Cleansing Diet, Day 6: Garlicky Quinoa and Spinach Pilaf

Green Girl Goodies, September 2011

Serves 4 to 6 Entrée Portions or 8 to 12 Side Portions

¾ c Quinoa
1 ½ c Purified Water
½ tsp Sea Salt
4 tb Garlic, minced
1 c Yellow or White Onion, small dice
1 c Cherry Tomatoes, ¼’d or ½’d depending on size
4 c Baby Spinach, hand torn *
1 tsp Sea Salt
½ tsp Black Pepper
1 tb + 1 tsp Lemon Juice
1 c Baby Spinach (whole) per person **
1 tb Extra Virgin Olive Oil

- Place quinoa, water and ½ tsp salt into a sauce pot. Bring to a boil and simmer about 11 minutes. Quinoa should be slightly undercooked. Set aside and cool completely before using for the pilaf.
- Heat a large sauté pan over medium-high heat, add oil and heat briefly.
- Add garlic and onion and cook until dark golden/almost charred.
- Deglaze with 1 tb lemon juice.
- Add cooked and cooled quinoa and stir gently or toss to mix.
- Add salt, pepper and remaining lemon juice.
- Add 4 c hand torn spinach and mix gently.
- When the spinach is almost wilted, turn off the heat and add the tomatoes, stirring to mix them in.
- Serve immediately on top of a bed of raw spinach.

*Tightly Packed Cup
**Loosely Packed Cup

Up Next…
Cleansing Diet, Day 7: Fruit Smoothie #4
Cleansing Diet, Day 7: Chilled Beet Soup
Cleansing Diet, Day 7: Mediterranean Garbanzo Patties topped with Cucumber Tomato Chop Salad

Cleansing Diet, Day 6: Vegetable Crudité and Hummus

Green Girl Goodies, September 2011

Yield 1 ½ c

½ c Garbanzo Beans (Chick Peas), soaked
1 tb Garlic Cloves, crushed *
1 tb Tahini
4 tsp Lemon Juice
½ c + 1 tb Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 ½ tsp Cumin, ground
¼ tsp Cayenne Pepper
½ tsp Sea Salt

- Place garlic in a food processor and chop until minced. Scrape down the sides of the processor.
- Add cooked beans, lemon juice, tahini, cumin, cayenne and salt. Turn on the processor and slowly drizzle in olive oil as it blends.
- Serve immediately or store in an airtight container properly refrigerated for up to 5 days. Once refrigerated, let the hummus stand for 10 minutes before serving to come back to room temperature.

FOR BEANS:
1 tsp Sea Salt
2 tsp Lemon Juice

- Drain and rinse soaked beans and cook until very soft and almost mushy
- Add salt ¾ of the way thru cooking and lemon juice once the beans are tender **
- Cool cooked beans completely and set aside until you are ready to make hummus!

*Loosely packed tablespoon
**Check out Bean Scene: Fun Facts and Tips for Cooking Beans for more information on storing, cooking and seasoning beans!

Serve the hummus with any variety and quantity of raw vegetables that you like! One serving of hummus is approximately 1/3 - 1/2 cup.

Cleansing Diet, Day 6: Fruit Smoothie #3

Green Girl Goodies, September 2011

1 Serving

½ c Watermelon
½ c Mixed Berries, fresh or frozen
½ c Pear
1 tb Lemon Juice
1/3 c Orange Carrot Juice: I recommend R.W. Knudsen Organic Juice
*Plus Remaining Ingredients of the Fruit Smoothie Base

- Add ice, fruit, juice, honey and blend.
- Once all items are blended well, pour into a glass and add chia seeds. Stir well and enjoy!

Bean Scene: Fun Facts and Tips for Cooking Beans

“Bulk Basics” Whole Foods

Not only are beans low in fat and cholesterol, they are also high in fiber, iron and folic acid making them a near perfect health food! In addition to their amazing health benefits beans are also extremely economical and a great eco-friendly source of protein for vegetarians and carnivores alike!

Below are some general tips on storing and cooking beans along with some helpful hints to get the best end product from your dried beans:

- Storing:
o Keep beans in an airtight container away from heat and use them within 6 months at the most.

- Soaking:
o Most beans will cook more evenly and faster when soaked in cold water first. Any amount of soaking time is beneficial but a soak of at least 4 hours and up to 12 is ideal.

