Arbonne Detox – thirty days and beyond

Posted in Gluten Free Living, Review by PhoenixRize

We finished up our 30-day Arbonne Detox sometime last week. The exact ending date is kind of blurred…. we went on vacation for a few days near the end of our 30 days, but tried to stick to most of the diet. And we went back to it when we got home… so the end was a bit blurred.

We still haven’t actually ‘quit’ the program either. We’ve tried adding things back in, but for the most part we like the program as a lifestyle. I plan to keep up with the shakes for breakfast and/or lunch. They’re super easy, I like the taste and (amazingly) they’re quite filling. Honestly, I’ve tried a ton of shakes and hated most of them. I’m super picky about the texture and the aftertaste of the sweeteners. That I actually like these shakes is a near miracle.

Brian uses the shake powder to make pancakes every morning. They look really good, he adds a bit of Swerve sweetener to them and I just can’t get past the stevia taste. (Incidentally, Mom and Brian swear they can’t taste anything… so really, it could just be me.)

Okay, down to the nitty gritty… the real reason you read this far…. Brian lost 15lbs. (He’s a monster, right?!). I lost 5 🙄

I know, I know…. it sounds like a lot of work for a stinking’ five pounds…. but…. remember how I’d been complaining about feeling ‘off’ before we started the Detox? The headaches and stomach problems? Well…. I may have only lost five pounds, but I also lost the headaches and stomach issues. I had one headache the entire month…. and I’m actually going to blame that on my massage therapist who was working on some neck issues that I was having…. those kind of headaches feel different anyway.

The biggest confirmation that the detox helped actually came when we started adding things back in. We had pizza for lunch one afternoon. (Gluten free crust, but still high carb crust.) By mid-afternoon I was SO tired I couldn’t hardly keep my eyes open. That night I slept poorly. No headaches or stomach problems, but, boy! it sucked the energy right out of me. One evening we had dinner at a Spanish restaurant and had rice with our meals… I also had half a pitcher of sangria… and neither Brian or I slept well that night. Just couldn’t settle or fall asleep. We didn’t feel bad… we just couldn’t fall asleep. Normally when you think of food disturbing your sleep you think indigestion or over-caffeination. That wasn’t our issue…. we just couldn’t get to sleep… or sleep well once we did finally fall asleep.

I am extremely happy to report that I’ve had dairy and it doesn’t cause any tummy problems…. I think the sugar in the ice cream may have zapped my energy (zing and crash!) but I’ve had cheese again with no issues. (Yay! Fat Head Pizza Crust is back on the menu!)

Brian and I both feel that the 30-Day program was really beneficial for us. It’s too easy to slip and slide through a ‘diet’ with little indiscretions here and there. The strict regimen of NO (no corn, gluten, alcohol, soy or sugar) was exactaly what we needed. No counting or weighing, just NO.

The Arbonne Detox products were well worth the cost in my opinion. Mom suggested that I could probably find equivalent products cheeper, but honestly, I liked just having everything put together ‘here ya go.’ 📦 I liked the shakes. After some experimentation (shakes need ice, almond milk, and some berries blended with them) I found them tasty and filling. Brian was happy with turning the shake mix into pancakes. I often had another shake for lunch, but Brian liked to have sausage or sliced deli meat and a veggie. Dinners were generally some kind of meat with veggies. It took me a while to warm up to the Detox Tea, but I finally came to enjoy it as an after dinner treat in place of my usual cup of coffee. I also liked the Fizz Sticks with a packet of the Digestion Plus mid-afternoon. Brian couldn’t get past the taste of the 7-cleanse drink. (We actually took Option 2 and drank it at the end of each week rather than Option 1 where you started the program with the cleanse.

I’ll keep ya updated as we continue on with the program…. mostly on Facebook, so be sure you’re following me there too!

18Jun2017

Arbonne 30-Day Detox – Day Three

Posted in Gluten Free Living, Review by PhoenixRize

Still alive!

Most of us anyway….. more or less.

Brian’s having a bit more trouble with the whole ‘detox’ thing today. I think partly he’s just being a bit pig-headed and letting himself get hungry. I also think he’s having a bigger letdown from the sugar than I am. I’ve been trying to limit my sugar for a while now, so I don’t think I’m having such an issue with detoxing from sugar.

We tried to mix it up a bit at breakfast this morning with unpleasant results. Brian is of course blaming Pinterest. I saw a recipe for Pancakes using the Arbonne Vanilla Protein powder and thought they looked… interesting. The only thing in the recipe that was different from the shakes was the addition of one egg. One egg doesn’t add many calories and then you’ve got all the good things in eggs, so it seemed like a reasonable substitution. Too bad it didn’t taste so good.

