Tag Archives: Crazy Sexy Diet

Crazy Sexy Diet Wrap Up

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I contemplated how to wrap up my crazy sexy diet 21 day adventure cleanse and rather than droning on about what I liked and disliked, here is a quick run down.

  • I love basing my meals around greens. Green smoothies, huge salads, green juices, stirfrys etc. Are incredibly energizing and satisfying
  • It is a time commitment in the beginning but, like any other lifestyle change, a plant-based diet soon becomes second nature
  • My cravings dissipated.
  • I don’t need as much (animal) protein as I thought. Beans, quinoa, nuts and greens are plenty.

Since finishing the cleanse, I reintroduced the foods that were eliminated for the cleanse in extreme moderation. I did my best to follow an 80/20 approach.

Wheat: Tends to cause a heavy feeling a few hours after eating

Dairy: Highly addictive and causes bloating and phlegm (gross)

Sugar and caffeine: Addictive and I feel the adrenaline going immediately after consuming

Alcohol: Toxic. One night out drinking left me a shaking, bed ridden mess for an entire day.

I mentioned in my one week recap that I don’t intend on engaging in a cycle of detoxing and retoxing. Of course, my diet fluctuates, some weeks I eat more kale and some weeks I really like wine. I really work to create a good balance of healthy foods with a few care-free indulgences. While I recognize the benefits of clean, whole foods, I have also seen the unpleasant side of obsessive restriction, so yes, I’ll maintain a heavily plant-based, high vegan diet. But I don’t intend on eliminating anything completely from my diet. I intend to make some of the foods that were eliminated from my diet into once in a while foods, rather than staples. Eg. I will go for gelato with a friend, but I won’t eat a yogurt mess for breakfast every morning for weeks on end. I will unwind from a rough week with a latte or a glass of wine, but I won’t be relying on a cup of coffee every afternoon to get me through my afternoon slump. I expect to reintroduce eggs into my diet more frequently but only from the best sources. Sea food will most likely make it’s way onto my plate a few times a week as well. If I want meat or dairy, I can have it, but I will be picky about where it came from.

So there you go! Crazy Sexy Diet, done. I learned a lot and if you have any more questions please feel free to email me at mycupofteablog{at}gmail{dot}com !

Crazy Sexy Adventure Day 20: Airport Eats

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Hi! I’ll make this quick because I have safely made it to Miami, it is 4:00 a.m. and my entire family is doing tequila shots and telling awfully embarrassing stories

My alarm went off at 5:30 this morning, I uttered hateful, unladylike words to it, and then drove to the gym for Bodypump where the teacher FAILED TO SHOW UP. Since I was already there I did my own workout inspired by Bodypump. Not as fun or challenging but something>nothing

It was a rainy, gray morning so I made a big bowl of oats with banana, blueberries, chia seeds, almond milk, granola, and peanut butter.

Last minute packing and nail painting ensued, lunch was a bunch of snacks: A macrobar, some green juice, an apple, roasted seaweed etc. etc.

YYC -> DFW (Dallas)

We had dinner at Blue Mesa and I got veggie tacos on some corn tortillas with a side salad. Easier than expected to find cleanse friendly eats at the airport!

DFW -> MIA (MIAMI!!!!)

Back to the fam, I’ve been sniffing my mom’s glass of wine for the last half hour..

Crazy Sexy Adventure Day 19: Kitchen Cleanse

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How is it possibly August already?

This morning I made yet another green smoothie

Frozen banana, cherries, chia seeds, almond butter, cinnamon, almond milk, and a new to me protein: Vega Vanilla Almond.

I liked the taste but there was a wee bit of chalkiness in the texture. I’d have it again though.

More Dexter, some Body Combat, and then it was time for lunch!

Kitchen sink salad: I needed to pack in the produce today in order to avoid any food waste. This had romaine, cucumbers, snap peas, olives, tomato, fresh corn, black beans, banana peppers, nutritional yeast, and hummus. I’ll be making cucumber juice tomorrow to take care of the surplus of them in my fridge.

I went to work for the afternoon and dinner was a strifry of tofu, broccoli and snap peas with  sesame oil, braggs, fresh orange juice, garlic and ginger.

