The GEM Cleanse: Day 1

Morning
My day started with 32 oz of warm water with lemon.  Yes, I peed twice before I even left the house.  I was not thrilled that my first drink was a Green Glow (I mean who wants to have liquid salad at 8:00am?) but it honestly was not bad.  I had 2 of those before 11:00am along with another 32 oz of water.
**No side effects or hunger. Just already annoyed at how full my bladder was**

Afternoon
Around lunch I had the Ruby Slippers juice (beets, carrots, cucumber, lemon, and ginger).  I'm not a HUGE beet fan but the juice tasted good.  And it's a pretty color which helps.  This was also followed by more water.  On my way home from work I bust out the Spicy Lemonade (lemon, water, maple syrup, and cayanne pepper) and was pleasantly surprised!  It honestly tasted like a diet lemonade with a swift kick at the end.
**Started having a slight headache on the right temple.  Also just had a "foggy" feeling.  Stomach growled once but was quickly quieted after some water**

Evening
I wasn't excited about drinking my 3rd Green Glow for the day so I chugged it as quickly as possible.  The taste is good but my stomach felt FULL!  However, I had one more drink to go so I sucked down more water and opened the bottle that made me the most nervous: Cashew Milk (cashew, maple syrup, sea salt, cinnamon, and water).  I thought it was going to taste like a thick nasty protein shake but was SOOOO happy at first gulp.  The cinnamon gives it a sweet smell and the taste reminds me of the milk leftover in a bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch.  Ok, maybe not THAT sweet and tasty but a close second.
**Probably the hardest part of the day for me.  Still have the headache but the "foggy" feeling went away.  I'm trying to keep my mind off of food even though there is NO way I could eat anything as full as I feel**

I'm learning that this is all a big game of Mind Over Matter.  If I really believe I can get through this, I can.  One of my favorite things the GEM tells you is "the REWARD for your discipline and power will far outweigh any twinge."  If I can keep telling myself this, I'll be fine.

The Gem Cleanse: Here we go!

I've been saying for about a year now that I wanted to do one of those fancy schmancy juice cleanses.  Ya know, the kind where you only drink pressed juices and water for 3 days and you wake up on Day 4 feeling like you could walk the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show?  No?  That's only me that has those delusions?  Ok well anyways....

After spending all of last week in The Vegas (half for play, half for work) I decided if there was ever a good time to cleanse it was definitely NOW.  I'm not sure I have ever consumed more pasta, eggs Benedict, chocolate, and Bloody Marys in my life!  My body needs a break for sure.

I started looking into different places in Dallas that offer cleanses and was HIGHLY disappointed with customer service, websites, facebooks, etc of most juice bars (social media-it counts people).  I came across an article from D Magazine about juicing and was introduced to The GEM.

The GEM is the happiest juice place I've ever been in, complete with a spinning disco ball!  It was started by Mary Kathryn Bass and Leslie Needleman who met through their children's school.  When Leslie learned of her diagnosis of node positive breast cancer, she started learning everything she could about the healing powers of nutrition.  You can read more about their stories here.

So what does this cleanse consist of you ask?
The one I chose is the Original GEM Cleanse. It is a 3-day cleanse and includes six juices per day.  I will be drinking 3 Green Glow juices, 1 Ruby Slipper, 1 Clarity Lemonade, and 1 Cashew Milk each day along with GALLONS of water.  I am supposed to start my day with 32 oz of water before I do anything else.  Whew!  That's a whole lotta liquid!

Aren't they pretty?

What am I hoping to gain from this?
EVERYONE I have ever talked to that has done a cleanse has said they feel UH-MAZING when it's over.  They feel like they have more energy, clearer skin, and are in a great mood.  Who wouldn't want that?!  Honestly, I'm just hoping this will give my body a much needed break and get me re-focused on my once healthy lifestyle.  I saw a big difference in the way my body felt when I was juicing everyday so I'm crossing my fingers that this gets me back on track.

Stay tuned......you never know what's going to come out of my mouth when I'm hungry!

SPD: Cheesy Quinoa

Once again I am linking up with the love ladies of Saw It, Pinned It, Did It Stephanie and Katie!  At some point maybe I'll do a project that doesn't involve food - oh what am I saying, I love food!


Cheesey Quinoa I love me some mac n cheese and I love me some quinoa so when I saw this recipe I was a tad excited!

Original pin here

Here's what you'll need

Quinoa - Soy milk - Cheese - Eggs - any veggies that you like

1. Lightly saute any veggies that you like in a bit of olive oil.  I threw in some freshly chopped garlic for good measure.
2.  Cook quinoa according to package.
3.  Preheat oven to 350F and coat a 13X9 inch dish.
4.  Whisk together 2 large eggs and 1 cup soy milk in a large bowl.
5.  Mix quinoa and sautéed veggies to egg mixture.
6.  Add 1 1/2 cups grated cheese.  I also added some bread crumbs for fun!
(Side note: I didn't think this was enough cheese at all!  Next time I will add closer to 2 1/2 cups)
7.  Transfer mixture into pan and bake 30-35 minutes.

This is how mine turned out.....obviously not as cheesy as the pic above.  However, it didn't taste half bad, I just added more cheese before I reheated the leftovers.

30 Before 30

Well here ya go folks, my 30 Before 30 list.  Keep in mind that I turn 30 in 10 months so wish me luck!

30 Before 30

1.     Run a 5K (here we go running shoes)

2.     Take a class at a paint/wine place

3.     Take a cooking class

4.     Gain at least 30 blog readers/followers (I'm at 5 so if you're reading this just click the follow button to your right, thanks!)

5.     Pay off my credit card debt 

6.     Do a 3-5 day juice cleanse (scared of this one but I want to see how my body does)

7.     Take a spin class

8.     Volunteer for a program that works with special needs children

9.     Go to a college football game (Can yall believe that I am a Texas girl and I've NEVER been to a college football game?  Tailgate-yes, actual game-no!  Give me a break, I went to school in OKC and we didn't have a football team!)

10. Visit a vineyard and drink wine

11. Write a blog entry about Katie and her legacy (every time I try to write this I can't.)

12. Buy both parents something nice that they’d never buy for themselves (my parents are THE hardest people to buy for)

13.  Find a job that I enjoy and gives me fulfillment (c'mon people of Michigan, HIRE me)

14. Be content with my body in a bikini (ugh, I'm working on this)

15. Send out 1 handwritten card once a week for a month

16. Take Michigan to a big country concert (Miranda, Lady Antebellum, Luke Bryan, etc)

17. Learn how to make good ol Southern Fried Chicken

18. Make a double car payment

19. Finish reading The Secret (I love this book but I can't seem to finish it)

20. Learn how to make the perfect Bloody Mary (I'm going to weasel this recipe out of Michigan in a few months)

21. Learn how to budget my income

22. Visit a brewery

23. Go to a pumpkin patch and carve punkins for our house

24. Cook 1 new recipe a week for 1 month

25. Not spend any money for 5 days (yeah we'll see how this goes)

26. Go to at least 3 good, big name concerts

27. Read the Great Gatsby

28. Eat a raw diet for 3 days (got this from Miss Stephanie but I LOVE this idea)

29. Send out Christmas cards (I always think about sending really cute picture cards but run out of time. It WILL happen this year)

30. ?????? (this one is a secret but I will for sure let yall know if when it happens)