Day 2: Old Tricks, New Dog

It is nearing the end of my second day on The Cleanse and I finally figured out some tricks to help keep my calories up.  The funny thing is, I knew these tricks all along.  Only I had been using them in opposite.

Usually, I prescribe and follow the "get fit, stay slim" diet - lots of watery soups and vegetables to fill you up and keep you full.  And that is how I have been feeling for the last two days - always very full of fiber and water, yet frustratingly undernourished because I can't get in enough calories!  Which is good for weight loss, but not so good if one is trying to maintain lean body mass as I am.

Trick #1: No more soups!  I plan to lightly saute my vegetables in oil instead of simmering them in liquid for 30 minutes.  This will increase nutrient density (heat x length = destroys vitamins), increase calorie density (oil has 40 calories per teaspoon) and decrease water volume in my tummy, which will allow me to eat more at one sitting (yay, more calories!)

Trick #2: Modify the oil rule.  Since my goal is not weight loss, I am going to break the rules in the rule book (page 15) and eat more than 7 teaspoons of oil each day.  7 tsp x 40 calories/tsp = 280 calories from fat.  For a 2000 calorie diet, that is only 14% fat.  The acceptable range for total fat intake for adults, as establish by the Institute of Medicine, is 20–35%.  Using the low end, I can eat at least 10 teaspoons of fat per day (that's 120 more calories).

Trick #3: The perfect smoothie.  One cup frozen fruit + 3/4 cup carrot juice + 20 g protein powder = the perfect consistency and about 300 calories of deliciousness (depending on the type of fruit used).  I thought the carrot juice would make the smoothie taste bad, but it actually complements the fruit flavor.  Also, using carrot juice increases raw vegetable intake for the day :)

Fruit combinations I've tried and highly recommend:

• 1/2 c. strawberries + 1/2 c. blueberries
• 1/2 c. mango + 1/2 c. pineapple
• 1/2 c. strawberries + 1/2 c. mango

The Cleanse: Day 1

Today was my first day on The Cleanse and a very busy day at work.  I didn't eat enough for breakfast because I had gorged myself the night before and, therefore, was not very hungry.  When lunch time came around, I was too busy with work to eat all the food I had so carefully and painstakingly packed for lunch.  Big mistake!  By the time I got home I was barely functional.  I felt tired, unfocused and unmotivated....and was seriously craving chocolate and bagels!  But I decided to be "good" and eat foods of The List instead.

The Standard Process Purification Program tells me that I can eat an unlimited amount of vegetables from The List (page 12), but they recommend I consume half of my vegetables raw and that my vegetable intake should be twice that of my fruit intake.  In other words, I should be eating in a 1:1:1 ratio.  For each cup of raw vegetables, I can eat a cup of cooked vegetables and one cup of fruit.  Let's see how I did.

This is what I ate today:

Breakfast

• 16 fl oz water w/ lemon
• 2 scoops SP Complete (90 calories, 10 g protein)
• 7 capsules SP Cleanse
• 3 capsules Gastro-Fiber
• 1/2 c. blueberries
• 3/4 c. strawberries
• 1/2 c. carrot-orange-pineapple juice (estimate 1/4 c. raw vegetable, 1/4 c. fruit)
• 16 fl oz ginger tea

Lunch

• 2 scoops SP Complete (90 calories, 10 g protein)
• 7 capsules SP Cleanse
• 3 capsules Gastro-Fiber
• 8 fl oz water
• 1/2 c. blueberries
• 1/2 c. strawberries
• 1/2 c. beets
• 1/2 c. carrot-orange-pineapple juice (estimate 1/4 c. raw vegetable, 1/4 c. fruit)
• 2 c. vegetable soup (olive oil, onion, garlic, celery, carrot, mushroom, zucchini, vegetable broth)
• 0.5 c. brown rice

Dinner

• 4 c. mixed salad greens
• 0.25 c. homemade dressing (olive oil + balsamic vinegar + garlic + maple syrup)
• 1 sweet potato (estimate 2 c.)
• 1 c. raw purple cabbage
• 1 c. grape juice + 20 g whey protein isolate 
• 1 apple (estimate 1 c.)

Supper

• 2 scoops SP Complete (90 calories, 10 g protein)
• 7 capsules SP Cleanse
• 3 capsules Gastro-Fiber
• 1/2 c. blueberries
• 1/2 c. strawberries
• 1/2 c. fresh-frozen zucchini
• 1/2 c. carrot-orange-pineapple juice (estimate 1/4 c. raw vegetable, 1/4 c. fruit)
• 1 teaspoon fish oil
• 1 1/2 c. cauliflower + olive oil + salt & pepper
• 16 fl oz water

DAILY TOTALS
Vegetable, raw: 6.25 cups
Vegetable, cooked: 6 cups
Fruit: 6 cups
Water: 7 cups (56 fl oz)
Protein: 63 g  (1.08 g/kg = OK for non-exercise day)
Calories: ~1800 (not enough!)

Ok, I admit it, I just ate 1.5 cups of cauliflower to make my vegetable to fruit ratio look better.  It is such a curious feeling - even though my stomach is so full of vegetable fiber that I can't possibly muscle down another bite, I am still hungry!  My poor stomach cells are working double time to breakdown and extract  calories from the mass of fiber going through my GI tract.

My goal for tomorrow is to eat more food, earlier in the day and continuously throughout the day.  This will help accommodate for the high fiber load and, with continuous calorie intake, allow me to sustain a higher energy level.

