The Kind Project - Day 3

First off, I am sorry to report that the 3-day juice cleanse to kick off this whole experience was a complete bust. I gave it a good college try, but it was just plain yucky. I have so much respect for those who juice large quantities of veggies and who get incredible results. Personally, I would much rather ingest my kale with a fork and a nice vinaigrette than through a straw. *see note

The first couple sips of my morning green drink were OK, then my stomach decided my brain had the wrong idea. It wasn't as tasty as I had initially tricked myself into thinking. I managed to finish the first bottle. The second bottle was worlds better - carrot, orange and cucumber with a little jalapeno kick. I made it through that one, no problem. Then came another round of the green. I got two-thirds of the way through bottle #3 for the day and had completely lost my willpower to continue. I had a handful of grapes thinking that I could rally for bottle #4. I took one sip and...

Nope!

Wasn't having any more to do with it! So, juice cleanse aborted. Don't worry though, I'm still following through with the vegan thing. ;) I'm also hoping to make vegan fruit snacks out of the remaining juice (check here for the recipe - I'll sub the gelatin for agar). So maybe it wasn't a total bust. I'll report back on how the gummies taste!

Secondly, vegan grocery shopping... whoa. After compiling an epic grocery list (I edited it down significantly after the first draft), I ventured out to my local Cub Foods to stock up my pantry. I was hopeful that they would have the majority of what I was looking for and I was pleasantly surprised at the results. I was able to find most of what was on my list for less than $100. I will note, however, that it took close to double the time to find everything than on a usual trip to the market.

Cub Foods has made things relatively simple by stocking a lot of their organic, vegan and specialty products all in one place. It's like a little market within the supermarket and it's quite handy. Vegan cheese, almond milk, whole grains, organic greens, etc. all can be found in one handy place. A few items on my list weren't so easy... I had difficulty finding non-dairy chocolate chips for less than $7/bag (I'm still debating the necessity of those. It may be worth it in the end.) Brown rice syrup is a bajillion dollars for a tiny bottle, and maple sugar was almost non-existent. There were also about a million different kinds of flour and whole grains. I mean, I love choices, but holy crap! It took 5 minutes to find chickpea flour and sorghum. Icarumba! I was so pooped out by the time we got to the checkout that I was starting to see little chickens and bowls of ice cream circling my head like stars after a knockout.

I was pleasantly surprised by the manageable cost of all this strange food. And my cart was definitely colorful - bright orange carrots, yellow squash, beautifully green kale, an assortment of colors and textures of grains. It was lovely. And my exhaustion waned once I was home and enjoying a recipe of avocado and bean dip from Alicia's cookbook. So tasty! And again, full of color and flavor.

After just a couple days of eating from the earth and laying off the dairy and the meat I feel lighter and a bit brighter. I've also slept like a rock the last few days. Not sure if that's a result of the diet or my pure exhaustion from the weekends activities but I'd like to think that the former is a huge factor. I am really excited about the next 28 days!

And thank you to those who have already chipped in some awesome recommendations and ideas! I couldn't be more thrilled at the support! Keep 'em coming!

*Note: For the record, I own a juicer and completely love it. I have discovered, through the epic fail that was this juice cleanse, that I'll stick to juicing things I know I like in combos I know I will enjoy! :)