The detox was good, but definitely had different results than the more extreme ones I’ve done before. My previous experiences have been infused with feelings of euphoria and clear-headedness that I just never achieved with this Whole Living version. But, with that said, they make a point of saying that the detox is meant to be a life change, a way to live, not an experience to be done and then completely forgotten until the next time, and in that respect, it worked. There are now several meals that I incorporate into our weekly meals, such as the roasted root veggies with beans and roasted cauliflower with almonds. I’ve never really eaten sweet potatoes, but now eat them almost daily following their recipe. Also, just the idea we can have a filling, starchy meal that does not involve a grain or a potato was enlightening, as I feel much less bloated eating veggies than anything else. I’ve also realized I thought I used a lot of olive oil before the cleanse, but now I use a lot more, and a quite a bit more nuts too. When I was doing the detox I was inspired to plan out my weekly menus, but that has not stuck. It should. Maybe I’ll give that a try today since it is Sunday after all and a good day to menu plan. It certainly makes shopping easier when you know what you are going to be making. So, all in all it was definitely worth it, but could be cut shorter for the same benefits.

So, the new recipe is a hit. So much so, that next time the only thing I’m changing is doubling the recipe because these went fast! As I said in my first post on these, instead of brown sugar I used organic cane sugar. I only used 2 tsp of cinnamon this time, though I might use half a tsp more next time, and I added about half a cup more of pumpkin.These scones were not too dry, just sweet enough to tempt my sons, and full of vitamin A (from the pumpkin) plus cinnamon which is said to balance blood sugar. My sons do not need to eat gluten free, but I do love having them eat alternative grains when I can. We could all use a bit more variety.

I just became aware of an Italian restaurant in Kirkland that is very aware of gluten ingredients and has brown rice pasta that can be substituted in any pasta dish! The name of the place is Lucia and I haven’t been there yet, but as soon as possible I’ll be trying it out. As much as love Thai, Indian, Middle Eastern food, among other genres, Italian is the one food nationality that I could eat every day, which might seem like a sad fact for a gluten intolerant person, but actually, as Lucia obviously knows, gluten free pasta is pretty good. And so is gluten free pizza crust. And the rest of the ingredients are usually fresh veggies or sauces from straightforward once in the ground real foods, like garlic, basil, and tomatoes. There’s risotto and cannellini beans and pine nuts~ oh my! and so much more. Even in Italy (I’ve not been…yet) they are widely aware of gluten intolerance and there are websites that list restaurants that cater to the gluten impaired with plenty of choices (according to Rick Steves’ office that knows everything about these things.) Anyway, that’s my happy news for the week~ despite snowmaggeden as the clever media has been calling this snow/ice craziness that has kept us inside for days~ once the great Northwest thaws, there will be Italian food waiting.

The detox is going pretty well although I craved beans all last week and really wondered why we could eat nuts and seeds but not beans. Yesterday, which should have been our last day following week one’s guidelines my husband and I made a joint decision to ‘cheat’ and have an Indian meal of rice and dal. It was, as you might expect, the best rice and dal either of us have ever had. But, to be honest I did feel kind of off’ last night and wondered if there was gluten in the restaurant food…? I was fatigued, head-achey and cold, all my classic wheat symptoms. I don’t remember that ever occurring before with that food, so maybe it is a reaction to restaurant food vs. the very clean, known food I’d eaten all week. Whatever the reason, I feel better today and more motivated to stick with the detox plan after having a little cheat meal. For lunch this week I made the red lentil soup recipe which looks excellent. Since I already ate some beans yesterday, and today in the form of roasted chick peas, I ate the last of the butternut squash soup for lunch and it, like any soup, tasted much better every day from its creation. As for the results of week one, the most visible bodily result has been our skin. We both can tell a difference in the quality of our skin (for the better) and I’m sure it has a lot to do with all the olive oil, nuts and seeds we’ve been eating. We both seem to have lost a little weight, though we don’t have a scale so I can’t be sure. Nothing dramatic, probably more water weight than anything b/c we aren’t taking in allergens or processed food. For me, I have definitely been more mindful about what I crave and when, and also how what I eat makes me feel. (For the record, butternut squash soup makes me feel warm and wonderful.) This detox has also made me realize how often I snack all day instead of making real, healthy meals. In the future I am going to try to plan out the week’s meals, think about ingredients, and try to make things ahead of time as I’ve been doing on this cleansing plan. That should also help with my constant need to go to the grocery for just a handful of items practically every day. So, only two more weeks to go…

January~ the time for renewal, resolutions, and reinvigorating the body. I was actually fairly lame about the whole New Year’s resolutions thing this year, more just thrilled that 2012 was going to be a dragon year than really thinking about changing anything. Then I happened to look at Whole Living’s website and got sucked into their detox. The recipes looked so good, and it seemed like such a beneficial idea, that I talked my husband into doing it too. We are on day 2, and so far the recipes have been delicious. The butternut squash soup was quite a good lunch, and snack of toasted nuts/seeds/ and dried fruit is better than any trail mix I’ve bought from a store. But dinner was absolutely awesome~ it was roasted cauliflower and red peppers with toasted almonds and parsley on top. Both my husband and I were more than pleasantly surprised by how good it was and agreed it should just become a regular meal in our lives. The one thing we cannot do for the detox is give up coffee. We both tried on day 1, but after I caved in the early afternoon my husband felt he could too. If I am ever going to give up caffeine it will have to be someplace where I have no responsibilities b/c functioning without it is just not possible. I figure as long as we are eating healthy foods all week that is better for our bodies than not doing anything at all.

This is actually a work in progress although they turned out pretty good, it was my first attempt at it and next time I will try to tweak the recipe a bit. I used the dry/wet proportions from Flying Apron’s blueberry cinnamon scones, just to give credit where it is due. Here’s the recipe:
2.75 C + 1 T of oat flour 
1.5 C brown rice flour
1 t baking pwdr
1/2 t baking soda
3/4 sea salt
1 T cinnamon
1 C canned pumpkin
1/2 C canola oil
1 C brown sugar
1/2 C almond milk (or rice, soy, hemp, whatever milk you like)
pinch of nutmeg
2 flat baking sheets lined with parchment paper

 Combine the dry ingredients (except the sugar) in a bowl. In another bowl start mixing the sugar and pumpkin with an electric mixer. Add the oil. When thoroughly mixed, start adding the dry ingredients alternately with the almond milk. Once everything is smooth, chill in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours, then either roll the dough out on brown rice flour and cut into 8 wedges of the circle (cook half an hour at 375) or, spoon smaller amounts onto the baking sheets (lined with parchment paper) and bake at 360 for half an hour. The latter is what I did b/c the former way just makes too big of a scone, especially for my sons. They like these~ but here is what I learned from this first attempt. These taste very much of cinnamon, not at all pumpkin-y so next time I might use less cinnamon and more pumpkin. These also are not very sweet at all, which I like, but next time I think I will use organic cane sugar instead of brown sugar. These are also on the dry side, but I think adding more pumpkin will help that enough that I won’t change the other liquid amounts. As long as the kids like them they are fulfilling their purpose as I wanted something for them to eat with alternate flours and the vitamin A from the pumpkin, and also as my sister reminded me the other day, cinnamon helps balance sugar which is a good way to start the day~ balanced.