Turkey Day Redux

Today being the last day of Thanksgiving break, I thought I'd finish up the holiday cooking by roasting the turkey I didn't get to last Thursday. I decided to try a couple new recipes that really looked great. I used the cajun injector on the turkey. Half was done with the cajun butter, the other half with garlic & herb. I rubbed the bird down with salt, stuffed butter underneath the skin, and covered the skin with cajun spice.

I don't usually stuff my turkeys, but this year I made an exception. I went with a recipe for jalapeno andouille cornbread stuffing. The stuff was so good, I saved some of the andouille, veggies, and spice and threw it into an omelet. Insane flavor. I became an instant fan.

I've included the recipes below for anyone who's interested. I highly recommend this to anyone who loves turkey that really lights up your taste buds.

Cajun-Injected Spicy Turkey
Ingredients
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon concentrated liquid crab and shrimp boil (recommended: Zatarian's)
1/4 cup apple cider
3/4 cup honey
1 (12-ounce) bottle beer
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon ground allspice
1/2 cup Creole seasoning
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup finely minced garlic
1 (10 to 12-pound) turkey, rinsed well inside and out, patted dry
4 teaspoons kosher salt
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1 to 2 cups chicken broth, as needed for bottom of roasting pan

Directions
Make the marinade by combining the Worcestershire sauce, crab boil, apple cider, honey, beer, salt, allspice, Creole seasoning, cayenne, olive oil, and minced garlic in a blender and process until very smooth, about 5 minutes. Fill a large syringe* and inject turkey in the breast and thigh area, as well as the back, wings, and legs, with at least 2/3 of the marinade. You will have to fill the syringe numerous times.

Preheat the oven to 420 degrees F and line a large roasting pan with aluminum foil.

Season the injected turkey well both inside and out with the kosher salt and black pepper. Place the turkey in a large roasting pan lined with aluminum foil and pour the remaining marinade all over the turkey. Bake the turkey uncovered for 30 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F, add 1 cup of the chicken broth to the roasting pan, and continue to bake the turkey until golden brown and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the deepest part between the thigh and the leg registers 165 degrees F. (If the turkey begins to brown too much, tent loosely with aluminum foil until it is done. Also, add more broth as necessary to keep the bottom of the roasting pan from burning.)

When the turkey is done, remove it from the oven and set aside to rest at least 20 minutes before carving.

* Large syringes designed especially for injecting turkeys may be purchased at many grocery stores in the spice / marinade / seasoning sections; many folks inject turkeys before frying them.

Andouille Corn Bread Stuffing
Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 cup chopped onions
4 ounces (1/2 cup) chopped andouille sausage
1/4 cup chopped green onions
2 tablespoons chopped celery
2 tablespoons chopped green bell peppers
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon Emeril's Creole Seasoning
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 turns freshly ground black pepper
1 cup coarsely crumbled Jalapeno Corn Muffins
1/2 cup Basic Chicken Stock
Instructions
Heat the oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add the onions and andouille and sautÈ for 1 minute. Add the green onions, celery, bell peppers, and garlic and stir-fry for 1 minute.

Stir in the Creole Seasoning, salt, pepper, corn muffins, and stock and cook, stirring and shaking the skillet, for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat. Use immediately.

Yield: 1 1/2 cups

Handyman

Today was pretty cool. After a couple days of pure laziness, I decided that as long as I was spending time in the house, the house was going to be a place I enjoyed being in. So....I made a run to Lowes, picked up a few supplies, and rebuilt my first fence. It was a little harder than I thought it would be, but it turned out great. I couldn't be happier. I also managed to fix the garbage disposal, change the air filter, do 3 loads of laundry, and clean my bathroom.

While I was outside working on the fence, Shell sanded and spackled the walls, changed out the bathroom light bulbs, vacuumed the sun room, and rearranged the weight set. Once I got back inside, we set up the Christmas tree, rearranged some furniture, met Yaakoub for dinner, whipped up some guac and pita chips, and watched 4 Christmases.