- Cooking:
o Drain and rinse beans thoroughly after soaking.
o Remember beans double or triple depending on the type of bean so always use a large saucepan or pot. Cover beans with fresh water by about 1 inch. Partially cover pot, bring to a gentle boil then lower to a simmer, stirring occasionally and adding water as needed.
o Cooking time varies depending on the soaking time and age of the beans. Cook until tender; taste a bean to check doneness.
o Simmer beans gently as a vigorous boil will cause them to fall apart.
o Add salt to beans three quarters of the way thru cooking as adding salt can lengthen cooking time. Don’t wait till they are fully cooked or the seasoning won’t be as effective.
o Don’t add acidic ingredients (tomato, wine, lemon/lime juice, vinegar) until the beans are tender as acidic ingredients can prevent softening.

- Some interesting bean facts:
o Always discard soaking water prior to cooking. Some nutrition in the form of minerals is lost but you get rid of 80% of the oligosaccharides that cause flatulence!
o Thoroughly cooking your beans softens starch and fibers, making digestion more efficient.
o The more often you eat beans, the faster your body will adapt to digesting the complex sugars.
o Certain herbs including bay leaf, cumin, epazote and kombu (epazote being the most effective) have gas reducing properties and adding any of these while cooking will help decrease the gaseous effect of the beans.
o Avoid beans with added sweeteners as the added carbohydrates can cause more digestive problems for many people.

Just a few of the many varieties of beans!

Cleansing Diet, Day 5: Vegetable Fried Brown Rice

Green Girl Goodies, September 2011

Serves 4 to 6 Entree Portions or 8 to 12 Side Portions

1 c Brown Rice
2 c Carrots, small dice
2 ½ c Celery, small dice
2 c Yellow or White Onion, small dice
1 ½ c Green Peas, frozen
3 c Spinach, hand torn *
2 tb Ginger, minced
2 tb Garlic, sliced
2 tb Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 tb Rice Vinegar
4 tb Sesame Seeds, toasted
3 tsp Sea Salt
½ tsp White Pepper

- Cook rice according to package instructions (I prefer a rice cooker) and set aside to cool completely.
- Heat a large sauté pan over high heat, add oil and heat briefly. Sweat carrots, celery, onions, ginger and garlic until fragrant and translucent.
- Add cooked rice and stir to mix.
- Add peas, salt, pepper, vinegar and sesame. Stir to mix well.
- Once all ingredients are heated thru, approximately 2 – 3 minutes**, turn off the heat and mix in spinach.
- Serve immediately!

*Tightly Packed Cup
**The key to fried rice is cooking everything very hot and very fast, otherwise the rice can overcook and become mushy.

Up Next…
Bean Scene: Fun Facts and Tips for Cooking Beans
Cleansing Diet, Day 6: Fruit Smoothie #3
Cleansing Diet, Day 6: Vegetable Crudité and Hummus
Cleansing Diet, Day 6: Garlicky Quinoa and Spinach Pilaf

Cleansing Diet, Day 5: Black Bean and Corn Chile topped with Pico de Gallo

Green Girl Goodies, September 2011

Serves 4 to 6

2 c Black Beans, soaked
2 c Corn (preferably fresh cut off the cob)
1 1/3 c Mild Green Chile, medium dice (about one medium, Poblanos work well)
½ c Red Relleno Chile, medium dice
2 tb Jalapeños, minced
1 ¾ c Yellow or White Onion, medium dice
1 c Tomato, medium dice
1 tb Garlic, minced
1 tb Extra Virgin Olive Oil
½ c Lime Juice
1 c Purified Water
2 tsp Cumin
1 tsp Sea Salt

- Heat a large pot, add oil and heat approximately 1 minute
- Add garlic, jalapeños, onion and peppers. Cook over high heat, stirring minimally to char vegetables.
- Char vegetables to desired doneness, reduce heat to medium and add corn.
- Stir to mix and deglaze* with lime juice.
- Add cooked beans, tomatoes, salt, cumin and water. Bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally and cook until beans are tender and Chile is heated thru.

