As promised, here is my week 2 update for the 21-Day Fix! First of all, I seriously can't believe how fast this is going. Two weeks already! 

Since my first post, I've had a few people express concern over the size of the color coded food containers. Yes, they LOOK small, but trust me, they hold A LOT more food than you'd think! In fact, everyone in my 21-Day Fix accountability group has commented at some point that they're amazed at the amount of food they're able to eat on this plan, and still lose weight! That's because they're fueling their body with nutrient dense foods. 

This week I bumped myself up the the next  level of calories, which allows me a couple extra containers. I've also been experimenting a lot more with my food. I'm still doing a lot of smoothies and stir fry's, but I've also been adding other things like sushi, sweet potato and red pepper bisque, kale, quinoa and avocado salad and brownie bites. (Yes! Brownie bites!) Now that I'm in the swing of things, food prep has become second nature and I'm able to adapt some of my favorite recipes to fit the plan. 

This week was also the first week I used one of my "Zings", or substitutions. You're allowed three Zings a week, and they include wine, chocolate and there are even a few cookie recipes you can use. I was pretty boring and I used mine for soy milk in my decaf coffee. It's actually been an interesting two weeks, I haven't even wanted to cheat on the meal plan and I haven't had any cravings at all (which is TOTALLY not like me!) It's also been super easy to follow the meal plan using printable charts that can be found here. 

This week also came with some pretty EXCITING NEWS for VEGANS! This week we got the green light to add beans, lentils and quinoa to the red foods category! This news came at the perfect time, too. After two weeks of protein powders and tofu I feel like I've swallowed a brick! I'm also pretty happy I get to add some more fiber back into my diet. So this is what the updated vegan 21-Day Fix food list looks like!

I'm getting much better with the workouts, too. I'm getting the moves down, I'm not as sore, and I'm already seeing RESULTS!!! I can honestly say that I have never in my life worked my abs as much as I have this past week, which is good news because I'm heading on a Beachbody cruise in just four short weeks. After two weeks of doing the 21-Day Fix, I'm down 2.8 lbs, putting my total weight loss since Christmas at 9.4 lbs!

So now that I'm entering into my final week, a few things are going to change. First, I'm going to add in the Plyo Fix bonus workout. This is a free workout you get when you order through your coach (me!) and can be added in any time you feel like doing a little extra cardio, or you can use it to replace Cardio Fix, which is what I'll be doing at least one of the days. Second, I'll be switching over to the 3-Day Quick Fix meal plan for my final three days, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. This is a 3-day bikini prep meal plan that is optional for your last 3 days of the 21-Day Fix. It is a typical competition meat and veggies diet, so I'll be pulling out the tofu and protein powders again for those three days. 

This week also came with some other great news! After the 21-Day Fix SOLD OUT only 3 days after being released, back orders started shipping this past weekend. If you'd like to learn how to FUEL YOUR BODY properly for optimal weight loss and energy, reserve your spot for my next facebook accountability group by messaging me on facebook or filling out the form found here and I will get back to you shortly! 

I get asked this question a lot by people who are looking to start juicing, "What kind of juicer should I get?" First let me say that juicing and blending (smoothies) is different. There are pros and cons of each, I'll let you do your own research on that. But if you've decided to try juicing, this is the place to be! :) 

There are two basic categories of juicers, centrifugal and masticating. Deciding what kind of juicer to get depends a lot on what you'll be juicing. Questions to ask yourself are:

• Will I be juicing leafy greens? Wheatgrass?
• How important is time? How fast do I want my juicer to juice?
• How much time do I want to spend on prep work? Cleaning?
• How much money do I want to spend? 

Centrifugal juicers are great for people who are new to juicing. They're faster to juice, faster to clean, less expensive, and require less prep work. The opening shoot is larger so you can often fit an entire apple in it without having to cut it into smaller pieces first. They are great for harder produce like apples, carrots and beets, but they don't juice leafy greens as well. One way to juice leafy greens in a centrifugal juicer is to compact them into a tight ball, and add them between hard foods like apples and carrots. Juicing oranges and other soft produce can often create a lot of foam in your juice. It's also believed there is more nutrient loss with centrifugal juicers because of the grating action and high speed of spinning that occurs.