Yep, that’s a side of bacon. You just hush!

Arbonne Blueberry Vanilla Pancakes

Ingredients:

2 scoops Arbonne Essentials Vanilla Protein
1 scoop Arbonne Fiber Boost
1 large Egg
1 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Swerve Sweetener (I’D SKIP THIS)
1/2 cup Blueberries
2 TBS Almond Milk

Directions:

Combine protein powder, fiber boost, egg, and stevia, stir to combine. Add almond milk and whisk until smooth. Gently fold in blueberries.
Grease griddle with coconut oil or spray with cooking spray. Heat griddle to medium.
Pour batter onto heated griddle and let cook for 2 minutes or so until bubbles start to form. Flip over and let cook for another 2 minutes.

I think it was the sweetener that made them taste so… funky? The texture was perfect and they cooked just like regular pancakes, but there was this bitter aftertaste. I think I’m super sensitive to stevia and erythritol. I’ve added it to other baking in the past and Mom and Brian say they can’t taste it, but I think it’s overwhelming. So maybe it’s just me. I’d like to try the pancakes again, but leave out the sweetener next time. I’ve also seen a recipe for muffins using a similar recipe that I’d like to try with the chocolate protein mix.

The tea is dull, but my Arbonne rep said no to honey, so it’s just going to have to stay dull for the time being. I may try to find some mint leaves to add to it… I’d just like a bit more flavor. I think it would be good iced though.

I like the Citrus Fizz Sticks with the Digestion Plus. It turns an ugly color, but it tastes pretty good over ice. I’ve been using the Fizz drink for an afternoon snack. Today I had some cashews and a bit of sausage too. Since Brian and I split a serving of the pancakes we were both hungry earlier today.

Dinner was awesome, if I do say so myself. I found a recipe on (where else?) Pinterest that was similar to a recipe I already make… so I tweaked it just little to come up with something in the middle.

Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili

Ingredients

2.5 lbs Chicken, shredded*
32 oz Chicken Broth
2 cans Great Northern Beans
1 8 oz Cans Diced Green Chilies
1 Onion, diced
1 Tbl Garlic, minced
2 tsp Cumin
1/4 tsp Pepper
1 Tbl Salt
2 Cups Chicken Broth
1 Cup Coconut Milk
1/3 Cup Cilantro, chopped

Instructions

Place the chicken, beans, chilies, onion, garlic, cumin, pepper, salt, chicken broth, and coconut milk in a crock pot. Cook on high for 5-6 hours, or until chicken is very tender.
Add the cilantro to the soup just before serving.

*You can use frozen chicken breasts and just shred them in the pot with a pair of forks once they’re cooked though.

———-

I wasn’t real sure about the whole coconut milk thing. My original recipe didn’t call for coconut milk, but I have seen other similar recipes use coconut milk…. so… maybe? I didn’t want to ruin a whole batch if it was gross, so I made the chili without the coconut milk and then added a little to one bowl. It was actually really good. Even Mom and Brian liked it. The coconut milk has a light flavor… almost more of a smell than a taste… like Thai food. It works really well with the green chilies, surprisingly. The coconut milk also adds a slight creaminess to the chili. Don’t worry that this is going to make the chili sweet… it doesn’t, but it does add another interesting note of flavor.

So three days down… I’m doing okay with this whole detox thing. I like the Vanilla Protein Shake Mix and the Fizz Sticks. The tea isn’t exciting, but it certainly isn’t bad. The Fiber Boost and the Digestion Plus can be added to either the shake or the Fizz drink and they are hardly noticeable. There are enough components to the detox that I feel like I’m doing something, but not so much that it’s overwhelming or confusing like some of the other programs that I’ve tried.

I’ve tried Weight Watchers and it felt like such a chore… I did it before the app came along, so everything had to be looked up and logged by hand. I found it time consuming and frustrating. I liked that it gave me a better understanding of the amount of calories that I’d been consuming, but it still seemed tedious to calculate every Point. It was also easy to get into the habit of ‘banking’ Points (ie starving) and then blowing all your point on ice cream later. Not the healthiest meal plan… but technically, I was keeping within my Points.

I’ve also tried Slim Fast…. “Drink these shakes, don’t eat food!” Easy to follow, but boring as hell. Not a life change… just something to survive until you drop a few pounds, but then gain them back instantly when you eat food again. (Great business model though.)

