I never thought I would ever say these 3 words…  The 3 words that stop people in their tracks, cause the heart to skip a beat, and make someone take a double take.   I’M A VEGAN.  You heard me!  Well, for at least a week I’ve been able to say those words and they were actually the truth.  In fact, they still are!

I had been traveling for a week straight across the country from Florida to California and from very south to very north.  I decided when I came back that it was time to change it up and do a reset.  So, my friend and right hand gal, Danielle Bertiger has recently gotten her Holistic Health Coach certification, so I said – okay, let’s do this!  And I did!  I committed to a week of vegan eating. (*Note that she isn’t a vegan or an only vegan coach AT ALL – this is just her special cleanup program!  Check it out on her blog – Uncaged Cuisine.) Now, mind you – I still had my coffee, but no meat, no dairy, no unnatural sugar, no animal products.

Eating vegan this week opened my eyes to a lot things…  First of all, through Danielle’s “cleanup” I got some GREAT new recipes!  I can use these and keep them vegan/vegetarian or even add meat sometimes.  I also discovered some amazing new products!  Danielle turned me onto Vega protein, pre-workout, nuts, and bars.  I’m a fan.  But NOT of the energy gel – eeewwwwww.  That has been the only thing that I didn’t really love.  Let’s be honest – I hated it.  Haha!  You really don’t realize how great all natural food can be until you seriously give it a chance.

Second, I realized that I eat too much.  I went ahead and wrote everything down.  I’ve been holding extra lbs for awhile now, and I think it’s just because I’m eating and eating and eating.  I spend most of my days training other people and not myself much anymore, so what I eat is super important, and this was a little wakeup call for me.

Third…  and I find this the most interesting….  If you know me, you know I have a little Quest bar problem.  Seriously, I was eating 2-5 a day. Not kidding.  Problem much?  YES.  So, yesterday I came back from a run and was starved and really didn’t have much in the house.  I grabbed my favorite Quest bar…  took 2 bites and threw the rest out!!!  It tasted so processed and icky to me!!  So…I find it interesting that after a week my tastebuds are still wanting natural stuff.

Fourth – we’ve been doing a team challenge at Shed, and my times have not been that great… However, this week I KILLED it and beat my best time by 2 MINUTES!!!!!!  I texted Danielle immediately and was like – maybe this IS actually good for you!  🙂  I’ve decided to give it another week and see what happens this week and then I’ll be truly convinced.  You can make some amazing vegan food…desserts and all.  Here are some Chocolate Avocado Protein Truffles.  (This recipe will be up SOON…do not worry!)

 Here’s another little yummy…  Black Bean Chocolate Protein Brownie Bars.  I added in freeze dried blueberries and pistachios!  These were a HIT with all who tried one.

Am I going to stay a vegan?  Doubtful.  I’m not a huge fan of restricting, so if I want something, I’ll have it.  All in moderation is my philosophy, but trying something new is a good thing.  Who knows – if my back keeps from hurting and I kill my time again next week – I may have to think seriously about keeping this going.  Time will tell…

So, maybe you need a change-up or a reset.  There’s a way to do it, so if you’re thinking of doing a detox or a cleanse, check with a professional before jumping in, otherwise you’ll be regretting it in a big way.  Danielle is a great person to contact to get started on nutrition info – check out her blog and you can contact her for more information from there – Uncaged Cuisine.

Here is one of Danielle’s recipes – “Pad Thai”…OMG. I could eat this every day…

And another one of mine that will be up soon – Roasted Cauliflower, Sweet Potato and Kale Salad..

 

 

So, if you’re thinking of changing things up – give it a go!  Try it and you might learn something new about yourself, about what you like and don’t like, and it might just inspire you to do a few things different!  Happy clean eating!