I've been bad. Not only about posting, but also with the cleanse. I knew it was coming -- the week I would "cheat" when I went to a friend's wedding in TX. Ft Worth, TX of all places, nicknamed Cowtown. Not an easy place to find dairy, sugar, yeast, cooked oil and vinegar-free foods. I asked the doctor which of those would be the worst to ingest. She said, 'do the best you can.'
I had ALL of them at some point over the week. Cheese, sugar, butter and oil were the biggest culprits. All that amazing, mouth-watering REAL Mexican and Tex-Mex just does not come without cheese. Unless you're ordering from Taco Cabana (<3). But then it does not come in a corn tortilla. Only flour.

But first, I cheated with butter. Even though the crab buckets said "Naked Crab" there is no doubt there was at least some butter in that water used to steam 'em. Along with the new potatoes and corn on the cob. YUM.

Steven at Eat at Joe's in Irving, TX
(my pic didn't turn out as well)

The rest was a whirlwind of Tex Mex from Taco Cabana (3 times) and Taco Bueno (only once -- I was desperately hungry and it was after 10pm when EVERYTHING closes down in Ft.Worth except for the bars), sushi (surprisingly good, actually, but def had the sushi rice cut with vinegar and sugar), Indian food -- hello SPICY cooked oil and some not so good indigestion -- and twice cooking at our friend's house. That was a life saver. We cooked them homemade marinara one night (no oil, no cheese!) with spinach. I had quinoa pasta while everyone else had the norm. They loved it, yay! I think I inspired them to try cooking their own tomato sauce, too. For breakfast, I had oatmeal with blueberries and Starbucks coffee every morning. And once for brunch/lunch curry-spiced potatoes with greens sauteed in ginger and garlic over brown rice.
The worst day was 4th of July, though. Although Steven got to sample real Texas BBQ (not the crap they serve at Dallas BBQ, mind you). Real brisket with sauce on the side that he said was not too sweet. I was stuck with an iceburg lettuce salad and too many bites of mac and cheese that I immediately regretted. The green beans had bacon in them (of course). No, I didn't eat them.

Backing up a bit, there was the wedding, where I had 1/2 glass of wine (it was SO sweet!), salad (yep, I brought the dressing I made earlier), buttery mashed potatoes, oil slathered grilled vegetables and two helpings of some amazing jalapeno cornbread. And cake. Half of the grooms cake and half of the lovely towering Bavarian bakery goodness.

Who can resist this yumminess
(don't think I can quit you forever, sugar)

I knew that was going to hurt later. I did the best I could, really! Seeing family and old friends was a great distraction from the reaction I was dreading following the wedding day/night. Luckily, most the reaction came as being incredibly tired all the time, headache-y sometimes and feeling bloated until the coffee helped to flush that all out. Unluckily, I am now officially addicted to morning coffee.


Now the good stuff (kinda). Austin!!!! Where more amazing Tex Mex was consumed. And a gluten free gingerbread pancake from Kerbey Lane. I only put butter on it -- no syrup! Made up for it by having black bean and guac tacos with no cheese. And corn tortillas. So good and fresh! But then came another misstep: the Mexican Martinis at Baby Acapulco after a day of chillin at Barton Springs. Food was OK. But that drink was one of those things unavailable anywhere else. An Austin specialty, so I'm told. And oh, yes it was tasty -- who would have thunk tequila and olives with a twist of lime are good together?

Now, one of the best we had in our short day/overnight trip: Polvos!
Three different salsas and guacamole. Now this is real chips and guac! Corn tortilla chips were also quite the staple of my cheating. Not a one was from a bag -- all were freshly fried up. Mmmmmm. The tamales I had, yes TAMALES, were OK. One was bean with no cheese, but I was ecstatic to have vegetarian tamales available to me (at least I think, not sure what the beans were cooked in).

OK, now I've been back and am now back on the cleanse while adjusting/trying to cycle through all the bad stuff. Yep, I'm paying for it with some painful intestinal gas, bloating and headaches along with some phlegm from the dairy (or the plane) that I'm hoping will subside by tomorrow. And I know I did not drink enough water. That could be one of the main factors -- not enough water to flush out the hard to digest things that I have not been eating!
So expect more food shots like this until the end of this month (hopefully):

Breakfast this morn: lox with grapefruit and strawberry arugula salad
Bran crisps for some crunch factor