I did pretty well on Atkins… it was basically a Gluten Free diet and the High Fat/Low Carb lifestyle mixed. I wish I’d understood the effect that wheat had on me back then and I’d probably have saved myself years of health issues.

I’m enjoying this detox because it’s giving me some structure and a routine to help get me back on track. I know I need to lay off the sugar and the carbs… I don’t think my alcohol consumption is so frequent that it’s an issue, but sure… while we’re at it, lets knock that out too. The dairy… I miss cheese… cheese makes the world better… but maybe that’s just the allergy cravings talking. Once the 30 days is up I can see keeping up with the shakes for breakfast and occasional lunches. Hopefully, too, I’ve gotten back in the swing of making healthier meals again. Living in that RV and traveling really let me go off the rails.

So…. so far so good. Follow on Facebook and Instagram to see weird and interesting updates throughout the day!

17Jun2017

Arbonne 30-Day Detox – Day One

Posted in Gluten Free Living, Review by PhoenixRize

Technically, we’re not supposed to start until Monday if I’m playing along with the Facebook group…. but I’ve never been good about waiting for the group. Besides, my Arbonne box arrived yesterday and I’m motivated today. So we’re starting today.

Wanna see the unboxing video? Click HERE I posted it on Facebook.

I’ve convinced my hubby to actually do the full 30 day detox with me. Mom has been a harder sell… she says she’ll just follow along, but skip the shakes and… well, most everything except the Digestion Plus powder (Prebiotics, probiotics and enzymes help support optimal digestive health.) I guess she figures as long as I’m not obsessively baking for a month, she should be fine.

I started today with a Vanilla Shake… okay, fine…. I had a cup of coffee first. I never said I was giving up coffee! I’ll cut back to a cup in the morning, but I’m not giving up the morning cup…. nope, nope nope. But after the cup of coffee…. which made it safe for people to be near me and for me to operate the blender….. I had a vanilla shake with frozen strawberries and a few pineapple chunks. It was actually really good. No… I swear… it enjoyed it.

The chocolate shake that Brian had….. well…. it wasn’t the yummiest thing on the planet. He tried it plain first – 2 scoops of powder, 8 oz of water and some ice then I zipped it around in the Ninja Blender until the ice was smooth. It wasn’t gritty, but there was just an aftertaste. I added some frozen blueberries and that helped, but I still wouldn’t have called it yummy. My Arbonne Rep mentioned that she had some ‘recipe’ recommendations for the shakes. I just need to message her and ask for some ideas.

By lunchtime I was hungry, but not starving. I ate a couple of steak & avocado lettuce roll ups and had a Citrus Energy Fizz Stick with a Digestion Plus pack mixed in to drink. I liked the Citrus Energy Fizz Stick and I don’t think the Digestion Plus pack changed the flavor noticeably.

What a kickstarter. When you start to feel the afternoon sleepies, stir in a fizz stick to create a refreshing bubbly drink when you start to feel tired to temporarily help promote alertness and enhance cognitive performance◊, help promote endurance and enhance motor performance◊, and help reduce fatigue.◊ Contains antioxidants and a botanical blend of green tea, guarana and ginseng, combined with B vitamins and chromium, to help support energy.

Lunchtime was a bit more of a challenge for Brian. He’s missing his potato chips and the cheese that he normally has with rolled up deli sliced ham.

We had roast for dinner with a side of baked squashes. Squashes? Um… you know… those yellow squash that are everywhere all summer and people keep giving them to you and it’s fun at first and then you have to start yelling ‘NO’ when people even mention their garden and then you find they’ve hidden a bag of the damn things in your car when you weren’t looking and now you have to figure out something to do with them before they go bad and God forbid you throw the damn things in the compost pile ’cause before you know it you’re a squash farmer too…. you know… those squash. Except apparently I’m not in the right crowd now that I’ve moved to Florida. I’ve actually had to buy yellow squash at the store. That really makes my brain twitch to have to pay money for the damn squashes that I used to have to hide from.

I tried the Arbonne Detox Tea later in the evening with an Avocado Brownie . It was fine… tasted like… tea. Nothing special, nothing awful. I’m going to have more trouble remembering to bother to drink it… it tastes like plain ‘ol tea. Maybe with a bit of honey…. can I have honey? Another question to ask my rep.

Well, for the answers to this and other exciting questions, tune in to Facebook, Instagram and be sure to follow along on the blog!

14Jun2017

Detoxing (again)

Posted in Gluten Free Living, Recipes by PhoenixRize

If you have been following this blog for a while you know that I went gluten free after a variety of health issues combined to make life miserable. (If you haven’t read my Gluten Free Living Story you can see my 1.5 year review here.)

