Carrot Ginger Soup

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Carrot Ginger Soup (serves 6-8)

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds carrots, chopped
1 zucchini, chopped
1 large yellow onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves
1 Tablespoon raw ginger, grated or chopped
4 cups water
Seasoning: cumin, cinnamon, and onion powder to taste.

Method:

Heat 1/2 cup water to a simmer over medium-high heat.  Add onion and garlic and cook until tender, about 6 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Stir in ginger, carrots, zucchini, seasoning and remaining water and heat to a boil.  Reduce to a simmer, cover and cook 20-30 minutes or until vegetables are tender.  In batches, carefully puree in a blender.  Add water if needed to thin to desired consistency.

Flax Granola

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Flax Granola 

I like to soak my cranberries in the water before soaking the flax seeds overnight but this step isn't necessary and can be skipped.  If you do skip this step you also don't need to warm the water.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups whole flax seed
3/4 cup of water
1 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Pinch ground nutmeg or clove (or both)
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup almonds raw unsalted almonds (other nuts can be added after they are tested)
1/4 cup raw unsalted sunflower or pumpkin or a mix of both

Method:

Warm the water and soak the cranberries in the water for 30 minutes. Remove the cranberries and refrigerate them.

In a large bowl mix together the water the cranberries soaked in, the flax seeds, vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg.  Cover the bowl and refrigerate for 8 hours or over night.

The next day heat an oven to 275 degrees F.  Spread the flax seed mixture evenly on to a cookie sheet and bake for 20 minutes.  Using a spatula turn over the flax seeds and break it up into large sections.  Place it back in the oven and let it cook for another 20 minutes.   Turn the granola over again and break it up into smaller pieces. Mix in the soaked cranberries, nuts, and seeds and back for another 10-20 minutes.

Day Three on the Plan

I lost 2lbs.  :)  I'm now down a total of 3.8 lbs.  I was fatigued, achy gassy, bloating and miserable yesterday.  The bloating felt more pronounced after i ate lunch.  I'm not sure if this is a reaction to the food, my body cleansing its self, I'm sick or a combination of both.  I think the broccoli is making me gassy and I'll test it in the testing phase.

There are two items I didn't eat yesterday. I didn't add the avocado to my salad and I didn't eat the pear for a snack.  I did eat the almonds because I wanted to make sure I didn't skip that food test.  For a second day I couldn't drink all the water before 7:30.

I have to change up my breakfast for today.  Two weeks ago, I ordered the Fruit & Berry Flax Granola from Columbia Country Bread , however, they are slammed with orders and I wont have it till next week.  Since I didn't think it would take so long I only made two days worth from scratch last weekend.  I thought I was going to have to make a batch yesterday, however, I found a substitute that I had all the ingredients for on Lyn Genet's website under "Tips for Book Readers".  The tips page says that if you want to switch out breakfast to try the Blueberry Pear Compete.   I'm not sure you are suppose to do it during the cleanse phase, however,  I'm too sick to go shopping for whole flax seeds and then come home and cook it.  This recipe was very easy to make, chop up two fruits, add spice, boil in coconut milk, stir in chia seed let chill for 4 hours.  Its easier than pudding from a box.

I really like how each day, or every other day, on The Plan introduces a new food.  The last time I dieted was in 2011.  During that diet I would frequently think about the foods i would eat in the future.  The way "The Plan" is laid out I now look forward to the following day.  On Day One I looked forward to eating rice and on Day Two I found myself excited that there is chicken on Day Three. On Day four there is cheese - nom nom nom.  I love me some cheese.

Today's Plan

After I wake up:

• Weigh myself
• Drink 16oz of water with lemon
• Take my liver supplement

Breakfast

• I cup of the Berry Pear Compote

Lunch

• Baby romaine lettuce with 1/4 avocado, pumpkin seeds and carrots
• Spicy Vegetarian Soup and a half a cup of low salt chick peas

Dinner

• 2-3oz of Chicken with Italian Herbs and Orange Zest
• 1 cup Roasted Italian Winter Vegetables

Snack

• 10-12 raw almonds

Chicken with Italian Herbs and Orange Zest Recipe

Sprinkle chicken breast with dried italian herbs and 1 Tablespoon of grated orange zest and bake in a 350 oven for 20-30 min, depending on the size of the breast (less for 2-3oz portion size).

