Spotlight Food - Sea Vegetables...

What do you know about sea vegetables? Have you ever had them? Do you like them? This amazing nutrient dense food has been consumed in various parts of the world for centuries, but has only become popular in North America over the past decade or so. I’m still amazed by how many people haven’t tried the various different kind of sea vegetables out there, and even more amazed by those who claim not to like them. Granted they’re an acquired taste, I’ll give you that. They taste like the ocean, some people think they taste ‘fishy,’ and the flavor can be a bit strong for some, but once you get used to it, sea vegetables are such a wonderfully health supporting food that you’ll start craving them, I swear!

I remember the first time I ever ate seaweed. I was a kid, maybe 10, and I hated it. My dad was really into seaweed at the time, he’d buy bags of it from the health food store to eat as it was or to make sushi rolls. He’d give me pieces to try and I always thought they were nasty. Fast-forward to highschool when I started eating sushi, I wouldn’t say that I loved seaweed then, but I grew comfortable with it. Fast-forward to me becoming vegan and it took a while, but eventually I warmed up to it. Now I love some nori sprinkled over a salad, some dulse on a sandwich, some wakame in my miso soup. I love seaweed chips, I love toasted nori sheets, I love all those fun little seaweed snacks you can pick up at the Asian markets. I love that pungent, aromatic, sometimes salty ocean flavor, and the best part is that sea vegetables are so incredibly good for you, so you can feel good about eating them.

History/Cultivation 

A lot of us commonly think of sea vegetables os seaweeds as being an integral ingredient in Asian dishes, but the truth is that many cultures around the world have been enjoying this rich, nutrient dense food for centuries. Asia may have the longest recorded tradition of consuming sea vegetables - more then 10,000 years - but many other countries located near water also have a history with seaweed, such as Scotland, Ireland, Norway, Iceland, New Zealand, the South Pacific Islands, and even parts of costal South America.

What a lot of people don’t realize about sea vegetables is the overwhelming variety of them.  More then a thousand types of seaweed exist, and they’re broken down into three distinct categories based on color, brown, green, or red. Each type is unique, having a different shape, texture, and taste. They grow in two places, marine salt waters and freshwater lakes and seas. They may grow on coral reefs or rocky landscapes and can grow at virtually any depth provided sunlight can penetrate through the water to where they reside, as like plants, seaweed needs light for survival. Interestingly sea vegetables are not considered to be either plant nor animal, but are classified as algae.

Health Benefits 

It might surprise you to learn that sea vegetables offer one of the broadest ranges of minerals of any food, containing virtually all the minerals found in the ocean. In addition to offering a unique variety of phytonutrients and antioxidants. They’re also an excellent source of iodine, manganese, B Vitamins, potassium, iron, zinc, and phosphorus.

Sea vegetables also provide anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, anticoagulant, antithrombotic, and antiviral benefits due to their unique sulfated polysaccharides. Sea vegetables anti-inflammatory benefits seem to take place by blocking selectins - sugar protein molecules - and from inhibiting an enzyme called phospholipase A2.  During an inflammatory response selectins allow inflammatory signals to be transmitted into the cells, so by blocking selectins response, inflammatory signaling can be lessened.  Over activity of the enzyme phospholipase A2 is widely present in unwanted inflammatory problems, and is important for creating the omega-6 fatty acid arachidonic acid (AA.) AA itself provides the basis for a wide variety of pro-inflammatory massaging molecules and in fact many corticosteroid medications lower inflammation by blocking PLA2.

Sulfated polysaccharides are also responsible for sea vegetables cardiovascular benefits, as they can decrease the tendency of blood platelet cells to coagulate and form clots.  Sea vegetables have also been shown to help reduce total and LDL cholesterol.

Sea vegetables sulfated polysaccharides have also shown anti-viral activity, most notably in lab research conducted on Herpes Simplex Virus 1 and 2. It was shown that by blocking the binding sites used by HSV-1 and HSV-2 for cell attachment that sulfated polysaccharides help prevent replication of these viruses. Though we do not yet known whether or not dietary intake of sea vegetables can help prevent HSV replication in individuals with HSV.

Sea vegetables may be of particular benefit in the prevention of estrogen related cancer, particularly breast cancer. As intake of sea vegetables appears to modify various aspects of a woman’s menstrual cycle in such a way that over time - tens of years - the total cumulative estrogen secretion that occurs during the follicular phase of the cycle gets reduced.  Since the overproduction of estrogen can play a role in the risk of breast cancer for women who are estrogen sensitive sea vegetables can offer some unique benefits here. It’s also important to remember that cholesterol is required as a building block for the production of estrogen and intake of sea vegetables has repeatedly shown to lower cholesterol.

Sea Vegetables may also be particularly helpful when it comes to colon cancer, and research has focused heavily in this area with a special emphasis on the loss of calcium-sensing receptors (CaSRs) in colon cancer cells, and the ability of sea vegetable extracts to alter CaSR-related events. Of course since chronic, unwanted inflammation and chronic oxidative stress are both risk factors for development of cancer it’s possible that sea vegetables could be helpful in prevention of numerous cancers.

Sea vegetables may be able to help us increase our cells' sensitivity to insulin, help us prevent overproduction of glucose by our cells, and help us take existing blood sugars and convert them into storable starches. All of these factors would help us increase our blood sugar control, and lower our risk of type 2 diabetes.

Brown algae like kombu/kelp, wakame, and arame can be particularly concentrated sources of iodine, and for some health conditions - like hypothyroidism, in which the cells of the thyroid make too little thyroid hormone - increased iodine intake can provide important health benefits.

