Cleansing Diet, Day 12: Amazing what a few fresh vegetables can do!

After packing all day we whipped up a quick stir fry for dinner before heading to meet our friends Matt and Kel for drinks before the Hawks game. We cooked up some brown rice to go with our veggies and used the leftover Spicy Almond Paste from the Southeast Asian Lettuce Wraps we had on Day 8.

Stir fry is great when you are in a hurry and there are endless combinations of vegetables, proteins and sauces to make every stir fry unique. Stir fried items make a great side or for a complete meal have your stir fry with rice, noodles, lentils or quinoa. Cook your chosen accompaniment separately and top with your stir fry or mix it in for more of a family style dish like you see below.

The key to stir fry is to get the pan and chosen fat nice and hot but not smoking before adding your items. Add heartier vegetables with longer cooking times first and greens and cooked grains last. Toss or stir to mix all items and cook your stir fry fast and hot.


Up Next…
- Grilled Vegetable and Quinoa Pasta Salad

Cleansing Diet, Day 12: Getting lazy…and eating leftovers :)

Green Girl Goodies, January 2012

Not only was Friday the last day of the cleanse, but it marked the beginning of our last weekend in Seattle. With plenty of packing still to do and a Seahawks game that night, we found ourselves with little time to cook. Luckily we also had plenty of leftovers and fruits from our last trip to the farmer’s market. We went with fresh berries and melon for breakfast and for lunch we sautéed up some leftovers.

I heated a sauté pan and first added the remaining Southwest Black Bean and Corn Salad (approximately 1 ½ cups).

I cooked the salad over medium high heat and added the rest of our Cilantro Lime Slaw (approximately 2 cups). Toss or stir to mix and heat thru. Serve immediately.

Cleansing Diet Day 10, Vegetable Chop Salad

Green Girl Goodies, October 2011

This recipe can be anything you want it to be. Start with romaine or iceberg lettuce as a base and add as many different types of raw vegetables (and fruits...we added apple) as you would like!

Drizzle with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper and eat immediately.

Up Next...
- Cleansing Diet, Day 11: Back to Fruit
- Cleansing Diet, Day 11: Packing a Lunch
- Cleansing Diet, Day 11: Black Bean Patties topped with Spicy Charred Pepper and Corn Pico de Gallo served with Cilantro Lime Slaw

Cleansing Diet Day 10, Southwest Black Bean and Corn Salad

Green Girl Goodies, October 2011

Serves 2 to 4 Entrée Portions or 4 to 8 Side Portions

FOR THE BEANS:
¾ c Black Beans, soaked
2 tb Cumin
1 tb Lime Juice
3 ½ tsp Jalapeno, minced and seeds removed
2 tb Garlic, minced
1 c Yellow Onion, small dice
1 ½ tsp Sea Salt
2 ea Bay Leaves

- Rinse and drain the soaked beans. Place in a sauce pot covered with 1 in of water.
- Add cumin, jalapeno, garlic, onion and bay leaves and bring to a boil over medium high heat.

- Once simmering, cover and reduce heat to maintain a simmer.
- Add salt halfway thru the cooking process and add lime juice once the beans are tender.
- Once the beans are very cooked but not mushy, cool completely and set aside until ready to use.

FOR THE SALAD:
2 ea Yellow or White Corn, grilled, cooled and cut off the cob

1 c Tomatoes, small dice

¾ c Red Pepper, small dice

½ c Red Onion, small dice
½ c Cilantro, minced
2 tsp Garlic, minced
3 tsp Jalapeno, minced
2 tb Lime Juice
1 tb Lemon Juice

- Combine all ingredients in a large bowl.

- Add cooled beans and mix well.

- Let stand at least one hour to let flavors combine then serve.
- Keep properly refrigerated for up to 3 days.

Cleansing Diet Day 10, Fruit Smoothie #7

Green Girl Goodies, October 2011

1 Serving

¾ c Blackberries, fresh or frozen
¾ c Melon (Honeydew or Cantaloupe and preferably very ripe!)
½ c Orange Carrot Juice: I recommend R.W. Knudsen Organic Juice
1 tb Lemon 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 9: Grilled Summer Vegetables over Quinoa Spaghetti with Almond Pesto

Green Girl Goodies, October 2011

Serves 4

FOR THE VEGETABLES:
1.7 lb Zucchini Squash, cut ½ in thick and 3 in long

13 oz Red Pepper, quartered

8 oz White Sweet Onion, cut in ½ in rounds

1 ea Japanese Eggplant, ½ in thick
1 c Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 ½ tb Garlic, minced
3 tsp Sea Salt
1 tsp Black Pepper

- Preheat the grill on high.
- Combine olive oil, garlic, sea salt and black pepper and mix well.

- Coat all cut vegetables with the olive oil mixture and place on a platter.

- Reduce the grill to medium high heat and place vegetables carefully on the grill.

- When grilling, be mindful of your hot spots and flip items accordingly!

- All grills vary in temperature so keep an eye on your vegetables to avoid burning. Cook vegetables until tender to the touch but not mushy.

- Once all the vegetables are done, wrap in foil to keep warm and begin preparing the pasta.*

FOR THE PASTA:
1 18 oz box Quinoa Spaghetti
3 tb Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 tb Lemon Juice
½ tsp Sea Salt
1 c Almond Pesto
1 c Cherry Tomatoes, cut in quarters

- Cook pasta according to package directions* and cool completely with an ice bath. Set aside until ready to use.
- Heat a large sauté pan over high heat; add 2 tb oil and heat briefly.
- Reduce heat to medium and add pasta, remaining olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pesto. Stir to mix well quickly so as not to overcook the pasta but gently to avoid a mushy texture.
- Remove from the heat, stir in tomatoes and serve immediately with the grilled vegetables.