This recipe wasn't in the online cookbook so I added it here.  The portion sizes are 4-6 for a woman and 6-8 for a man.

Day Two on The Plan

I lost 1.8lbs.  It's nice to see the scale go down.  I hurt all over yesterday.  I ended up getting sick all over myself and my car on the way to work yesterday.  My doctor is amazing.  He squeezed me in between other appointments  diagnosed me with bronchitis, prescribed antibiotics, and told me to stay in bed and away from other people for a week.

I'm glad I followed the plan's advice and did my shopping and cooking  in advanced.  All this water and healthy food will heal me!   While I'm on the subject of water I couldn't drink it all.  There just weren't enough hours in the day.  I'll try again.

Today's food is the same as yesterday except for minor details which I highlighted in green.

After I wake up:

• Weigh myself
• Drink 16oz of water with lemon
• Take my liver supplement

Breakfast:

• 1 cup Flax Granola with ½ cup blueberries and Rice Milk

Lunch:

• Carrot Ginger Soup with sunflower seeds (or chia seeds)
• Steamed Broccoli with orange oil and lemon juice
• Mixed Greens with ½ diced apple and ¼ an avocado

Dinner:

• Shredded carrots & beet and Sunflower Seeds
• Sautéed baby kale with Shitake and Spicy Coco Sauce and 1 cup of brown rice and Pumpkin Seeds

Snack

• ½ pear and a small handful of almonds

Day One of The Plan

After I weighed myself I drank 16oz of water with lemon and took the liver cleanse capsules.  Then I figured out how much water I had to drink.  According to "The Plan", for every two lbs you weigh you drink an ounce of water (there's an example at the end of this post).   Along with that you are not suppose to drink 45 min before or after you eat AND you are suppose to finish all your water by 7:30PM.   

Day One Plan

After I woke up:

• I weighed myself
• Drank 16oz of water with lemon
• Took my liver supplement

Breakfast:

• 1 cup Flax Granola with 1/2 cup blueberries and Rice Milk

Lunch:

• Carrot Ginger Soup with sunflower seeds
• Steamed Broccoli with orange oil (organic orange rind soaked in olive oil) and lemon juice

You're allowed mixed greens with 1/2 a pear and pumpkin seeds, however, I was full so I skipped it.

Dinner:

• Shredded carrots & beet (2 carrots and a third of a small beet)
• 3 cups Sautéed baby kale with Shitake and Spicy Coco Sauce
• Pumpkin Seeds

I added Cayenne pepper, cumin  ginger and cinnamon to the carrots and beets.  I wanted to add lemon juice, honey and golden raisins too, however, since this was the cleanse I didn't stray from the recipe in the book. 

The market didn't have fresh Shitake so i bought dried, soaked them in hot water, drained them and used the water to stir fry the kale.  It came out delicious.  Yes, it could be because the Spicy Coco Sauce is amazing, however, drizzling it with garlic infused oil and lemon juice would also be yummy.

Snack:

• Small Apple

Doubled everything you make for today because tomorrow is the same menu except for some minor changes.  The hardest part of the day was drinking water.  By the time i went to bed I still had 4 glasses of water I hadn't drunk and I drank my last glass at 10:30 pm.   I am not sure if I will see any weight loss.

How Much Water Should You Drink?
For every two lbs you weigh you drink an ounce of water

Weight = 192 lbs
Divided in half = 96 ounces (there are 8 ounces in a cup of water)
Divide by 8 = 12  (12 cups of water)
Total = 12 cups of water a day.

Spicy Coco Sauce (I'm writing this from memory so it might be off)
Combine a chopped onion, 3 cloves of chopped garlic and a can of full fat coconut milk in a sauce pan and bring it to a simmer.  Cook it for 5 minutes and then add a heaping Tablespoon of brown sugar, ½ teaspoon of sea salt and cumin, a ¼ teaspoon of turmeric, cinnamon, and a pinch of cayenne pepper.  Simmer this for 20 minutes.  Serving size is an ⅛ cup.  Be careful it's addictive.