The antioxidant content of sea vegetables is also rather impressive, because sea vegetables not only contain measurable amounts of polyphenols like carotenoids and flavonoids, they also contain other phytonutrient antioxidants, including several types of alkaloids that have been shown to possess antioxidant properties. Coupled with measurable amounts of antioxidant vitamins (like vitamins C and E) and antioxidant minerals (like manganese and zinc), sea vegetables can be expected to help us reduce our risk of unwanted oxidative stress and many types of cardiovascular problems that are associated with poor antioxidant intake.

So you see, sea vegetables are really amazing!

Sea Vegetable Types - 

Arame - Brown Algae, limited to the temperate Pacific Ocean waters around Japan, though it is often cultivated in South Korea. It has a mild, semi-sweet flavor and firm texture.

Bladderwrack - A Brown Algae, the most common algae on the shores of the British Isles. It is typically found on the coasts of the North Sea, the Western Baltic Sea and both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. It’s been recorded from the Atlantic shores of Europe, to Northern Russia, to Greenland, the Canary Islands, Morocco, Madeira, to the Atlantic Coast of North America, Hudson’s Bay, to North Carolina.  In North America it isn’t used as a food so much as it is an herbal medicine or remedy.

Chlorella - a single cell green algae high in protein and containing a significant amount of minerals. Usually sold as powder, or tablets and is commonly taken as a health supplement, rather then as an ingredient in cooking.

Dulce - A Red Algae, growing on the Northern coasts of the Atlantic and Pacific, as well as Iceland where it’s a popular snack food and has been consumed for centuries as a traditional food.  Usually sold in large dried strips, and is quite tasty on salads or lightly crisped in a pan to place on a sandwich.

Hijiki - Brown Algae, grows along the rocky coastlines of Japan, Korea and China. Somewhat similar to Arame but with a stronger flavor.

Irish Moss - A Red Algae growing abundantly along the rocky coasts of Atlantic Europe and North America.. A common ingredient in some traditional Irish and Scottish cooking. Also commonly used in Asian gelatin like desserts. In North America it’s commonly used as a thickener in many commercial products and has recently found a new use in the vegan community for making vegan cheese, and raw food desserts.

Kombu - Brown Algae, and an edible kelp commonly cultivated on the shores of Japan and Korea. Used extensively in Japanese cooking especially to make soups. It’s also a great addition to making a pot of beans from scratch!

Laver - Red Algae, a common ingredients in Welsh cooking and traditional Welsh dishes such as Laver bread. It’s also commonly found in the cuisines of Ireland, Scotland, Whales, China, Japan, and Korea, and may be one of the first kinds of algae to be cultivated.

Sea Lettuce - Green Algae, widely distributed along the coasts of the worlds oceans. It is particularly common in Scandinavia, Great Britain, Ireland, China and Japan.

Wakame - Brown Algae, grown in Japan and Korea, but also commonly cultivated in sea farms in France off the coast of Brittany, and Tasmania in Australia. It has a subtly sweet flavor and slippery texture. Usually used in soups.

This is by no means a comprehensive list of sea vegetables but it contains the most common ones.

Preparation

So, now that you’ve gone to the health food store and bought some bags of seaweed, what the heck do you do with it? Easy, make Sushi Maki rolls! Or if that’s too much time and trouble for you make a sushi salad! All your sushi ingredients diced up in a bowl, no rolling required, just sprinkle the nori over top. You could put it in miso soup, or any other Asian inspired soup, or any soup in which a little ocean flavor is needed. Such as a vegan ‘clam’ chowder. Try it as a salad topping or make a seaweed salad by soaking some arame and then mixing it with some diced vegetables and a nice Asian style dressing. Toss it into a raw kelp noodle dish, or top a stir-fry with it. Heck, just buy some roasted seaweed sheets from the Asian grocery and eat it as is! Super yummy! Get creative with it, and don’t be afraid to try new things.

Parsley Is The Spice of Life...

Parsley is an herb that I use almost as frequently as Cilantro. I buy several bunches of it per week, and like with cilantro I throw it into everything. It’s got a beautiful color, a heavenly smell, and a wonderful taste - but really is it any wonder that I love it so much when Parsley and Cilantro are related? You might not think so but parsley and coriander (cilantro) actually belong to the same family. The Apiaceae family, other members of which include fennel, dill, cumin, celery, carrot, anise, hemlock and lovage. Though there are several varieties of parlay there are really only two types commonly used as herbs.  Curly parsley, and leaf - or Italian - parsley, which is my favorite. Curly parsley is more decorative in appearance, as it’s name suggests it’s rather curly, where as Leaf parsley, also called flat-leaf parsley is flat, and looks a lot like cilantro. The flat variety is said to have a stronger flavor then the curly type but different opinions on this subject abound. The reason I like flat-leaf parsley best is because it’s a lot easier to mince. There is a third type of parsley commonly grown throughout central and eastern Europe called root parsley which produces a much thicker root then the types of parsley cultivated for their leaves. These roots are often used in casseroles, or soups, or simply eaten raw, but they are not to be confused with the parsnip. Though the parsnip is actually the closest relative of parsley in the Apiaceae family, the two taste quite different. Now, I don’t know about you but I find that kind of stuff fascinating.