FOR THE BEANS:
4 ea Bay Leaves
4 tsp Sea Salt
3 tb Cumin
3 tb Lemon Juice

- Soak the beans in purified water for at least 4 hours and up to 12
- Drain and rinse the beans before using.
- Place the beans into a large stock pot and cover with purified water by about an inch.
- Add bay leaves and cumin, partially cover the pot and bring to a gentle boil.
- Once boiling, lower heat to a simmer, stirring occasionally and adding water as needed if the beans look dry. Add salt halfway thru the cooking process and lemon juice once beans are tender.
- Since these beans will be cooked again slightly, cook until they are tender but not totally soft. Remove bay leaves and set aside. Cooking time will vary depending on soaking time. See Bean Scene: Fun Facts and Tips for Cooking Beans** for more useful information and cooking tips for various types of beans!

Pico De Gallo #1

Green Girl Goodies, September 2011

Yields approximately 3 cups

2 ½ c Tomatoes, small dice
1 tb Serrano Chile, seeds removed and minced
½ tsp Garlic, minced
½ c Cilantro, minced
1 c Red Onion, minced
1 tb Lime Juice
1 tsp Sea Salt

- Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix. Can be served immediately but is better after an hour or more once flavors have developed. Pico can store properly refrigerated in a sealed container for up to 1 week.


*Deglazing: a cooking technique for removing and dissolving caramelized bits of food from a pan using liquid. Deglazing is an essential step to building the flavor profile for many dishes and sauces. Deglazing is most often done with wine but can be done with vinegars, lemon/lime juice or even water!
**Coming soon :)

Cleansing Diet, Day 5: Fruit Smoothie # 2

Green Girl Goodies, September 2011

1 Serving

½ c Honeydew Melon
1 c Watermelon
½ c Grapefruit Juice: I recommend R.W. Knudsen Organic Juice
*Plus Remaining Ingredients of the Fruit Smoothie Base

- Add ice, fruit, juice, honey and blend.
- Once all items are blended well, pour into a glass and add chia seeds. Stir well and enjoy!

Cleansing Diet, Day 4: S.E. Asian Crispy Quinoa Cakes with Chile Lime Dipping Sauce served with Charred Ginger Corn and Chilled Sesame Baby Bok Choy

S.E. Asian Crispy Quinoa Cakes

Green Girl Goodies, September 2011

Serves 4 to 6

1 c Quinoa, dry
½ tsp Sea Salt
2 c Purified Water

- Cook Quinoa according to package instructions, adding an additional minute or two to overcook quinoa slightly. Spread on a sheet tray and cool.

1 tsp Fresh Ginger, grated
3 tsp Garlic, grated
2 tb Flax Seed Meal + 6 tb purified water
2 tb Cilantro, minced
2 tb Fresh Basil, chiffonade *
½ c Green Onion, sliced thin on a bias
½ c Red Pepper, minced
2 tsp Rice Wine Vinegar
1 tsp Sea Salt
1 tb Lime Juice
1 ½ tsp Honey
4 tb Extra Virgin Olive Oil

- Once the quinoa is cooled, add all ingredients except for flax/water and olive oil. Mix well.
- Combine the flax and water, let stand one minute then add to quinoa vegetable mixture and mix well.
- Form the mixture into thin patties, about ½” thick and 3” in diameter.
- Heat olive oil in a sauté pan until hot but not smoking. Add the cakes and reduce the heat to medium. Cook the cakes 3 – 4 minutes each side or until golden brown. Flip and finish on the other side until golden, approximately another 3 – 4 minutes. The cakes are very delicate so make sure to only flip them as needed!
- Serve immediately for best quality.

*Chiffonade - shredded or finely cut vegetables or herbs used especially as a garnish


Chile Lime Dipping Sauce

Green Girl Goodies, September 2011

Serves 4 to 6

1 ½ tb Serrano Chile, sliced in rounds with seeds
¼ c Rice Wine Vinegar
¼ c Lime Juice
2 tb Honey
1 tsp Garlic, minced
1 tsp Ginger, minced
A Pinch of Sea Salt

- Combine all ingredients and let sit for at least half an hour to combine flavors
*This sauce is very hot and tart. For a sweeter version, reduce the rice vinegar by half and double the honey.


