Detox Week: Day Three- Add Raw Vegetables

     I woke up feeling great. My husband noticed that I look thinner. I weighed myself, and I am eight pounds less than my dreaded weight at the doctor's office. I only had three white heads on my face. I ate watermelon and grapes for breakfast. I've been eating a lot of watermelon, and will have to make another trip to the grocery. I have done some research and watercress contains beta-carotene and sulfur, both of which are liver tonics. It also is an anti-cancer super food. Dandelion leaves are loaded with antioxidants. They are bitter so it is recommended you use them in a fruit smoothie and start with a small amount until you develop a taste for them. I also found this great website for healthy smoothies, www.incrediblesmoothies.com.

     For lunch today I decided to eat some raw vegetables. So, to me, the idea of raw vegetables without salt or ranch is kind of crazy. So, when I made my salad today, I used a Tbsp. of Newman's Own Organic Lite Balsamic Vinaigrette. I read all of the ingredients, and it's pretty much oil & vinegar and onion, pepper, garlic. Besides the oil & vinegar (I'm not sure where they stand in the detox process), everything else seemed like it was on my approved list. And on Day Four you can add spices like cayenne pepper and ginger, so what's a tablespoon of a vinaigrette to add flavor? My salad was a mix of leafy greens and spinach, half of an avocado, cherry tomatoes, onion, and slices of bell pepper. I also have been drinking lots of water with fresh squeezed lemon.

     I must also mention that my body is sore from yesterday's workout. Hopefully, I will sstick to my plan of exercising regularly and my body will get used to it.

     So, for dinner, I kind of cheated on my detox. I didn't do anything major, like drink caffeinated beverage, but I did skip ahead to tomorrow's approved food - cooked vegetables and brown rice. My husband thought I could eat that today, and being supportive suggested that we have rice-stuffed peppers and chicken on the grill for dinner and that he would grill vegetables for me. I appreciated his support, and the meal sounded delicious, so I went ahead and ate the Day Four approved foods for dinner. And man was it delicious. I made brown rice for me and white rice for my family. I added peppers, onions, mushrooms, and broccoli to the rice, and a tablespoon of organic vegetable stock. Then I stuffed red peppers. I added cheese as a topping to my families. My family loved it. I will definitely make it again. Mine was great; however, I am sure it will taste even better when I can add salt and cheese to mine. We also ate steamed broccoli and they ate grilled chicken and I ate grilled peppers and onions. Tonight was the first time that I really craved a coke with dinner, but I stuck to my water with fresh squeezed lemon, and dealt with the craving.