Unfortunately, as wonderful as parsley is, it is so often neglected in our cooking. Parsley is considered somewhat of a ‘bland’ herb - don’t ask me why, - and is more often then not relegated to the world of artistic plating where it is perpetually stuck playing the part of a mere garnish. A real travesty if I ever heard one. If you just so happen to be one of those people that doesn’t give parsley the time of day, then I hope that by the time you’ve reached the end of this post you’ve changed your mind.

History/cultivation -

Parsley is native to the Mediterranean (Southern Italy, Algeria, Tunisia.)  Though it’s been cultivated for more then 2000 years parsley was first used medicinally before it was consumed as a food. The ancient Greeks held parsley to be sacred and used it to adorn victors of athletic contests as well as for decorating the tombs of the dead. Interestingly enough using parsley as a garnish has a long history that can be traced back to the civilization of ancient Rome.

When  parsley made the shift from medicinal and sacrificial use to culinary use is unknown. However that change is thought to have occurred at sometime during the Middle Ages in Europe. Some historians even credit Charlemagne with it’s popularization since he had it grown on his estates.

Health Benefits -

Parsley contains two components that provide unique health benefits, volatile oil, and flavonoids. Parsley’s volatile oils - particularly myristicin - have been shown to inhibit tumor formation - particularly tumor formation in the lungs -  in animal studies. Myristicin has also shown an ability to activates the enzyme glutathione-S-transferase which helps attach the molecule glutathione to oxidized molecules that would otherwise do damage in the body. The activity of parsley’s volatile oils make it a ‘chemoprotective’ food, and a food that can help naturalize particular carcinogens - such as those found in cigarette smoke or charcoal grill smoke.

The Flavonoids in parsley - especially luteolin - have been shown to function as antioxidants that can help prevent oxygen based damage to cells. In addition parsley extracts have been used in animal-based studies to help increase the antioxidant capacity of the blood.

Parsley is also an excellent source of Vitamin C which is important since vitamin C is the body’s primary water-soluble antioxidant, capable of defeating otherwise dangerous free radicles in all water soluble parts of the body. Since high levels of free radicals contribute to both the development and progression of diseases like atherosclerosis, cancer, diabetes and asthma, people who eat healthy amounts of Vitamin C rich foods may be at lower risk. Vitamin C is also a powerful anti-inflammatory and so it can be useful in conditions such as osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. Not to mention the importance of vitamin C to the immune system.

Parsley is also a great source of beta-carotene, another important antioxidant working in the fat soluble areas of the body. Diets rich in beta-carotene are also associated with a reduced risk of developing atherosclerosis, diabetes, and cancer. Beta-carotene may also help reduce the severity of asthma, osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. Beta-carotene is also converted by the body into Vitamin A which is an essential nutrient for a strong immune system.

Parsley is also an excellent source of folic acid which plays a critical role in relation to cardiovascular health.  Folic acid plays a major role in the body’s process of converting homocysteine into benign molecules.  At high levels homocysteine can directly damage blood vessels and significantly increase one’s risk of heart attack or stroke especially in people who may already suffer from atherosclerosis or diabetic heart disease. Folic acid is also a critical nutrient for proper cell division and is vitally important for cancer prevention in two areas of the body that contain rapidly dividing cells - the colon, and the cervix.

Preparation - 

I really do use parsley in just about everything. Typically I add it towards the end of cooking or sprinkle it on just before serving a dish, because it’s really best eaten raw. I love it in soups, or stews - anything with an Italian, North American or European feel. I like it sprinkled on salads, or used in certain Middle Eastern dishes like Tabbouleh. It’s great in tomato sauce, it’s great in alfredo sauce. It’s perfect in horseradish cream sauce to ladle over tofu. It makes a great pesto, it’s fantastic blended into salad dressings. It works fantastically with grilled or broiled cauliflower, and I love it paired with chickpeas. Really it’s hard to go wrong with parsley so the next time you’re at hte market pick up a bunch or two and don’t be afraid to use it. Experiment and enjoy, that’s what cooking’s all about!

Coriander Is The Spice of Life...

I probably say this about every spice but I really, really love Coriander. Did you know that coriander is both an herb and a spice? This is because both the fresh leaves and the seeds are used. In North America we commonly refer to the seeds (ground or whole) as coriander, while we refer to the fresh leaves as cilantro.  While I tend to use both in my cooking I typically reserve coriander seeds and powder for dishes of a Mediterranean, Mexican, Indian, or Middle Eastern flair, where as Cilantro I’ll toss into just about anything. I use a ridiculous amount of Cilantro, and probably buy anywhere from 3-4 large bunches of it per week. I love everything about it from it’s unique flavor to it’s smell, and it works well in almost any dish.

Interestingly enough did you know that many people can’t stand the leaves because they experience un unpleasant soapy taste or rank flavor when eating them? This is due to an aromatic chemical compound within the leaves that is somewhat related to a chemical group found in the Stink Bug. Apparently the different perceptions of coriander leaves is genetic - like that whole Asparagus/stinky pee thing - with some people having absolutely no reaction to the chemicals whatsoever, while others can’t stand it. Glad I’m one of the people who can stand Coriander/Cilantro, because I don’t know what I’d do without it! But enough about all that, lets get to some history.

History/Cultivation

Coriander is native to a wide range of areas spanning Southern Europe all the way to South Asia, and since it grows wild in so many areas it’s hard for us to pinpoint exactly where it was first cultivated. There is however plenty of evidence to suggest that Coriander has been in use for a very, very long time. For example fifteen desiccated coriander mericarps were found in the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B Level of the Nahal Hemel Cave in Israel which is potentially the oldest archeological find of coriander. Roughly half a liter of coriander mericarps were recovered from the tomb of Tutankhamun, and since the plant does not grow wild in Egypt archeologists interpret this as proof that coriander was cultivated by the ancient Egyptians.

