30 day real food
challenge Blog: Prana
Emily Potter, Clinical
Nutritionist
www.nourishmintwellness.com
Week 1
“Real food is things that
your great-grandmother would recognize.” This
quote by Michael Pollen gave me the idea and inspiration to embark on
a 'real food' challenge. What does that mean? Well, It's really
simple. Just eat real food! Nothing out of a package, nothing
processed. Going into the challenge I thought that would be fairly
simple, as I am a Clinical Nutritionist and a yogi. With my
background and education, I typically eat a very healthy and
nutritious diet. Much to my surprise, eating real food is a lot
harder than it sounds--and it's only been one week.
Other motivations for this challenge
include my new role as a mom! I had a baby boy just five weeks ago
and am currently spending my days on maternity leave. I'm getting to
know him, and of course, I am breast feeding. I'm enjoying the
simplicity of each day. Another inspiration to my challenge is that
in 30 days, I will be 30 years old. The timing makes perfect sense.
So what are the rules of a 30 day real
food challenge? Well, first let me note that it's a 'challenge' and
not a 'cleanse.' That left me room for error, as I didn't want to put
pressure on myself with all of the big changes in my life. I teach my
clients about the 80/20 rule, which means eighty percent of the time,
eat what is healthy and what you know is good for your body. Twenty
percent of the time, life happens. Drink the wine, eat the chocolate
etc. Well, because I just got off of a 10 month 'detox' from alcohol
(since I was pregnant) I wanted to let alcohol be my 20 percent. I
realize that might sound crazy for a real food challenge, but it's my
challenge-- I get to make up the rules, and I have been LOVING my
occasional glass of red wine.
This week I have learned to keep it
simple. Eating real food is simple. Organic fruits, veggies, animal
products, raw dairy products, seafood and seaweed, nuts, seeds,
gluten-free grains, beans and natural sweeteners are all real food
which is allowed. I am also having juice (only if I juice it myself)
as well as coffee (that is organic, fair trade.)
The first three days were easy. I
chose a few new recipes including a spaghetti bolognese made with
spaghetti squash as the pasta and homemade sauce that I whipped up in
my Vitamix. I also made a delicious green juice to last me a few
days. On the fourth day of the challenge, the sugar cravings hit.
I'm not sure if it is because of the breast feeding and craving more
calories in general, or the fact that I had been so good the previous
three days, but these cravings came back with vengeance. I was
sitting on the couch with my husband, watching a movie and all of a
sudden, I had to have an ice cream milkshake. (I'm pretty sure
I'm the only one that ever does that, right?) So, I went to the
kitchen, opened up the freezer door and stared at the ice cream. It
was taunting me like kids in a playground at recess time. However, I
was committed and I was not going to break. Not this early in the
game. I promptly whipped out the vitamix yet again and added 6 ice
cubes. I poured in some raw milk, coconut butter, raw cacao powder
and honey. I blended up what appeared to be a milkshake! I decorated
my 'milkshake' with raw cacao nibs and coconut. It was delicious!!!
What a breakthrough. I proceeded to have one of those each night for
the next 5 days, and I'm certain I have stumbled upon something
amazing. It completely satisfied my craving for ice cream and in many
ways I thought it tasted even better. Success!
Another challenge this week was
snacking. We spent Sunday at the beach for the entire day and packing
for an all day beach picnic was more difficult that I thought. I
wanted to throw in my Mary's crackers, some protein bars and maybe
even a cookie or two. Of course all of those things come straight out
of a package. Instead, I made a quick kale and quinoa salad, tossed
in a whole avocado, grapes, homemade trail mix and a... Blue Moon
beer. Hey, I said 80/20! Besides the fact that eating an avocado with
a spoon is a little tricky at the beach, I ate all real food
with the exception of my Blue Moon.
Overall, the week had it's challenges,
but I would call it very successful. I created some new recipes, and
am feeling like my energy is coming back--despite the many sleep
deprived nights with my new baby. I'm looking forward to week number
two!
My favorite
green juice recipe: (all ingredients organic)
1 cucumber
1 bunch celery
1 bunch kale
1 handful of romaine
1 inch piece of ginger, peeled
1 lemon
2 green apples
Vitamix Ice
cream:
6 large ice cubes
½ c raw milk or coconut milk
2 T raw cacao powder
2 T coconut butter
1 T raw honey
Optional toppings: Raw cacao nibs
Unsweetened coconut
Blend above
ingredients in Vitamix until thick and smooth. Top with optional
toppings.
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