Day 18 of Partial Reboot!

Thursday marked Day 18 of our Partial Reboot experience! We're still calling it that for now, because we aren't necessarily following all the Reboot with Food rules, but we are following a set of our own adapted rules that we can improve upon once we're ready to.

These rules are as follows:
1. Swap 2 meals plus one snack with a Juice or Smoothie, totaling 3 per day.
2. All other foods must stick to a plant-based diet; no meat, no dairy, no processed junk.
3. Snacks must be as close to nature as we can manage: veggies, fruits, nuts, hummus (no tahini if we can find it), guacamole, flax wraps, popcorn (kettle is as naughty as we'll go), and Bee likes to eat dates with breakfast.
4. We allow cheats about once per week. So if someone makes dinner for us with cheese or meat, we aren't going to insult anybody. We just eat it, enjoy it, and move on with life!


We did very well today! We managed to make all 3 meals, (plus one snack) a Juice or a Smoothie! We just paired the lunch and dinner Juices with hummus and veggie wraps (small ones) for more sustenance. We had our other snacks as usual, and we're feeling good.

Bee's headaches and eczema are back this week, so we're wondering if it's hormonal, stress, or the fact that she snuck some chocolate. Twice.


Anyway, here's what we had today. For breakfast:

Orange Shmorange, plus cucumbers and a golden beet!

oh! and this apple, too

looks so purdy :)

A bit of a twist to Orange Shmorange!

For lunch:

It looks like Ecto Cooler!

Nice Green Juice (instead of Mean Green!)

Yields 1.5 Qts.

a bunch of Kale

2 Zucchinis

5 Kiwis

2 Green Apples

a bunch of Spinach

(if too sour, toss in some grapes or carrots!)

Annnnd for dinner:

Greenia Colada, but with mangoes instead of pineapple!
(and we decided to skip the purple kale)

LOVE the color combination!

Day 17 of Partial Reboot

Wednesday marked Day 17 of our Partial Reboot experience! We're still calling it that for now, because we aren't necessarily following all the Reboot with Food rules, but we are following a set of our own adapted rules that we can improve upon once we're ready to.

These rules are as follows:
1. Swap 2 meals plus one snack with a Juice or Smoothie, totaling 3 per day.
2. All other foods must stick to a plant-based diet; no meat, no dairy, no processed junk.
3. Snacks must be as close to nature as we can manage: veggies, fruits, nuts, hummus (no tahini if we can find it), guacamole, flax wraps, popcorn (kettle is as naughty as we'll go)
4. We allow cheats about once per week. So if someone makes dinner for us with cheese or meat, we aren't going to insult anybody. We just eat it, enjoy it, and move on with life!

Tuesday we had attempted a day of Juice Fasting, but that backfired at the end of the night. But that's okay, because we nearly made it, so we know that we'll be able to do it next time!

We Juiced for breakfast, snack, and dinner, and had veggies and tofu for lunch...

Orange Shmorange, with zucchini added, lessons the sweetness 

and makes a bigger batch of Juice!

Berry Green Juice

Yields 1 Qt.

Zucchini

2 Green Apples

lots of Kale (forgot how much!)

2 cups Spinach

1.5 cups Blueberries

1.5 cups Black Grapes

Day 16: Our First Juice Fast Test!

Today is "Day 16" of our Partial Reboot juicing experience, however, today we have decided to try out a day of Juice Fasting!


Breakfast was the adapted version of "Orange Shmorange," the ever tasty "Sunset Over the Trees."

For lunch, we had:

hmmm, is this enough? Maybe we should add...

...a green apple! Yes, but is that enough? Let's add...

...a zucchini!

Peaches 'n Greens

Yields 1 Qt. (plus about 1 cup extra)

2 White Nectarines

2 Peaches

5 Kiwis

1 Zucchini

2 cups Kale

LOADS of Spinach! (4 cups is our guess)

And we got hungry again, so we cheated with a Greenia Colada Smoothie for our snack instead of a juice. We made our own coconut milk this time, because last time the coconut was rotten and moldy and we couldn't use it.

Coconut meats plus coconut water, and a cup of HOT water.

  

blend until smooth...

put into juicer...

here come the coconut milk!

1 Coconut = about 16 oz. Coconut Milk

It's so WHITE!

Blend milk with the other ingredients...

...oooh, pretty!

Wait, there's MORE! Free bra included!

Bee has had a headache since about 3:00pm. There are multiple factors that could be the cause, not just the Juice Fast. She is also very irritable today, also not necessarily due to the fasting. It could very likely be due to hormonal... issues. And problems with other human beings. And lack of chocolate to fix them.