In hindsight, Shell was a trooper. The day started soooo slowly, I was going crazy. But, we finished strong and got so much done. There's just a few things left to finish up tomorrow. Finish painting the spackled walls, decorate the Christmas tree, finish the laundry, clean out the garage, set up the weight set, and cook the extra Thanksgiving turkey. I've also got to find time to get in a run and make it to the 11:30 service at Celebration Church. It's going to be a great day. I can't wait!!

Detox Results

Well, the results are finally in. Shell is now officially the big winner. Today we went out to Chipotle for a burrito bowl to celebrate. It's odd, before the program, we'd both eat our own burrito loaded with rice, guac, pinto beans, steak, tortilla, and extra chips and salsa. Today we split a burrito bowl with, black beans, light rice, chicken, pico, lettuce, salsa, guac, no tort and no chips. We both walked away full and happy. That's the big win for us. We're big on lifestyle changes, not so much on the actual numbers. We know that changing our daily habits will reap long term rewards.

...but for all the "numbers" people out there. Here are our final stats:

Shell:

Weight lost: 25lbs

Inches lost: 3+

Sizes lost: 3+

Percentage body fat decrease: 5

Rion:

Weight lost: 12lbs

Inches lost: 2

Sizes lost: n/a

Percentage body fat decrease: 3

We'll save these figures and come back to them after my birthday when we go again. I'm already looking forward to the next round. We've got a group of friends ready to do it with us. I'm not sure which I'm more excited about, our success or theirs. Honestly, I think theirs. It's going to be very cool watching their lives change for the better. I can't wait!!

Detox Day 21

Well, the end is near. 21 days of detox and diet and I'm feeling great. Final tallies will be in tomorrw, but it looks like Shell is going to be the big winner, she's about 25 lbs and several inches as of last Friday and she hasn't let up yet. Neither of us were perfect, but I'm so proud of her. This was her idea and she stuck to the detox, she committed to finish and she did it. It's a major accomplishment for her. She's broken several bad lifestyle habits and along the way she's discovered that she really does have more inside than she knew.

We finish out the day with our usual Sunday night breakfast with the team. Pancakes, sausage, and eggs followed by a piece of chocolate at midnight. Hey everyone has their own thing, that's ours. Tomorrow is B-day. Hello Mr. Burrito!!

9am: Shake

1pm: Lunch with Brooksie & Maryori Ash @ The Monument Cafe in Georgetown. Grilled red snapper, sweet potatoe casserole, steamed spinach, and green beans (oh, two biscuits as well).

3pm: small side salad

6pm: organic food bar

9pm: Sunday night team breakfast. Pancakes, sausage, and eggs.

12pm: 2 KitKat pieces left over from Halloween.

Detox Day 20

I caught the redeye from Portland to Austin tonight. The flight was oversold and it looked like two other guys and one woman would be sleeping in the airport that night. Everything worked out fine, though. We all managed to find seats at the last minute and I made it to Houston just fine. After a 3.5 hour layover, I caught the 45 minute flight to Austin and was home safe.

Quote from the Houston Hobby PA:

"The current security level is orange...Please be aware that any inappropriate jokes concerning security may result in your arrest. Thank you and enjoy your flight."

It's so good to see Shell again. There's nothing like coming home to an awesome, loving wife. I can't wait until we can make these trips together. Hope really is the best of things. It gives you focus, spurs you to movement, and reveals your passion through the pursuit of your dreams.

6am: 1/2 organic food bar

9am: 1/2 organic food bar

12pm: italian lentil & veggie soup

1210pm: crashed and took a long nap.

7pm: tilapia with mango salsa

730pm: shake

9pm: organic food bar

945: baby carrots

Detox Day 19

What a fun run this morning. 630am run in the rain and cold through downtown Portland, Portland State University, and into the hills. The view was great. The hills were tough. The streets were clear which made it seem like I had the city to myself. What a great start to the day.