Charred Ginger Chile Corn

The Splendid Table’s How to Eat Weekends via Readers Digest, August 2011

Serves 2 to 4

3 tb Canola Oil
3 c Fresh Corn Kernels, cut from the cob (approximately 4 to 5 ears)
2 ½ tb Fresh Ginger, minced
1 tb Fresh Jalapeno, seeded and minced
1 ½ tb garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp Sea Salt
1/2 tsp Black Pepper

- Heat skillet over high heat until smoking. Add oil and heat briefly. Toss in corn, spreading it out evenly; do not crowd corn. Let sit for at least 1 minute to allow the corn to severely char and pop.
- Stir in ginger and jalapeno, again allowing the corn to char with very little stirring, about 2 minutes.
- The corn is done when a fourth to a third of the kernels are flecked with brown (depending on your taste). Stir in the garlic and remove from the heat.
- Add salt and pepper and serve immediately. I went light on the salt and pepper. Add more in ¼ tsp increments to reach your desired taste.


Sesame Chilled Baby Bok Choy

Green Girl Goodies, September 2011

Serves 4 to 6

1 ½ qt Purified Water
1 tsp Sea Salt
2 pc Medium Baby Bok Choy cut into quarters or 4 pc Small Baby Bok Choy, cut in half *
2 tsp Sesame Seed, lightly toasted **

- Add salt to the water and bring to a boil over high heat.
- Add bok choy gently and blanch*** 1 – 1 ½ minutes until tender and bright green. If you do not have a large pot, blanch the boy choy little by little to insure even cooking.
- Place blanched bok choy immediately into an ice bath. Once cooled, chill in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
- Garnish with toasted sesame seeds just before serving.

*When cutting the bok choy, be careful to keep the core in tack so when blanching the bok choy stays together.
**To toast the sesame seeds, place them in a sauté pan over medium high heat. Toss every 1 -2 minutes to toast evenly. Once the seeds are golden and aromatic, set them aside to cool until needed. Keep extra seeds in an airtight container for 6 months to 1 year.
*** Blanching is a cooking process in which a vegetable or fruit is plunged into boiling water, removed after a brief, timed interval, and finally plunged into iced water or placed under cold running water (shocked) to halt the cooking process.


Up Next…
- Cleansing Diet, Day 5: Fruit Smoothie #2
- Cleansing Diet, Day 5: Black Bean and Corn Chile topped with Pico De Gallo
- Cleansing Diet, Day 5: Vegetable Fried Brown Rice

Cleansing Diet, Day 4: Vegetable and Quinoa Pasta Soup

Green Girl Goodies, September 2011

Serves 4 to 6

2 tb Garlic, minced
1 ¾ c Yellow or Sweet Onion, small dice
1 1/3 c Celery, small dice
1 c Carrots, small dice
3 c Spinach, hand torn *
2 c Tomatoes, small dice
1 ½ c Green Beans, trimmed and cut into 1” sticks
1 tb Extra Virgin Olive Oil
3 tb Lemon Juice
1 qt + 2 c Purified Water
3 tsp Sea Salt
1 tsp Black Pepper
8 oz (1 box) Quinoa Pasta, preferably Rotelle
1 c Fresh Basil, hand torn **

- Cook Pasta according to package instructions. Drain and cool quickly with an ice bath.***
- Heat large soup pot and add oil first then garlic, onions, celery and carrots. Sweat ingredients until fragrant over medium high heat, deglaze with lemon juice and add water. Return to high heat and bring to a boil.
- Once boiling, lower heat to maintain a simmer and add tomatoes, spinach and green beans.
- Return to a simmer and add salt and pepper. Simmer for 5 – 7 minutes or until beans are tender.
- Place desired amount of noodles in each bowl and top with hot soup.
- Add basil just before serving.

*Tightly Packed Cup
**Loosely Packed Cup
***Ice Bath: An effective way to quickly cool vegetables and pasta to prevent over cooking. Place cold water and ice (2/3 water and 1/3 ice) in a bowl large enough to cover whatever is being cooled. Drain hot water and immediately place hot item into the cold water. Once chilled, drain and set aside until ready to use the item. With pasta, add a small amount of olive oil to prevent the pasta from sticking together.

Twelve Days of Dietary Detox: Day 4 and Beyond, Finally Some Substance to our Meals!

Everybody was excited for the first three days to be done because Day 4 meant reintroducing grains into our meals!! I would never have thought I would see Trevor or my dad so excited to have some Quinoa :) After the first three days of rabbit food our meals became a lot more filling once we added the grains. We also made a little change to our breakfast habits and began our day with fruit smoothies!

