I started the day off right with a Sicilian Juice (red pepper, tomato, spinach, garlic, celery) and a small bowl of One Degree Veganic Sprouted Ancient Maize Flakes with unsweetened coconut-almond milk, enjoyed in my PJs while Paul and I finished watching Captain Phillips. We both passed out trying to watch it Saturday night.
Lunch was a Giant Everything Salad — romaine, spinach, cherry tomato, carrot, kalamata olives, baked tofu, curried cashews, coconut bacon, currants, and homemade sprouted grain croutons with ginger-sesame dressing.
But that's where the healthy eating ended, and the celebration commenced. First up at around 2:30 p.m., my friend Andy and I went to an event celebrating the life of Lisa McNeil, a bartender at Dru's Place (our fave LGBT bar) who passed away a few weeks ago. Lisa was a special person and the kindest bartender ever. So cleanse be damned, I was having a drink in her honor. Dru's Place has a decent beer selection, but it's not huge. I probably wouldn't have picked a Fat Tire for my first beer in 21 days if local craft options were available. But it was still damn good.
After that, I had very important foodie plans. My friend Stephanie (Poopie Bitch on the PPK) turns 33 on Tuesday, but she wanted to have a birthday dinner tonight at Mellow Mushroom. What perfect timing! Pizza is my favorite food, and I was so very happy for it to be my first non-cleanse meal in 21 days.
While we waited for everyone to arrive, Stephanie and I dove into this Hummus & Pita appetizer. Besides some sprouted grain on the cleanse, this was my first real gluten. I'd forgotten how amazing gluten can be! These little pitas were perfectly toasted, warm, and chewy.
We ordered a massive Jerk Tempeh & Pineapple Pizza with Daiya Cheese for four people to share. Wow! Just wow. Everyone else ate one slice and said they were saving room for dessert. But me? I ate two. I'm a total piggy.
And guess what? I still had room for dessert! No way was I passing up Stephanie's home-baked vegan cupcakes! I'm so lucky to have a professional vegan baker as one of my close friends. She made Pomegranate-Lemon Cupcakes, and they were double-sized!
Other than a couple tiny vegan cheesecake bites that Cassi made me last weekend and a bite or two of dark chocolate now and then, this was my first big sugar splurge in 21 days. And I'm pretty sure I got a bit of a sugar high from eating this. IT. WAS. SO. GOOD. Out of everything I couldn't have on the cleanse, I think I missed sugar the least. I love baked goods, but I'm more of a savory person. Yet this cupcake was just amazing. I needed that.
Today was awesome! But I'm still feeling pretty stuffed three hours later. I probably should have just had one slice of pizza, but you know, I was celebrating! And starting tomorrow, I'm getting back on the wagon. Sort of. Tomorrow night, I'll fill y'all in about my post-cleanse, long-term eating plans. Don't worry — I'm not going raw or anything crazy. But I do plan to maintain a few cleanse-friendly healthy habits.
Oh, and one more thing. I need to give a congratulatory shout-out to my bestie Sheridan and her partner Drew. They also wrapped up their 21-day Crazy Sexy Diet cleanse today too!! I heard they celebrated tonight with vegan cheese fries and beer. Yum.
That looked like pretty much the best salad ever! Sooo many goodies on it.
ReplyDeleteAnd pomegranates lemon sounds like the best cupcake combo ever!
That salad is awesome. I never think to put stuff like that in salads! Mine are mostly, "Let's throw all this shit that needs to be used up in a bowl before it goes bad. With some chickpeas." lol
ReplyDeleteI'm curious to hear how you felt after a big helping of gluten after being gluten-free for 21 days. Could you tell any difference?
Can't wait what a way to emerge from the cleanse. I am on day 8, too far away to count down. I should plan to celebrate out too.
ReplyDeleteGreat job with the cleanse (and to drew and sheridan too!). i love the hummus and pita at mellow mushroom. josh and i like to go there after we hike pinnacle mountain, and i pig out on pizza. noms. they have a portabello sandwich that is AMAZING. your cupcake looked good. i still have another week to go, then we'll see how much gluten, alcohol and sugar come back into my life.
ReplyDeleteYayyyy! Congratulations! And thank you for talking me into it! haha! Drew and I really do feel so much better. And honestly, your pizza and cupcakes look better than our celebratory meal, haha, but maybe we'll get pizza soon!
ReplyDeleteOh how we learn to appreciate the little things when we're away for so long :)
ReplyDeleteThe pizza looks great. Looking forward to hearing yr wrap-up.
If I had to think of the three best ways to end a cleanse, they would be:
ReplyDelete1. beer
2. pizza
3. cupcakes
You managed all three. A woman after my own heart.
Can't wait to hear about your post-cleanse eating! This is a much-needed reminder that some serious diet adjustments are in order for me as well.
My first thought was "What do you mean Fat Tire isn't local... it's brewed in Fort Collins!" I forget not everyone lives in Colorado ;) Also? If that salad is allowed on the cleanse, it might be the only cleanse I could be successful at. Looks amazing! And that cupcake, wow!
ReplyDelete