Once again, this is not all I eat! Picture a Macrobar, a hundred fistfuls of blueberries, some pieces of frozen mango, and a couple of peanut butter dipped spoons after and in-between meals :)

Operation kitchen clean out is a go! I should probably start packing…

Crazy Sexy Adventure Day 18: Vacation Procrastination

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I leave for Miami the day after tomorrow. I plan on throwing whatever is clean into my luggage 15 minutes before departure and cursing myself the entire time I am away that I didn’t plan more efficiently. Acknowledged. Progress.

I’ve been enjoying the same chocolate cherry milkshake smoothie for breakfast for the greater part of this cleanse. If it aint broke… It’s simply frozen banana, frozen cherries, a heaping spoonful of cocoa powder, chia seeds, almond butter and almond milk with a few big handfuls of spinach or kale (or both!) I sometimes add a handful of raw oatmeal if I’m hungrier.

I bummed around for the morning, watching a few episodes of Dexter — I plough through TV series’ like no body’s business. In the last little while I finished LOST, Mad Men, Arrested Development, Community and Girls. It’s a wonder I get anything else accomplished.

Eat – TV – Eat again

Traditional chicken salad has never really appealed to me, but the thought of veganizing the popular, gloppy mess of a sandwich staple sounded fun.

Chick-Un Salad

Serves 1

Ingredients:

1/4 block extra firm tofu, pressed and diced

1/2 apple

1/2 c. grapes

2 tbsp. walnuts, chopped

1 celery stalk, diced

2 tbsp. red onion, diced

1 tbsp. hummus

1 tbsp. Dijon mustard

1 tbsp. lemon juice

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Mix and serve with crackers, in a sandwich, wrap or over a bed of greens.

Come to think of it, this would have made a great stuffing for lettuce wraps.

After lunch I declared the day to be TO beautiful to sit at home and watch a handsome serial killer murder other serial killers (seriously, how do they come up with this stuff?) I put on some people clothes and took a stroll to the natural foods market to do some window shopping and pick up a couple of food things to take with me to Miami — protein powder sample packs and a few different kinds of bars, “just in case” things. We’ll probably do a quick grocery trip once we get to Miami because I’m so high maintenance according to my loving family :)

My walk accidentally ended up being about a 4 mile loop! Carrying groceries on the way back! Afterwards I took my favorite hot and sweaty class at Yoga Passage so basically my laziness earlier in the day was effectively cancelled out. It’s science.

Crazy Sexy Adventure Day 17: Rest Days

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Sometimes I have trouble deciding whether I am listening to my body or just being lazy when I take a day off of exercise. I’m usually pretty energetic and have the physical capability to do something every day. I don’t formally plan rest days because I just figure eventually life will get in the way and I won’t have time to exercise (it does), or there will just be a day that I’m not feeling it. Like today for example. I laughed in my alarm clock’s face when it tried to get me to go to spin this morning (to be fair, I had gone to bed only four hours before) and felt very apathetic towards a yoga class after work. Instead I skipped on home, I am now in my stretchy pants and I have no regrets.

I also made an awesome salad. Spinach, celery, cucumbers, grapes, sunflower seeds, tofu ricotta and home-made balsamic dressing.

Crazy Sexy Adventure Days 14, 15, 16: Weekend Warrior

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Hello! I decided to take the weekend to just relax and recoup. I cannot believe that there are four days left of my adventure cleanse where did the time go?!

On Friday I took advantage of my morning off and went to work for a Chiropractic treatment (my first ever!) followed by a Naturopathic appointment. I am so, so lucky to work where I do. Continuing on with my healthy momentum, I took a lunch hour class at Yoga Passage and then settled into work for the afternoon. Once I arrived home, I declared a night off of greens in favour of something a little different

Sweet Potato Blackbean Quesadilla

Serves 1

Ingredients

  • 1 tortilla (I used Food for Life brown rice but sprouted wheat would be great too)
  • 1/4 c. grated sweet potato
  • 1/8 c. fresh corn
  • 1/8 c. blackbeans
  • 2 tbsp. chopped cilantro
  • 1 small clove of garlic
  • sliced white onion
  • 1/2 tsp. coconut oil

Directions:

In a small pan, quickly sautee the sweet potato in the coconut oil until brown. Add in the rest of the ingredients and cook together until the corn is slightly softened and the sweet potato is cooked through. Spread hummus onto the surface of your tortilla and sprinkle with nutritional yeast. Place your sweet potato mixture onto one half of the tortilla, fold over and bake at 350 for 5-10 minutes until browned and bubbly.

Saturday was a long day at work as well as juice fast day.