I got to work a little late today. 4 police officers stopped the train for 5-10 minutes. It turns out that someone called in to report a guy on the train. The caller said he was walking around swinging a machete. How that could happen on a packed train without someone getting hurt is beyond me. Regardless of the validity of the report, the call was made, so the officers stopped the train and pulled everyone off except for, of course, the guy sitting next to me. Turns out that somewhere between calls to his uncle and sister he apparently did the reported machete swinging. I'll be the first to admit that the guy wasn't all there, but I really got the feeling that some lady got scared and sweetened the story some. I can't prove that, I'm just saying...

I did learn something from the event. When the 4 police were arresting the man (carrying his 3 bags and a backpack), they all had their taser guns drawn except for one. The one without a taser gun had a shotgun. I thought it was a bit much to bring a shotgun to a knife fight until I saw the rifle but. In big red letters it said, "Less Lethal."

I'm still not sure how I feel about that. Should I be glad because it probably won't kill someone or worried because it's uncertain exactly how "less lethal" it is. What does less lethal mean anyway? Are there varying degrees of lethality? What would a highly lethal shotgun look like? Is there a minimal amount of lethality that something can have and still be called lethal? What separates a "barely lethal" rifle from a pellet gun? I'm so confused. Who thinks of these things?

8am: Shake

830am: apple

9am: orange

1030am: 1/2 organic food bar

12:30: Szechwan chicken @ House of Louie

2pm: 1/2 organic food bar

3pm: orange & apple

7pm: Seafood & salad buffet @ Todai in the Pioneer Plaza Mall. Watercrest salad, spinach salad, sprout salad, cantaloupe, watermelon, salmon sushimi, 3 pieces of eel, and snow crab legs...I found out after the fact that shrimp and snow crab legs were not on "the list." Oh well. I passed on the chicken, steak, ribs, fried food, ice cream, pie, cake, ice cream, prime rib, and ice cream, so I'm calling it a good day.

Detox Day 18

Off day running. Busy day at SC. Booth duty, meetings, last minute get-togethers and booth tear down. I forgot my food bars and there wasn't much time to find lunch, so I had to make due with apples and oranges. Some of the TACCsters made an early run to VooDoo Donuts and left about half a dozen pastries out for whoever. That hurt, but after I got upwind I didn't really mind. For dinner I went to Jake's Grill in the Governor. Nice restaurant, but they brought me a ton of white rice with the Mahi Mahi, so I ended up finding a thai place down the street and got some Mango Curry. All in all a great day.

I also had an opportunity to meet up with Tony Rizzutto. No one knew if he was related to Shell's family, but after talking for an hour or so, I think there's a pretty good chance. He's a happy retired marine who dislikes exercise, loves learning new things, and has been happily married for 41 years. Oh, the stories. If you're ever in Portland, look up Tony on Facebook. Meeting him is worth the plane fare.

7am: Shake

8am: apple

9am: orange

10am: apple

4pm: orange

430pm: 1/2 apple

6pm: seared spicy mahi mahi with grilled vegetables at Jake's Grill in the Governor

9pm: mango vegetable curry and veggie egg roll at The Thai Peacock. (good, but I'd take a mulligan for the spicy red)

Detox Day 17

Fun run this morning. 5.5 miles. Meetings all day. Cool people, schwag, and brainstorming filled in the gaps. Day ends with mixers by Kaust and Dell, Intel, Microsoft, Voltaire, and HP.

Today was a rough day to stick to the diet, but I did it. The key was passing on good choices in favor of great choices. The Kaust reception was probably the best one I've been to. They transformed an entire banquet floor into a Saudi harem (minus the girls). There were 4 food stations and 2 carving stations. All you can eat and drink of prime rib, smoked turkey, shrimp, salmon, chicken, fruit, raw veggies, couscous, shiitake mushrooms with celery puree, sashimi, cakes, cheesecakes, tarts, mousse, liquor, wine, and beer. Kaust is founded and owned by King Abdulah of Saudi Arabia, and it showed. This reception was fit for a king. Absolutely incredible food, presentation, service, and selection of venue. There were so many good dishes there, I had to pass on some really good ones in favor of the great ones for my diet. I jumped on the mushrooms, turkey, fruit, veggies, shrimp, sashimi, and water. It took everything I had not to destroy the dessert bar, but I held strong. I'm calling this a great night for will power.

