Jump Starting 2017 with a Cleanse

Happy New Year (2017)!

After a few years on hiatus from this blog, I AM BACK! Excited about getting back to what I love: writing, sharing thoughts, and empowering others.

So, I have decided to jump start 2017 by eating a vegan-influenced diet starting with the first 31 days of the year. I am thrilled to share this journey with others by swapping meal ideas, recipes, food photos, and helpful resources. This will be a fun journey filled with a commitment to self-love, health and wellness, and all around good eating.

For six years, I was a vegetarian and a portion of that I was actually a pescatarian (ate fish as my main source of protein). I had decided to re-introduce meat back into my diet in 2013. Many people ask me why I did not remain vegetarian. At that time, I was traveling to Malawi for an extended stay and knew that being vegetarian in a resource-limited environment would pose to be a huge challenge. So, I decided to eat meat again. Weeks before my trip, I announced to my GI system that carnivore-land is where I was returning. First stop, Chipotle. In two words. BIG. MISTAKE. My favorite item at Chipotle is the barbacoa burrito. However, my GI system did not agree. Unfortunately, I paid for it that night and the next morning. Needless to say, I learned to take gradual steps into getting back into eating meat. Since 2013, I have been eating meat, but more so in moderation. In the last few months, I have been incorporating more vegan dinners. 

Today, I am embarking on a new journey. The next 30 days will be all about indulging in vegan delights. Yummy. I will enter the land of avocado, mushrooms, hummus, mixed green salads, berries, watermelon, mint, lemon, eggplant, arugula. Doesn't that sound amazing! Music to my ears. The world of fruits, veggies, grains, and seeds are plentiful. It is all about having the right mindset.

I have decided to take on the G-BOMBS approach. Familiar with this concept? If not, check out the breakdown below:

G-BOMBS is an acronym (provided below) coined by Dr. Fuhrman, which describes a "nutritarian" lifestyle focused on eating foods that are cancer-fighting and have the most health benefits.

• Greens (and grains)
• Beans
• Onions
• Mushrooms
• Berries (and other fruits)
• Seeds 

I plan to avoid sugar and will stick to the natural sugars in fruity. I am okay with organic honey though. Feel free to cut out or incorporate honey. I know that most vegans do not. I will aim to stick to organic options namely for the dirty dozens.

 Drink options I will stick to are as follows:

• Filtered water
• Fruit-infused water
• Sparkling water
• Herbal teas (found an amazing one called Bengal Spice mix...will share more in a future post)

Below is my meal breakdown:

NOTE: I got an early start with clean eating and began with a healthy NYE dinner. You are welcome to try some of these meals below are tweak according to your preference.

Dec. 31^st Dinner

• Eggplant tacos
• Lemon-mint couscous
• Mixed greens salad

Jan. 1^st

Breakfast

• Sliced green apples
• Organic brown rice cake with organic peanut butter and honey
• Smoothie bowl with granola
•  Bengal spice (not pictured here)

AM Snack

• Sliced carrots, celery and banana

Lunch

• Lentil soup topped with avocado slices, cilantro, and green onions (for 2 ppl)
• Green mixed salad

PM Snack

• Granola (not pictured here)

Dinner

• Lentil and guacamole tacos
• Carrots
• Banaba berry mix fruit cup (for 2ppl)
• Green tea

 

 

I would love to hear what you ate, meal plans, recipes, and more. Please let me know if you have any questions or are interested in any recipes of the meal items mentioned in this post. Feel free to comment below. Let’s keep it going!