Coriander also seems to have been cultivated in Greece since roughly the second millennium BC. A Linear B Tablet recovered from Pylos refers to the species being cultivated for use in perfume as well as for it’s culinary/medicinal properties Large quantities of the species being recovered at an Early Bronze Age layer at Sitagori in Macedonia could indicate cultivation of the species at that time..

If you want to get a little less Scientific coriander is also mentioned in the Old Testament of The Bible. It’s also said to have been used by the Romans to preserve meat and flavor bread, and it’s associated with Hippocrates who apparently used it as an aromatic stimulant.

Lastly coriander was brought to the British Colonies in North America around 1670, and became one of the first spices cultivated by early settlers.

Health Benefits 

Recent animal-based research has confirmed that coriander can control blood sugar, cholesterol, and free radical production. When it was added to the diet of diabetic mice, it helped stimulate their secretion of insulin and lowered their blood sugar.  When it was given to rats fed a high fat, high cholesterol diet, coriander lowered levels of total LDL cholesterol and triglycerides while increasing the levels of HDL cholesterol. This effect appears to be caused by increasing synthesis of bile by the liver and increasing the breakdown of cholesterol into other compounds. Finally in rats coriander was also shown to reduce the amount of damaged fats in their cell membranes.

Interestingly in parts of Europe coriander has been traditionally referred to as an ‘anti-diabetic’ herb, and has been documented as a traditional treatment for Type 2 Diabetes.

A study published in the June 2004 issue of the Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry suggests that coriander could be a natural way to fight Salmonella - which is a frequently and sometimes deadly cause of foodborne illness. Together US and Mexican researchers isolated the compound dodecenal, which laboratory tests showed is twice as effective as the commonly used antibiotic drug gentamicin at killing Salmonella.

Coriander - like many spices - also contains antioxidants, which can delay or prevent the spoilage of food seasoned with it. Though antioxidants were found in both the seeds as well as the leaves the antioxidant effect of the leaves proved to be greater.

Coriander has also been used as a folk remedy in Iran to treat anxiety and insomnia. While it’s long been used in Indian Medicine as a diuretic, as well as a carminative and digestive aid.

Lastly the essential oil produced from coriander has shown to have antimicrobial effects.

So it’s antioxidant, antibacterial, anti-diabetic, and antimicrobial - what more could you ask for?

Preparation -

I like cilantro in just about anything but some of my favorite ways to use it are in fresh salsa, guacamole, black bean soup, in grain salads like tabbouleh, in dal’s, in curries - especially spicy curries or coconut based curries - in chili, in cornbread, sprinkled over top of roasted potatoes or carrots, in lentil soup - or any soup - sprinkled over top of salad, in chutney, dressing’s, dip’s, and even on pasta. It’s great with lightly sauteed white beans, and goes pretty well with just about any Mexican, Latin American, Indian, Asian, North African, Mediterranean, or Tex-Mex style cuisine.

You can even make a holistic tea out of it by boiling the seeds - though I’ll be honest and say I have no idea what that might taste like.

There’s really so much you can do with cilantro that as long as you don’t have an aversion to it you should just start liberally using it in everything.

Peppermint Is The Spice of Life...

Did you know there are about 25 different species of mint? Peppermint is a natural hybrid cross between watermint and spearmint and it is by far one of my favorite things in life. It’s my favorite mint because it has the boldest flavor, rich and cooling with a subtle hint of pepper, and a powerful note of chlorophyll. Other mints such as spearmint are more subtle and mild tasting, though possibly more ‘cooling’ as well. For as long as I can remember I’ve loved the taste of peppermint. As a kid it was all about peppermint candy, and then as a young adult it became more about peppermint tea. Mint of any kind is not something I generally use much in my cooking unless I’m cooking something Middle Eastern, but I do drink vats of peppermint tea regularly! I have always preferred herbal infusions to actual tea, and peppermint is by far my favorite. Some people use it only when they have an upset stomach, or are feeling nauseous and while I do use it for medicinal purposes as well, I really don’t need any excuse to enjoy a hot, steaming mug of peppermint. I love it’s soothing flavor, it’s refreshing aftertaste, it’s calming properties and of course it’s great for what ails your stomach. Regardless of whether I’m feeling sick or in perfect health I’ll drink peppermint tea any day of the year, sometimes in mass quantity.

History/Cultivation 

Mint is an ancient herb that’s been used since antiquity for it’s culinary, medicinal and aromatic properties. Though it’s now cultivated everywhere Mint’s origins lie in Europe, where it is honored in Greek Myth. As the story goes Mint was originally a nymph named Minthe who was so infatuated with Hades, that she wanted to seduce him. Hades who felt a rather mutual affection for the nymph may have gone for it too if not for his wife Persephone, who quickly intervened and out of jealousy and spite transformed Minthe into a plant. Though Hades was upset, he could not undo the spell, and so instead he decided to impart Minthe with the pungently sweet smell characteristic of mint, so that when she was walked upon in the garden her aroma would be a delight to the senses and she would not be utterly forgotten.

