Fasting

I started my 3-week fast yesterday. Actually, it's officially a "cleanse," but I'm tired of having to either define or defend the cleanse to people who are ignorant to its ways, so I'm calling it a fast instead. Everyone can relate to a fast; plus, it has that added benefit of having a spiritual connotation which makes people less likely to criticize it.

I have so very, very little energy right now. I looked at my half-closed eyes in the mirror and realized, try as I might, I can't pull them upright into a position that does not make me look half-dead. Or at least half-asleep. Maybe it's a benefit because I really don't seem to care about anything right now. My energy is so low that my stress level is at a 0. Unfortunately, that's extremely rare.

I'm writing a few of my experiences as I think of them, but I especially want to document what I'm eating. I'm always looking for vegetable recipes, so I'm taking advantage of this time to jot some more ideas down as I use them for my fast.

Yesterday I made sauteed veggie rolls. I wrapped a Napa Cabbage leaf (now my favorite cabbage BTW) around finely chopped carrots, regular cabbage & pineapple). I sauteed them in about 1 Tbls. light oil and some water with the lid on (so they also were steamed). For dinner, I had baba ganoush (1 roasted eggplant, 6 cloves roasted garlic, 2 Tbls. tahini, juice of one lime). I ate it with roasted zucchini sticks (thin spears of zucchini tossed with 1 Tbls. light oil, roasted at 350 degrees just until tender), raw carrot sticks and sugar snap peas. It was a birthday party, so for dessert I brought crushed pineapple mixed with 1 Tbls. chopped raw cashews and topped with banana slices.

Today I had some Napa cabbage, zucchini & onion "stir fry" (just sauteed in water, not oil) and a salad with 1 Tbls. almonds & 1/2 date for lunch. For dinner I had 2 yams sliced & roasted with 1 Tbls. oil & Bragg's kelp seasoning. For a late-night snack I had steamed/sauteed pears with cinnamon (just 'til tender) and a banana coconut ginger sauce to dip in.

The specs of the fast per day are:

2-3 protein shakes/day (special shakes from SP, unsweetened, so I add banana & berries)
30 horsepill size supp's this 1st week each day
as many salad veggies as I want
whole fruits, but only at 50% of my veggie intake (so twice as many veggies as fruits)
cooked veggies are OK but no starchy veggies (potatoes, corn, peas or legumes -- I pushed it with the yams today, I'm sure)
2 Tbls. olive or flax oil
1/4 cup MEASURED OUT nuts
seasonings that don't have any salt or sugar (or preservatives, chemicals, etc.)

That's it, in a nutshell. I'm so tired now. I'm off to bed.