6am: 1/2 organic food bar

830am: shake w/ banana

9am: 1/2 organic food bar

1030am: 1/2 organic food bar

130pm: salmon with steamed veggies (squash, onion, broccoli, diced tomoatoes)

230pm: apple

3pm: orange

4pm: orange

530: organic food bar

8:30: shiitake mushrooms, hickory smoked turkey, fruit kabobs, raw veggies (red and yellow bell peppers, carrots, asparagus spear), 1 monster shrimp, smoked salmon sashimi, celery puree

In hindsight that looks like a lot for dinner, and it was a bit more than I've been eating lately, but I really did have small portions. I don't think the turkey, shrimp, and salmon added up to more than 8 oz combined.

Detox Day 16

Talk about a strong finish, today couldn't have finished better. I was up at 6am pacific for a quick loop around Portland's river walk. I hadn't run it before, so I stopped by the front desk to get directions and a map. She said it was a 3 mile loop, so no big deal there. I figured I'd finish up in with roughly a 4 mile run after the short job to get there and back. That's what I thought, but instead I got an unexpected tour of Portland. The 3 mile loop was actually a little more than 5 miles. The 4 mile run was about 6.5 and I got a chance to check out all of the river walk. Yes it was raining. Yes it was cold and windy. But it was such a beautiful view, everything was worth it. What a blessing.

From there I cleaned up, caught the MAX (their light rail) and headed to the conference. I got there just in time to present that morning. Everyone loved the talk, and I spend the rest of the day meeting people and walking around. I managed to track down a salad for lunch and took advantage of all the vendor parties for dinner.

One of the challenges today was navigating to good food. The Univa UD happy hour was great. They had some veggie spring rolls, crispy baked potato bites, and tilapia egg rolls. That stuff was amazing. The next party was even better. They had a full veggie bar AND a dessert bar with tons of fruit (next the 5 kinds of cake :-) With all the walking and talking and meeting and greeting, this was exactly what I needed. Wonderful finish to the day. I'm so thankful!

6:30am: shake

9pm: 1/2 organic food bar

11pm: 1/2 organic food bar

1pm: salad with 4oz of chicken

4pm: 1/2 organic food bar

7pm: veggie spring rolls, crispy baked potato bites, and tilapia egg rolls

9pm: couscous, brown/wild rice & veggie salad, fresh tomatoes, 2oz baked chicken

Detox Day 15

Hello Portland. Here comes the fun part of the detox. Week 3 and I'm surrounded by really tasty, unhealthy free food all week long. I think this week will be less about maintaining a perfect diet and more about taking what I've learned and navigating around the really bad stuff to maintain good nutrition.

Today I flew out at 7am, which meant I rose bright and early at 4am. I packed enough supplements and meal bars for the week so I'd always have good food on me. I also packed the powder mix for smoothies and a shaker cup. This way I can duck into a smoothie or coffee shop and have them mix it for me on the go. It's a cheap, healthy alternative to coffee and donuts.

Arriving at the conference, I forgot how big the place was and how much walking was involved. A couple years back they used RFID to track everyone at the conference and see how much they walked throughout the week. The winner was an older researcher who wound up walking 40 miles of the course of the 7 day conference. wow. Amazing considering that the main floor was only open for 4 days that year. I think I put in about 3 miles today. Fun.

Around 530pm they started bringing out waves of food and setting up buffets throughout the showroom floor. Beef skewers, quesadillas, pasta, broiled turkey in gravy, fresh white bread, rolls, veggie trays, and veggie egg rolls. Given the choices and the reality that I'd go another 4 hours without food if I didn't eat something, I opted for the veggie egg rolls and the raw veggie tray. The egg rolls weren't the healthiest choice, and I suppose I broke the diet a bit since I think they were made from a corn wrap, but given the options it wasn't so bad.

