Cleanse Day FIVE

Hi all!

Today marks the official last day of the hard core cleanse. Tomorrow I'll start reintroducing foods back into my diet and seeing how my body reacts to see if I have an allergies. I'm going to start small. I think I'll start with tomatoes. Then butter (I know, sounds weird, but...) then potatoes (b/c what's a potato without butter?!) and then corn and then soy. Those are the most common ingredients (not the butter though) in just about any vegan recipe so, in order to carry this out a few more weeks while I'm doing the reintroduction phase, I'll be able to have a wider variety of recipes. Speaking of which....

Recipes for you today:
Pumpkin Curry with Lentils and Apples - I did not like this one, but it was Special K's favorite soup I've made thus far. So... I think to each their own on this. I used two different types of squash as pumpkin is no where to be found. I think I just don't love lentils.

Quinoa Veggie Salad with Zesty Vinaigrette - I just made this this morning for our outing to Bonneville Hot Springs so we wouldn't starve up there and while I haven't had an official dish, I tasted it and it is WONDERFUL! I didn't use tomatoes (obviously), but did add a third cucumber and a huge zucchini as this makes A LOT of salad!! I ended up making two batches of dressing in order to have enough. I can't wait to munch down on this (for weeks to come based on how much I have!)

Yesterday Special K was away from home and I worked out alone for the first time since Monday. I did a high intensity cardio DVD, but I'm ready to get back into the gym. Nothing does a body good like 45 minutes at the gym. Last night we went to Laughter Yoga, which, as usual, was a hoot. We finished Die Hard and Special K decided to sleep at home which meant I was in bed, lights out, by 10pm and slept HARD for 10 hours! whoa! I do have to note, though, that this has been an amazing week for Special K and I. We have gotten along remarkably well and I couldn't have asked for a better partner in this. My strengths are his weaknesses and his strengths are mine so it's very "chi"

One more thing to note for today as I shove my mouth full of quinoa and black beans leftover from a few nights ago as my first meal of the day at 11am..... I'm down another couple of pounds for a total of 6-10.6 lbs this week. I don't know which is more accurate b/c I got two numbers on day one. But I will say this... it's a total of 18.2 pounds for the year so far. I'm very happy about that. Now if only my clothes would fit me better (hence the need for the gym!).

Thanks for your continued support on my journey. I'll write my last daily installment regarding the cleanse tomorrow. I'm going to wrap up work early and head out to Bonneville Hot Springs with my sexy man for a congratulatory soak and day of R&R! Happy Friday!