I’ve been Gluten Free for…. five years? (Did I do the math right? December 2012 – June 2017 = 4.5 years… WOW!)

Okay, so four and a half years… and yes, life is absolutely better without the wheat and the awfulness that come with eating it. The food world has changed quite a bit in the last 4.5 years. Gluten Free food is available nearly everywhere and many restaurants have gluten free menus, or at least have a vague understanding when you tell them that you can’t eat gluten. Grocery stores have dedicated Gluten Free isles and more and more products are clearly labeled. It makes finding food so much easier…. and I think that may be part of my problem. I’ve found a lot of gluten free replacement foods… high in carbs and sugar and low in real nutrition.

You see…. I’ve been feeling ‘off’ for a while now. I’m so tired. Even though I think I’m sleeping through the night I have zero energy during the day. I’ve been having more headaches and my tummy has been making random comments about food again. It’s not the gluten, I know I’m not getting into that…. but there’s something that’s messing with me. I’m just not sure what….

I know what I need to do… eliminate the ‘big uglies’ and detox. Then reintroduce foods and see what is causing the problem. I know I need to do it…… but….

Apparently the Universe has had enough of my whining and not working on a solution. I was roaming through CostCo when I saw a giant box of energy drink fizzies… you know, the kind you add to a bottle of water… and I was reading the label to see if it was GF and if there was possibly enough caffeine to get me through an afternoon. A lady stood across from me reading the back of another box of fizzies… “I just wanted to see what they use for the caffeine,” she said, leaning past me to stick it back on the pile, “Arbonne sells something similar.” Before long we were exchanging business cards, chatting about Yoga and Gluten Free Living and discovering that we live in the same neighborhood. (I knew that CostCo has everything, but I didn’t know that you could go there to find new friends!)

I left our first Starbucks date with a bag of Arbonne goodies, a scheduled Jamberry play date and an order of the Arbonne Detox Kit.

Did you know that Arbonne has a Detox Program? I didn’t… I thought Arbonne was just skin care. So the Universe has sent me a friendly neighbor to tell me to shut up a figure out what is the problem. (The Universe told me to shut up, not my neighbor.)

I liked that the Arbonne products are all Gluten Free. (Yay, one concern already covered.) I also liked that everything came together in one kit/program. Yes, I could find a protein drink and a tea and vitamins and fizzies and whatever else on my own and possibly save a bit of money (Arbonne isn’t cheap), but I’m tired… so so tired. I also like that it also comes with a person. Someone I can text and talk to… someone who knows I’m supposed to be doing this detox and will probably ask me how I’m doing… and could quite possible catch me stuffing a cheeseburger and fries in my face….. They call it “accountability,” but we all know they mean “guilt.” There’s also a private Facebook group to chat with other people who are starting the program at the same time….. that could be good… of course, we all could be really bitchy at the same time since we’re eliminating a bunch of foods…. which is why its better that its an online group and not a face to face meeting.

STEP 1 – Eliminate common allergens and non-healthy ingredients. • Wheat/gluten • Dairy • Refined sugar • Alcohol • Soy • Corn

I’m really not excited about eliminating Dairy…. I like cheese… no, I LOVE cheese. Cheese goes in everything. (Which is probably a sign that dairy is a problem for me.) I’ve already eliminated Gluten, so I’m ahead of the game. Alcohol is a bummer, but really I just drink an occasional glass of wine, so its not a huge deal. Sugar is gonna suck. If we’re eliminating Soy and Corn too, that pretty much means anything that comes in a box. Which I know is a good thing….. did I mention that I’m just so damn tired? Fortunately Brian and Mom are going to give the program a try too, so I won’t need to make different meals for them. Its only 30 days and hopefully I start to perk up quickly like I did when I quit gluten. After the initial 30 days I can start to reintroduce foods and see if there was a specific food (I really, really hope it’s not cheese) that was bothering me.

Have you tried the Arbonne Detox Program? Got any tips for me?

Okay, here we go…. cross your fingers for me and follow along on Instagram and/or Facebook for photos and updates.

20Feb2016

Detox Day 3: Shaken

Posted in Gluten Free Living, Recipes by PhoenixRize

Day Three of the 10-Day Grain Detox Challenge:

I finally found one of the breakfast shakes in the Wheat Belly 10 Grain Detox book that I sorta, kinda like. I wouldn’t call it yummy… but it’s not bad.

