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.

Day 4: A rare night out...at a vegan restaurant.

Breakfast: Oatmeal with banana and peanut butter. My stomach is not a fan of this type of oatmeal. Makes me feel headache-y and slightly nauseaus. Almost like my body is trying too hard to digest it. Never thought I'd long for the easy digestibility of a sausage, egg and cheese bagel...
Lunch: Leftover rice pasta with the roasted veggie and garlic sauce. A damn shame, the sauce had gotten better overnight, but the rice pasta did not fare nearly as well. I'm pretty sure if there was a way to turn a decent plate of pasta into some sort of horrific zombie nightmare, this would be it. I picture this bowl of pasta rising from the microwave, limping, decayed, discolored and somehow a dark shadow of itself. Shudder.
Emotional status: After lunch, running a few errands, I walked past a sushi/teriyaki restaurant next door to my dry cleaners. The smell almost brought me to my knees. I seriously could have cried. Amazing how the ordinary smells of the street are amplified when your body is craving animal protein. I've also begun to notice that my mood is, in general, a bit worse than normal.
Dinner: Date Night! After realizing about halfway to the restaurant that I left my wallet at work (I blame the lack of fat in my diet. I believe I read somewhere that fat is crucial to brain function...that might be just for babies, but I'm sticking with it...)and deciding not to go back (score..dinner's on the sugar mama), we sat down for dinner at a highly recommended vegan restaurant in the Western Addition called Herbivore. While this restaurant did have a large menu, the truly tough part of eating vegan AND gluten free is that generally speaking, to do food that tastes good that has no dairy and no wheat product is incredibly hard. We had some veggie soft tacos to start. Decent guacamole was the highlight, as the "veggie crumble" just tastes weird and has unusual texture. I had a decent vegan version of pad thai, though it was more like rice noodles with peanut sauce than a true pad thai (no fish sauce, no deal). Hearty and satisfying, but I have to question the seriousness of tofu as a protein source. It looks funny, tastes strange and has decidedly funky texture. Seriously, tofu is the duck-billed platypus of the food world. And yes, before you ask, at this point, I'm pretty sure I could cook a duck-billed platypus and create a masterpiece of modern cuisine. I'm thinking something like a slow roasted platypus with stone fruit chutney. I know, it's a little early in the Fall for stonefruit, but I always thought of the platypus as a Fall animal. But I digress. Allie got the winner. And I can't believe I'm going to say this. A delicious plate of "Lentil Loaf" complete with mashed potatoes (laced with soy milk) and mushroom gravy. Seriously. Not kidding. Really good. I would eat this anyway. I was even thinking of different ways to serve the lentil loaf... open faced lentil loaf sandwiches anyone?

Day 3...dragging

This was not the best day in the history of dietary restriction. Temps in the low nineties and some repeat half miles on the track completely exhausted me physically and the desire for a burrito/cheeseburger/pizza was extremely strong. Willpower was the word of the day. Coupled by the overwhelming desire for a beer during the first football game of the season, my mood was not...shall we say, overly joyful. I did, however, spend the better part of the afternoon making some rather lovely roasted pepper, veggie and garlic sauce for pasta, only to have it completely ruined by gummy and odd tasting brown rice spagetti. But, paired with a reasonable pasta, and with the addition of a bit of parmesan cheese, this could be downright fantastic. Recipe forthcoming.

The Recipes...well at least the successful ones

I'm (Allison) going to add recipes to the comments section under the relevant post. That way if anyone is interested in trying out any of our tasty creations you'll have the info at your fingertips.

So Tom is being one hell of a trooper. It was my crazy idea to embark on this cleanse and Tom has been a terrific husband by joining in without too much whining. It's now Day 2 and so far nothing crazy has happened. Tom is right, we're both craving some dessert, but I think we'll have some fruit and try and be happy with that.

Cheers!

Day 2. Pancakes...really?

OK- Day 1 was no problem, but the ugly truth of vegan, gluten free eating reared its ugly head first thing in the morning. Buckwheat pancakes. Trader Joe's. Microwave. Picture if you will the bastard stepchild of sawdust and some sort of epoxy... Nuff said.
To boot, I was starving my butt off about 1 hour later. Oh well. Moving along to lunch, I got Trader Joe's prepackaged meal #2 of the day.
A pleasant surprise, the corn and black bean gluten free enchiladas actually tasted like...well, enchiladas. I gave a little boost with some Tapatio and chipotle salsa. Hearty, filling and entirely satisfying. Or so I thought...
Stamina check- Ten easy miles. By mile five I was basically starving and bonking at the same time. Energy-wise I was totally tapped. Managed to cruise home, but the energy level was NOT high. Could have been more to do with the rigorous training schedule than the food, so I'll wait to pass judgement.
A few extra servings of nuts and a decaf soy latte (not a fan) got me to dinner, which was a veggie stuffed chili relleno. Fantastic. Essentially a bean and corn stuffed pepper with texurized vegetable protein. Our first "fake meat" of the experiment. With all of the spices and sauce, this was basically indistinguishable from ground turkey. Not half bad, but Allie keeps calling it TVP, and that weirds me out, sounds too much like TP, PVC, PCP or LSD for my dining comfort. I'm not at all sure how this differs in any way from tofu, but I'm sure I'll find out over the next three weeks...
The urge for something sweet was pretty intense tonight. We made do with a rather delicious asian pear from the farmer's market. I don't think I ever realized how much sugar I ate in the day. I feel like I could knock back a pint of caramel swirl icecream and chase it with a few dozen pixie sticks. I haven't had one of those in at least a decade. Weird huh?