One day up. One day down. I'm counting it a victory. Tomorrow's goal is to find some fresh fish here in town and dig in!!

5am: shake

7am: 1/2 organic food bar

9am: small gala apple

10am: 1/2 organic food bar

3pm: banana

530pm: 4 veggie egg rolls, raw veggie selection

630: more raw veggies

9pm: shake

Detox Day 14

What a day, what a day. I'm officially worn out. 6 miles to start the day followed by a birthday party for the young Ms. Trevino, then off for shopping with shell, dinner with the Ash's, a late night adjustment (more on that in a moment), then back for a counseling session with JP, and finally finishing packing for Portland. I feel like I earned my 2 hours of sleep :-)

So I got adjusted today before taking off for Portland. Shell figured I should get it done just in case since I got rear-ended on Friday. I was indifferent either way since I really wasn't in any pain. Well, Brooksie just got back into town today, so while we were over visiting, he set up the portable table and did a quick adjustment on me. OMG. OUCH. My back and neck were waaaaaay out of alignment. It usually sounds like the 4th of July, but this time the fireworks were all going off underground. It felt like a bass line rolling down my back. Wow. I was NOT expecting that. But, that being said, I felt better by the end of the night and the soreness in my neck was pretty much gone. All I gotta say is thank goodness for my chiro.

Today's food intake was interesting to say the least.

9am: shake

11am: lentil soup

1pm: 1/2 organic food bar

3pm: 1/2 organic food bar

4pm: blueberry oat organic food bar (this was maryori's idea. I'm not a fan, but hey, she's done it before and I haven't, so I'll take her advice. It tasted like a bowl of oatmeal with blueberries. Exactly that texture and taste.)

5pm: bowl of maryori's special recipe ratatouile. She's on to something here. It's not one of Shell's salads, but it definitely has that louisiana flavor to it.

6pm: resisted all of maryori's twisted attempts to trick us into eating ice cream, frozen yogurt, halloween candy, and sweets that she keeps in the house. That was a really dirty trick on her part, but Shell and I made it through. Actually it wasn't that bad. I didn't really crave it or want to eat it to tell you the truth. Perhaps those habits are starting to take hold.

8pm: Smoked shell again in a watermelon eating contest. I own here at these. :-)

9pm: 4oz home-made guacamole and carrots.

1030pm: medium gala apple

Detox Day 13

What a day. Talk about productivity. Today I changed the oil in both cars, cut and trimmed the lawn, finished off 8 loads of laundry, cleaned the toilets, took my car in for body work, caught up on my detox blogs, went shopping with Shell, and packed for Portland. It has been a full day. To top it all off, I'm treating myself to some herbal tea with stevia. A good ending to a great day.

In yesterday's blog I forgot to mention that I got rear-ended coming home for Shell's amazing mango salsa tilapia dinner. It's one of those wrecks where it's technically his fault, but really it's just a bad intersection. I suppose I'm lucky I haven't gotten hit or hit anyone there before. That particular intersection averages about 15 collisions a week. At some point they'll have to redo it it make it less of a hazard.

Anyway, the driver was a young kid. He'd spent the last 4 years building his car from scratch. He's just gotten his license and was taking his car out for a spin when he hit me from behind. His custom ride crumpled like a foil balloon and I got a shiny new headache. I suppose it could have been a bad deal, but there's always a silver lining, so after talking to him for a bit, I found out his dad owned a body shop just down the street. A few minutes later his dad arrived, we worked things out, and after exchanging info all is well in the world. The kid will be driving again as soon as he can get his front end back in one piece and I'll get a new back end and some extra paint and body work thrown in for free.

And to think, that could have gone completely different had I let myself have a bad attitude about the situation. Praise God for the opportunity to see the good side of people.

