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Is it bad that its Monday and I’m already wishing it was the weekend? I’m not unhappy, its more the fact that I have to work late two nights this week and feel like I have no spare time to speak of!

I did find time to sit down for 5 minutes over breakfast this morning: a slice of quinoa and amaranth bread lightly toasted with sunflower seed butter and a sliced apple plus a mug of detox tea:

Loving the new sunflower seed butter!

Mid morning I had some miso soup with ginger. Lunch was a bowl of leek, white bean and greens soup followed by a bowl of cherries:

I know the food miles will be astronomical with the cherries but I couldn’t resist them being on offer. I really need to start focusing on eating more locally again!

Mid afternoon I snacked on two cherry bakewell babies and a pear:

I hit up the gym for my usual Monday evening workout of 40 minutes HIITs, 30 minute spin class and abs and core work. I managed to hold my planks for 70 seconds, up from 60 seconds last week, yey!

Dinner consisted of a raw salad including romaine lettuce, watercress, rocket, peppers, cucumber, carrot and alfalfa sprouts topped with a roasted veggie and sunflower seed patty, parsley and some new beetroot sauce I made at the weekend:

Beetroot sauce (makes around 2 cups) inspired by Choosing Raw

• 2 medium beetroots, roasted
• 2 tablespoons of oil (I used my cool oil)
• 5 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon of tahini
• pinch of salt
• Water to thin as desired

Basically whack everything into a food processor and blend the hell out of it. I ended up having to add quite a bit of water to get it to a consistency I liked. I was actually trying to go for more of a dressing like consistency but it just wasn’t going to become any smoother. I really liked the sauce, its sweet, tangy and creamy, yum!

Dessert was a strawberry and peach smoothie I whipped up with frozen strawberries, frozen peaches, kara coconut milk, acai juice and matcha green tea powder plus a little xanthan and guar gums for thickness and topped with gojis:

Delicious, kicks my ice cream craving right in to touch!

January Kick Start Plan

I have now been on my January Kick Start Plan for a little over two weeks and I thought it would be good to sum up how I’ve been getting on since I started it.

• Eating a vegan diet

I have to say I’m feeling great, I’ve found eating a vegan diet very easy and the increase in fresh fruit and vegetable juices and nuts seem to be doing me the world of good.

• Caffeine

Although I’ve never been a huge caffeine drinker I did get a withdrawal headache in the first couple of days which cleared up very quickly. I haven’t been abstaining from caffeine altogether as I have still be drinking green tea and yerba mate which do have a small amount of caffeine in them. I have to say I am looking forward to being able to enjoy a cup of my flavoured coffees again come February!

• Refined sugars and processed foods

I’ve done well avoiding any refined sugars and processed foods although I think I may have eaten some pasta sauce from a jar which had added sugar and the couscous salad I had yesterday had a little added sugar but I’m certainly not stressing about that.

I am enjoying including the occasional nakd bar, trek bar, bear granola nibbles and raw chocolate as although these come in a packet and not from my own kitchen they have no added sugar and are completely natural.

• Limiting soy

I’ve done well here, no soy milk and I’ve only eaten tofu twice, both of which has been organic

• Skin care and beauty regime

A week ago my skin started breaking out with spots around my chin and temples but these have now cleared up and my skin is looking pretty clear. I have been trying to remember to dry skin brush every day and I have been using a mud mask each week which I think helped with the spots!

Overall

I think that I am achieving what I set out to do with this plan: kick start my healthy living into 2011, experiment with new foods and recipes and see how I get on eating vegan. On the whole vegan front I can honestly say I’m surprised at how easy I have found it, and at times I have found myself seriously considering becoming a vegan permanently. I’m feeling really good in myself, my energy levels are excellent and I’m sleeping much better. However, on reflection I think that I would find a vegan diet a little too restrictive at this stage in my life and I would like a little bit of flexibility.

At the moment I think that come February I will be eating very little dairy, and what I do eat I will try and ensure is organic and from local sources if possible (which I’ve been doing anyway). I think I will be happy eating eggs via my organic veg box delivery scheme or my local farm shop as I trust that these are coming from a reputable source. I’ll be careful eating animal product containing foods such as baked goods – I’d much prefer to either make them at home myself with good dairy or make my own vegan versions. Again, this is just what I feel is right for me – I truly believe that we are all different and I completely respect everyone’s individual choices when it comes to their own diet.

One thing that the kick start plan has done is spark a new interest in raw foods, and particularly raw chocolate, I just can’t get enough of the stuff! I love that it doesn’t play havoc with my blood sugar levels like some other chocolates and actually gives me some antioxidants. Speaking of which I received several packages of raw chocolate as well as some diary free chocolate to sample and review:

Conscious Chocolate:

The Raw Chocolate Company:

Plamil Foods:

I’m looking forward to reviewing these products and in particular comparing the raw chocolates to each other as I have found that the raw chocolates I have tried so far all have their own unique taste and texture. I’m also looking forward to trying the dairy and sugar free vegan Plamil range as even chocolate like Green and Blacks 70% contains diary which really surprised me! I’m going to have to buy some Plamil’s chocolate chips for my vegan baking.

I’m really chuffed that I managed to increase my plank hold time today and that my January kick start plan is going well. I’m even thinking about doing a bit of a raw food / juice detox this weekend. If you set yourself goals for January, how are you getting on?