Each morning after the routine lemon-flax water and salt water, we enjoyed a refreshing fruit smoothie. I created a basic smoothie base and mixed up the fruits and fruit juices I used to keep things exciting. Day by day I will include the smoothies I tried. Keep in mind when using fresh fruit the end result you get varies greatly depending on the sweetness and degree of ripeness of your starting product. It being summer, we were lucky to have many varieties of sweet, delicious fruits to choose from! Also, being open to trying new combinations is a great way to use all your fruit before it spoils. Each day I would keep in mind what fruits I needed to use and base my creation around that item.

For lunch and dinner, the once mundane vegetable platter can be spruced up with more seasonings, fresh herbs, grains, beans and nuts. There aren’t many new rules at this new stage, just a few things to keep in mind:

- When choosing your grains, think easily digestible with high nutrient content (sound familiar? :)
- Try to use more quinoa and brown rice and fewer beans.
- When using beans, black beans are preferable and ALWAYS USE DRIED BEANS!!
- If you need a little afternoon snack, you can have a serving of nuts to satisfy your hunger. Remember, a serving is only 1 oz (approximately ¼ c) and always choose raw and unsalted nuts!
- Even though you are cooking more now, don’t forget to minimize excessive cooking when possible to maintain as much nutrient content in the vegetables as you can.

As I mentioned before, I based my recipes off of grains I already had in the pantry. Despite how it may seem with all the limitations, there are thousands of creations that can be made to fit the cleansing diet. I will go day by day thru our menu and share with you what I have created!

*Keep in mind I was serving two males and two females, one male and female in their late 20’s and one male and female in their late 50’s. All recipes are either for one (smoothies only) or 4 to 6. We rarely had leftover food but I gave the range because eating habits can vary greatly depending on many factors especially age and gender.

Happy Eating!! :)

Up Next…

- Cleansing Diet, Day 4: Vegetable and Quinoa Pasta Soup
- Cleansing Diet, Day 4: S.E. Asian Crispy Quinoa Cakes with Chile Lime Dipping Sauce served with Charred Ginger Corn and Chilled Sesame Baby Bok Choy

Cleansing Diet, Day 4: What’s for Breakfast? Assorted Fruit Smoothies! Basic Recipe Base and Smoothie #1

Days 4 thru 12, fruit smoothies were the way to start the day!

The basic smoothie base is easily adaptable; I continue to try it with all kinds of fruits and juices!

Serves 1

1 ½ c Fresh/Frozen Fruit
½ c Fruit/Lemon/Lime Juice
½ c Crushed Ice
2 tsp Honey
1 tb Chia Seeds (AFTER BLENDING!)

- Add ice, fruit, juice, honey and blend.
- Once all items are blended well, pour into a glass and add chia seeds. Stir well and enjoy!

Here is the first smoothie I tried:

Fruit Smoothie #1
1 Serving

1 c Honeydew Melon
¼ c Papaya
¼ c Grapes, Mixed Red and Green
½ c Orange Carrot Juice: I recommend R.W. Knudsen Organic Juice
*Plus Remaining Ingredients of the Fruit Smoothie Base

Cleansing Diet, Day 3: Almond Basil Pesto

Green Girl Goodies, September 2011

Yield approximately 3 cups

2 tb Garlic cloves, crushed
1 ½ c almond, raw
3 tb Lemon Juice
2 ¾ c Fresh Basil, hand torn *
2 tsp Sea Salt
1 ½ c Extra Virgin Olive Oil

- Mince crushed garlic in a food processor
- Add almonds and blend until the almonds are very fine, but not powder
- Add basil, lemon juice, salt and oil and blend until smooth
- Serve as a dip, add to soups and pastas, use as a spread on pizza or flatbread. The pesto can keep properly refrigerated in an airtight container for 1 to 2 weeks or frozen up to 3 months.

*Tightly Packed Cup

Making Pesto!!

