WE DID IT!!! 40 DAYS

We have officially completed our 40 day challenge! You would think I would feel excited or liberated... well it's just the opposite. I'm a bit sad and wondering now what. I won't be anticipating the next phase because there are no more phases... oh wait... phase 4 "40 DAY LIFESYLE". I really love eating extra healthy - my taste buds have changed in the last 40 days- I love the way real food tastes in my mouth and the way you still feel great after a large meal or a "healthy treat". There is no way to beat pure basic real food - the way God intended it!
This morning Jason, Jacob and I set out to... yep... the "green lady" AKA Starbucks to get "daddy" a cup of coffee. Coffee was not part of the challenge so Jason had gone 40 days without drinking a single cup - way to go Jason! He got a modest tall cup of Pikes Place brewed coffee w/ cream and raw sugar. After the first sip he wasn't too sure. Lots of build up well did he still like coffee...


As it turns out he does. He said it was good but not as exciting as he had anticipated. I think he is going to continue to drink coffee but not like before. He would have about 2 - 3 cups a day. Later today we made a blended coffee drink from a recipe I got from a great blog I have been reading http://www.thespunkycoconut.com/. Jason and our friend Josh really enjoyed the drink and it was dairy and sugar free - yum... I found it super good too but because of breastfeeding I only had a little.

Our friend Charissa - a fellow "40 dayer"

A month ago Trader Joes was selling Haggen Dazs honey ice cream - well it was only $1.99 a pint so Jason picked some up and hid it in the back of the freezer for today. I was going to make a sugar filled white flour cake to go with it but we have been enjoying healthy desserts so much I opted to make a chocolate bean cake. See how we have changed - white flour and sugar - "na I'll have black beans and honey in my cake". So anyway the ice cream was yummy but - ugh way too sweet and rich. I felt so yucky after I had to have another bowl of salad to offset the feeling.


Chocolate bean cake and the ice cream that I don't want anymore of even though I waited a month to eat it :)



I made almond milk last night and it was so easy and it really is good. We usually drink rice milk but we will be switching over to almond now. When you make the milk you have leftover almond meal after straining the milk. I decided to make brownies out of mine and they turned out so good - you won't believe they are healthy. We even took some to our neighbors to get their opinion and they enjoyed them too.

Brownies using leftover almond meal (Jason is excited - he said "now every week after we make almond milk we will have brownies too)

Brownies

1 C black beans

2 eggs

2 TBS olive oil (still need to order coconut oil - ahh)

2 TBS cocoa powder

1/2 C leftover wet almond meal
1/3 C honey

1 packet stevia

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/3 C chocolate chips - or dark chocolate chunks

1/2 C coconut flour

Blend beans and eggs in blender until very smooth dump into a bowl. In a tiny bowl mix oil and cocoa (I think you could skip this step) add to large bowl add all the rest of the ingredients and mix well. (It seemed a little too runny so that's why I added the coconut flour - I may try it without just to see if they still turn out good.) Dump into a greased 8X8 glass pan and bake 350 degrees for about 22 min. Cool some until you can cut them then dig in - really good warm.

Oh yeah... I frosted them with 1/3 C chocolate chips and 1/3 C coconut milk (full fat) melt in the micro 20-30 sec and stir well. ;)