Masticating juicers have a much smaller opening, so food will need to be cut into smaller pieces before juicing. They're also much slower to produce juice, but can often produce more juice for the same amount of produce. They are great for juicing oranges and other citrus as well as leafy greens including wheatgrass. If you are planning on juicing wheatgrass, you can also get a hand crank wheatgrass juicer pretty inexpensive. 

Whether you choose a masticating or centrifugal juicer, one thing I like to do to get more juice is to run the pulp through the juicer once. For a centrifugal juicer, you can just ball up the pulp and run it back through the juicer, and for a masticating juicer I just send it back through the shoot. This doesn't work for wheatgrass juice, though, because wheatgrass pulp comes out pretty dry the first time through. I compost my pulp, but there are also recipes online to make raw, dehydrated crackers out of them, too. 

These are the three juicers that we have. I use our centrifugal juicer more because of the speed, and Scott uses our masticating juicer more because of the benefits. All orange juice is made in our masticating juicer, too, including our Nature's Kool Aid juice. 

Happy juicing! :) 

Fall is in the air and that means one thing... FIGS are in season! Figs are a power packed little fruit, containing fiber, calcium & iron, Vitamins A, E & K and antioxidants and they also help lower blood sugar. Today's Meat Free Monday recipe was inspired and adapted from the cookbook The Vegan Table by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau. We paired her Braised Figs with Arugula salad with some simple portabello mushroom caps. 

Braised Figs with Arugula salad

1 Tbsp non-dairy butter (such as Earth Balance)
1 tsp granulated sugar
10-12 figs, halved, stems removed
4-5 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 bunch baby arugula (we actually each get our own container!)
1 Tbsp olive oil
juice from 1 lemon
salt & pepper

In large saute pan, melt butter and sugar. Place figs face down in pan and cook for 3-5 min. over med-high heat. Remove from heat and pace figs on plate, face up. (Depending on your dietary concerns, the non-dairy butter and sugar could be omitted,)

In the same skillet, heat balsamic vinegar until bubbly, then reduce heat and simmer 4-5 min. until vinegar is reduced by half. Remove from heat.

In a bowl, toss arugula with olive oil and lemon juice to coat. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Heap arugula on plate, arrange figs over top and drizzle with the balsamic reduction.

Portabello Mushroom Caps

6 small or 3 large portabello mushroom caps
Brags liquid amino acids
onion powder
garlic powder

Remove stems and underside of mushrooms. Cook all ingredients in a skillet over med-high heat about 6-10 min, flipping the mushroom caps half way through cooking. Large mushroom caps can be left whole, or sliced before cooking. 

If you try this recipe be sure to comment below and let us know what you thought! 

Chances are you've heard of both quinoa and tabbouleh before, but aren't really sure what either one is. Quinoa has gained popularity over the years, and was even featured in a recent NFL beer commercial. It's a complete protein and is a good source of fiber, phosphorus, magnesium and iron. It's also gluten-free. Tabbouleh is a middle eastern salad typically made with bulgur wheat. By using quinoa in this tabbouleh instead of bulgur, it's suitable for people who are eating gluten-free. 

1 cup dry quinoa, cooked according to package directions
1 cucumber, diced
3 roma tomatoes, diced
green onions, chopped
1 bunch parsley, chopped
handful fresh mint, chopped
juice from one lemon
sea salt

Cook quinoa according to package directions. Let cool, mix in all other ingredients. Variations: garlic, cinnamon, shredded carrots, olives

Serve in lettuce wraps. Makes 4 servings.  

Per serving:
Calories: 209
Total Fat: 2.8 g
Cholesterol: 0 mg
Total Carbs: 36.1 g
Dietary Fiber: 1.8 g
Protein: 8 g

Kale! This powerful leafy green superfood is quickly finding it's way into the homes of many people who are trying to get healthy. And for good reason! It's packed with vitamins K, A and C, has more calcium than milk, more iron than beef, is loaded with antioxidants and is anti-inflammatory. If you haven't tried kale yet, what are you waiting for!? :) Scott and I both put a big handful of kale in our green smoothies every morning, but there are a few other ways to eat this super charged plant. One of those ways is kale chips! 

