starting the conversation.

I think I could get used to this eating healthy thing.

Day sixteen / three was a fabulous day! I have really been enjoying doing the morning classes lately, but I actually slept in and barely missed the 9:30! I was able to make Brittanie's noon class however, which was really fantastic! I just love the energy that she brings to the class and I have to say I felt pretty powerful today. I tried to really focus on my legs today, because I tend to give myself a break when I feel challenged to hold my legs that little bit longer. I suppose all my years of ballet had to fade away eventually ... but it was really incredible, especially during the Warrior series. Maybe because I was reading an article in Yoga Journal about Warrior I that spoke a lot about grounding down through all four corners of your feet, activating your legs and staying strong and stable with your bottom half. What a wonderful difference! I am always trying to make sure I never stop adjusting my muscles, even if it's slight. But this just seemed to really make me realize the places I can take my body. Very satisfying!

Sleeping in did allow me to have breakfast before class, which consisted of some leftover almond-cranberry-maple-syrup-oats. I realize I haven't branched out too far yet, but I'm getting there! Portion control is not a strong suit of mine, so I've had many leftovers so far! Post-yoga lunch was a delicious spinach salad with pear, craisins and sunflower seeds with a citrus-basil vinaigrette that Jamie had made for the scallops on Monday. Yummm! What a delicious thing to have leftovers of! It was a simple salad, but oh-so-scrumptious. Dinner was an exciting one for me, I had been waiting a little while now to try this Lovely & Light Cranberry, Apple and Almond Quinoa from Oh She Glows (clearly my new favourite website)! It felt really good to actually put some effort into what I was eating - it doesn't even take very long and it's so satisfying to sit there with something that I made myself! I've been so anxious to try the quinoa and it did not disappoint! I am a huge, huge fan and it will definitely become a food staple of mine. Here's how mine turned out:

It definitely doesn't look as pretty as the one on the website, but I think that may be due in part to the fact that the vegetable broth I used was more soup-ey and less broth-ey, if you follow me. Next time I think I would try a thinner broth perhaps, but it did NOT disappoint! Wow I was so pleased! Even sitting next to Jamie and his tantalizing plate of spaghetti bolognese with a heavy sprinkling of freshly grated parmesan cheese and two soft-as-clouds dinner rolls smothered with butter (I am so drooling as I type this ...) The one thing is that I didn't have any vanilla but I just substituted extra maple syrup instead and it worked wonderfully! The cinnamon was perfect, the crunch of the toasted almonds, golden crispness of the apple ... yum yum yum! Even Jamie said it was pretty delicous! Although I definitely think next time I may use it as a side for something, a protein probably. I find that being my main issue so far I think making sure I get enough protein (I really don't know if I am yet, but it's a learning process)!

Jamie and I decided to have a little movie-date night of Star Trek, which we own and I hadn't seen yet! So it was off to Superstore for snacks. Here's what we got:

Jamie says he isn't doing this on purpose, but I'm sure part of him loves that he gets all of the snacks to himself ... in a loving way of course! Sour Jujubes are one of my favourite things, so it was definitely difficult to sit next to that sweet sweet smell for two hours. Good thing I don't like dill pickle! However in my junkfood-less lifestyle even the smell of dill pickle teasingly danced into my nostrils. It was not easy, but I did it!

I couldn't not get a movie snack, so I picked up some organic hot air popcorn to try with my nutritional yeast, and this bag of yummy-looking rice chips! Very exciting to try these gluten-free wheat-free vegan chips, they are very tasty! I feel like a whole new world of delicious food is opened up to me now. I decided I didn't need chips and popcorn in one night, so I snacked on some more cherries. I just love summer fruit season! Watermelons, cherries, fresh berries ... it's still early, but I can't wait to hit the market soon for fresh Nova Scotia berries! Anyway the snacking went well, not nearly as much as I would normally snack on so I felt good about that. I thought it was going to be hard because I'm so used to eating until I am so full that I have major Buddha belly!! But I have been doing quite well at eating smaller meals and less snacks. I've also been drinking water whenever I get a snack craving, or chopping up some veggies to have with the to die for hummus I whipped up the other night! I got the recipe from my beautiful friend Carolyn, and it's so simple I'd love to share it with everyone (hopefully she won't mind!!)

Hummus

1 can garbanzo beans
1/3 cup tahini
1/4 cup lemon juice
2-3 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
1 tsp salt

Drain the beans but reserve the nasty liquid.
Combine all the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Use the leftover liquid to bring it to your desired consistency. I ended up adding a bit of extra garlic and lemon juice when i made mine, because i love it extra garlicky, but whatever your taste likes best.
I let it sit in the fridge for several hours to let all the flavors come together - 24 hours is best - sprinkle it with paprika before serving. I love fresh veggies with it, especially cucumber and carrot. I am on a mission to find some sort of brown rice or corn tortilla so I can make a cucumber-hummus wrap ... yumm.

It is absolutely delicious on it's own, but I love a little bit of heat so some really great options could be jalapeno, roasted red peppers, habanero, chile powder, sundried tomato ... I could go on. Once again, my mouth is watering! 

(Small snack of rice chips with hummus right now = brilliant manoeuver).

Day seventeen dawned brilliantly sunny in Halifax, finally! It was a divine walk to the 9:30 class with Brittanie, and just put me in such a great frame of mind for the day! There was only about 15-20 people there, so it was very open and energetic. After having focused a lot more on my legs yesterday, I tried to put the focus a little more in my arms. Energizing myself without becoming tense, raising my arms to the sky when I would usually have them at my heart or by my sides; I love how free it makes me feel to float my gaze up to my fingers reaching for the sky and bending back in the most satisfying way. It's funny how focusing on one area of my body, like my arms or legs, automatically brings in the other parts of the body to 'join the conversation,' as the author eloquently states in the virabhadrasana I (Warrior I) article in the August 2011 Yoga Journal. I just love that analogy, and I think that's what's been encouraging me the last couple of days. Each body part joins the conversation at a different pace maybe, but they all end up chatting in the end! It seems an appropriate metaphor for me (I remember all of my elementary school report cards coming home saying I was a social butterfly or a chatty Cathy). Ah well, at least now I can put it to good use on the inside! I felt really on my game today! My Dancer's Pose with my left leg up felt pretty fantastic, that is definitely my favourite posture! The sun was shining, it was a warm, beautiful day - how could you not be in a spectacular mood today! 

Breakfast was a quick banana - I love that sugar-potassium boost in the morning! For lunch I tried some leftover cranberry quinoa, and it was just as delicious straight from the fridge! I think I slightly prefer it warm, but it was great both ways. For dinner I finally got to have my 15 Minute Creamy Avocado Pasta! Jamie of course came to the rescue and unscrewed the blasted Magic Bullet. I did add a little water to it, which helped. It would definitely be better if I'd waited until the avocado was more ripe, but it was tasty nonetheless! I feel like that will be another go-to. (Has anyone noticed I've probably said that about everything I've tried so far?? Good Lord). I was so ravenous I forgot to take a photo ... but I'm sure it won't be too long before I try it again! I have a tendency to get fixated on things for a period of time.

So far I'm still feeling pretty normal. I did feel a little bit of nausea this afternoon, and some mild headaches but nothing major whatsoever. Peeing like a maniac and pooping on the regular, I definitely feel like my body is cleaning out. I am hoping it's going to start to make me a little more regular in my sleeping routines once I settle into this detox. 

Speaking of sleep, my bed is calling my name.

Wishing everyone a joyful and sunny weekend!

Namaste.