The Finished Product

Cleansing Diet, Day 3: Peppery Almond Pesto and Vegetable Soup

Green Girl Goodies, September 2011

Serves 4 to 6

4 ½ tb Garlic, sliced
2 c Yellow or Sweet Onion, julienned
1 1/3 c Fennel Bulb, julienned
1 c Green Beans, 1” stick
2 c Tomatoes, medium dice
3 c Spinach, hand torn *
1/3 c Fennel Fronds, minced
1 c Fresh Basil, hand torn **
1 tb Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 ½ qt Purified Water
2 ½ Lemons, juiced
1/3 c Almond Basil Pesto ***
4 tsp Sea Salt
3 tsp Black Pepper

- Heat large soup pot and add oil first then garlic, onions and fennel. Carmelize ingredients until golden, deglaze with lemon juice and add water. Bring to a boil.
- Once boiling, lower heat to maintain a simmer and add tomatoes, spinach and green beans.
- Return to a simmer and stir in pesto, salt and pepper. Simmer for 5 – 7 minutes or until beans are tender.
- Add basil just before serving.

*Tightly Packed Cup
**Loosely Packed Cup
***See Recipe for Almond Basil Pesto

Pictures to come with next preparation! :)

Cleansing Diet, Day 2: Southwest Vegetable Sauté

Green Girl Goodies, September 2011

Serves 4 to 6

2 tb Red Relleno Chile, grilled, extra small dice (approximately 1 med)
2 c Corn, grilled and cut off the cob (approximately 2 large cobs)
2 c Red Potatoes, batonette *** (approximately 2 med red)
3 tb Garlic, sliced
2 tb Jalapeno, minced
1 c Red Bell Pepper, julienned **
2 c Yellow or Sweet Onion, julienned * **
5 c Kale, ½” strips *
2 ½ c White Cabbage, shred
2 c Tomatoes, medium dice
2 tb Extra Virgin Olive Oil
¼ c Lime Juice
1 tb + 2 tsp Cumin
3 tsp Sea Salt
1 tsp Black Pepper

- Heat a large sauté pan and add oil. Wait 2 – 3 minutes until the oil is hot but not smoking. Add the potatoes and cook until golden, about 6 – 8 minutes, flipping minimally to avoid breaking the potatoes.
- Add garlic, jalapeno, peppers and onions. Stir to mix and cook 2 – 3 minutes until fragrant.
- Add kale one cup at a time, stirring to wilt. Also add salt, pepper, cumin and lime juice.
- Once finished adding kale, add cabbage, one cup at a time.
- When the cabbage is wilted, add grilled corn and tomatoes. Stir to mix and cook 2 – 3 minutes until corn and tomatoes are heated thru.
- Serve immediately

*Tightly Packed Cup
**Julienne: thin matchstick cut, about 1/16th to 1/8th of an inch thick
***Batonette: thick matchstick cut, 3 inches long and 1/4 inch thick


Unfortunately I have no pictures for this recipe as I made it before I decided to start the blog. Next time I prepare the dish, I will add some pictures of step by step cooking and the finished product!

Twelve Days of Dietary Detox: Creating an Action Plan, Getting Started and Helpful Tips. Part 1: Day 1 - 3

Everyone knows that summer time always brings a slew of social events and social events usually revolve around eating. One great thing about summertime eating is all the amazing produce nature pumps out for us to enjoy! Summer is one of the best times to visit the farmer’s markets; every direction you look there are colorful displays of local organic goodies ranging from fruits like berries and peaches to my all time favorite natural delicacy, heirloom tomatoes. Normally with all the sunshine there is so much to do with work and fun that summer flies by. Luckily for me, this year I happened to have a bit of time on my hands.

I have always loved cooking and one of my favorite things to do is cook with friends. One of my dearest and closest friends Erica and I used to get together once a week or so and conduct our own Healthy Eating Class. We would read interesting facts about health, nutrition and foods and test out new recipes. Even after cooking all day at work I always looked forward to getting together and running our test kitchen on our family and friends. Erica has always encouraged me to get a healthy blog started to share our insights with others and finally timing has allowed this to happen!

Feeling a bit bogged down physically from extensive travel and summer festivities, (and momentarily on a long vacation) I was inspired. I had done a cleanse once by myself last spring and felt great when I was done. I convinced my boyfriend and parents to join me and we decided to get the cleanse under way. I created a loose plan of meals based off of dried grains and beans we had already. While I deviated frequently to adjust to my personal schedule, it always helps to have a loose idea of ingredients you need just to make grocery shopping easier. It also helps avoid purchasing produce that spoils before you can use it! It wasn’t until the second day of the cleanse that I settled on my decision to create recipes for all the cleanse food I was inventing as we went along. On the fourth day, I decided to get serious and start the blog!