And we haven't yet decided on dinner. But we will, because it is around that time right now! The fasting isn't fun so far, only because we know we have kettle corn popcorn to eat, and some nice salad leftovers... So we'll post the rest of the day in a few hours and see what happens next!


***UPDATE***


So we ate real food for dinner.


We got to a point where we could probably have made it through and gone to bed, but then we realized now wasn't the time for a juice fast because we had a leftover salad that needed to be eaten, plus hummus and other things that were just going to go to waste...


...and we were hungry.


But don't worry, we paired it with a Juice! :D

Day 15 of Partial Reboot

Monday was "Day 15" of our Partial Reboot juicing experience! We're doing our best (key word is BEST here) to swap 2 major meals a day with Juice fresh from our Omega Vert juicer. We're now allowing only a (mostly) vegan, or "clean" meal for our other major meal, staying away from too many fats or calories, or processed food. We're still eating healthy snacks, as close to nature as we can possibly get them. Little by little, we're whittling away the junk!

For breakfast we did a little adaptation to Orange Shmorange, and swapped the oranges for fresh pineapple instead!

With the greens... and then without the greens.

Bee likes to call this...

Sunset Over the Trees

Yields 1.5 Qt.

1/2 Cantaloupe

1/2 Pineapple

about 10 organic Carrots

a few leaves of Kale

3 cups of Spinach

This one tasted great, too! Another new favorite!

Bee got an idea inspired by the coconut sitting on the table, to try a new kind of Smoothie. Only the coconut was moldy inside, but luckily we have coconut milk in stock!

Only partially processed...

Liquids first, then solids, then frozen things!

*whirrrrrrrrrrrrrr*

SOOOOO pretty!

Greenia Colada

Yields 1 Qt. plus 1 cup

3 cups Coconut Milk

2 frozen Bananas

8oz. frozen Pineapple

2 cups Spinach

WOW! It tasted FABULOUS! The frozen bananas and pineapples made the drink cold and frothy. What a treat! Though there is a bit of fat due to the coconut, and a little sugar added in the coconut milk, it still was a lot healthier than anything else we would have eaten before!

Health Update: 2 Weeks!

*ding! ding! ding!*

It's been two weeks already since we've started our partial reboot! And it couldn't be more clearer that not only is this manageable, but it is also fun, easy and we still want to do it! So hooray for us!!!

-Since the "official" weigh-in, Bee has lost 4 pounds! (6lbs if you count the weight she was for a solid year, just prior to the juicing.)

-Owl has lost 7 pounds!

-Bee hasn't had any tummy troubles, chest pains, or heartburn. In fact, she is now taking her Omeprazole only once every other day!

-Owl's blood sugar levels are actually dropping. He is now almost completely off one of his medications!

-Bee's eczema hasn't resurfaced yet this past week. (It may just come in phases, so we'll have to wait and see!)

-Our clothes are fitting much better, and we feel lighter and more energized than usual.

-Owl is down to 1 ounce of espresso per day!

Well it seems to us that this Reboot thing might just be working. We're regular, busy people and we do sometimes cheat here and there when it comes to food. (Once a week, or less than 5% of our intake is an allowable dairy/meat/fat cheat.) And we work in a restaurant, working 12 hour shifts at a time, so we don't have a lot of time for meal planning.

And we're losing weight!!! :D

Day 14 of Partial Reboot

Sunday was "Day 14" of our Partial Reboot juicing experience! We're doing our best (key word is BEST here) to swap 2 major meals a day with Juice fresh from our Omega Vert juicer. We're now allowing only a (mostly) vegan, or "clean" meal for our other major meal, staying away from too many fats or calories, or processed food. We're still eating healthy snacks, as close to nature as we can possibly get them. Little by little, we're whittling away the junk!


Our day began with our usual as of late, the Orange Shmorange. For lunch, we polished off the leftover Gazpacho we had made, plus a few other veggie leftovers from our outing on Friday. Snacking ensued, which included apples, nuts, and hummus on flax wraps.


Dinner was something Bee had been looking forward to making, soley because of the colors of the ingredients...

This picture is supposed to be SIDEways, not UPways!
But it jusr. won't. go.

Prime example of Color Theory how if you mix everything together,
you'll get a nice neutral brown color!

Roy-Gee-Biv

Yields 1.5 Qts.

4 Red Delicious Apples

8 organic Carrots

1 Golden Beet

a ton of Kale

1 Zucchini

2 cups Blueberries

2 cups Black Grapes

Boy, was it YUUUUUh MEEEEE!

To Juice or to Blend?

