Day 1

Alrighty. Really late last night I decided that I was going to go on a fast. The idea came from my friend, Max and I figured I would try it, too. We are both doing different fasts, but they should have the same effect. The main thing I read was to drink a TON of water... so I've pretty much been drinking my body weight in water haha. I really think that yesterday was just an eye opening day. It was my last day at Sears (until Thanksgiving), and I've never felt so stress-free. A huge weight had been lifted from my shoulders, and I feel like I can breathe again. I came home and did a Tai Chi video just because I felt so good. I LOVE Tai Chi. It's so easy and beautiful... and when I say beautiful, I mean the host. Wow he was hot. So now I'm all in my Chi and I'm drinking one of my fruit juice smoothies. It's good to be alive!

However... I still have a bread recipe for today. My fasting diet doesn't consist of bread, but I made this last week and it is just amazing. I found it on "have cake, will travel" and it's just a really dense, hearty bread. It makes two loaves and I'm proud to say that they both rose beautifully. It was my first time making bread, so I was damn satisfied!

Here's the recipe:

Carrot Bread

(for a 1 1/2 pounder, or about 12 slices)

3/4 cup room temperature soy milk (I used half almond milk, half soymilk)
1 cup finely grated carrots
2 Tbsp turbinado sugar
2 Tbsp canola oil
1 tsp sea salt
2 Tbsp vital wheat gluten
about 3 cups light spelt flour, might need more or less: up to you to find out as you kneed
2 tsp bread machine or instant-rise yeast

Directions:
If you want to proof your yeast, heat your soymilk to lukewarm, add yeast and sugar. Let sit for 10 minutes; it should get foamy.

After 10 minutes, combine soymilk mixture, carrots, canola oil, sea salt, wheat gluten, and 2 cups of bread flour. Stir with a wooden spoon and pour onto a clean, lightly floured surface. Add the rest of the flour as you kneed until the dough isn't too sticky anymore. It should be smooth and elastic.

Place in a large bowl coated with a little oil. Swirl ball-shaped dough a little until it's lightly coated with the oil, cover, and let rise (in a warm, draft-free area) for 90 minutes or until doubled in size.

20 minutes before dough is done rising, preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Punch dough down and flatten it with you hands into a rectangular shape. Cut in two in length, roll each portion tightly in the shape of a loaf. Place on a parchment/Silpat-lined baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes or until the bottoms sound hollow when tapped. The top should be golden brown and if you have an instant-read thermometer, it should read 190-200 F.

Let cool on rack before slicing.