*Cook the pasta before you begin grilling to allow for adequate cooling time.


Up Next…
- Cleansing Diet, Day 10: Fruit Smoothie #7
- Cleansing Diet, Day 10: Southwest Black Bean and Corn Salad
- Cleansing Diet, Day 10: Vegetable Chop Salad

Cleansing Diet, Day 9: Wakame Power Slaw

Green Girl Goodies, October 2011 adapted from “Ani's Raw Food Kitchen: Easy, Delectable Living Foods Recipes” by Ani Phyo

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

FOR THE SLAW:
½ head Tuscan Kale, ribs removed and cut into thin strips
¼ head Small Red Cabbage, cored and julienned
2 ea Green Onion, cut thin on a bias
¼ c Dried Wakame, rehydrated and drained well
¼ Sesame Seeds, toasted and cooled

- Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and set aside.

FOR THE DRESSING:
¾ c Brazil Nuts
1 tb Garlic Cloves, crushed
1 tb Ginger, peeled and rough chopped
1 tsp Sea Salt
¼ c Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 tb Lime Juice
¼ c Purified Water

- In a food processor mix nuts, garlic, ginger and salt until it forms a paste.
- Add lime juice and water and blend, slowly adding oil while blending to emulsify.
- Pour dressing over vegetable slaw mix and stir well to combine.
- Let sit to let flavors combine for at least 2 hours before serving.
- Can be kept properly refrigerated for up to 4 days.

Cleansing Diet, Day 9: Fruit Smoothie #6

Green Girl Goodies, October 2011

1 Serving

½ c Mixed Berries, fresh or frozen
½ c Melon (Honeydew or Cantaloupe and preferably very ripe!)
½ c Green Grapes
1 tb Lemon Juice
¼ c Grapefruit Juice
¼ 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!

Cleansing Diet, Day 8: “Pizza” with Almond Pesto and Vegetables

Green Girl Goodies, October 2011

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

1 bag Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Pizza Crust
- For the crust: 2 tb Flax Seed Meal + 6 tb Purified Water, let stand one minute
1 ½ c Almond Pesto
1 c Yellow or White Onion, small dice
1 c Red Onion, small dice
1 c Red Pepper, small dice
2 tb Garlic, sliced
1 c Spinach, hand town*
1 c Cherry Tomatoes
1 tb Basil, hand torn

- Prepare the crust according to package directions, using the suggested flax meal for egg substitute. Bake until golden brown and slightly crispy**

Watch it rise! When split in two as you see in the picture above, you can make 2 smaller pizzas.

Pre-Baked Dough

All Done!

- Preheat the oven to 425 and gather all your prepared ingredients.

- Once the crust is cooled, spread it with a layer of almond pesto.

- Sprinkle 1 even layer of ½ the onions, ½ the peppers and all of the garlic over the pizza.

- Layer half of the spinach over the vegetables then add the remaining onions and peppers.

- Place small dime size dollops of the remaining pesto over the vegetables and bake for approximately 15 minutes on the top rack of the oven.

- Once the onions look opaque, remove the pizza and sprinkle the remaining spinach and all of the tomatoes over the pizza.

- Place the pizza back in the oven on the top rack and cook for approximately 5 minutes until the spinach is mostly wilted.
- Top with basil and serve immediately with a side green salad of your choice.

*Tightly Packed Cup
**Since you won’t be adding cheese and the vegetables are cut very small, I baked the crust a bit longer than the directions said to avoid a doughy crust.
***You aren’t supposed to eat fungi while cleansing but if you aren’t cleansing, mushrooms would be a great addition to the pizza…and so would olives!

Up Next…
- Cleansing Diet, Day 9: Fruit Smoothie #6
- Cleansing Diet, Day 9: Wakame Power Slaw
- Cleansing Diet, Day 9: Grilled Summer Vegetables over Quinoa Spaghetti with Pesto

Cleansing Diet, Day 8: S.E. Asian Lettuce Wraps with Spicy Almond Spread

Green Girl Goodies, October 2011

Serves 6 to 8 Entrée Portions or 12 to 16 Appetizer Portions

1/3 lb Carrots, peeled and thin julienned
2 ½ oz Red Pepper, julienned
½ lb Cucumbers, seeded and thin julienned
1 ½ c Green Onion, julienned
4 oz Red Onion, julienned
2 hd Bibb Lettuce (large) rinsed carefully and leaves separated.
1 c Cilantro, cut in 1” pieces
1 c Basil, hand torn

- Wrap desired ingredients in lettuce leaves and spread with Spicy Almond Spread*
- Save any extras to use in the next salad you make

*To add a little more flavor and spice, dip in Chile Lime Dipping Sauce!
**These are easy and great to prepare the night before to take on an outing or to work.

All the ingredients, just waiting to be wrapped :)


Spicy Almond Spread

Green Girl Goodies, October 2011

Yields 1 ¼ c

1 c Almonds
5 tb Pico De Gallo*
3 tb Chile Lime Dipping Sauce*
1 tb Lime Juice
1 tb Rice Vinegar
1 tsp Sea Salt

- Grind almonds in a food processor until almost a poder
- Add all other ingredients and blend until a chunky paste.
- Serve immediately or store for up to 1 week, depending on how long the Pico de Gallo or Chile Lime Dipping Sauce has been stored.

*This is a great way to use the extras you have before they spoil!