Okay. I've become the annoying convert everyone avoids. I make visitors to my house taste my latest green smoothie, even though they look like deer in the headlights as they stare at the liquid that is not the color of anything you would willingly drink. I describe my lunch items in detail to my co-workers, as they ooh and ahh in politely feigned interest. And I wouldn't let my husband have my spinach for his sandwich because I need it for tomorrow's green swirl.
All this from a Diet Coke-for-breakfast, Cheetos-for-lunch, bad-nutrition poster girl.
I'm into week two -- well, really week one, again -- of Simple Green Smoothie's 21-day cleanse, and I'm still, remarkably, a happy camper.
See also: - 21-Day Green Smoothie Cleanse: Week One - Café 8 in Mesa Listens to Gluten-Free Customers
On their website, the co-founders of the company, Jadah Sellner and Jen Hansard, say that, if you want to kick-start some weight loss, you can repeat the first week of the 21-day cleanse. Well, who wouldn't want to kick-start some weight loss, and because I actually enjoyed week one, I decided to do it all over again and make it into a 28-day cleanse.
Same smoothies for breakfast, same meals for lunch and dinner. So less learning curve this week.
I'm finishing day 12 and loving it. I'm sure that I haven't eaten this many vegetables or fruits -- spinach, kale, apples, pears, grapes, cucumbers, pineapple, peaches, avocado and carrots, just to name a few -- in a month of my regular eating.
And I'm really getting into the routine, whirling my smoothie together in the evening and putting my lunch together, so all I have to do in the morning is grab my to-go cup of liquid green and my bag of lunch and head for the car.
I thought I'd be hungry, but it seems the veggies have more staying power than I'd thought.
And when we went to the Barrio Queen Tequileria in Scottsdale for my husband's birthday dinner, I ordered the The Queen's Greens, a salad made of spinach, apple, roasted tomato, and pomegranate seeds and had them hold the queso fresco and Roquefort cheese. And I added a few spoonfuls of the chunky guacamole made fresh at the table.
I looked around at everyone else's dishes: mole enchiladas, marinated pork, stuffed roasted poblano peppers, and a chicken burrito with piñon cream sauce, and they were beautiful and aromatic, but I was happy with my greens.
Maybe it's because I've lost more than a few pounds now, but I think it's more. I think that, when you eliminate all the junk food, sugar, mounds of starch, Diet Coke and coffee, you actually start to taste the wonderful flavors of the vegetables.
I know, I know. I sound like the annoying convert. But when my husband asked if I really liked the spinach salad, I could honestly say that I did. And that is a sea change from 12 days ago.
Bring on week two/three.