As a trained chef, I have become accustomed to reading a recipe then using it as a jumping off point. When you are at work there is very little time to break out the measuring cups and meticulously measure each ingredient. You get to a point where you have a general idea of what various quantities look like and proper ratios of ingredients to create a tasty dish. Keeping that in mind, creating a good recipe takes even more time than following one…but it can be fun!

When I finally made the decision to start the blog, I was even more excited. The extra time on my hands made it the perfect time to launch and where better to start than with recipes and photos of body cleansing meals! Detox diets are all about removing environmental toxins from your body and giving your organs a chance to rejuvenate. Once you go thru the cleansing process, it is much easier to stick to your healthy diet because of the tangible results and improvements you feel in your body after a cleanse. Trevor made the soup the first night so there is no recipe but every other item I made over the 12 days has a recipe and after day 4, pictures. Please be patient, I have an old camera and will be getting another soon to get better pictures of the food. I also am experimenting with how to get the best angles and step by step pictures so comments and suggestions are welcomed! Now onto our first subject…12 Days of Detox Dieting!

Getting Started

Cleansing and Detox Diets are really trendy these days and people pay lots of money to have diet plans designed for them. Creating your own detox plan, however, is not nearly as daunting as one might think! The three most important things to consider when designing your meal plan are:

1. How much time do you have to focus on preparing your meals?

2. What is available seasonally in terms of produce? Late Summer/Early Fall and Spring are considered the best times to cleanse because of the plethora of delicious produce readily available.

3. If you are cleansing alone: How extreme do you want your cleanse to be? There are all kinds of plans out there and some involve no solid food!!
- If you aren’t cleansing alone: What kinds of food do all involved enjoy? Consider proper quantities needed for each person participating (i.e. age, gender, levels of athletic activity…my dad and boyfriend participated in my last cleanse and they need A LOT more food to feel satisfied than my mom or I need)

I recommend getting a friend, relative or your partner to cleanse with you. It is a tough adjustment to cut out so many items you consume on a regular basis. It can alter your moods and give you headaches so having somebody to sympathize with and keep each other on track is great. Cleansing can also be hard on your social life so some company helps that aspect as well!

To get started, below are the basic dos and don’ts while cleansing:

The No No’s:

- No Caffeine

- No Alcohol

- No Smoking

- No Meat

- No Dairy

- No Refined Sugars

- No Foods/Condiments/Seasonings with Food Additives

- No processed foods OF ANY KIND!! (in my opinion this is the hardest rule to follow and I made 2 exceptions: Ancient Harvest Organic Quinoa Pasta and Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Pizza Crust. The pasta contains only organic quinoa and organic corn flour and no additives or sulfites. The pizza crust mix did contain xanthan gum but all other
ingredients were organic)

- No snacking except one serving of nuts per day and celery sticks or cucumber and…

- NO EATING AFTER 8 PM!

The Do’s:

- Buy Organic whenever possible (see The Clean 15 and Dirty Dozen on the left of this page for more tips) Don’t forget to consider this when purchasing your spices, extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice and lime juice!! Whole Foods is a great source of organic seasonings and spices.

- Eat lots of fruits and vegetables. Eat them raw or minimally cooked when possible as cooking removes many of the essential vitamins and minerals.

- Include nuts, grains and the occasional legumes (preferably walnuts/almonds, quinoa/brown rice and black beans) Think easily digestible with a high nutrient content!

The Daily Routine:

- Wash all fruits and vegetables with purified water and a touch of distilled vinegar (3 parts water to 1 part vinegar)

- Drink at least 8, 8 oz glasses of PURIFIED water daily (I tried for 12)

- Include organic, herbal caffeine free teas throughout the day

- Exercise daily, even if it is light exercise (we did lots of Wii yoga and rock climbing)

- Start every day before eating anything with a mug of lukewarm water with:
o ½ tsp cayenne pepper to stimulate metabolism
o 1 tb extra virgin olive oil to ease digestion
o Juice from half a lemon (1 tb) to stimulate cleansing of the liver
o 1 tb ground flax seed for protein and digestion
o MAKE SURE TO ADD THE FLAX LAST AND STIR IMMEDIATELY!!

