Days 14-17 The long dark (decaf) teatime of the soul...

Apparently, that run took more of my energy than I thought, because I’ve been more or less brain dead for the past three days, sleeping more and forgetting entirely to post. With the exception of a zesty, asian-inspired buckwheat noodle dish (I know purists, that there is a small amount of gluten in these noodles, so put a sock in it), it’s been a fair amount of re-working, re-using, or re-tweaking the previous weeks menu items.

The diet has settled in, and aside from the random craving (usually for sweet baked goods or cured pork) I’m not having too hard a time abiding by the guidelines. I will say that, as an experiment, it works fine, but if there was no return to dietary normalcy in my near future, I’d have downed a burger or a few slices of pizza weeks ago. With just a few days to go, and only a few small dairy or gluten based breaches, I feel as successful as I hoped I’d be when starting this project (and shame on you if you thought I wouldn’t make it out of the first 72 hours). The really hard bit is needing to plan ALL of your meals in advance. No grabbing a quick lunch, no impromptu beer with the boys, no (shudder) beer, pizza and football on Sundays. I like to decide on lunch at the last possible minute, like while I’m walking down the street, so the concept of brown bagging it everyday is just painful to me. And despite the blog, several morose Facebook updates about starving myself and my constant complaining, some folks keep inviting me to drinks, dinners, bull roasts and the occasional wild boar hunting expedition. Really sad about missing that last one, does the season extend beyond next Tuesday???

Day 13 LSD and Hot Tamales

Very few things will test the energy levels like a long run. Over two hours on the road will pretty much let you know if what you're eating is giving you enough energy. While my diet of bananas, homemade powerbars, vegan chili and (shudder) soy cheese leaves me feeling unfulfilled, I have felt strong, focused and, well, just plain perky. That being said, sixteen miles requires a whole different level of energy. Hard to admit, but I strongly doubt I could have felt much better if I had eaten animal protein than I did today. The post run fatigue and hunger, which are both rather prodigious, are hard to ignore...once you've had an icebath and a quick nap. After a quick snack in the afternoon, Allie and I took our first foray into the world of tamale production. Tamales have always seemed to be one of those things that are, quite simply, best left to the professionals. All of the technique, corn husks, long cooking time, messing about with uncooked masa harina...quite simply, it never seemed worth the effort of home production. Allie chose a pipian (pumpkin seed)and herb mole to dress the tamales, and made two different stuffings for the masa harina. The first, very straightforward stuffing, was black beans and corn with onion, garlic, crushed red pepper and a hint of cumin. The second was just a touch of a cheat, as we used a vegetarian chicken substitute that contained gluten...god forbid we use a real piece of chicken, right, if you're going to cheat, cheat by eating...flour. Kill me now.
In the end, the tamales were rather tasty. A local tamale expert commented that they could have steamed a bit longer (we steamed for two hours), but the mole had tremendous flavor and plenty of spice from the jalapeno. I was particularly partial to the black bean and corn version, as the faux-chicken stuffing felt, well, fake. This might have been the best meal of the experiment so far (Allie thinks it, by far, was the best meal yet...who needs meat?).

Catchup- Days 10-12

Two crazy long days at work, not enough food. A touch of a cheat, because I ate some mashed potatoes with some butter in them. Hey, at least I'm honest. In all reality, I have to admit that the energy levels were pretty good through the past few days. The mood isn't exactly all sparkles and sunshine, but it could be much, much worse...