Interestingly it’s because of Mint’s characteristic smell that it’s become one of the more popular perfuming herbs throughout history. All around the world from Europe to India to the Middle East Mint has been used as a strewing herb to clear the air both in temples and in homes. Over the centuries mint has also come to symbolize hospitality, in ancient Greece mint leaves were rubbed over the dining tables to welcome guests, and in the Middle East mint tea is still offered to guests upon arrival. Mint was also commonly used in funerary rites in ancient Greece. It was even used medicinally by Native Americans before the arrival of European Settlers. Some archeological studies have dated it’s use back 10,000 years, which is pretty neat.

Health Benefits 

Peppermint has a long tradition of medicinal use and has been commonly used to soothe upset stomach, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, bloating, indigestion and irritable bowel. An Italian study published in 2007 reported that 75% of patients who took peppermint oil capsuels for four weeks had major reductions in IBS symptoms compared with just 38% of those who just took a placebo. A similar 2010 study conducted in Iran found similar results, and a 2011 study showed that peppermint acts through a specific anti-pain channel called TRPM8 to reduce pain sensing fibers.

Additionally the German Commission E found that peppermint oil as well as peppermint leaf can be used internally as an antispasmodic in the upper gastrointestinal tract and bile ducts to treat IBS, catarrh of the respiratory tract, and inflammation of the oral mucosa. While externally peppermint oil has been used for myalgia and neuralgia. According to the German Commission E, Peppermint oil may also act as a carminative, cholagogue, antibacterial and secretolytic and has a cooling action.

Of course Peppermint may benefit more then just your gastrointestinal tract. Some resent studies have discovered that Perillyl alcohol - a phytonutrient plentiful in peppermint oil - has been shown to stop the growth of pancreatic, mammary, and liver tumors in animal studies. It has also been shown to protect against cancer formation in the colon, skin, and lungs.  However these results have not yet been equally matched by human studies.

Peppermint oil has also been found to be antimicrobial which means it stops the growth of many different kinds of bacteria as well as inhibit the growth of certain types of fungus.

Peppermint contains the substance rosmarinic acid, which has several actions that are beneficial in asthma. Extracts of peppermint have also been shown to help relieve the nasal symptoms of colds related to allergy. Rosmarinic acid also has antioxidant abilities to neutralize free radicals and has been shown to block the productions of pro-inflammatory chemicals.

Some studies have even suggested that the aroma of Peppermint can increase memory and alertness.

On another note studies have also shown Peppermint to be a rich source of traditional nutrients such as manganese, copper, and vitamin C.

Preparation - 

As I’ve said my favorite way to enjoy Peppermint is through a nice mug of tea. However if peppermint tea isn’t your thing you can simply minced the fresh leaves and add them into salads - the flavor of mint works particularly well with grain salads such as tabbouleh. You can use it in soups particularly Vietnamese or Asian soups - like Pho - or Middle Eastern Soups or Tagine’s. You can add it to fruit soups, raw soups, or cold summer soups for a bit of additional flavor and it’s cooling properties. It tastes great minced and mixed with fresh ripe tomatoes in a tomato salad or try it in gazpacho. It’s great tossed with fried or grilled cubes of eggplant, or try it in a homemade non-dairy yogurt sauce. Add it to fruit salad, pair it with fennel and oranges, throw it into smoothies or turn it into a dessert! Mint Chocolate pudding anyone?

However you decide to try it, just try it. Get creative and let me know what kind of combinations you come up with, I’d love to hear all about it.

May your life be rich in spice and as always Happy and Healthy Eating to you!

January Cleanse Part 5...

I’m gearing up to go on vacation again, and so things have been kind of hectic around here. Lots of running around to get last minute things done, and lots of pressure to ger work on my final project for school squared away before I leave. Not to mention work, and all the regular duties of life. So this past week was slightly more slack in terms of the cleanse - meaning, we had some dessert, we ate a burrito from Chipotle, and I allowed myself another latte while I was bathing suit shopping Monday. All in all the week went pretty well, although despite originally wanting to continue the cleanse up until the day we left, I decided to end the cleanse Sunday. I’ll continue to eat healthfully until we leave, but I won’t be posting about it because A) I haven’t got the time, and B) We need to use up all the food we have in the fridge so the meals won’t be all that exciting. Probably a lot of salad, ha.

So in part 4 I left off on Friday. The next day started the same with a 12oz green juice, and then instead of a smoothie I decided to go for something a little different. I was really in the mood for cereal for some reason and my husband had just picked up a bag of unsweetened, rice puffs. The only ingredient is rice! They’re kind of bland to be honest, but I also kind of love that, call me crazy. To the puffs I added 1 tbsp of chia seeds, 2 tbsp of ground flax, some dried cranberries, and some dried golden raisins, then I topped it off with plain almond milk. Super delicious and surprisingly filling.

Lunch was a mixed green salad that I threw together with some of that artichoke aioli for dressing.

Dinner was leftover Chickpea and Root Veggie Tagine from Crazy Sexy Kitchen.

Sunday breakfast was the same, juice, and rice puffs cereal. Salad for lunch. Dinner was an entirely new dish though, and it was super amazing. Right now I’m doing some recipe testing for Richa of Vegan Richa and so for dinner I made her Simple Mung Dal Tadka. This dal was so flavorul despite it being very simple and we enjoyed it so much. I really loved the flavor of the mustard seeds and the asafetida.

Monday we spent a good hour or so juicing in the morning. Unfortunately I forgot to take pictures of our creations. I made the grapefruit/orange mix again, but this time I also added some apple and ginger and it was simply divine. Then I made some very green juice of celery, cucumber, kale, collards, lemon, lime, and spirulina. Then I made some beet juice. One batch had beets, oranges, carrots, and ginger. The other hand beets, apple, ginger, tomato, and lemon. Both excellent and perhaps my favorite mixes after the grapefruit/orange. Over the course of the week I just rotated these juices in the morning. Then followed the same pattern for the rest of the day, rice puffs cereal, salad or leftovers for lunch. Dinners were always new.

