For Days 18-21, I fell off the vegan detox/cleanse wagon!! (Let’s not talk about that. I don’t want to focus on negativity or failure.) The important thing is that I got back on the horse and I’m going to finish the cleanse strong! And I should also note that I did continue to do the “boot camp” workout at the local gym. Challenging! Yes, I’m sore!

Looking forward only! Today was Day 22 of my 24-day vegan detox/cleanse. All of this is in preparation for the biggest challenge of my life: My 92-day juice fast which begins on March 2! This is going to be NO JOKE, and I plan on taking it very seriously. No falling off the wagon! I know I can accomplish it, and it will be one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. I also believe it will change me, my life, and my relationship with food forever. I believe that I will define my life as everything prior to my 92-day juice fast, and everything after my 92-day juice fast! It’s going to be epic! But….back to today:

BREAKFAST – Half a quart of filtered water and almost a full-quart of Green Creamsicle Smoothie. I’m calling it “creamsicle” because that’s how it tasted but I promise there was no dairy! Just a delicious plants-only raw vegan smoothie.

This recipe made almost 2 full quarts (one for me and one for the husband). Print This Recipe!

GenXGemini’s Green Creamsicle Smoothie

• 2 cups of filtered water
• 1.5 cups of ice (optional)
• 3 ripe organic bananas
• Juice from 3 organic oranges
• 3 handfuls of organic greens (I used green leaf lettuce) – you could use more or less, depending on your preference

Blend everything together in a Vita-Mix or other high-speed blender until smooth.

This is fruity, creamy and delicious! Enjoy! If you have the patience, you could peel the oranges and put the whole orange in there instead of just the juice. I’m sure it would make it more flavorful, and it would give it more fiber. (I just did the juice to save time.)

Since I’m coming back to my cleanse after a couple of naughty days, I wanted to start today with a nice filling smoothie to satisfy my hunger. If you have followed my last 18 posts on this detox plan, you’d see that I often don’t have breakfast, or often have just one quart of juice or smoothie to count as both breakfast and lunch. But I wanted to prevent any hunger pangs today that might derail me since I’m a bit vulnerable right now. So I ensured I had a big breakfast and a big lunch. I also didn’t put any restrictions on myself (like “juice only”). The plan is to get back to healthy raw vegan eating within the parameters of no meat, eggs, dairy, fish, poultry, wheat (and all gluten), sugar, corn, soy, fried foods, alcohol, caffeine, processed foods and artificial anything. I am also staying away from cooked foods. I’ll probably do the same tomorrow (Day 23) and Wednesday (Day 24); just smoothies, juices, raw soups, and salads for me to finish up this detox/cleanse plan.

LUNCH & LATE AFTERNOON – I made a full quart of another, different kind of smoothie which I split into two meals: half quart for lunch and half quart for late afternoon. (I actually made two quarts and my husband got the second quart for his dinner.) This one turned out really thick and VERY GREEN. I was actually sort of intimidated to drink it after I made it but I was very pleasantly surprised. Despite all the kale and the dark green color, it tasted super fruity and you cannot taste the kale AT ALL. In fact, if it was a processed food product, I would be willing to bet it would be dyed red. Because it tastes like fruit. It doesn’t taste like it looks. (Scary how the food additives industry has made me have such weird thoughts. Ban food dyes!!!!!!)

GenXGemini’s ABBA Green Smoothie

Makes 2 quarts. Print This Recipe!

ABBA – great pop music! ABBA: Acai Berry-Banana-Apple

• 2 cups of filtered water
• 3 organic bananas (I used 1 frozen and 2 fresh, ripe –because that’s what I had on hand)
• 2 organic apples (I used 1 Fuji and 1 Braeburn)
• 1 packet of unsweetened Acai Berry puree
• Juice from one lemon
• 1 full bunch of de-stemmed organic kale (it’s a lot of kale, don’t be scared)

Blend everything up in your high-speed blender until it reaches a smooth consistency. Enjoy!

This was really thick and filling! Like I said, I had half a quart for lunch and the other half in the late afternoon. And I promise you cannot taste the kale. It’s super yummy.

I also drank a lot of water during the day. I had at least 64 fluid ounces of water between 6am and 2pm.

One of my co-workers brought caramel candies that I like into work today (Toffifay). She put a whole big tray of them out to share in the break room. I wasn’t even tempted! (But I’m actually not really a big sweets person. I’m usually more tempted by fatty savory foods than fatty sweet foods.)

Today was one of my long work days as I went from my regular day job straight to my second job after work. So I didn’t get home until about 7:50pm. The husband and I were both really hungry when I got home…so I made us a quick salad with green leaf lettuce, tomato, carrot, purple cabbage, sunflower seeds, and sundried olives. It really hit the spot.

Favorite part of my day: Reading “There’s A Wocket in My Pocket” by Dr. Seuss to a 1st grade class at our primary school. It’s “Dr. Seuss Week” in our K-8 Library and the librarian asked for guest readers to come down and read to the kids. I gladly agreed, and it was a lot of fun. Kids are SO cute at that age! She gave me a very attractive mug as a “Thank You” gift (which she didn’t need to do!)

Tomorrow is my third “bootcamp” workout — after work! Yes, I will be going! Looks like I will be signing up for a gym membership. (Something I haven’t done in 6 years.)

Thank you for stopping by!

XOXOXO

—GenXGemini

Added later: You can read about Days 23-24 and the Summary and Wrap-Up here.