Sunday, October 2, 2011

Vegan MoFo Day 2: Can a Sweet Bean Turn Healthy?

"You cannot build a reputation on what you are going to do." -Henry Ford

"Just Do It." -Nike


I am strictly an ethical vegan: vegan for the animals, not my health or the environment (those are just grand side effects).  Admittedly, I'm not the healthiest eater (although I do love raw kale salad).

I've read about cleanses and considered them, but they've never seemed my style.  Plus, I was under the impression that they involved pricy, store-bought juices and I certainly couldn't justify that.  But then a couple of friends started the self-propelled (and community supported) 21-day Adventure Cleanse from Crazy Sexy Diet.  These gals are better eaters than me to begin with, and way more fit; I still didn't feel like it was for me.  I started following one of their blogs, Well of Intention, but more out of genuine interest and support than camaraderie.  Then I met up with one of them at a recent dinner for another friend and WOW, did she look great.  Not only was she physically stunning, but her whole being just exuded happiness and clarity.  To be fair, after catching up I learned that both her personal and professional life were in a really great place.  But, which came first- the soy chicken or the tofu egg?  Did it matter?

No donuts for 21 days?

Coincidentally, it was that time of year again for Vegan MoFo.  I'd never participated because, although I blog regularly, the idea of doing so every day seemed a bit daunting.  But what if I combined the two considerations and tackled both a cleanse and MoFo simultaneously?  Genius or crazy? 

No pizza?

When I emailed a trusted friend about whether or not I should finally participate in MoFo he was unabashedly enthusiastic.  I was a little more trepidatious about suggesting the possibility of a cleanse.  In fact, I was actually afraid he'd think someone had hacked into my email account, so I ended the message with, "This isn't spam; it's really me. I'm eating a Terri chocolate chip mocha brownie for breakfast."  Thankfully, he was just as supportive about the cleanse idea (although he did concede that "Yep, only you would have a c.chip brownie as you’re talking of a cleanse") and extremely insightful about the idea of my MoFo relying solely on a lifestyle I know nothing about.  I was thrilled with the input and support, but still wondered if I could really do either- let alone both.  

Lula's!

I told VM about my idea and she gave me her lemon-face.  The last time I saw this face was the first Thanksgiving I was a vegetarian; it's not a good face to be on the other end of.  After some prying I was able to determine that she thought a cleanse non-negotiably included colonics.  First of all, no.  Second of all, no.  Third of all, no more Howard Stern for her!

Carbs!

The Crazy Sexy Diet book remained in my shopping cart, the MoFo sign-up form perpetually minimized in my computer tray.  I badgered the cleansers who inspired me for days straight and attempted to will a friend to embark on the journey with me.

And then I just decided to do it.  Why not?  The only thing really standing in my way was taken care of when LB kindly provided me with my blog's feed address (so I could actually sign up for the MoFo), and here I am- on my way.

Snail Food!

Disclaimer: I will officially start the cleanse on Day 4 of MoFo, reporting back on Day 5 (unintentional convolution; stick with me, peeps).  I must sheepishly admit that today, MoFo Day 2, will consist of an all-out Cinnamon Snail feast.  Surprised?  Newbies should poke around my blog and they won't be.  Hear all about it tomorrow.  And then, a cleansing adventure on the horizon...

12 comments:

  1. these donuts look awesome! hope you'll do good with your cleansing experience!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I just wrote a giant comment, but the internet ate it. Basically it was about how awesome Cinnamon Snail looked (read your linked post) and that I'm interested in seeing how the cleanse goes for you. Good luck! Great post!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Abby,

    Only you could blog about starting your cleanse as you incorporate nothing but sweets and heavy carbs.

    *No donuts! No pizza! NO LULA's! No carbs! No Snail food!

    ps, please tell all your readers how you plan to add more activity in your life?

    ReplyDelete
  4. I'm impressed that you've posted two days in a row, but a cleanse? Will I now be the last vegan on earth not on a cleanse? I wait with baited breath to see how this unfolds. It's only 21 days, so I know you'll manage well. But remember, years and years ago I became a vegan for two months, and look where that led.

    ReplyDelete
  5. everytime you want a sweet, you should do a few pushups.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Dimitra, The Cinnamon Snail only does awesome! Thank you for your good wishes :-)

    Aleks, I hate when that happens. A friend and I have been discussing how that only seems to happen when you're at your wittiest. You owe it to yourself to check out the Snail as soon as possible and thank you for your kind words.

