport in Sydney is definitely unpleasant. If you're not moving with the traffic, be prepared to get knocked down. Where people think their sports bag deserves a seat more so than a human being. And the regular crazies run screaming up and down the carriage. It doesn't surprise me then that some people from Sydney city can often be perceived as hard or even rude. They've grown up with this, I'm astounded that children in the city catch the public transport just like everyone else. No quaint little school bus bumping down the old dirt road like I was used to. They have to battle the human traffic with backpacks twice their siZe.

So what of the health implications of public transport? Well yes we are doing some good for the environment by cutting down on car emissions and reducing the number of car parks being built. But what of the stress attached to this daily regulation?

We should not underestimate the significance of overcrowding as a source of stress. Crowding  forces us into closer contact with strangers than we would often like, an invasion of personal space, prevents us form achieving our goals by getting where we want to get when we want to get there.  All of these stressors have the potential to range from unnoticeable to catastrophic depending on the conditions encountered on a particular journey. Many studies have confirmed the direct effect of crowding releases stress hormones into our bodies.

Stress can lead to physical symptoms including headaches, digestive issues, elevated blood pressure, problems sleeping, physical aches and pains among a number of other aliments. Research suggests that stress also can bring on or worsen diseases.

So how do we combat this? I've tried a few different things. Listening to relaxing music on my ipod during the commute, imagining I'm watch a movie and the Sydney underground is actually the New York tube station. Heading to work earlier to avoid crowds, seems everyone has the same idea though! 

Have any ideas on combating the stress of public transport?