Day 9: An old standby

Sometimes in an effort to modify our routines, we go a bit too far, and forget about the simple things we may have done before we started the program. Allie and I eat lunch frequently at a restaurant called Plant on Steiner St(http://www.theplantcafe.com), which focuses on organic, sustainably farmed and primarily vegetarian or vegan cuisine. They have several locations in the city, but we've only frequented the one in the Marina. The menu at Plant does folks on a restricted diet a HUGE favor by specifying vegan dishes with a (V) and gluten free ones with (gf). They also have a wide variety of desserts that are either vegan, or gluten-free. Sadly, they have no dessert options which are both, though I'm not sure it's even possible to create decent dessert with no flour and no butter...
We started with the crunchy thai salad, which was essentially a fresh green salad with a bit of cabbage, carrot, pepper and tomato, dressed with a spicy keffir lime vinaigrette. I liked the spiciness of the dressing, as it's not common to feel that "bite" when having a bowl of greens...definitely a winner.
My favorite dish here has always been the Spicy Thai Red Curry Bowl, and I was thrilled to see the (v) and (gf) under the description of the dish. I've had it at least two dozen times and the amounts and types of veggies vary by season, which is great because every time you return, the dish is slightly altered, but always delicious. Loads of spicy red currry over brown rice with whatever veggies are in season, peppers, carrots, broccoli, string beans, etc...Under normal conditions, I would have this and add on grilled chicken, but given the no meat thing, I opted for baked tofu. This is a slightly more palatable version of tofu, as the texture is firmer and the flavor a bit more...well, baked. It has a sort of toastiness that's pleasant and somewhat savory. All in all, a very solid offering for being vegan and gluten free. It's a meal I could have when I'm done with the cleanse, but I might switch back to the grilled chicken...

Day 8: Energy levels equalizing?

Strength test: For most of the last week, I've felt like I was on some sort of blood sugar roller coaster, with the accompanying dizzying highs and rock bottom lows. A rough two weeks of work haven't made the cycle any easier.
Before working out today, I was thinking about how my energy levels have felt moderate, but in a way they were somehow superficial, as if, when I really needed the energy for a hard workout, or for a race, it wouldn't be there. Wow, for today at least, I was very, very wrong. Six repeat miles on the track with 2 minutes rest between each, progressively faster. Closing out the final one at 5:41 came as a bit of a shock. Cruising out a 3 mile cool down didn't feel bad either. I have to say, roller coaster or not, I haven't had a workout that good in a very, very long time.
Food: On the weird vegan food side of things, tonight I made a quinoa pasta with fresh corn and brocolini, some onion, garlic, chili flake and to add protein...some...well, I couldn't make up this name; Protein Nuggets (bulk section at Rainbow Market). They look like tiny hunks of super well done flank steak. Only greyer and, as they were cooking, with more chewy texture. I know at this point you're drooling over your laptop from my description, but once cooked and tossed with the pasta and veggies and soaking up some of the spice from the chili flake, it actually made a decent stand in for sausage. Not my finest pasta, but it was edible, and I consider any such meal on this diet to be a victory.

Days 6-7 the first cheat. I mean celebration.

So after work Sunday, Allie and I decided to get dinner to celebrate our first week of the cleanse. By breaking the rules of the cleanse. Just a little. We went over to Fort Mason and ate at Greens (www.greensrestaurant.com)I have to admit, the concept of eating dairy wouldn't normally seem like a giant luxury, but a few shaved pieces of grana padana on top of a risotto cake with roasted chanterelles were pure heaven. It's amazing how much more satisfying food is when even a little bit of animal product is involved. Greens is rather expensive for vegetarian food, but the service is great, and the food is well worth the price. Additionally, they have a legit wine list and offer half priced wine on Mondays...we'll be back for that post cleanse.

The gratin of squash and corn was the highlight, though the polenta cake was somewhat superfluous. I'm starting to think that eating vegetarian might not be totally crippling. It's the vegan/gluten-free thing that really makes it hard. The addition of a touch of cream or a bit of cheese really do make all the difference in the world. Oh well, two more weeks in the penalty box.
Day 7...leftovers all day, black bean cake tacos for late dinner. That sentence made no sense. I think the lack of animal protein is effecting my ability to function properly. I'm going to sign off, before I embarass myself.

Day 5: Satur-dazed

OK- take a 13 hour work day, add in a few sick staffers on a busy day, forget to eat lunch, shake vigorously and watch Tom's blood sugar plummet like a rock off a cliff. On the plus side, I feel like if I made it through today without knocking back a beer, the rest of the cleanse should be fine. That being said, I'd kill for a Krispy Kreme. Flavor unimportant.