Crazy, Sexy, and Done!!

I made it! I finished the 21-day Crazy Sexy Diet cleanse. Today was the last day, and you know what that means? It means I can have coffee again on Monday morning and gluten for dinner. And even sugar for dessert! Oh, and booze too.

Actually, I sorta cheated last night and had a glass of organic red wine. It was my friend's birthday, and I was so close to being done. It seemed silly to totally teetotal. And even though it's not midnight yet, I'm about to have another glass to celebrate. After all, I can't let this nice bottle of Bonterra organic cab sav go bad. Right?

I cooked (or uncooked) a few more Crazy Sexy Diet dishes over the weekend, like this Prana Marinara Sauce Over Raw Zucchini Fettuccine:

The sauce is made with blended cherry tomatoes, yellow pepper, sun-dried tomatoes, and fresh basil. I enjoyed this with a big ole salad with raw ranch and a slice of gluten-free toast spread with white bean dip.

I also made the Aztec Salad, a quinoa/black bean salad topped chipotle barbeque tempeh and pumpkin seeds, from Crazy Sexy Diet tonight. But I forgot to top mine with the pumpkin seeds until I was halfway through eating. So I'll wait and share pictures of leftovers (pumpkin seeds included) tomorrow.

Even though I'm glad to welcome back my old habits, like coffee, booze, and gluten, I do plan to keep a little of what I've learned on this cleanse:

* I will continue to drink green juice every morning, but rather than have a 16-ounce juice, I'll make smaller 8-ounce glasses to drink with breakfast. Juicing is expensive, and I can't afford to keep up the 16-ounce habit.

* I will try to maintain a 60/40 alkaline/acid diet that's heavier on veggies and alkaline foods like tempeh and tofu and lighter on acidic foods like pastas, grains, faux meats, and oils. The ideal plate for me should be 60% alkaline and 40% acid.

* I will try to limit my sugar consumption by checking products for added sugars and opting for unsweetened versions when available (like unsweetened soy or almond milk).

* I will try to limit desserts to no more than two per week, not counting dark chocolate.

* I will continue to dry brush my skin every morning and use the neti pot at night.

That being said, you'll still see vegan junk food, my beloved faux meat, and treats on the blog. I'm just hoping to incorporate more raw stuff to balance everything out. I've become quite the junk food vegan over the past few months, and I basically spent from Thanksgiving to New Year's Eve living on fake meat, chips, and sweets. Before the holidays, I was already eating pretty healthy, so I'm really just going back to that.

And that brings me to one final point. I had an anonymous comment from someone who said he or she couldn't support the idea of a vegan going on a more restricted diet. This comment came from a new vegan, and that's totally understandable. When you're transitioning from the Standard American Diet or even a lacto-ovo vegetarian diet, it's hard to imagine why an already diet-restricted vegan would restrict themselves further. The commenter asked, "Is eating at all an enjoyable part of life for you or just another means to execute control and 'routine'?"

Of course, eating is enjoyable! Anyone who knows me will tell you that food is THE most important thing in my life. I live to eat. When I'm not eating, I'm dreaming about what I'll eat next. But that sometimes means that I gorge on too many treats, like I did over the holidays. Every year in January, I do some sort of cleanse to get myself back in line and re-adopt healthy eating goals that may have fallen by the wayside. Besides, healthy raw food is delicious!

It is a means to execute control, of course. But sometimes, a girl's gotta execute a little control to get herself back on track. Just because you're vegan doesn't mean you're healthy. Not by a long shot. I applaud the the commenter for trying to go vegan in the new year. But it's important for new vegans to realize that not all things vegan are good for you. Vegan cupcakes, donuts, and fried foods should be occasional treats, not everyday indulgences. And that's really all I'm trying to accomplish with this cleanse. More veggies, less indulgences.