Except Monday while we were out we decided to grab an impromptu Sushi Lunch at a place called MoonSun Sushi. We’d never been there before but we were driving by and it just looked so inviting. We ordered green tea, hot plum saki, miso soup and then Avocado rolls, cucumber rolls, shiitake mushroom rolls and vegetable tempura rolls. It was delicious, and really hit the spot. We enjoyed our self so much, and enjoyed the atmosphere of MoonSun Sushi so much that we’re thinking of making Monday Sushi Lunch a regular thing.

Monday we enjoyed the Coconut Cauliflower Curry with Mustard Greens and Spinach from Wild About Greens by Nava Atlas. I was super excited to try this because I don’t know of a lot of recipes that utilize mustard greens. Overall though I thought the dish was just so-so, I felt it was missing something but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. Still I really applaud the use of mustard greens, a seriously under utilized green!

Tuesday for dinner I made the Indian Chickpea Blinis with Cashew Coconut Chutney from Crazy Sexy Kitchen. These little chickpea pancakes were delicious! And the chutney was to die for. The picture I’ll admit looks a little brown, but don’t let that fool you. This is probably one of the best things I’ve made out of CSK, I’m sure I’ll be making this regularly now.

Wednesday night for dinner we had the simple yet wonderfully flavored Asian Noodles with Black Vinaigrette from Crazy Sexy Kitchen. This is like a Soba noodle salad full of delicious raw veggies like cabbage, red bell pepper, yellow bell pepper, snow peas, carrots, sprouts and I added green onions. The vinaigrette was a basic Asian style dressing with sesame, rice vinegar and agave. Very tasty!

Also on Wednesday I just couldn’t help myself. I wanted dessert, and so I made the Black Eyed Pea-nut Butter Pie from Kathy Hester’s wonderful book The Great Vegan Bean Book. This pie sounded so unique I had to give it a shot, and so I picked up some frozen whole wheat pie crusts - didn’t feel like making my own - and whipped this together in now time. It’s super simple, all it is is black eyed peas, peanut butter, agave, almond milk and chocolate chips. It’s practically guilt-free and so I didn’t feel to bad about enjoying this throughout the week. At less then 200 calories per slice how can you go wrong?

Since my husband doesn’t like peanut butter I decided to make him a treat as well, and so I also whipped up a batch of Kathy Hester’s Double Chocolate Devil’s Food Cookies also from The Great Vegan Bean Book these were super cakey, and super moist, and the fun part is that they’re made with black beans! I also used date sugar in place of the regular sugar called for and added a few drops of stevia for added sweetness. I think in the end they turned out phenomenal and again, practically guilt-free. It’s nice to be able to enjoy a ‘decadent’ dessert without having to feel too badly about it. Most of these my husband ate in no time at all, but I did sample a few over the week. How could I not?

Thursday’s dinner was another dish that I was testing for Richa. It’s Cauliflower, Carrots and Peas in a Coconut Poppy Seed Curry. This was amazing, My husband nearly devoured the entire pot. It had such great flavor and such a great aroma, we just adored it. I served it with a side of some jasmine rice I’ve had in the pantry for way to long. I jazzed it up a bit with some cumin seeds and garlic and it was really a perfect accompaniment to the curry.

Friday was the night we ate Chipotle. I was tired, and stressed, didn’t feel that great and didn’t feel all that much like cooking. Plus I just really, really wanted a burrito you know? So my wonderful husband picked us up some dinner, we got the new Tofu Sofritos Burrito and I’m not gonna lie, it was delicious!

Saturday I made dinner. A new dish also from Kathy Hester’s book The Great Vegan Bean Book. Another curry - I know, we ate a lot of curry this week, so sue me, - I have actually had my eye on this particular dish since I first purchased the book, but for some reason or other I just never got around to making it. The Kalpana’s Black Eyed Pea Curry was really worth the wait though. I loved the flavors a bit tangy, a bit spicy, everything you could want in a curry. I was kind of burnt out on rice though and so instead I steamed kale to serve with it, and it was a great way to enjoy this yummy curry.

Sunday nights dinner was pretty basic. It was just a big bowl or rice, steamed sweet potatoes, steamed kale, red cabbage, avocado, green onions and yellow bell pepper dressed in an Asian Ginger Sesame sauce. Very tasty, and exactly the kind of thing I enjoy eating, only I was kind of in a rush when I got home from work and forgot to take a photo.

So that wraps it up. The cleanse has been fun, I’ve felt really good eating so clean over the past month, and I’ve really enjoyed sharing it all with you. I didn’t loose weight as most people do on cleanses but I think that has more to do with the fact that I hardly exercised at all this month. The best feeling for me is just the satisfaction of knowing Im doing something good, and you know, I didn’t miss sugar as much as I thought I would. I allowed a little here and there on the cleanse but it’s nowhere near the amount I’m used to consuming and somehow it ended up being a perfect amount. I think I’ll continue the juicing trend when I get back from vacation because I really enjoyed that a lot, and I definitely need to incorporate more big salads into my daily routine, I loved that about the past month. So many salads. I also really love the idea of finding new ways to satisfy sweet cravings and I think I’ll probably make Kathy Hester’s desserts more frequently rather then go for the bad stuff.

So I hope you enjoyed this experiment as much as I did.