Kale chips are great for people like me, who like to have food to pick at. I can get stuck mindlessly eating a bag of chips, but kale chips help erase the guilt! And they're super easy to make. You can use either your oven or a dehydrator. I like to use my dehydrator because I can control the temperature better, and keep the temp low enough so that they're still considered a raw food. By keeping them raw, more of the enzymes and nutrients are still intact. 

You can play around with the different spices as you go, but this recipe for kale chips is one of my favorites so far. Today I started with a BIG bag of kale that I got from BJ's Wholesale. I know, not organic, but the convenience factor won me over because they were already broken into small pieces. If you do decide to use fresh kale, you'll want to make sure you wash it really well, remove the stems, and break it into small pieces. If you're using kale from a bag, be sure to go through and remove the stems. 

• 1 large bag or 1-2 large bundles of kale, de-stemmed and broken into pieces

Once you've washed your kale, removed the stems and broken it into pieces, put it in a large bowl and add the oil and agave. I usually use olive oil, but today the only oil I had in my house was coconut oil and it worked just as well, I just had to warm it a bit first so it was a softer consistency. Mix together one Tbsp oil to one to two Tbsp's agave, depending on how sweet you want them. Massage the kale with the oil and agave in a large bowl, making sure the mixture is coating all the kale. (Massaging kale is also great when using kale for salads, too!) Sprinkle with sea salt and cayenne. Be careful with the cayenne, the kale will shrink when it dehydrates, the cayenne will NOT! 

• 1 Tbsp coconut oil or olive oil
• 1-2 Tbsp agave
• Himalayan salt
• cayenne pepper

Once you have all the kale coated it's ready to go into the dehydrator. Spread out the kale evenly, then adjust your temperature so it's below 118 F. This will ensure that they're still raw. I put my temperature gauge somewhere between the first two settings. It will take a few hours for them to dry out. You'll be able to tell when they're ready because they will be crispy and won't be flexible. I just use a cheap dehydrator that I got years ago. It works well enough. Sometimes the food on the top shelves gets done a bit sooner than the bottom shelves, so I just remove the top shelves once they're done and keep the bottom ones on until they're ready. 

Once they're done they're ready to eat! Store them in an airtight container in the fridge. Just before I eat them I sprinkle them with nutritional yeast.

• 1-4 Tbsp nutritional yeast

Enjoy! :) 

Maybe you've heard of it, maybe you haven't, but did you know you can make your own seitan at home for WAY less than buying it pre-packaged? 

If you haven't heard of it, seitan is a high protein, low carb, low fat meat substitute made from vital wheat gluten. It can be found in the refrigerated section of health food stores. A typical 8 oz. package of seitan costs around $5, but you can easily make your own for a fraction of that. 

Today we're using Bob's Red Mill vital wheat gluten flour. One 22 oz. package costs around $5 and will make the equivalent of over $40 of store bought seitan. That's a HUGE savings! And it's so easy to make.

To make your own seitan all you need to do is mix some spices in with the vital wheat gluten flour (today we used garlic powder and onion powder), add water, mix, cut into small pieces and boil. That's it! It really is that simple! The back of the bag will give you the exact measurements for water and flour. Enjoy! :)

Tomorrow is Day 1 of Body Beast for Scott & I and I can't wait!!! Body Beast is a new program that just came out this spring and is like no other Beachbody program on the market. It's main goal is to put ON weight in the form of muscle. It is completely geared towards men, but the more people I talk to I am finding more and more women doing it. 

Scott is going to do the Huge Beast schedule and I'm going to do the Lean Beast schedule. From what I can tell so far our schedules should be about the same with the exception of about 1 workout each week. 

Scott's looking forward to putting on some size. He has been running a lot this summer, and while he is still very muscular, he's leaned out a bit more than he'd like. 

I have a few goals...

• put on muscle
• get abs :)
• prove to women that lifting heavy won't make you "bulky"
• do unassisted pullups
• prove that a vegan can put on muscle
• be in the Body Beast infomercials 

We're planning on following the meal plan perfectly... which, as you can imagine, can be tough for two vegans. A majority of the meal plan is made up of meat and eggs, and it discourages the use of soy because of it's effects on estrogen, testosterone and metabolism, so tofu is out. We're also planning on taking the Body Beast supplements... with a few tweaks and replacements to the non-vegan ones (I'll post the supplements in a future blog once I see how they work). So far it looks like it's going to be doable with some prep work and planning ahead, but if we get into it and find we're living off of protein powders then we may rethink things as we go. According to the meal plan, I'm supposed to have 9 proteins a day and Scott is supposed to have 13. Thankfully, each serving of Shakeology counts as 2 proteins and a fruit, so we'll each be having 2 servings of Shakeology a day to count as 4 proteins each.