I drank green juice until I got home at 5:00  and then made a big chocolate cherry green smoothie with almond butter and a sprinkle of granola.

Sunday was all over the place. Before going to bed the night before, I poured some almond milk over some of my quinoa granola and left it to soak overnight. In the morning I added berries and dug in. I think this is what people call muesli. Thoughts?

Of course, Sunday morning means Body Combat. After class, a quick shower and a smoothie, my mom and I went to wander about the mall for a few hours and then I was off for the best night I’ve had in a while! Before I get to that, let me show you dinner

My favourite summer salad is spinach, quinoa, strawberries, walnuts and feta with a balsamic dressing. The flavour combination is perfection, but, of course, feta is not Crazy Sexy approved. When the craving struck I made a quick batch of tofu ricotta and it was so, so delicious, I had several spoonfuls before even putting it ontop of my salad. It offers the salty, sourness that I love so much about feta cheese in this salad.

This past weekend was the Calgary Folk Music Festival. I have known about it for months but, being me, I put off buying tickets until it was too late and they were sold out. Basically crushed, as Iron and Wine, one of my favorite groups, was going to be the closing act of the festival. While lying in bed on Saturday night, I was having nagging thoughts to track a ticket down. After a quick scan on kijiji I was so lucky to find one for the regular price! Even better, the girl selling the ticket goes to Yoga Passage so exchange was simple enough. Sometimes things are just meant to be.

Like finding the perfect spot for Sam Beam to serenade you. I got home late and went to sleep late and missed spin+core this morning but who. cares. This was epic.

Crazy Sexy Adventure Day 13: New Protein and Dining Out

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Doop-doop dingle ding ding-ding-ding.

I slept through the sound of my alarm (above) for eight whole minutes this morning! This never happens. I wasn’t tired once my eyes actually opened so I pulled on some stretchy pants and headed to Body Pump.

6 am classes are fun because for the first half I have no idea what is even happening. How did that bar bell get there? Why am I doing push ups right now? What is this!? By the time I fully wake up the workout it half done and my endorphins have taken over.

Green monstrosity.

Not long before I started this cleanse, I began incorporating organic whey protein into my smoothies. I really enjoyed the texture, flavour, and staying power that it offered. The ingredient list was short and recognizable and the stats impressive. Since the cleanse is dairy free, I have eliminated my protein from smoothies (subbing in a few tablespoons of chia seeds, coconut flour or a hefty scoop of nut butter) but I decided to sample a vegan source of protein. Yesterday I picked up a sampler pack of Vega Sport Performance Protein: a plant-based protein supplement with a blend of pea, sacha inchi, sprouted brown rice, hemp and alfalfa proteins.

It offers 26 g. of protein and 8% of your daily fiber requirements per serving. It is also delicious! I have heard that plant-based protein powders are notoriously bitter, grassy and gritty, but this was lightly sweetened with stevia and vanilla and blended well with the ingredients in my smoothie (frozen banana, cherries, almond milk, cocoa powder, and spinach)

I met my friend Natradee for a lunch hour yoga class. It felt amazing to stretch out my muscles from this morning’s Body Pumping. Afterwards we headed to lunch, I realized that it was my first restaurant meal on the cleanse!

Playing it safe, we went to Gratitude Cafe, since many of the entrees there are already cleanse friendly, however my friend Christa recently wrote a post about how to take control and enjoy a healthy, vegan and gluten-free meal at any restaurant.

We each started with smoothies. Nat had the banana ginger with e3live and I enjoyed the mango basil with e3live.

Both were delicious and unique flavour combinations and absolutely perfect after yoga.

For lunch I had the I am grateful: Raw Mexican enchilada lettuce cups. I subbed hummus for the guacamole since I can’t do avocados.

This dish was so satisfying and flavourful. Light but packed with so many different tastes and textures. I cleaned my plate.

I also had a bite of Natradee’s Eggplant Canape with cashew risotto which was rich and buttery, but maintained a wholesome, healthy appeal. I can imagine how delicious this dish would be on a cold winter’s day.

Once playtime was over, I headed to work for the evening where I also had dinner: a quick salad from home and a cup of celery-cauliflower soup that I took to go from Gratitude. There was also a few pieces of raw, dark chocolate with hazelnuts enjoyed.

I just ate a million mini red grapes and am ready for bed. Tomorrow was supposed to be a juice fast day but I think I’ll push it to Saturday as I am still pretty low on produce. Costco trip in the a.m. !

