Getting back into my routines after my trip

I belong to KaiaFit Boise and we are heading into week 2 of our BRIK session.

Week 2 means detox week. The timing is perfect for me – after my trip and a holiday weekend. Detox to me, means getting back to what I know is good for me, – physically and mentally. This week along with food journaling I will be 100% plant-based.

KaiaFit defines their detox week as:

Are you ready to dive into detox week? Remember, this is not about starvation. This week is about flushing your system of the negative(processed foods, chemicals, negative stressors), and infusing with the positive (organic, natural, fibrous, energizing). Start to view everything you put in AND on your body through this lens and see where you can adjust!

It’s not a hardcore cleanse type detox. It’s much more of a common sense approach (see above). When I first stated with KaiaFit I wanted to eliminate processed foods and white sugar. After that initial time (there are 3 BRIK sessions/year) I would chose other things to eliminate. Here’s a list of some of my successful and not so successful efforts.

• Dairy
• Meat (before I was plant-based I would eliminate meat for detox week)
• Alcohol (I’ve eliminated for detox week and for the 6 week session)
• I’ve also done a “mental detox” by not allowing myself to complain, criticize or judge myself or others and  daily positive/inspiration quotes etc.
• I have also detoxed our home – this was probably my least successful version of detox but something that I go back to periodically and work on.

Today, I am pretty much white sugar free. I use maple syrup and honey. I do still bake with white sugar at times and I also have the occasional splurge. The same goes for processed foods. Sure, I buy them on occasion. They supplement the cooking I do but processed foods are not staple in our home any longer.

I am also about 98% plant-based. I do eat shrimp on occasion and will eat cheese on my pizza. I do drink some beer, wine and the occasional cocktail. Otherwise I think I’m a fairly healthy eater.

It did take time and some trial and error for these practices to become a new way of living. I’ve also found that there is always something that I can work on!

This time around my BRIK goals are to:

• Food journal – I’m trying to find out if I’m getting too many calories or not eating enough to rid myself of some pesky flab. OR maybe I eat way more than I think!
• Lose 2″ around my hips (see food journal goal)

Plant based recipe for today  –

The Best Vegan Bacon Using Rice Paper from the Edgy Veg

I just made these because I had all the ingredients on hand. I’ve dabbled with tofu bacon with mixed results. I thought it turned out super tasty and completely reminiscent of bacon. I enjoyed it on a BLT.

I’m testing out eggplant bacon right now. I did like the marinade from the recipe above and I had some leftover from my batch of rice paper bacon so I thought I’d try it on the eggplant. Here is a complete eggplant bacon recipe from The Spirited Spoon. Her marinade is very similar and I followed her steps for my eggplant.

Happy Detox Week!