Someone asked me today if I feel better once the cleanse is over. It's strange how I actually don't feel all that much 'better'. When we did our original cleanse/diet a few months back, I noticed a significant difference. But this one, not so much. In fact, Paul and I both noted today that we felt more tired on this one. Granted, many other factors come in to play such as....well, it's summer and we stay up much later and get up early, the sun and heat and much more. So maybe it's not quite fair to compare. Afterall, I'm feeling pretty darn good when I'm running so maybe I'm feeling better than I'm giving this cleanse credit for.
Yesterday was beef and vegetables. Today is brown rice, vegetables and fruit juices. I've come to the realization that the foods I'm eating now are ones I genuinely do enjoy eating (minus all the fruits), but my personality fights back on being given strict rules about them. Eat this, eat that, burp this, drink that, blah, blah, blah...whatERRR!!!
If someone were to ask me if I would suggest this cleanse to them, I'm not even sure what my answer would be. Do I feel like my insides are cleaner? I guess a little. Does it make me feel better? Meh. I suppose. The noticeable difference, other than being able to lose 5-7 pounds in one week, is that I have a deeper appreciation for food and have exercised a certain amount of self discipline and control that is necessary for eating better and living more healthy. So in that respect, I'm saying it is well worth trying it. Keep in mind, I am a junk-food crazy horse. I love a handful of M&Ms instead of grapes and chips instead of fruit. So for me, this regimented kamikaze cleanse was perhaps more difficult that most normal adults who don't have a problem eating fruits and vegetables. It IS a good discipline for me from time to time to say "no" to the things I really want, and "yes" to things I don't. That helps me in more areas of my life than just the consumption of food and beverage.
This afternoon I made some banana bread. The house smells unreal right now. But, I love to bake and have missed doing it while on this cleanse. Since I'm so close, I had to make it. And I had bananas from Day 4 that I didn't eat that were starting to ripen quickly. This is an old recipe from the 1991 Indian Hills cookbook from Linda Rempel. It's a very simple and quick recipe, so I thought I'd share it. This recipe fills my 6 mini loaf pan. I've never made it as a full loaf, so I'm not sure how that works. I will give you the recipe exactly as it is and you can decide how to go from there:
Ingredients:
1/2 c. melted butter
1 c. brown sugar
2 eggs, beaten
2 c. flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
3 large bananas, ripe (peel and mash)
Melt butter; add sugar. Blend well. Add eggs, blend. Stir in dry ingredients after mixing them together first (may seem dry). Add bananas. Place in greased loaf pan or 2 small ones. Bake at 275 degrees for 1.5 hours.
Easy enough, right? Like I said, I take this dough and make 6 mini loaves. And one of these loaves is going to be hidden and consumed by me later tonight. Around 12:03 am and 17 seconds. And herein ends the rest of my blogging about this current cleanse. I'll be writing about more triumphs and struggles and sharing a little piece of my mind from now and then, but for now this short chapter of my life is closing out. Next week's challenge includes my first-ever time being a table leader at Vacation Bible School. Scared. To. Death!
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