Crazy Sexy Adventure Day 12: Fresh out of green

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Between juicing, green smoothies, and beastly salads, I have eaten all the green things in my house! Including a Costco sized bag of romaine lettuce, snap peas, cucumbers… I am a monster.

Breakfast was buckwheat-millet quick bread with almond butter, nectarine and blueberries.

As much as I enjoy my big green smoothies, they are not ideal before a work out. I had one on Sunday before Body Combat and felt pretty uncomfortable throughout the whole class. Breakfasts like this satisfy my growly stomach but don’t have the volume that threatens to resurface at any given jump-kick.

Today’s combat class was a new release, meaning we kicked, punched and screamed to new music and choreography. It was a tough class and I ended up sweating buckets.

Smoothies after combat classes are much more enjoyable. Banana, cherries, almond milk and cocoa powder as soon as I got home from the gym

and baked sweet potato rounds with nutritional yeast and hummus a little bit later.

Today was the first day of registration for the fall semester at school. I’m trying to do as much as I can in terms of work, school and extra curricular without getting overwhelmed and scheduling is tricky but I know from experience, it always works out in the end. A few of the classes that I reaaaallly want to take this semester have already filled up, but I’m just putting it out into the universe that I have faith that a spot will open up for me. Hear that, universe? I’m on to you.

I went to work for the afternoon, picked up a few groceries and was welcomed home by the smell of my mom’s special pasta sauce. She makes it by simply mixing chopped, fresh tomatoes, garlic, salt and an Italian herb blend with a glug of olive oil and broiling it on low until it becomes saucy. I simply do not understand how it always turns out so delicious, although, simple is often best. I mixed it up with some broccoli, spinach, brown rice spaghetti, and nutritional yeast.

Happy Wednesday! I can see the weekend in the not so distant future.

Crazy Sexy Adventure Day 11: Kittens, Oatmeal, Veggies, Yoga

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My friend Jessie is a new yoga teacher and wanted some head shots but the only time that worked was early in the a.m. For convenience sake, I slept over after yoga last night and we were up bright and early to get some pictures of her pretty face.

I packed a green juice. Nerd.

We took a quick snap, snap, met some nice people with a bag of kittens.

Literally a bag full of kittens. 

Once I arrived home I ate some delicious overnight oats in an almost empty peanut butter jar with tonnes of fruit and a little sprinkle of granola.

 

I had a pretty lazy morning which included laundry and a Girls marathon. I had a late lunch of curried lentil soup and a giant salad. I also had some Mary’s Crackers on the side.

Eventually I peeled myself off of the couch and headed to yoga.

My mom once told me that when living in New York she often enjoyed the Hallmark slice of street car pizza for lunch. One day, her boss came to work with TWO slices for herself. The thought had never occurred to my mom that one could eat TWO slices of pizza. I think of that every time I do a yoga double. 4:10 ishta + 6:10 Hot (half an hour in-between classes). Crazy Sweaty Bliss.

Once I got home I threw together some sautéed veggies, brown rice noodles and a generous serving of spicy almond butter sauce.

Goodnight!

 

Crazy Sexy Adventure Day 8: Hot Hot Heat

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A green smoothie sounded so delicious this morning but there were no frozen bananas to be seen! I popped a few into the freezer and had a bowl of quinoa granola and fruit with almond milk instead.

I had work at Yoga Passage this morning and broke for lunch around noon

a beastly salad out of an old peanut butter container – no tupper ware to be found!? Afterwards I took the (extra) hot restorative class. The weather in Calgary is absurd. Hot and delicious. My body craves the restorative class by the time Saturday rolls around. Today’s class paired with yesterday’s juice fast has left me feeling squeaky clean, like a reset button has been pushed on my entire existence!

I came home dead set on an icy cold smoothie. Walking through down town I walked by no less than four ice cream trucks! I needed something refreshing and cleanse friendly and then I remembered a smoothie combination that my friend Christa from Edible Balance recommended:

1 c. frozen mango, 1/2 c. almond milk, 1 c. coconut water and a hunk of ginger. Amazing.

Dinner was another salad beast this had Spinach, lightly steamed broccoli, sweet potato,saur kraut, eggplant bacon, olives, snap peas, edemame millet burger and lemony-tahini dressing. Essentially everything within arms reach went in.

I have no further plans today than to laze around and watch Community. Toodle-oo