- After drinking that delightful concoction, drink 1 quart of warm water with 2 tsp of uniodized sea salt. Called a “salt enema”, this was not the favorite of anybody participating in the cleanse but it certainly helps! You will not be able to leave the house for approximately 2 hours after drinking the salt water as it totally clears your digestive track. It was hard to swallow (literally) at first but got easier as the days went on. It also had less of a drastic effect on the body (or we were just very “clean” as the days went by :) After the salt water, immediately consume your high fiber breakfast!

Preparing to Shock the System

In the week leading up to the cleanse, you should start trying to cut down on anything you consume in excess that might lead to withdrawal headaches or grumpy moods. Main things to consider are soft drinks, coffee, high sugar snack items, smoking and alcohol consumption. Immediately cutting these things out of your diet can cause painful side effects dependent on your level of use so preparing your body gradually is always a good idea. My mom and Trevor are heavy coffee drinkers and they both had pretty bad headaches for the first two days of the cleanse but it went away and now they are both down to one cup of coffee per day!

Cleansing Time!!

The night before you begin your cleanse, try and eat your last meal before 4 pm. Around 10:30 pm, prepare a glass of 3/4 c grapefruit juice and a ½ c of Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Let it stand for 30 minutes, drink it all quickly and go to bed immediately. I will warn you, not only is it not pleasant to drink, but it is extremely uncomfortable during digestion. I ate past 4 pm (and had a pre-cleanse last glass of wine) and woke up to get sick in the middle of the night. Trevor and my mom did better than I and held it all down but didn’t sleep very well. My dad passed on all strange drinks (lemon/flax, salt water, olive oil juice) but at least he made the effort to stick to the rest of the rules!

The First Three Days

Besides your flax-lemon and salt water, consume ONLY fruits and vegetables, natural juices and purified water on Day 1. Day 2 add a little starch with one meal and Day 3, throw in some nuts!

For the first three days, at breakfast eat:
7 grapes (approximately ½ c)
1 serving banana
1 serving pear
½ c papaya
½ c sliced strawberries
3/8 c all natural grapefruit juice

For your other two meals, make one a vegetable crudité platter (cut raw vegis) and for the other choose between a hearty vegetable soup, stir-fry or mixed salad. It’s not important which you have for lunch and which for dinner; pick whatever is easiest for your schedule! We had vegetable crudités for lunch each day because it is easily prepared a night ahead and easy to take to work. For dinner it was nice to gather and enjoy a warm meal followed by a little fruit for dessert.

After the first three days, eating got a little more exciting…stay tuned!

DAILY 2: Produce Tips
- When you choose vegetables to eat while cleansing, think high in fiber like dark leafy greens, spinach and broccoli.
- Don’t be shy, load up on the onions and garlic!! Both members of the onion family, they contain chemical compounds believed to have anti-inflammatory, anti-cholesterol, anti-cancer, and antioxidant properties. Besides their health benefits, members of the onion family can be prepared in a myriad of different ways to add depth to your food.


SEASONING/PREPARATION TIPS FOR CLEANSE FOOD:
- Use lemon/lime juices, sea salt, pepper, organic spices, extra virgin olive oil, pure/organic vinegars and raw honey to add flavor to your food. For the first three days only, NO HONEY!!
- Remember not to cook your vegetables to death! You want to keep as many nutrients as possible while still producing something interesting for your palate. Be mindful of the order in which you place the vegetables in the pan to minimize over cooking.
- Try different types of chiles to add a little spice to your food
- And remember...don’t be scared of the onions and garlic!!

Up Next…

- Day 4, Finally Some Substance To Our Meals!

And Some Recipes!!

- Cleansing Diet, Day 2: Southwest Vegetable Sauté
- Cleansing Diet, Day 3: Peppery Almond Pesto and Vegetable Soup
- Cleansing Diet, Day 4: What’s for Breakfast? Assorted Fruit Smoothies!
- Cleansing Diet, Day 4: Vegetable and Quinoa Pasta Soup
- Cleansing Diet, Day 4: Crispy S.E. Asian Quinoa Cakes served with Spicy Chile Lime Dipping Sauce, Charred Ginger Corn and Chilled Sesame Broccoli