I feel like I should have some sparkles, confetti or dancing unicorns since I made it a whole week. Honestly, I’m not trying to sound that pathetic (and yet I am), but a week of hardly any processed foods, bread, cheese, sugar/sweets and caffeine can make a food lover like me crazy.

I didn’t get to start my last day with a smoothie because I woke up too late, but I had an apple and later had some fresh mango and blueberries. For lunch I had some steamed asparagus and the leftover kale and broth mixture my from my recipe trials last night…yummy still. For dinner, ummm well, I tested a recipe from a fellow food blogger to continue my tour and let’s just say it didn’t work out. It’s not from any blog I’ve tried so far or one that I will try the rest of the week so there. Basically, I had a pork bolognese with whole wheat pasta and it was ok.

Anyhoodles, I got a little reflective today on what this past seven days has shown me (sniffle) so let me share with you.

First, I learned what I guess you could call mindful eating. I paid attention to every food item I consumed and if you do this on a regular basis, well then good for you. Me, I was kind of robotic in my motions at times. I would come into the office, get settled and then go to the kitchen to have my first cup of coffee and then my second about an hour or two later. Just like that. The first day of my trial week, I walked straight to the coffee machine without even thinking and had to stop myself. These little moments occurred the rest of the week, and I hope to take that mindfulness with me even when not being so extremely focused like I was this past week.

I also learned how to easily consume more fruits and veggies with just a few simple choices throughout my day and with a little careful menu planning for the week, such as my daily smoothie. I also learned I can go without caffeine, 100-calorie snack packs – which I used to love the Cheetos kind – and lots of sugar or processed food items that I used to consume. Things I cannot and will not go without: cheese, bacon, bread, red meat or a little dark chocolate some time. I think, however, moving forward I will try more moderation in my efforts and vegetarian options, except on vacation and holidays. Nothing is getting between me and my Mom’s cooking on the holidays!

Finally, I feel really, really good and can’t complain about my week long experiment one bit. Thank you for listening to me whine and now let’s get back to my regularly scheduled programming…kind of.