January Cleanse Part 4...

I really love everything I’ve been eating this month. I love clean meals, and whole foods prepared simply, but I also love decadence, and I have a bit of a sweet tooth, so this week was kind of weird for me. I feel entirely satisfied by everything I’m eating but my brain keeps day-dreaming about things like pizza and dessert. Unfortunately I had a few ‘slips’ this week but in the grand scheme of things it wasn’t all that bad.

Monday started off the same as all the other days, water and a orange/grapefruit juice. - Definitely a favorite combo of mine. I followed that up with this Luscious Fruit and Flax Smoothie that I talked about earlier this week. Seriously it’s so good! And that actually kept me going right until dinner. Monday was kind of busy for us, we were out and about and so there wasn’t a lot of time to stop and make lunch, plus we ate dinner earlier then normal so it kind of worked out.

Fruit and Flax Smoothie 

For dinner I made these delicious Black Bean and Roasted Sweet Potato Burgers from Kris Carr’s “Crazy Sexy Kitchen” they’re full of black beans, sweet potato, onion, brown rice, garlic, cumin, chili powder, tamari, and cornmeal, and they are amazing! No lie, I could probably eat these everyday. Instead of eating them on a burger bun with all the fixin’s though I opted for a healthier approach and served them atop a green salad that had romaine, spinach, diced tomato, green onion, and avocado. The greens were lightly dressed in the leftover Organic Green Garlic Dressing I bought the night before.

Black Bean Sweet Potato Burgers 

On a salad 

Monday night I was also feeling something of a sweet craving. After being so good all month I really just wanted something that felt decadent, but I didn’t want to fall completely off the wagon and so I made these Chocolate Chip Chickpea Cookies from Kathy Hester’s book “The Great Vegan Bean Book” Now. I know what you’re thinking, “Chickpeas in a cookie?” it sounds wrong, and maybe even a little bit disgusting but they are AMAZING! Even my husband loved them and he’s skeptical always skeptical about beans. What’s really great about these cookies is that they’re simple and not all that terrible for you. There are only 81 calories per cookie, and they’re made with whole wheat pastry flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, chickpeas, non-dairy milk, vanilla extract, sugar, and chocolate chips. I only used ½ Cup of sugar instead of the recommended 1 cup so they were even better! The cookies are also suppose to have chopped pecans which I love, but my husband doesn’t like nuts and so I opted to leave those out. I was truly amazed at how moist and fluffy these cookies were, and I’m super excited to try some of Kathy’s other beany desserts. Of course I probably ate one or two more then I should have but I also started going back to the gym Monday - FINALLY - so I think it works itself out.

Chickpea Chocolate Chip Cookies 

Throughout this cleanse I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s not going to be very realistic for me to train my body/tastebuds to not want sugar or sweets ever, but I think re-training myself to be satisfied with only a little - rather then gorge myself on a lot - is doable for the long term.

Tuesday I stared with a green juice and then another Fruit and Flax smoothie. For lunch I made a big green salad. It was kind of like a coleslaw only it was full of collard greens, green cabbage, shredded carrots, green onions, sunflower seeds and cranberries. As a dressing I made Kris Carr’s Artichoke Cashew Aioli which is made with cashews, water, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, olive oil, agave, garlic, salt, artichokes, tarragon, parsley, shallot and lemon zest. I thinned it out with a bit of water so it was more like a dressing and it tasted amazing over my salad.

Collard Green Cabbage Salad
With Cashew Artichoke Aioli

Dinner was left over Black Bean and Sweet Potato Burgers atop another salad. The salad was basically the same this time except it had corn instead of avocado and was dressed with chipotle olive oil and pineapple vinegar. Delicious!

Wednesday started off with another green juice, but instead of following it up with a smoothie I decided to have some home-made cereal. I felt like something chewable, and I wanted something fiber-rich and filling. So I made my favorite cereal. It’s a bowl of rolled oats, flax seed, chia seed, sunflower seeds, sliced almonds, dried cranberries, dried blueberries, raisins, fresh banana and almond milk with a few drops of vanilla stevia. I also added in some fresh diced pineapple since I had some. It’s so good, and kept me full all day.

Home-made Cereal 

Dinner was new, and it was kind of a feast. First we had Zucchini Carpaccio from Kris Carr’s “Crazy Sexy Kitchen” which is raw thin sliced zucchini drizzled with olive oil and garnished with parsley, sea salt and black pepper. Super simple and yet so flavorful.

Zucchini Carpaccio

With it we had the Sauteed Chard from CSK which was super simple too. Just chard, garlic, shallot, tamari, olive oil, and nutritional yeast.

Sauteed Chard 

I also made the Pastrami-Spiced Carrots with White Bean Sauerkraut Puree from CSK which was AMAZING! Truly the standout dish, I mean this may be my new favorite recipe for carrots. All you do is rub them in a little olive oil, then some Montreal Steak Seasoning - Quebec Beef Seasoning in my case - and roast them for about 25 minutes until they’re tender but still crisp. Then you pari them with a deliciously flavored white bean puree. Kind of like a hummus but it’s got that tangy umami flavor thanks to Dijon Mustard and Sauerkraut. What an inventive way to use kraut by the way, I never would have thought about it!

Pastrami-Spiced Carrots 

White Bean Sauerkraut Dip

Lastly we had the Polenta Squares with Marinara from Colleen Patrick-Goudreau’s book “The 30 Day Vegan Challenge” I like polenta well enough, but I’d never had these fried - or you can grill them - polenta squares before. Since I was really craving fries I thought why not go for a healthier option, and it was magical.