New Years Cleanse

I am starting a cleanse in two days.  I've always wanted to do one.  And by "always" I mean ever since I learned about detoxification in coursework at Bastyr University.  I was on the "starving student" diet back then so buying the required supplements was not really an option.  Instead, I did the Elimination Diet and eliminated common the food allergens (wheat, dairy, corn, soy, citrus, peanuts and tree nuts) from my diet for 2-8 weeks to determine food sensitivities.

Thank you Teeccino (herbal coffee) for the picture

Needless to say, I know how to survive on a limited diet of rice and beans/meats and vegetables.  But this cleanse is ever more restrictive.  I am only allowed to eat fruits and vegetables* for 21 days!  (*plus 1/2 cup brown rice + 7 teaspoons oil + supplement regimen)  I do get to add up to 20 oz of lean protein (organic chicken or deep-sea fish) starting day 11.  Oh, but the the list of vegetables is restricted to non-starchy, calorie-lacking vegetables (i.e. no white potatoes, no avocado, etc).

My biggest worry is that I won't get enough calories and I will lose weight and muscle mass.  I am worried that it will negatively affect my ability to work and limit how hard I can exercise.  To prevent this, I plan to document my daily intake and count calories.  I will report this here, in subsequent blog posts.  I will also report how I feel, any physical effects, and any other related things worth mentioning.

I will be following the Standard Process Purification Program.  This program is designed to stimulate my organs of detoxification - the liver, kidneys and intestines - to help me remove toxins from my body, which can build up over time and by constant exposure to synthetic chemicals in my urban environment.  I have no allegiance to Standard Process other than the Wellness Center where I work stocks their products and promotes The Cleanse every January to help clients "start their wellness resolution off right."  I hope this cleanse will help me start off on the right foot, too!

Turkey Vegetable Soup

I would like to share my dad's recipe for this delicious soup, but there is one problem.  He never makes the same soup twice.  I could tell you the basic ingredients, if you like, but there will be no amounts - which would drive my Bastyr culinary instructors crazy.  Instead, I will list the foods you might include.  It is very much a "everything but the kitchen sink" kind of soup.

• Leftover turkey
• Broth
• Gravey
• Onion
• Garlic
• Olive oil
• Carrots
• Corn
• Wild rice
• Green beans
• Salt
• Pepper

Turkey Enchiladas!

After the prized white breast meat is cut away from a whole, roasted turkey there is actually quite a bit of edible protein left.  Cleaning the bird requires meticulous determination - especially if you have picky eaters who blanch at the presence of cartilage or bone fragments in their mouth - but the extra time it takes to remove the dark meat is worth the effort.  The darker meat from the wings, ribs, legs and thighs tend to have a slightly higher nutrient profile - more iron, calcium and zinc. 

Darker meat indicates that the turkey used the muscle tissue more during its lifetime.  

More exercise equals more blood flow.  

Where there is more blood flow, there are more minerals like iron, calcium and zinc.

My dad likes to use the leftover dark meat to make his famous turkey enchiladas because the dark meat has more flavor than the white meat.  His recipe is below.

Our vacation rental didn't have a 9 x 11 so we used 4 smaller vessels

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 small onion, diced
• 1 green bell pepper, diced finely
• 1 can (4 oz) diced green chilies
• Jalapeño peppers, diced (optional)
• 4 cups shredded* turkey
• 1/2 cup bone broth
• 12 oz Monterrey jack cheese, shredded
• 16 (6-inch) corn tortillas
• 1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained
• 1 can (10 oz) enchilada sauce
• 16 black olives, slices

Directions:

1.     Heat oil in frying pan over medium heat.  Add onion and saute until soft and translucent.

2.   Add bell pepper, green chilies and jalapeños.  Cook a few minutes more.  (Side note: If you aren't a fan of spicy, don't add the jalapeños.  If you love spicy, add as many other peppers as your taste buds can handle!)

3.     Add turkey and broth to pepper mixture.  Stir over low heat until well mixed.

4.     Remove from heat and add 1 cup (8 oz) of the cheese.  Mix well.  Enchilada filling is done.

5.     Lay a tortilla on a flat surface.  Place 1/4 cup** of the turkey mixture across the diameter of the tortilla and roll it into a cylinder.  If tortillas are dry and cracking as you roll, add a little bit of water to the remaining tortillas in a bag and microwave for 10 seconds to soften the grain and make it more pliable.

6.     Place the rolled enchilada in one end of a 9 x 11 Pyrex baking dish, leaving room on the sides.  Repeat with remaining tortillas until the baking dish is full length-wise.  It's OK if you end up with left-over filling - it can be frozen and used later for a quick taco meal!

7.     Pour beans into the space on the sides of the enchiladas.  Pour the enchilada sauce on top of the enchiladas.  Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup (4 oz) cheese on top of the sauce and sprinkle the olives on top of the cheese.

8.     Cover.  Bake in a preheated oven at 350° F for 30 minutes.  Remove cover and bake about 5-10 minutes more, until the cheese is beginning to brown.

9.     Serve warm.

One turkey enchilada served with spring mix salad, saffron rice, quinoa and black beans

* Use your fingers to pull apart the meat until it is a stringy consistency.  If you want to bring out more of the turkey flavor in your enchilada, you can brown the shredded meat in a separate pan (1 tablespoon of oil over medium heat) before adding it to the onion and pepper mixture.

**This measurement is not exact.  You can place more turkey mixture in the middle of each tortilla for a bigger enchilada or less turkey mixture for a smaller enchilada.  Nutritional note: the smaller enchilada will have more corn tortilla (i.e. carbs) per enchilada while the larger enchilada will have more turkey (i.e. protein) per enchilada.