I can't wait to get this started and share my results with everyone! Beast up!

Q: Are you eating real food?
A: Yes! This is not a cleanse where you are only drinking cayenne pepper and maple syrup and it's not a juice fast. You will be eating a whole-food, mostly plant-based, clean eating diet. The recipes in the Ultimate Reset are simple, yet delicious! Don't believe me? Just check out these actual pictures I took of the food I ate when I did the Reset!

Q: Will I be hungry while doing the Reset?
A: The portions are surprisingly larger than than you would expect for a cleanse, but you are not leaving each meal feeling full or stuffed. This may be a new feeling to you if you're used to eating to maximum capacity. For me, it made me realize what true hunger felt like. It also made me realize how often I eat without thought and how much I ate when I was bored, tired and "just because". I physically had enough food, but mentally it took some getting used to. 

Q: Is the food expensive?
A: Yes and No. The first week a good portion of the shopping list is made up of staples; olive, sesame and coconut oils, Bragg's liquid amino acids, miso, three different vinegars, quinoa, millet, rice cereal, spices, nuts, seeds, etc. These are things that you need for the Reset, but that will also last you much longer than the 21 days and become staples in your cupboard. I was fortunate enough to have a few of them on hand already, but if you don't have any to start they can quickly add up. After the first week, the shopping lists are mostly fresh fruit and vegetables, so it's not as bad. Don't forget, during the Reset you're also not going to be going out to dinner, picking up fast food for lunch, stopping for happy hour drinks, or buying your usual coffee or latte in the mornings. Those are things that add up quickly so you may find you are actually saving money doing the Reset. But seriously, even if it is more expensive, it's for your HEALTH so it's TOTALLY worth it!

Q: What kind of results can I expect?
A: Everyone's results are going to be different, but common results of the Ultimate Reset are weight loss, increased energy, decreased cholesterol and blood pressure, decrease in cellulite, better digestion, improved sleep patterns, improved allergies, clearer skin, better mental clarity, more stable blood sugar levels, stronger immune system and decreased inflammation and arthritis. The Ultimate Reset will soon be cited in a peer-reviewed medical journal for it's efficacy in addressing cholesterol and Type 2 diabetes. Here are my personal results from the Ultimate Reset. 

Q: Can I have caffeine or smoke while doing the Ultimate Reset?
A: No. The point of the Reset is to rid your body of toxins, so ingesting toxins while doing the Reset would be counterproductive. During the Reset you are aiming to bring your body back to an alkaline state and coffee is very acidic. You may experience a headache for the first few days if you are used to drinking coffee, but by the end of the 21 days you will find that you no longer need the caffeine boost and that your energy levels are actually higher without it.

Q: Can I workout while on the Reset?
A: No. While on the Reset you want to give your body a break to let it rest and repair itself from the inside out. Exercise causes a break down of muscles and a build up of lactic acid. If you workout while on the Reset your body will be spending it's time repairing tissue and flushing out lactic acid instead of healing and repairing itself.

Q: I'm already vegan, but I see the first week of the Reset has meat and dairy. Can I make substitutions? 
A: Yes! Once you purchase the Ultimate Reset you can log on to www.ultimatereset.com and there you will find the vegan meal plan for week 1 of the Reset. Weeks 2 and 3 are already vegan so there is no need to adjust either of those weeks. Click here for the updated vegan shopping list for week 1. I was vegan prior to doing the Reset so I can personally help you make the necessary adjustments during the first week.

Q: Can I make my meals in advance?
A: Yes. I made most of my meals the night before. That way when I woke up in the morning I just had to grab my food and head to work. This planning ahead was the key to my success with the Ultimate Reset. 

Q: What are in the supplements?
A: During the Reset you will be taking 6 supplements; Mineralize, Oxygenize, Optimize, Alkalinize, Detox and Revitalize. Some you will be taking for the entire 21 days, some for just one phase of the Reset.

