Day 1

Today, March 8, 2010, marks the first day of our 21-day cleanse.

David and I are cutting the "Big Five" out of our diets. They are:

Animal Products
Caffeine
Sugar
Gluten
Alcohol

This is not a popular diet, especially in our part of the country. We're going to be vegan, and most people I run into don't know how to define what a vegan is. So here's the definition for those of you who are wondering.

"Vegan" was a term coined by Donald Watson in 1944 to distinguish those who abstain from all animal products from those who merely refuse to eat the animals.

That's right, my friends, we're not eating eggs, cheese, milk or any products that contain these or any other animal products for the next 21 days!!

I'm sure many of you are thinking that this sounds like the worst kind of self-inflicted torture. You're fretting over all the things to be missed: Starbucks, David's homemade waffles, pizza, take-out from the local diner. The list could go on forever, but I'm focusing on the new found creativity of meal time. I'm going to take our taste buds to new heights!

This morning started off with David reminding me again that he isn't happy about doing the cleanse, and that he was already jonesin' for a coffee and eggs. He hadn't been awake for more than 5 minutes. In spite of his dislike of the idea of doing this cleanse, he bucked up and cooked our first breakfast on our new diet - oatmeal cooked with raisins, cinnamon and a little agave nectar. I added almond milk to mine for creaminess.

I'm listing the menu of our 1st day since I'm sure many of you think there can't possibly be anything left to eat. To the contrary, we have too many choices now that we've opened ourselves up to the possibilities.

Breakfast: Oatmeal with raisins, cinnamon, agave nectar
Pero with unsweetened almond milk. Pero is a coffee substitute made from barley
chicory.

Lunch: Spinach salad with broccoli, carrots, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, flaxseeds,
dried cranberries (unsweetened), and crumbled Sunshine Burgers with Goddess
dressing
Vegetable hummus and brown rice crackers

Snack: David had a banana. I had a smoothie made with ice, almond milk, banana and Amazing
Meal (a vegan protein pack)

Dinner: Quinoa-stuffed peppers. The stuffing for this was amazing. If you don't particularly
like peppers, you could definitely use this stuffing as a side. The stuffing is loaded with
quinoa, veggies and spices. It definitely gets a thumbs up!

All-in-all, it was a successful 1st day. I'm most proud that David enjoyed the food. At lunch, he said he could eat that salad everyday. And he was complimentary about dinner, too. Maybe, we'll survive tomorrow.