Before I go, huge props to LSU for the big W over La Tech and to everyone running in the San Antonio Rock 'n' Roll marathon next year. I'll see you on the line next year!

9am: shake

12pm: Mama Fe's in Georgetown, slammin' brown rice veggie bowl with red pepper curry sauce. Shell had the seared tuna salad and tofu lettuce wraps. This place is awesome!!

2pm: watermelon

3pm: 1/2 organic food bar

4pm: carrots

5pm: 1/3 organic food bar

6pm: shell's newly famous baked tilapia with mango salsa, and spinach salad with fresh mushrooms

8pm: rest of organic food bar

10pm: grilled portobello mushrooms, light raspberry vinagrette salad with grape tomatoes and apple.

Detox Day 12

Short night of sleep. Today I'm up and on the move. I went for a short run, but my heart wasn't in it and I turned around about a mile in. I came back home and washed both the cars, reset all the solar lamps in the front yard, hung a broom wrack in the laundry room, changed, and headed to the eye doc to get fitted for some glasses.

On a side note, there is a VAST difference in the quality of care you get at an independent optometrist and the Wal-Mart vision center. Honestly, it's night and day. The technology, care, attention to detail, service, everything is so far superior at the independent's office, it's not even comparable. No way to go back to WMVS. No way. If any of you are in need of an eye care professional, check out the Patel Eye Clinic in Georgetown, TX. You can find him on the web and on facebook. If you're in the Austin metro area, he's worth the short drive.

I was unusually full of energy today. So much so that I had to talk myself into going to bed around 1. Before then I had done dishes, a load of laundry, swept the floors and knocked out a couple chapters in a good book. It's another good day.

8am: shake

930am: 1/2 food bar

1030am: 1/2 food bar

1130am: apple

1pm: can of lentil soup

2pm: shell stopped by with an apple and a shake.

5pm: Shell made the world's best baked tilapia with mango salsa. I don't know where she's coming up with this stuff, but she's really hitting her stride. Simply amazing!!

7pm: Watermelon eating contest with shell.

9pm: carrots and grape tomatoes

Detox Day 11

Yaaaaaay! Today we get to add fish back into the mix. Shell was so excited. She's been fiending for tuna ever since we started. To celebrate I ran by whole foods and picked up 6oz of Ahi Tuna and made her a sesame seared tuna app. Sadly, it wasn't my best, but it was pretty good. Shell made me another variation on her killer salads and we both feasted.

I heard a man say one time that runners forget they're in a race, they just love to run. He was saying that it's not the finish line that creates the addiction, it's the journey there. Today was another reminder of the value of the pursuit. I'd got so caught up in developing some habits that until Shell reminded me, I'd forgotten that our diet was opening up today. I just got caught up in the pursuit of a better diet. I'll count that as a small victory along the way.

9am: shake

11am: apple

12pm: can of lentil soup

2pm: shell brought me one of her famous salads, an apple and an organic food bar.. I ate the salad quickly.

3pm: 1/2 the organic food bar

430pm: another apple (i know, not much balance in there today.)

530pm: 1/2 the organic food bar

7pm: sesame seared tuna over fresh spinach salad

930pm: grapes

11pm: shake

Detox Day 10

Today started out on the wrong foot. I woke up late and forgot to make my shake or take any food with me when I left the house. As a result, I was really hurting by 11am. By 1130, I took off and went hunting at Whole Foods for sustenance. I settled on a Lentil Dal (Thanks for the recommendation Praveen) and a big Gala Apple. The rest of the day was pretty unproductive. It took until 330 before my focus came back. By then it was a quick wrap and off to see Shell.

Shell, by the way, is doing awesome. She's been off adderol for over a week now and outside of some random blond moments, you wouldn't even notice it. I'm starting to think there's something to what Jenny McCarthy's been saying.

On a side note, a lot of people have been asking about a shorter detox program. Shell and I have a 7 day detox, titled the same, that we recommend. I posted some information about it here if you'd like to check it out.

