We are so lucky to have one of Milwaukee's most fabulous and knowledgable vegans out there joining our AbundeFAMILY. Mrs. Jane of Clean Fourteen is an athlete, teacher, holistic health warrior, artist, foodie, dog momma, and all around cool lady (always has been - we met in high school!)
She has some fantastic recipes and ideas, and I am excited to have her share them with us!
Much Love,
Sarah
So, in her own words...
Hello Abundenthusiasts!
I'm Jane (Duffey) and I've started 2014 with a fresh blog (cleanfourteen.wordpress.com) to journal the happy and healthy daily flotsam and jetsam that come with a clean, green, plant-based lifestyle. Thank you Sarah for having me over today!
Can I tell you what else I've been doing this year? Let me go back to Christmas. Or rather, Thanksgiving. Oh alright, Halloween.
Even vegans like me get ourselves into the candy bowl. And the bread basket. Even the cookie jar. The fact is, eating vegan doesn't always mean plant-based. At least it didn't for me over the 2013 season of holidays, and heavy-bellies.
I'd pack my Clif Bar and apple for breakfast, my green salad or sandwich with nuts and hummus for lunch, a Mojo Bar for snack each weekday. And every week night, I'd cook up...
- brown rice + black beans with fresh guacamole
- wild rice coconut oil stir fry
- whole wheat pasta with pine nuts and roasted red pepper sauce
- quinoa/sweet potato/carrot/kale tofu scrambles.
And I knew I was feeding myself (and my husband) something that I would smugly show any doctor, or nutritionist. What I would be less inclined to put on display were the afternoon Oreos that a student in my fifth grade class brought in. Or the bag of (vegan) Chocolate Chip Pecan cookies (the size of my head) that I liked to frequent when visiting my mom's house. Or the peanut butter fudge bars my vegan sister loves to bake. YES they all passed the egg-dairy test.
But they weren't fueling me for anything but anxious, jittery, nervous energy - the kind that zaps your feel-good, positive, can-do power.
On top of all of that, I had taken to spending an inordinate amount of time trying to keep track of all the things I was eating. Counting calories? Thinking about fat grams? Obsessing over sugar? I thought I'd given that up when I went vegan! And now I was back in this loop-de-loop of indulging (if you can call it that), and then worrying. Eating, and then feeling low. Low on energy, low on quality sleep, low on confidence, low on vibrancy.
By Christmas, I was ready to toss in my towel on all of this junk. Yes - that would do it. I would cut out the sugary sweet and starchy treats and get back to the healthy plan we'd been rocking before hand. And we did just that. And I definitely felt better - fewer sky-highs and basement-level lows (pancreas, insulin - forgive me!) But I still didn't feel 100%. What could it be? I was practically eating every powerhouse superfood I'd ever read about!
Along came Erika. My husband's cousin's wife, and my spirit animal. She is a blonde-ringleted goddess of kindness, health, and good humor - walking among us (in Chicago, no less!) She is a passionate planet and animal lover who takes beautiful care of herself and her husband too (just a vegan IRONMAN, no big!) Anyway - serendipitously, she asked me around New Year's if I'd be interested in joining her on a cleanse.
A cleanse? What! NO! Cleanses are a head trip that make you feel light and airy (and lightheaded) for a few days where you drink cayenne pepper and maple syrup, all so you can crash burn into a flaming hot pile of flan and Krispy Kremes. Or so I've heard. Wait, what was that she said? Dr. Junger's CLEAN Cleanse?
I'd actually read that book. I'd heard Gwyneth Paltrow speak about it. It was (to me) and entirely sane notion - to reset ones body with whole, simple, natural plant-food for 21 days. Since I already don't eat meat, poultry, seafood, dairy or eggs... it would just mean cutting out alcohol, caffeine, and soy. (I say "just" lightly. It took me a few days to commit to the idea of a new year without wine in it!)
But I hopped to it. I did the pre cleanse (gradually moving me off of the old foods) and am now in the midst of the cleanse itself. And I can report:
- sleeping eight hours a night without trouble falling or staying asleep
- waking up with boundless energy
- no hunger (amazed by this)
- no carby starchy sugar cravings (for the first time in my life that I can recall - FREEDOM!)
- bright complexion, whiter eyes
But there is something else that, to me (someone who has struggled with disordered eating for nearly a decade), there is peace. And calm. An even-keeled, level-headed mood. Lately, if a meeting runs long, or there's a traffic jam when I need to get home, or the store is out of what I need for a recipe... I don't even break a sweat. Which, for me, is a profound change. I had been addicted to keeping order and routine and controlling each day so that it ticked exactly to the prescribed schedule I'd drawn up.
And now? I am flowing. Not in the sense that I've taken up wearing burlap and gardening on a kibbutz. I still teach fifth grade, I'm getting my masters, I paint for clients every week, I am writing a blog, I am spending time with my family and dating my husband - but I am so much more accepting of my own shortcomings and those of people around me. I'm more open-minded - I'm less judgmental. I see the big picture more easily and have loosened my tight grip on every single day. I am enjoying.
I look back on what's changed and it is clearly the absence of grains. I am eating blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, apples, mango snap peas, carrots, celery, cucumber, kale, spinach, cilantro, parsley, broccoli, onion, garlic, hummus, pine nuts, almonds, cashews, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, chia seeds, coconut oil, grape seed oil, olive oil, apple cider vinegar, balsamic vinegar, white wine vinegar, almond butter, almond milk, coconut milk, blueberry tea... that's a lot to be eating! It's colorful, dense with nutrients, delightful to taste, and easy to create with (and clean up from!) A sample day on this cleanse:
Breakfast: organic unsweetend almond milk, hemp seed protein, mixed organic frozen berries (blended)
Snack: carrots, snap peas, celery, cucumber + hummus
Lunch: salad of: broccoli, mango, kale, cucumber, cilantro, grated shallots, diced garlic, sesame oil, crushed almonds
Snack: apple, almonds
Dinner: organic unsweetend coconut milk, hemp seed protein, almond and sun nut butter, ice (blended)
I have experienced delightful physical changes - but my mental and emotional changes have been the most lifting of all. I feel spiritually lighter. And that may be due to a variety of factors (fewer genetically modified substances in my body? Fewer pounds on my frame? Fewer carbohydrates to process and potentially store as fat? Less brown food, more colorful nutrition? More vitamins by way of my food? More hydration through my diet?) I would wager that all together, the magic is happening due to the symphony above (and many more reasons that smart cookies like Sarah can better detail.)
Regardless, and again - I am not gluten intolerant, I have yet to fully read Grain Brain or Wheat Belly. This is my individual experience on my own path to the healthiest, happiest, kindest, greenest life I can create for the one body I get to live in. Thank you Sarah, for letting me share it!
To your health and your happiness,
Jane
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