With all the research Owl has been doing on the juicers and blenders lately, he's been hearing a lot about the Juicer vs Blender controversy. Many people argue for one or the other, based on fiber content or fullness, etc. (Bee was not aware of the side effects argued about in such controversy.)

Saturday morning was the first morning we started our day on a Smoothie, made with whole fruit and veggies in the Blentec. It tasted delicious, and had a nice body and texture to it. Very tasty!

But we did notice, that a mere 3 hours later, we both were starving! We were ready for lunch when we normally eat it somewhere between 2:30 and 3:00. The both of us also felt the need for a coffee. And we'd been doing great all week without one!

There are a few different reasons why this may be:

1. We went to bed late, and slept less, and therefore are more tired and more hungry.

2. We had one of our early mornings, when we don't sleep in, therefore the time between breakfast and lunch has increased by 60 to 90 minutes.

3. The Juice we normally drink is more concentrated and without much fiber, and is therefore is absorbed into the body faster and the nutrients come on with a bang!

4. The fiber in the Smoothie fills us up right away, but it also revvs up our tummies for more food.

Also, today (Tuesday), we had a Smoothie for a snack. And an hour and a half later, we are hungry again! Could it be because this is our first fasting day? Not drinking enough water? Cleaning and  moving around more than we usually do?

It could be a combination of all these things, of course. But we find it interesting, and we'll be keeping tabs on how we feel during these double-shifts at work when we start our day with a Juice or a Smoothie. Whatever works best for US is the way we'll go!

In the meantime, John from discountjuicers.com has his own opinion here on youtube, so check it out! :D

Day 13 of Partial Reboot

Saturday was "Day 13" of our Partial Reboot juicing experience! We're doing our best (key word is BEST here) to swap 2 major meals a day with Juice fresh from our Omega Vert juicer. We're now allowing only a (mostly) vegan, or "clean" meal for our other major meal, staying away from too many fats or calories, or processed food. We're still eating healthy snacks, as close to nature as we can possibly get them. Little by little, we're whittling away the junk!


Breakfast was another Berry Bountiful Smoothie, because we liked it so much, and because it was FAST to make!

Except... we were starving way before lunch time. :/ (You may read my post later on about Juices vs Smoothies...or Juicers vs Blenders, at your leisure.) So we ate our vegetarian lunch and a bunch of snacks, and made this for dinner...

First time using radishes!

*sluuuurp* *licks lips* *GAG*
And it'll be the last time we use them, too.

Radical Radish

Yieds 1 Qt.

half a bunch of Radishes

2 White Nectarines

2 Peaches

1 Zucchini

1 Golden Beet, plus leaves

enough Carrots to turn this into a quart

We weren't fond of the radish taste, so we decided to chuck the rest and move on with our lives. Oh well, at least we know!

Day 12 of Partial Reboot

Today is "Day 12" of our Partial Reboot juicing experience! We're doing our best (key word is BEST here) to swap 2 major meals a day with Juice fresh from our Omega Vert juicer. We're now allowing only a vegetarian, or "clean" meal for our other major meal, staying away from too many fats or calories. (Though we are still eating up the remnants of whatever is in the house already, like dairy products, etc. Just not buying any more junk.) And we've been allowing small, healthy snacks throughout the day, just as we would enjoy any other day! Our point is to ease into the program, so we're taking our time and working our way into it.


Breakfast began with a glass of Orange Shmorange each, 

and Bee had a little fun juicing a bunch of organic carrots from the Farmer's Market versus the organic carrots bought at BJ's.

The Farmer's Market carrots are on the right, and they were lighter in color, less sweet, but more carroty. The BJ's carrots on the left were darker in color, sweeter, and more fuller bodied.

Also, Bee was reminded to thoroughly check everything before juicing...

We had a vegetarian lunch only slightly garnished with cheese here and there. But hey, we were only celebrating our FOURTH WEDDING ANNIVERSARY, so we cheated. And we ate bread with oil, too! :)

Today was the arrival of the addition to our little family of fun food fandanglers...our new Blendtec Blender! Now we can blend our berries to make non-dairy smoothies and keep all those yummy nutrients and colorful skins in!

The Happy Family

Naturally, Owl was dying to make something with the blender so he whipped up a batch of Gazpacho, a cold tomato-based soup. It was tasty, but we added some chopped cilantro and lime to the mixture, too!

And when we got home from work, Bee made a berry delicious smoothie! YUM!

didn't end up using the rhubarb....

Berry Bountiful Smoothie

Yields 1 Qt. plus 1 cup

2 cups Strawberries

2 cups Blueberries

2 cups Black Grapes

2 cups Spinach

What a great way to end the day! SO tasty, and filling too! But the blender on the High setting can be rather scary...