• Mineralize is pure crystal salt and contains up to 84 natural minerals and elements. It is added to your drinking water every day during the Reset.
  
• Oxygenize is a source of supplemental oxygen. It comes in a dropper bottle and is taken 3 times a day before meals for the entire cleanse. 
  
• Optimize is a blend of enzymes that you take 3 times a day before meals for every phase of the Reset.
  
• Alkalinize is a greens powder that helps bring your body back to a healthy pH. It is mixed with water and drank once a day every day of the Reset.
  
• Detox is a mix of fiber-rich seeds, herbs and bentonite clay which is used to draw toxins out of the colon. It is mixed with water and taken three times daily during Phase 2.
  
• Revitalize is a probiotic and prebiotic which is taken 3 times daily before meals during the last phase of the Reset.
  

Q: Do I continue taking supplements after the Reset?
A: Whether you decide to continue with the supplements after the Reset is up to you. You may decide to continue taking just one supplement, all six, or any combo of them. Each supplement has dosage instructions for both during the Reset and for maintenance. 

Q: Does the Ultimate Reset come with support?
A: Yes! I will be there to guide you along the way and answer any questions. I will also add you to a facebook group with other people who are also doing the Reset. You will not be doing this alone! 

Q: What do I do before and after the Reset?
A: Before the Reset you should start cutting back on your use of coffee, alcohol and processed foods. This will make the transition into the Reset easier. After the Reset you will want to slowly start reintroducing foods back into your diet over the course of the next few weeks, starting with grains the first week, beans the second week, and animal products the third and fourth weeks, if you decide to add them back in at all.

Q: Can I drink Shakeology while on the Reset?
A: Only vegan Shakeology can be used while on the Reset and only using these approved recipes. 

• Phase 1: 1 scoop in place of breakfast
  
• Phase 2: 1/2 scoop in place of breakfast
  
• Phase 3: 1/2 scoop in place of snack

Personally, I didn't use Shakeology during the Reset. While Shakeology is minimally processed and considered a raw food, I wanted to eat as many whole foods as possible during the cleanse. I added vegan Shakeology back into my diet the first day post-Reset. Whether you chose to use Shakeology during your Reset or not is your personal choice.

Q: It's Day 12 and I just ate the Mediterranean Roasted Beets. Is my pee supposed to be this color?
A: Yes! I grew up eating canned beets, but I remember the first time I ever ate them fresh. The first thing I did was run to the computer and Google "beet pee". And just wait till Day 14. Beet poo.

Goals during and after the Ultimate Reset:

• Eat as many raw, fresh, chemical-free, unprocessed foods as possible
• Breathe as much fresh air as you can
• Drink plenty of good-quality water
• Chew your food thoroughly
• Remove or reduce stress from all the areas of your life that you can
• Get out into nature
• Make healthy choices a habit
• Find time to do what you love
• Laugh more
• Give thanks

Everyone's heard of the Master Cleanse where you drink nothing but water with cayenne pepper and maple syrup, or the Cabbage Soup Diet or the juice fast or all the others on the market so it's not surprising that the #1 question I was getting asked while doing the Ultimate Reset was, "So what are you eating?" Well, here's the answer!

Just a quickie here to talk about the importance of planning ahead when it comes to sticking to your meal plan and fitness goals. It's Day 20 of the Ultimate Reset and I can't stress enough how important prepping my meals ahead of time has been. I'd say I made about 75% of my lunches the night before instead of making them in the morning before work. This would save me a ton of time in the morning, I'd just have to grab and go. 

Here's my lunch on Day 17, Moroccan Carrot Salad over mixed greens. I made the carrot salad the night before and put it in one container, cut up the veggies for my salad and put them in another container and the next morning all I had to do was stop on the way to work to pick up a bag of salad. 

This was also my only day on the Reset that I screwed up with the meal plan. The carrot salad was supposed to be eaten over mixed greens, but I put it over the microgreen salad. No biggy, but it means I ended up eating 1/3 cup of nuts/seeds that I shouldn't have. I figure though since I haven't been doing all of the optional snacks and I cut down the oil used for dinner this day that it will all work out in the end. I'm more upset only because I really wanted to do this 100%. Either way, I couldn't be happier with my results and how far I've come in just a short 20 days!

"If you fail to plan you plan to fail".