clean food day: a painful day 1 and 2

I will confess, the first two days of the cleanse have shown me just how badly I needed a detox.

I'm on day 2 having decided to start on Sunday instead of Monday.  Emilie was doing it for scheduling reasons and I was doing it out of desperation. I have been tired. like falling asleep tired, and have felt queasy on and off for the past two days. Sunday I fell asleep on the couch with the kids all around me and was in bed before 9 both nights.  A glaring awareness I have had is the degree to which I caffeinate myself in order to accomplish more.  Coffee (and lately diet coke) have helped me stay up an extra 2-3 hours. I realize my current feelings of exhaustion likely have as much to do with the pace of the past month, yet normally enough caffeine would have me overriding my body's cues for sleep.

This is what I love about the cfc- the mindfullness it brings.  I have every intention of being mindful day to day but my life sometimes gets in the way of any signals to slow up or calm down.  Let's face it, who likes to feel like they are going to fall asleep at the wheel as they shuffle kids from place to place?

The desire for mindfulness is has me incorporating meditation into my week, a practice I have long since abandoned and could very badly use.  Sandi has been hinting around to my need for a quiet pause by suggesting I mediate in the midst of the cyclone that is my life sometimes.  Akin to telling a recovering alcoholic they need a meeting, she says, "You seem a little on edge..."  While I don't greatly appreciate it, I know there is some truth there.

Today for breakfast I had a delicious bowl of oatmeal with amaranth, coconut and raw cashews.  Yum.




I also made a giant batch  of  Peanut Butter Soup that I made last year for the cleanse.  I doubled it so I would have plenty to share.  This soup is a bit labor intensive and totally worth it.  Plus how can you not like a soup that is made with peanut butter?





Peanut Butter Soup: (From Yoga Journal Jan/Feb 2006)



4 oz. tempeh, cubed
1/4 c. tamari, divided
2 tablespoons molasses, divided
3 cloves garlic, divided

2 c. chopped onion
1 large red bell pepper
1 large yellow pepper
2 tsp. minced ginger root
9 c. vegetable stock
1 dried ancho chili, softened in hot water (you can also increase the amount of pepper flakes as a substitution)
1 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. ground coriander
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
1/8 tsp. tumeric
3 tablespoons raisins
1/3 c. uncooked basmati rice
1/3 c. organic peanut butter (I used crunchy instead of smooth and thought it was perfect)
1/4 c.scallions, minced (optional garnish)


1. Place the tempeh in a small mixing bowl and marinate it in 2 tablespoons tamari, 1 tablespoon molasses and 1 minced garlic clove. Set aside for 30 minutes.

2. Heat 1 1/2 tablespoons of the oil in a large saucepan and saute the onion for 2 minutes. Add the peppers, ginger, remaining garlic and saute another 2 minutes. Add stock. Cook about 10 minutes, until onion is very soft.

3. Drain the ancho pepper. Discard the stem end then slice the pepper open. Scoop out and discard seeds. Chop the ancho and add it to the soup. Stir in the cumin, coriander, red pepper flakes, tumeric, raisins and rice. Cover and bring to a boil then simmer, stirring occasionally, until the rice is tender, about 35 minutes. Remove from heat.

4. Heat the remaining oil in a skillet. Add the tempeh and cook, tossing frequently, until lightly browned. Either on a cutting board or with a spatula in the pan, break the tempeh into small pieces. Add it to the soup.

5. In a small bowl, combine the remaining 2 tablespoons of tamari and molasses with the peanut butter. Whisk in enough of the soup to make a smooth paste. Stir this into the soup and serve. Garnish with scallions if desired.

One more confession: while I am staying away from proccesed food, I have made some exceptions for canned food.  Last cleanse I made my own black beans and they were crunchy and left a lot to be desired. I used canned ones this time for salads and homemade veggie burgers.  I also made veggie stock for this soup with better than bullion.  I feel these are fair departures.

Anyone else with me?