Brian couldn’t make it through the Mocha Coconut Shake on day one. In retrospect, it might not have been so god-awful if we hadn’t used the raw potato and pumpkin seeds. (Sounds awesome, huh?) You have the choice of raw potato or green banana to introduce prebiotics into your poor, grain abused tummy. (Not the same thing as probiotics… we’re taking those in pills.) Since Brian isn’t a fan of bananas we made his shake with the potato… and it tasted like dirt… There’s just nothing nice to say about it. It was a Dirt Shake.

I had the Tropical Storm shake on the first day. I
used the green banana and the overall taste was much improved by the pineapple chunks. On Day 2 & 3 we switched the pumpkin seeds for sunflower seeds and that really helped eliminate the grainy texture.

Day Two Brian got up early and grabbed breakfast before I could make him another tasty shake. It was just eggs, so it was totally on the detox plan, but I was sad not to have a Shake Buddy.

Today is our 8 Year First-Date Anniversary, so I made us shakes in fancy glasses with pretty straws…. and forgot that despite the fact that I was on my third day of shakes (and I use Coconut Oil all the time) that this was only Brian’s first shake….. and that maybe 1/4 cup of coconut oil might cause him a bit of stomach discomfort…. Happy Anniversary!
I’m pretty sure he hates me now.
At any rate…. Day Three… we’ve made it this far… more or less (don’t ask Brian’s opinion on the whole thing right now).

We’ve gotten a strange Mid-February heat wave, so we’re making the most of it by grilling some steaks tonight. Woo Hoo, Carnivores!

17Feb2016

Back on the Wagon

Posted in Gluten Free Living by PhoenixRize

While I have been Gluten Free since late 2012, I have only been Grain Free on again/off again. I don’t get the immediate and awful reactions from the other grains like I do when I accidentally eat something with wheat/gluten. So it is easy to slide off the Grain Free wagon and not realize how far I’ve wandered…. until my stomach starts making complaints and my knees start plotting rebellions. Strangely, its not my stomach or my knees or even the extra pounds that crept back that really made me start looking around for the wagon again…. I haven’t been sleeping well. I just can’t seem to settle into a deep sleep. I have trouble falling asleep and I can’t seem to stay asleep. I really like sleep. People around me really like for me to sleep… Partly because I stay awake and get into things and partly because I’m not the sweetest person to live with when I don’t sleep. So for the sake of those around me and my own sanity… and my knees… and my stomach…. I’m going back to Grain & Gluten Free Living.

I’ve known that I need to get back with the program for a while, but I’ve kept putting it off. Today I noticed that Dr. Davis the author of Wheat Belly is hosting a Facebook Group 10-Day Grain Detox….. starting tomorrow. I’m taking it as a sign. No more putting it off or waiting for one more holiday/party/weekend…. time to start NOW.

I told Brian… he’s delighted.

Okay, I’m lying… he’s not delighted… but he’s supportive… and he remembers how much better he felt when we were Gluten AND Grain Free.

We didn’t do a “detox” the first time around. We just stopped eating Wheat/Gluten and began eating a lot of whole, natural foods. It took us a while to find all the naughty, “gluten free” replacements…. we felt better before we let all those fake foods back into our diet. We’re actually going to do the Detox this time. I need the support and ~~nagging~~ reminders that come from the support group.

Today I ran to the store and picked up a few extra ingredients for the recommended breakfast shakes. Pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, green bananas and Almond Milk… I already had everything else in the pantry. Brian isn’t too ecstatic about the breakfast shakes, but hopefully he’ll like them more that he is expecting. I’m just excited to get back to feeling good. I’m also so happy to have Brian doing it with me. ~~Misery loves company~~… no no no… We’ll both feel better… and everything is easier with a partner.

I decided if we’re both going to be doing shakes then my poor little Oster Blender isn’t
going to survive ten (x2) breakfast shakes…. It’s time to upgrade! I’ve been wanting to buy one of the Ninja Blenders for a while… this was finally a great excuse. I stopped in at Target and grabbed the Nutri Ninja Auto IQ Compact System. I liked that it came with two to-go blender cups and the bigger Blend & Prep Bowl. (I might be able to replace my old blender and food processor…. maybe not the food processor… it was Grandma’s….). It was on sale at Target for $159 (-5% with my Red Card) but then Mom and I wandered over to Kohls and I found the same blender on sale for $149… and I had a 30% off code, so $104… and I got $20 Kohls Cash! (I returned the first one to Target.)

Must have been a sign from the shopping gods… they want me to drink the shakes and get back to my healthy Grain Free Lifestyle.

I’ll be posting photos and updates on Instagram and Facebook over the next 10 days… follow along!

Grab a copy of Wheat Belly 10-Day Grain Detox and join in!