11 week initiative, day 1. Dr. Junger Detox Program... Clean. Marinated Veggies and Butternut Squash Rice Recipe

Hello friends!

I hope everyone is enjoying their weekend so far. As I mentioned a couple days ago, today is the first day of the 11 week initiative on Raw Food Rehab. I woke up this morning and had a headache and felt kind of blah. I wanted to dive into a huge muffin but keeping my goals for week one in mind, I made a green lemonade instead. After that I went to the gym for a quick workout. I did some upper body weight lifting and only like 15 minutes on the treadmill. As I have mentioned before, I do not really like to go on the treadmill... I prefer to run outside, but it was raining and I was tired, so I just cut the workout short. I will save my energy for tomorrow's 15 mile run, which will be rain or shine.

The half marathon I am doing is quickly approaching... May 1st. When I signed up for it a few months ago I had never ran more than a few miles at one time. Now 13, 14+ miles is really no  problem. My original goal was just to complete the half marathon but now I am going to change that goal and set a time for it. Not sure what it will be yet...we'll see.

Breakfast today was my green lemonade. For lunch I had some avocado sushi rolls that I picked up at Trader Joe's yesterday.

For dinner I have started a medley of marinated veggies which I will top on a green salad (keeping with my goal!) I used...

Cauliflower

Carrots

Asparagus

Red Bell Pepper

Mushrooms

Marinated in ...

Nama Shoya

Olive Oil

Balsamic Vinegar

Ginger juice

Cayenne pepper

I placed the veggies in my dehydrator and will leave them in for about 4 hours to soften and warm. The cold weather has me wanting something warm to eat.

I ended up eating the marinated veggies along with some swiss chard and a garden burger on a piece of rye bread. I also snacked on a few pieces of tempeh. 

I ate the muffin I wanted so badly this morning for dessert. It was one of the bran muffins from Trader Joe's... I am in love with them! Vegan, no sugar added and just plain yummy!

A couple days ago I made a dish adapted from Ani Phyo's book.

Butternut Squash Rice with Walnuts and Raisins

1 small butternut squash, chopped, peeled and seeded
1/2 small yellow onion, chopped
1 tablespoon cumin powder 

1 tablespoon coriander
1/2 cup cilantro leaves, chopped
1 cup raisins (I used golden)
1 cup walnuts, crushed
dash salt
1 tablespoon sesame seeds

Process squash in food processor to rice consistency. Add remaining ingredients. Enjoy!

Have you heard of Dr. Junger? He is the author of the book, Clean, which I purchased last week and started reading yesterday. His program for detoxification is endorsed by Martha Stuart (click to watch a video of her experience with the cleanse) Gwyneth Paltrow, Donna Karen, and many others. After doing some research on his website and other people's websites, I decided that I really want to do this detox. I ordered his kit... it was pricey, but I feel the results will be well worth every penny. I am trying to decided when to start, as it requires a 21 day commitment. I am thinking of waiting until after May 1st, which is my half marathon day. When I do start I want to document my experience day by day and post a before and after picture. Seeing is believing, right?

My question for you... have you ever done any type of detox or cleansing program? Did you notice a change in how you felt when you were done? Was it hard to stick with it?

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