In preparation for my week of Detox, I headed to Whole Foods this afternoon. Normally I choose to shop at less expensive grocery stores, but I figured Trader Joe's wouldn't sell this plan's more obscure ingredients--agave syrup, grapeseed oil, mirin, bonito flakes, and wakame (an edible ocean plant....how can this possibly be tasty?) just to name a few.
And maybe it's just because I was out of practice with the grocery store, but it took me nearly TWO hours to find everything! I think I asked at least four different people to help me. Seriously, for being a diet where I won't be eating much food, it sure requires a lot of ingredients. Whey protein powder, lots and lots of green vegetables, coconut water, two types of miso paste, and almond and rice milk are other required ingredients. By far the most expensive ingredient is the ProGreens powder with probiotics, whatever those are. Coming in at $27 for fifteen servings, it's hailed as a 100% spoonable whole food and is "Alive with 20 Organic Greens & Fruits." I need to use 1 tablespoon per day in my smoothie along with the protein powder. I've got to say....I am not particularly excited to be eating this mixture of "20 different organic vegetables, fruits, grains and herbs." To me, it looks and smells liked powdered grass.
$150 later, which isn't too bad since I had to buy a lot of oils/syrups/powders that I am trying to tell myself are "investments" for my future cooking projects, I lugged my three bags of groceries home. Still, I have yet to buy some of the produce required later in the week along with the organic chicken and salmon that will be incorporated starting on Day 2.
See? It can't be that crazy of a detox if I can have some regular food! Yes, that's what I told myself as I celebrated "My Last Night" with some spinach turnovers I found in the freezer. Mmmmmm...they were tasty, although what I really wanted was a frozen Butterfinger (or maybe two or three!) like the ones we had in our office all summer.
Sigh....something tells me this will be a VERY long week.
Oh boy...it sounds like this will be complicated for you. I don't know about the whole cleanse thing, but I have a friend who has eliminated sugar from her diet and blogged about it. http://eating4feeding.wordpress.com
ReplyDeleteHer blog is really great, and she swears by it. She uses that agave nectar in place of sugar all the time. I think eating real whole foods is a great idea. I plan to stop my sugar addction as soon as baby comes too...this can't be good for any of us. Good luck, but if all this seaweed and powder stuff is too hard, maybe just try eating real whole foods and cooking all your meals. I think even sugar cannot be so bad if you cut out all the corn syrup and make real desserts, pies, etc. I think the key should be that you actually have to cook it before you eat it--no processed or prepared anything.
I completely agree with Yo! All you need to do is keep it real - just real food with real ingredients. Try to avoid ANYTHING that has processed corn products. The only corn in your diet should be real corn. And once you stop eating all those sugary sweets and give up the soda, the craving really does go away after awhile. Good luck Gina!
ReplyDeleteGina, this is a huge untertaking! I can't wait to see how it goes for you.
ReplyDeleteI too am trying to kick my pop habit (although I'm addicted to mountain dew) and eat healthier. I try to stick to "real" foods. If you only shop the outside of the grocery store and don't shop the inside aisles you get the fresh, healthy ingredients and avoid the processed stuff.
Good luck, Gina!
P.S. This is your D.C. roommate Sarah :-)
ReplyDeleteI agree with my mom and Yo - it's what worked for me! And you don't end up feeling deprived! Good luck, beautiful cousin!
ReplyDeleteSounds like you have started off the detox really strong! ( even matt is losing skeptism..haha)! I can't wait to read more! I more I read about getting rid of sugar and processed foods from ones diet the more I think it can make a huge impact on health and energy.
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