    MVG, TY; I am going to add a disclaimer to my next post in order to address my, um, unorthodox methods. Also, I am hereby blocking you from my comments! JK. Attention, blogosphere: I do intend to shake my booty, but I'm so out of practice that I haven't yet decided how.

    Andrea, I know, right? Craziness. I should also mention that my house renovations continue amidst all of this as well. I think I may have lost my mind when I was forced to walk over the Manhattan Bridge under duress a few weeks ago. I've never done anything remotely like this before, but I have a good feeling about the outcome. And that's a great story of how you became vegan!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Haha. I feel about your cleanse how you feel about my running.

    In a nutshell: better you than me! I know I'd lose weight and look better but, frankly, I don't care.

    Anytime I get that strict with food and have a list of "not allowed" items (that isn't related to ethical veganism!) my ED gets triggered and I get all sorts of crazy. I waver back and forth on wanting to try it and not. I'm never sure if it's my brain thinking it's a good idea or the ED voice trying to get me to restrict.

    I AM considering trying the frugavore thing, though. I love fruit. I love sweets and fruits are sweet. I could probably totally do fruit and greens only until dinner and then eat more freely then.

    I eat loads of produce now but ... cough.. I just finished eating a banana with choco PB on it. And a coconut choco Luna bar. Sugar is my WEAKNESS. When I'm running high mileage all I want are sweets and carbs - fruit does it 75% of the time but sometimes... nothing works but real crappy crap sugar garbage. ;)

    I'll be reading to see how you do. Maybe you'll convince me to cut even more sugar out of my diet (and do it knowing it's NOT the ED, it's an actual choice I'm making for good reasons).

    I already cook only with stevia baking blend and typically only eat sugar in packaged or pre-made things. I don't use oil 99% of the time at home and try to avoid it when out. Still, I'm a LONG way from the cleanse diet level of clean eating. LOL.

    Good luck!!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Oh Melissa, your running actually scares me! I barely move, let alone fast.

    I am actually surprised by how many foods are included in this cleanse, and the science behind what she thinks you generally should and shouldn't eat.

    The tone of the book is very "do the best you can" (which I can appreciate except for the vegan part), so I don't feel the pressure to be perfect at it- even though I'd like to do a good job of conquering 21 days! Another positive is that she acknowledges certain convenience foods like Daiya! How cannot you not love a diet book that talks about how great Daiya is?

    P.S. I might have to actually try jogging or something; it's one of the cleanse suggestions. YUCK!

    ReplyDelete
  9. I'll have to look into it! I think having a plan/book would make it more that I'm NOT doing a weird ED related Bad Thing and give me a good road plan. I'll wait until after I'm home from PDX/done with the marathon and then see about giving it a try.

    I have a Vita and I looooove eating clean foods (I just also have some packaged stuff I adore) and some days I think I could live on almond milk, oats, bananas (and banana "ice cream"!), apples, nut butter, baby carrots, baba ganoush and greens. LOL.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Melissa, You Vita-lovers...does yours have a name too!?

    That's so funny, because sometimes I think I could live on donuts, cookies, and ice cream. Oh wait...

    ReplyDelete
  11. My almost but not quite vegan SO actually is the one who clamoured for the Vita. I was like "really? We have our awesome Ninjas... do we NEED this?" Hoo boy, yes. Yes we did! I mostly make nut/coconut butters and smoothies in it but hoo boy. Worth it. OMNOMNOM.

    I also take cashews and blend the hell out of them with some water and stevia, then make ice cream in my machine! Or pulverize cantaloupe with stevia and do cantaloupe sorbet. I use the vita for sweet delicious evil. White chocolate vanilla almond butter? Done it. So good.

    We got ours when one of the MN Whole Foods had them for a weekend special display thingie and I used my discount. 27% off took some of the sting out of buying a multi hundred dollar blender. Discount FTW.

    No name. Just "the Vita". ;)

    ReplyDelete
  12. Just finished the CSD and I am sticking with the new habits. Looking forward to reading more of your cleanse posts!

    ReplyDelete

Have you got something to say? It would be so nice to hear from you!
(I know captchas suck, but not as much as spam.)