Day 1:The opening shots...

Day One:
Breakfast: Not bad so far- Breakfast consisted of steelcut oats with organic peanut butter and a banana. Nothing foreign here, but I tend to eat lighter breakfast, so it kinda feels like a lead balloon just hit my stomach. I have the uneasy feeling that this might be a recurring thing for the next three weeks...
Lunch: OK- this seems easy enough, a decent bowl of chili, and aside from the absence of meat and the slight gumminess of the soy cheese, this was a total winner. Great texture and strong spicy flavors. I could see eating this on a regular basis, vegan or not...Allie's going to post the recipe for this one.
Snacks: Bananas and Allie's homemade powerbars, which are downright excellent!!! Recipe forthcoming from my better half soon.
Energy Check: Feedling pretty strong on an 8 mile run today, no weakness or lack of energy to report yet.
Dinner: A light green salad with goddess dressing, shaved fennel, mixed greens, and tomato. Standard fare there, nothing out of the ordinary. Followed by thai veggie red curry over brown jasmine rice. Add in a bit of chicken and I'd be perfectly happy...
All in all, not a bad intro to the cleanse. Allie and I are both craving something sweet, but I don't think either of us have showed signs of insanity just yet. Twenty more days until my next pork bbq. We are officially on countdown mode.

The Last Supper...or Pasta, Meat, Cheese and Wine.

Witness our final meal before embarking upon the "Quantum Wellness" 21 day cleanse.
This meal is covering all of the bases.
Sausage...check
Cheese...check
Pasta, and a lot of it...check
Wine...check
Spinach and chive fettuccine, tomato and sausage ragu (as in style of sauce, not the brand of sauce) and a bottle of 2005 Russian Hill "Top Block" Syrah. Fantastic.
Here's to three weeks in the culinary penalty box. Starting tomorrow. As for now, I'm going back for seconds...

Welcome to Foodie Hell...The Countdown

The first question everyone will ask...why are you spending 21 days depriving yourself of almost everything useful, tasty, or fun in any way?
1)Seemed like a decent enough idea while discussing it "in theory" over a bottle of wine.
2)A couple of our friends recently did a similar cleanse, and they emerged relatively unscathed. We're feeling pretty confident that we can survive.
3)Pure, unadulterated curiosity.
OK- so by now, if you know me at all, you know that if there's one thing I love almost as much as my wife, it's my food and my wine. Which is why the only person who could convince me to do this...was Allie. We had a long and marvelous courtship based on loads of late night dinners and barrels of wine. Readers of Capo's Wineblog will remember a decently written, if slightly long winded ramble about the French Paradox, doctor's orders and a dedication to drinking wine on a regular basis as a point of pride and a matter of course. While my conviction on all of those points remain true, I have committed to, starting tomorrow, a three week "cleanse" (just what am I cleansing? Joy? Pleasure? Mirth? My mostly functional ability to take a joke?) that Allie has decided will be good for us. I know these sorts of things are super trendy at the moment but I tend to avoid trends food wise, in favor of fresh local produce and the accompanying slab of Prather Ranch Ribs, or Niman Bacon. I have no fear or loathing for veggies, in fact I love them. I just tend to like them next to my meat.
At any rate, once I had committed to this project, I realized quite quickly that I needed to knock some favorites off the list before I was in food (and wine)jail...
Here's the list of what I've sought out before my sentance begins, in no particular order.
DoubleDouble, animal style. This won't be a challenge, as I NEVER have more than one of these in a month. But I figured I needed at least one cheeseburger before going meatless.
Grilled Lamb-specifically Crack Lamb- refer to the Capo's Wineblog post if you don't know what this is. (Thank's Helena and Key) I could live on grilled lamb all summer. This might have been the final supper if Helena and Key hadn't had their party on Saturday night...
Grilled Fish- A recently developed summertime fav of mine. In this case Halibut from FISH in Sausalito (if you haven't been to FISH, and are not currently cleansing something, go there immediately and ask the guy behind the counter what you should have. Do not be opinionated. He knows more than you do. If he slices a piece of raw fish off for you, eat it, say thanks and then purchase and lightly grill the fish. YUM)
Sausage breakfast sandwich- Another thing that isn't really part of my every day diet, but when I want one, I WANT one. Figured it would be best to pre-emptively strike on this one. Lack of wine though should make this less of an issue.
Pasta- yes, my italian family will cry to the heavens "WHY", but I'll be eating no gluten for the next three weeks. I'm not entirely sure what the hell gluten specifically is (flour, right?), but I'm increasingly discovering that it's in EVERYTHING that's fun to eat.

Which takes us to our next topic...the last supper (non religious version).