Day Two of Juice Cleanse - Pear and Sweet Potato Juices!

*** Update on Day One***

Last night I started to get ready for bed at 8:30, my stomach started to rumble so that’s when I knew that it was time to go to sleep and I was in bed around 9:00.. The truth about hunger pains at night is that you aren’t actually hungry, you are tired. So next time you think you want that popcorn at 9:00 at night, grab for your toothbrush instead and go to bed early!

I unfortunately tossed and turned for about an hour, partially because my stomach hurt and partially because I am not used to going to bed that early. If I would have actually gone to bed at 8:30 I don’t think I would have had that bad of stomach pain because I would be asleep. So to remedy the pain I drank some water which really helped!

Day Two!

This day was a lot easier that I imagined! I had such a terrible time with day two of my mono fruit cleanse that I thought it was going to be the same experience and to my surprise it wasn't. I had energy, I was alert, my skin feels a lot smoother and not once did I think that I was going to die. As of right now I don't think I would do another mono fruit cleanse again, I think I will stick with the juicing instead! 

So, I woke up this morning like any other morning… hitting snooze on my three alarms 2 times each and finally getting up at 5:30am (Devon really loves that, especially since two of my alarms are the Harry Potter theme song). I got up and felt really good except I really, really had to pee. I took my liter of water to work along with my Contigo mug full of hot water and lemon. I feel that the lemon water really helps calm my stomach in the morning since I am used to eating fruit at work. And since its kept cold in there it helps me warm up :)

For breakfast I made 1 liter the most delicious juice, I call it Pear-ific and so far its my favourite one!  

For lunch I did 1.5 liters of orange juice again, but after drinking about a cup I got really bad stomach pains, possibly because I drank it too fast. So I called Ashley and she suggested that I stop drinking it and just drink water until the pain goes away. Thankfully it did, but after the pain went away I tried to drink it again and it still was not agreeing with me, so I guess no Oj for me. But when I got home I was craving something so I opened up a delicious coconut water, which luckily didn't  hurt my stomach. 

As for how I felt this afternoon, other than feeling a little unfocused at work, I felt great. However towards 4:00 I was feeling really tired. When Devon got home he said that I was not looking so good, but I assured him that I was only tired and other than that I felt normal. For supper I made a sweet potato cocktail, that I threw together on a whim. I was a little apprehensive of how it was going to turn out because I have never used a sweet potato before, but I was pleasantly surprised.  

Tonight I also went and did a far-infrared sauna session at the gym I work at (Ladies Workout Express) and one of the perks of working there is I get free sauna's anytime I want. So while talking to Ashley tonight she suggested that I go for a session to help rid my body of toxins, what a brilliant idea Ashley! I went in for 45 mins and at 145 F. and boy did it feel amazing! I was pouring sweat out of my body like a waterfall. Okay, so think of the most you have ever sweated, say after a run, or a basketball game, now dump a bucket of water over your head and thats how soaked I was.... I know really sexy image. While in there I laid down and just tried to relax and shut off my brain. But of course, that didn't work out to well, I have a lot on my mind right now because our Mexico trip is coming up and I still have a lot to do. I even started singing the Chumbawamba song, Drip Drip Drip goes the water... there is a slight chance I have ADD. I feel more relaxed and calm after that and I am now thinking I should do one again tomorrow!

As I type this I realize its 8:40 and I should really start getting ready for bed.  I am trying to drink about 1/2 liter of water (for a total of 3 liters of water today) before I go to bed because of all of the sweating I did and I hope to avoid those stomach pains that I encountered last night. I am crossing my fingers that tomorrow will be as easy as today, but I am not getting my hopes up! I will keep you posted!

Thanks for reading,

xoxo Nikki

Chocolate Orange Hazelnut Tarts, Vegan and Gluten Free

This year for Thanksgiving I wanted to bring a dessert that I would be able to eat and that I could share with everyone. Looking on Pinterest I found the most amazing dessert recipe by Amy of Fragrant Vanilla Cake. The title of her recipe is what initially hooked me, Dark Chocolate Orange Hazelnut Tart, if that doesn’t say decadence, I don't know what would.

 So I clicked on the picture and went to her site to see if it was something I could pull off. Thankfully, her ingredients and instructions were really simple and easy to follow! I have posted her recipe link below, so you can see how amazing hers turned out.  

http://fragrantvanillacake.blogspot.ca/2012/05/dark-chocolate-orange-hazelnut-tart.html

Enjoy Life is the brand of chocolate that I used in making my tart. They are listed as Vegan on the label as well as gluten free!  They are the most amazing vegan chocolate chips ever! I honestly think that these taste just as good as any chocolate bar out there. They are also nut, soy, wheat, mustard, sulfites, fish and sesame free!  

There are a couple minor things that I changed in order to make Amy's recipe:

1. I used Quinoa Flour instead of the almond flour or hazelnut meal. The flour is mild tasting, so it doesn’t change the taste of the dessert, also its still gluten free!
2. I substituted Coco Natura Coconut Sweetener for the brown sugar/maple sugar. Its just as sweet, and it's 100% natural and free from additives and artificial flavorings.
3. Instead of the suggested Mandarin Napolean or cognac, I just so happened to have a mini bottle of Grand Marnier. 
4. Finally instead of doing one large tart, I made mine in muffin tins. I love making individual sized portions, they are easy to serve and they are super cute!! However, because the portion size change when doing muffin tins, I had to double the filling in order to get a good ratio of crust to filling. To ensure the tarts were easy to remove I greased the bottom of the tins with coconut oil. 

I was extremely happy with the outcome of my mini chocolate tarts. The crust was sweet and solid, a perfect compliment to the soft, rich taste of the chocolate filling. Everyone at Thanksgiving was complimenting them and how they couldn't believe that they were dairy and gluten free. Some thought that the crust was too sweet, which is something that is easily altered in your own rendition of Amy's recipe. 

I really suggest you make these for your next family get together. They are really easy to make and yet pack a really big punch of flavour.

Thanks for reading!

xox -N