September Challenge: Joshi Detox Week One.

I've decided to start a blog regarding my self-titled "September Wellness Challenge." I started Everything Extraordinary a couple of years ago but never updated it (I have an online journal that takes up the majority of the time I have to, you know, waste time)--the idea was to update about food, recipes, weight loss, exercise, my personal self challenges (which include running a 5K, then a 10K, doing the Master Cleanse and other random detoxes, and so on), as well as use it as a style and fashion blog.

So for September 2011, I've decided to give myself a 'Wellness Challenge.' The guidelines (not rules) are:

- Follow the Dr. Joshi Holistic Detox (no red meat, no coffee, no booze, no wheat, no fruit except bananas and lemons, no fungii, no nightshades
- Meditate daily
- Do yoga 1-2x per week
- Reach out (check in with friends and family, and try to remember if there is anything special or stressful going on in their lives)
- Don't say no to family and friends if they try to make plans
- Take detox baths
- Walk my dog more often
- Develop a morning routine (get up earlier in order to write my Morning Pages, meditate, and do a bit of light stretching or yoga before work)
- Develop an evening routine (wash off make-up, floss and brush teeth, do not watch TV in bed)
- Pick creativity over lazy entertainment (ie. less TV, more sketching, painting, writing, etc.)
- Organize and edit (get rid of unnecessary clutter, organize and file basket of mail, get rid of clothes I no longer wear, etc.)

So far so good. Now, because I'm totally anal about this stuff, I'm going to do our daily meals!

Sept 1st.
Breakfast: Mug of hot water with lemon, bowl of millet rice flakes with almond milk
Snack: organic plain yogurt with raw honey
Lunch: Wild rice salad--wild rice, lentils, red and green onion, celery, carrot, basil, lemon-garlic dressing
Snack: 10 brown rice crackers, 5-6 walnuts
Dinner: chicken breast with lemongrass paste, steamed carrots with ginger and garlic, small side salad

Sept 2nd. (mostly same as Sept 1st)
Breakfast: Mug of hot water with lemon, bowl of millet rice flakes with almond milk
Snack: organic plain yogurt with raw honey
Lunch: Wild rice salad--wild rice, lentils, red and green onion, celery, carrot, basil, lemon-garlic dressing
Snack: 10 brown rice crackers, 5-6 walnuts
Dinner: salmon marinated with Braggs, honey, ginger, garlic, and lime, green beans, blanched and tossed with toasted slivered almonds, roasted cauliflower tossed in garlic, olive oil, and cumin, then sprinkled afterwards with lime juice and fresh cilantro

Sept 3rd.
Breakfast: two-egg omelet with arugula, parsley, cilantro, and green onion, folded over feta cheese.
Lunch: split-pea soup with left-over roasted cauliflower mixed in
Dinner: asparagus sautéed with rosemary-infused olive oil and crushed garlic, wild rice mixed with toasted almonds, parsley, green onion, and crushed garlic, and tofu 'steaks' (Asian marinade--Braggs, garlic, ginger, cilantro, lime)
Sept 4th

We started the 4th with a 'liver flush.' I like the idea of a liver flush and basically every component of it other than drinking the actual goddamn drink. The recipe is 300mL of grapefruit and lemon juice (freshly squeezed, of course), 200mL of water, the juice of one small piece of ginger and one clove of garlic, and 2Tbsps of cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil. Why yes, it is indeed as disgusting as it sounds. You start the day with a brisk walk, then drink this disgusting drink, and then, the best part--you have to lie in bed and relax for two hours afterwards while drinking herbal tea. Because of this, we didn't get out of bed until 1.30pm (we may have stretched the two hours into four...) so I'll start Day 4 with lunch:

Lunch: split pea soup and seasoned tofu 'chips'
Dinner: mixed greens with blanched almonds, red onion, and our favourite tahini-lemon detox salad dressing, as well as brown rice spaghetti tossed with dairy-free walnut-arugula pesto. This meal was unbelievable.
Snack: I had my first after-dinner snack on Saturday, and we ended up having Thin Cakes (like rice cakes, only square and way thinner). One had tahini and honey on it (we were trying to recreate Sesame Snaps--didn't work), one had almond butter and honey, and the third had almond butter and banana. It was quite a good snack, and I would definitely have it again post-detox.

Sept 5th

Breakfast: brown rice bread toasted with wilted arugula and a poached egg on top, with a side of blanched asparagus drizzled in tahini-lemon dressing.

Lunch: bowl of split pea soup.

Snack: rice crackers and home-made cilantro hummus

Dinner: salad of arugula, red onion, roasted beets, chicken breast, goat cheese, and walnuts roasted with honey and chili powder (I'd been waiting all week for that dinner, and it was worth every second. The beets took forever to cook, we almost forgot the walnuts, but in the end, it turned out perfectly).

We will definitely be making that one again!

You can see where we suddenly decided that we had to have photographic proof of our detox meals. Honestly though, I don't think we eat this well outside of a detox, and we love to eat--we're lucky in that we're creative in the kitchen, my girlfriend is the world's best food plater, and that the Joshi detox allows a lot of foods that we happen to love.

And that brings us to today, day six, and I suppose I can tell you what I've had so far but it's a little boring and redundant (millet rice flakes with almond milk, yogurt with honey, split-pea soup, hummus and rice crackers). We also drink copious amounts of water, green tea, and flavoured herbal teas. Our favourite so far is this ridiculously expensive tea by Pukka called "Revitalize." The box is gorgeous, too. The flavour is "cinnamon, cardamom & ginger" green tea--amazing. I might like it more because it's expensive and the box is pretty, I don't know. Sometimes I can't tell.

Six days down, 24 to go!