Today's food intake:

12:40pm 1lb Gala apple. Rediculous, but delicious

1:30pm Amy's Curry Lentil Dal Soup

2:30pm shake. Shell showed up and saved the day again. What would I do without this woman. She's amazing.

6pm Organic food bar

9pm 1lb Gala apple. What is it with all the apples today?

9:30pm Veggie spaghetti

Another great day in the books!

Detox Day 9

Another great day in the books. Sleep is great and I'm feeling full all day long. I never would have guessed that eating less and eating better would get rid of my cravings for bad food and give me more sustained energy. What a perk!

Today Shell informed me that she's down 2 inches and almost 13 pounds from the start of the program. (Originally I thought it was 19, but she corrected me last night.) That's insane. She's losing almost 2lb/day. The odd thing is that it's coming off in a healthy way. Her body is just flushing all the toxins and left over food out of her digestive track. She's having more bowel movements and her energy level is up just like mine. As a result, it's a positive cycle. She eats well so her body functions right. Her body functions right, so she feels better. She feels better so she's more active. She's more active so she's loses weight and accomplishes more. She's accomplishing more and looking better, so she's incentivized to keep up the diet. Now that's a pattern I can get behind.

As my own testimonial, I'm down about 12 pounds from last Monday. I'm quite a bit bigger than Shell, though, so hers is absolutely amazing. I'm so proud of my wifey for lifey.

Here's my day 9 diet:

9am: Shake

11am: 1lb Gala Apple (score!!)

1pm: Shell brought in some sweet veggie rolls that she learned how to make at Whole Foods. I should have snapped a picture. They were amazing. Hopefully she makes them again.

3pm: 6oz homemade ratatouille

4pm: 4oz bag of baby carrots

5:30pm: 9oz Lentil soup and shake (strawberry. mmmm)

8:30pm: 1/2 Organic Food Bar

9:30pm: 1/2 Organic Food Bar (I couldn't help it :-) )

11:30pm: Shell's amazing raspberry salad. (spinach leaves, baby white mushrooms, raspberries, grapes, grape tomatoes)

Another great day. Thursday we can start adding fish and lean meats back into our diet.

Detox Day 8

Today I headed to the chiro for an adjustment and massage to start the day. I'd love for it to be a swedish massage or sports massage, but until the trigger points are gone in my neck and shoulders, it's deep tissue/trigger point work. Very painful, but very effective. Despite the pain during the treatment, I always feel great heading out of the office. Today's food intake is as follows.

Breakfast: SP Complete shake

10am: 1/3 of a cantelope

1130am: 1/3 of an Organic Food bar

1pm: Shell brought me an 8oz can of Lentil Veggie Soup and made the world's best salad...again. It was beautiful to look at and even better to eat. I don't know where she comes up with these, but the woman has found her calling. Simply amazing!!! (spinach leaves, grape tomoatoes, apples, green seedless grapes, baby white mushrooms, raspberry vinagrette dressing)

3:30pm: 1/2 Organic Food Bar

6pm: 1/2 Organic Food Bar

9pm: SP Complete shake, 8oz ratatouille

notes: Today was the first time during the detox that I wasn't hungry. I felt FULL all day. This is a good sign. Despite the protein deficiency, I'm finding ways to deal with hunger without overdosing on carbs, sugars, and proteins. I can honestly say that, while it may not seem natural yet, I was very content with the soup and salad at lunch.

No workout today. Tomorrow is a short morning run.

Detox Day 7

The first week of our detox came to an end today. We sent it out with a bang making Ratatouli, salad, Lentil Veggie Soup, two shakes, and some fruit and veggies to snack on. Today we ate well. It really wasn't an option. I did a 6 mile run in the morning and would have collapsed if I didn't inhale as many calories as possible. I feel good in an odd way. I'm almost feeling lighter on my feet. Tonight I will sleep well. The only thing of note is that today ends the detox part of the program. From here on out it's just digestive cleansing and habit forming. I'm looking forward to it.

