It’s Day 21!!!! Yippee! Woohoo! We did it!
I really feel great! I feel strong. I have energy, don’t really crave anything sweet, brain fog has decreased, my mood is elevated, I’ve even lost 3 lbs. I didn’t do this for weight loss, but I have noticed my clothing fitting better.
I was thinking again about what I’ll reintroduce. The first things that come to mind are dark chocolate, red wine, and a wee bit of honey in my morning tea. That’s where I’ll start. I think removing grains has been really helpful, so I will keep them out, except when I’m eating Asian food, in which case I’ll only have a small serving, and I will substitute extra vegetables when able.
I started Thursday off with dessert! Actually, it was the banana/egg pancakes with cinnamon, coconut cream, and toasted coconut, but it could have been dessert.
Mid morning I met my friend Lynne for bacon at Mehri’s Bakery in SE Portland. You heard right – we had a bacon date! A true friend will eat bacon with you and not think it’s weird. In fact, she’s the one who suggested it. I have brilliant friends. 
My view from our table faced inward, toward the dessert cases filled with all sorts of pastries and what looked to be my favorite cake – German Chocolate. Never mind…I had bacon and wasn’t even tempted by all that sugar, other than to take a couple pictures.
My next stop was meeting my Dad for lunch at Jade Tea House & Patisserie in Sellwood, one of my favorite Asian restaurants in all of Portland. A patisserie is “a shop where French pastries and cakes are sold” and Jade has several gluten-free options that on another day I may have indulged in. Especially their sesame balls which are truly life changing. 
But, not on this day. This day was really testing my resolve.
I ordered a Lion Heart Ginger Fixx kombucha and the Coconut Rice Noodle Soup without the rice noodles. It’s full of shredded chicken and shrimp and veggies like broccoli, carrots, and bok choy. Jade allows you to order a side of veggies in place of rice which was perfect, and so delicious. I added them right to my soup. 
I could have been eating dog food and still would have enjoyed lunch because the company was this sweet man:
I made zoodles and meat sauce for dinner. Like my new glasses?
Friday’s breakfast was a pumpkin smoothie. I didn’t feel like eggs for the millionth day in a row and the smoothie was just right. I had a friend over for lunch and reheated the leftover noodle-less soup from Jade, adding some more chicken broth and coconut milk and a bit of red curry paste. That evening I had a girls’ night out (the first one in months!) and we all met at Taqueria Nueve on SE 7th Ave. It was my first time and it was really nice. While my friends ordered margaritas and Sangria, I stuck with water. Sigh! Dinner was a bit complicated, but I settled on 3 types of taco meat served without the corn tortillas with a side of guacamole and another side of black beans. 
It was very tasty and on plan. My friends ordered flan and chocolate mousse for dessert, but they told me it wasn’t that great. I don’t believe them because they practically licked their plates clean. Whatever! I persevered! After dinner we stopped to check out the Portland Night Market, which was full of hand-crafted chocolates, locally distilled liquors, and all the hipsters this sugar-avoiding, nearly 50 year old woman could take. Cool place, but way too crowded for my taste. From there we headed to the Laurelhurst Theatre to see “Hedi”, one of the movies featured in Portland’s International Film Festival. It was filmed in Tunisia. It was also complicated.
Today, our final day on this program, was great! First off, I slept in and it felt so wonderful. Then I made the last breakfast – scrambled eggs with lots of fresh salsa and avocado, bacon, grapefruit, and tea with coconut milk. Andrew LOVED it! See?
You know what I loved? Getting all the dishes in the dishwasher and when I attempted to turn it on, it wouldn’t. It died! Finally, the piece of sh*t Electrolux appliance bit the dust. From the moment we moved into our lovely home two and a half years ago, I have hated that thing and wished it would need replacing. That day finally came! (You know you’re old when you get super excited about replacing a dishwasher!)
Since breakfast was more like brunch, and we had to go dishwasher shopping, I only ate half an apple with almond butter for a snack. So, by the time we’d signed on the dotted line for our new Miele dishwasher, both Andrew and I were hungry and since our kitchen is torn apart and dishes are everywhere, we decided to go out to Verde Cocina. If you haven’t been to one of their 4 locations, you really must! All 100% gluten-free, REAL food, deliciously prepared, seasonal, grass-fed, etc. I had the Carne Asada. It was excellent! Andrew had the Paleo Verde.
After dinner we stopped at New Season’s for a few things. Every year around Valentine’s Day, New Season’s sells all their chocolate bars at 50% off. So…
I bought 10! Is that so wrong? After all, my detox ends in 39 minutes and it was on sale (half off!) and it’s 85% dark! Plus, I kid you not, it will last for 80 days! I only eat one square a day. Seriously! I may have to go back tomorrow for more!
I am really proud of myself and Andrew. We gave this our all and saw it through to the end. Twenty one days without any added sugar, grains, or other simple carbs. The benefits were many and we will keep many of our positive habits moving forward. I am so fortunate to not only participate in The RESTART Program but to teach it. I can’t imagine anything more gratifying than helping people improve their health. Food truly is medicine!
Nourish Portland 