Let the weekend temptations come! (day 6)

It's Friday. There are sweets in the kitchen. My two coworkers have just come in with Starbucks and pastries. Woe is me! I glance back down at my lukewarm green tea. Nope - not satisfying me. I want a blueberry scone, moist and full of flavor bursting with every bite, followed by the warm sweetness of a soy chai. Be strong Beth. You're strong. I take a sip of my cooling green tea infused with pompegranet. Nope, it's definitely cold now. I glance over at my stash of cleanse-friendly food. Nuts? Kinda sick of them. Carrots? Too loud. Apple? Not in the mood. Grrrr. This is why I'm not normally a vegan.

For lunch I thought I'd try out whatever food carts in the area that served up cleanse-friendly fair. Today's winner? Sonny Bowl (http://www.foodcartsportland.com/?s=Sonny+Bowl). I thought I was going for oatmeal - but apparently oatmeal is only until 10am (mental note to get breakfast at work one day). So I opted for their version of a whole bowl - brown rice, pineapple, chickpeas, zuchinni, radishes, carrots, golden raisins, red onions, almonds and some sort of sweet sauce that uses agave nectar. I added some hot spices and yes, now my mouth is on fire. For $5 I got practically 3 servings! And this is why I love Portland so much - I am able to go to a food cart, get vegan friendly food for $5 have still have it for 2 more meals. Unreal. For all you PDX'ers who want a healthy cart to try out - Sonny Bowl on Washington & 3rd (*note, in the am it's called "Bloop Oatmeal cart").

Modified Sonny Bowl:

1c. brown rice (to cook use 1.5c water, boil then keep on low for 30-40 minutes)

1 can chick peas (rinsed)

1 sm. zucchini (sliced)

1 sm. carrot (sliced)

1 sm. red onion (diced and sautéed with garlic and agave nectar)

Fresh pineapple chucks (or from a can if needed - 1 can, reserve some of the juice for the sauce)

1 sm. avocado (diced)

Sauce: Mix over low heat: 2T sesame oil and add 1 clove minced garlic & sauté add red onion and 2T agave nectar, sauté till soft remove from heat and add 1t curry powder, 1/4t turmeric spice, 1/8t Celtic sea salt, 2 pinches cinnamon. Stir and add to sautéed vegetables.

Combine zucchini, carrot, pineapple in sauté pan, simmer over medium heat until veggies are soft. Combine with chickpeas and sauce. Add over brown rice, add avocado. Add sliced almonds for topping.

A big part of this cleanse is sweating. The authors recommend sauna rounds. Now I love the heat. I love to sweat. But there's something about dry intense heat in a small little room with nothing to do that makes it harder for me to endure. The main objective is to condition your skin to open / close to allow sweat to flow and allows for a flushing out of toxins. Our skin is our largest organ and has the ability to transform toxins into water-soluble (i.e. sweat) form. Other ways to treat your skin is to "skin brush" (vigorously brush skin before or during a shower); rehydrating, alkalinizing baths (sea salt or baking soda in a hot bath), and a good old fashioned cardio workout. So tonight I did a round at the sauna, swam some laps and then finished my skin workout off with a dip in the hot tub. Tough life - I'm telling you!

Dinner tonight: Roasted portobello mushrooms with caramelized red onions and red peppers with an asian salad with citrus vinaigrette complete with season oven-roasted chips. Thank to Master Chef Perkins.

PS. On this diet - you are technically allowed to eat meat. The rules?

1. No dairy. Period. It's too mucus forming

2. No eating meat by itself - animal products should only be 5-10% of the total meal. 

3. Choose only pure and organic.

4. If you do eat animal foods, you must sweat often each week. 

PPS. I was REALLY craving cheese after my bike home tonight. I mean, salivating for it kinda craving. I miss cheese.