SP Detox Week 1

This past Monday, Nov 2, 2009, Shell and I started the Standard Process 21 Day Detox and Cleansing Program. It's a full out, go hard or go home detox encompassing diet, exercise, and supplements. All in all, it's not so bad. I slacked pretty hard on writing down reviews of every day up until now, so I'll just review the past week, journal today, and commit to blogging my journey through detox starting today.

Prep:

The week before the program, our dietician, Brooksie Ash, recommended that I, "get all of those carbs, sugars, etc out of your system before Monday." He's a learned doctor. I took him at his word. I would later learn on day 2 that that was stupid. Ramping up your sugar, carb, and meat intake before a detox only makes your body miss them that much more when they're gone.

Day 1 (Mon, 11/2/09):

I really wasn't prepared for this. I stopped eating at midnight last night and I didn't get any food until Shell showed up with lunch around 1:30pm. No morning shake. No supplements. No sustenance. I crashed hard around 11am. After the shake and some rabbit food, I felt better. The rest of the day wasn't so bad except for the caffeen headaches that kicked in around 7pm.

Day 2

I didn't get a ton of sleep, but I did feel alert when I woke up. I started out drinking shake & taking my pills first thing in the morning. There are a ton of supplement pills to take. 10 pills 3x a day. It's redonkulous. I almost felt like a druggie after taking them again at lunch, but it passed. Speaking of passed, my lower intestine is flushing...wow, um, no comment. The challenge for today was energy. I didn't have much. I tried eating some rabbit food, but it just wasn't cutting it. I was HUNGRY all day long. I did manage to get in a light 4mile run after work. The shakes are life-savers. I also discovered lentil soup. I'd actually never had lentils until now. I'm a HUGE fan. Good, good stuff. One side note, the skin on my right hand started peeling for a few hours today. From about 7-10pm skin just started shedding in one small area on the back of my right hand. At about 10pm it stopped. I scrubbed it really well with soap and water, and it seemed like it had never peeled in the first place. Odd.

Day 3:

My energy was back up today. I'm pretty sore from the run yesterday, but I expected that given the lack of protein in my diet. I finally figured out that I'll have to plan ahead if I want to make this work. I started bringing food to work with me. Nothing big, but the carrots and celery were nice to snack on. Shell made some killer salad for dinner. I'm feeling pretty good.

Day 4:

Hello Thursday. I'm wired from dawn to dusk. Incredible energy. Great 4 mile run. I had lunch at Souper Salad (score!!) and finally found a place where I could really get some good stuff into me. It's kind of odd that I'm not having any cravings. The only things I really miss are the taste of chocolate, steak burrito meat, and having enough protein in my body...maybe those are cravings. Perhaps. But they're not addictions.

Day 5:

The scar on the back of my right hand is disappearing. It's just above the area that peeled on Tuesday. I have no idea if it's related, but it started happening today. I'm starting to crave lentils. I haven't had any since Tuesday, but those were awesome. Shell brought home some Veggie Butterbean Soup from Souper Salad (her new home away from home) and I'm in love. Between that and a nice salad at lunch it was an awesome food day. I didn't even really mind that they catered in fajitas at work today. Sadly, we'd find out that Lima Beans are not allowed. Oh well. I'm pleading ignorance. Dr. Brooksie and Maryori are doing this with us and they ate them at lunch. You'd think you could trust the people that talked you into the plan to set the standard. Water under the bridge. The soup was awesome. No run this day. Tomorrow is a longer run. The only real challenge was that I struggled with focus a little big later in the evening.

Day 6 (today):

Energy levels have stabilized. Today I was out at the single mom's oil change at Celebration Church. Lots of people. Lots of fun. I almost hit a wall about 11am, but I remembered I brought an Organic Food Bar with me and that hit the spot. Around 1pm Shell made another run to Souper Salad and brought me back a plate of goodness and an apple. Energy levels back up. I found a recipe for an apple vinegar oil dressing and shell made a late run to the store to whip up some salads and soup. Another great day.