Polenta Squares with Marinara 

Later for dessert I had 1 square of Endangered Species Dark Chocolate. Just one square! Do you know what an accomplishment that is for me?

Thursday was pretty much the same as Wednesday except I started with orange/grapefruit juice. I had the same cereal and that kept me full all day.

For Dinner I was feeling like noodles and so I decided to make the Double Mushroom Jap Chae from Terry Hope Romero’s “Vegan Eats World” Her recipe is pretty simple and still tastes really traditional. It uses Sweet potato noodles, sesame oil, soy sauce, garlic, brown sugar, gochuchang, shiitake mushrooms, black cloud mushrooms, bok choy, onion, carrot, green onion, and sesame seeds. Only I didn’t have shiitake or black cloud mushrooms and so I subbed in Woodear Mushrooms and Chinese Black Fungus. I also didn’t have bok choy but she says you can sub in spinach if you prefer so that’s what I did. I also took her suggestion and added some diced baked tofu. The end result was incredible, and so satisfying.

Double Mushroom Jap Chae

Friday began the same again. Orange/Grapefruit Juice, and a small glass of green juice as well. I had a small bowl of cereal, and then in late afternoon I had some leftover polenta squares with marinara and the remainder of the Pastrami-Spiced Carrots and white bean sauerkraut dip.

Around six I grabbed a Suja Mango-Feugo Juice which was incredible.

And when I got home from work that night I enjoyed a nice steaming bowl of this delicious Chickpea and Root Vegetable Tagine from Crazy Sexy Kitchen. It’s got chickpeas, carrots, sweet potatoes, russet potatoes, lemon, raisins and olives. Along with red pepper flakes, turmeric, cumin and cinnamon. It was suppose to be green olives but I didn’t have any and so I used kalamata instead. I served it with couscous and it made a wonderful hearty meal for a cold winter night.

Chickpea and Root Vegetable Tagine 

Overall Aside from a few cravings I felt pretty good. Good energy level, felt pretty accomplished, was in a positive mood etc... but the biggest thing was I started back at the gym. Weights, and swimming how I missed thee! Due to schedule conflicts I only got to go 3 nights out of the week, but 2 nights I did some exercise - light weights, sit ups, pushups - at home, and now that I’m no longer sick I started walking again. Each day I went out for a thirty minute walk in the afternoon. Though I’d like to have gone longer I think 30 minutes in this arctic temperature is about as much as my dog can handle.

Until next time.

January Cleanse Part 3...

Wild Mushroom and Minted Brussels Pho Show

Last Tuesday began much the same as any other day I’ve had on this cleanse. A glass of water, a bottle of Immune Me Juice, and a little later on a bowl of oatmeal. Since I was rather busy on Tuesday and we had a ton of leftovers I decided that Tuesday night would be a ‘leftovers’ night. I ate the leftover Coconut Red Lentil Soup, My husband ate the left over Crazy Sexy Chili, and we each had a nice bowl of Garlic and Greens Soup since there wasn’t much left of either of the other two.

Garlic and Greens Soup

Wild Mushroom/Brussels Pho

Wednesday brought a new day and a new dinner. The morning was the same, juice, and then a green smoothie of spinach, banana, wheatgrass, water, and stevia. Which I forgot to photograph. I ate the last bowl of Garlic and Greens Soup for lunch and then dinner was this luscious and delicious Wild Mushroom Ginger, and Minted Brussels Pho Show from Crazy Sexy Kitchen. I’d been dying to make this soup ever since I got the book but somehow I just never got around to it. I have to say it doesn’t exactly taste like a traditional pho - one of my favorite ever soups - but it is damn delicious. There are so many mushrooms in it - portobello, shiitake, maitake, and button! It has baby corn, water chestnuts, mint, onion, bok choy, anise, lime, soy sauce and brussels sprouts. I love the idea of using brussels sprouts in this soup. I love them, and I think they’re a really under utilized vegetable. Everyone always roasts them, which is great and all, but it’s nice to have a little sprout creativity once in a while. You can eat this soup as is or serve it with your choice of noodles, I picked rice noodles because pho just isn’t pho without some rice noodles you know?

Thursday started off with more juice, and then a smoothie. I wanted something a little different from my usual green smoothie and so I decided to go with the Aztec Spirit from Crazy Sexy Kitchen. This smoothie has almond milk, cacao powder, vanilla, cayenne, maple syrup and kale. It also calls for espresso but that’s listed as optional and so I opted out since I’m staying away from coffee on this cleanse. The flavor of this was really crazy, you could definitely taste the ‘greenness’ but it was almost masked by the sweetness and the chocolate. The strange combination really appealed to me, and I found it really satisfying. Since chocolate is something I’m trying to stay away from on the cleanse I cut the amount of cacao powder to a 1/4 cup. I’ve definitely had a few chocolate cravings in the past week, and this smoothie really satisfied that need without turning me into a choc-o-holic.

Woodstock Peace Salad 

Lunch was another giant Woodstock Peace Salad - this one had romaine, spinach, red cabbage, sunflower seeds, green onion, tomato, chickpeas and black olives. Super delicious.

Lentil and Chard Ragout Over Wild Rice 

For dinner we had another meal from Crazy Sexy Kitchen - the Lentil and Chard Ragout. Honestly when I looked over the recipe I didn’t think it was going to be that fantastic. I feared it might be bland but it turned out to be super delicious, I was really amazed/ I love how simple it is too - just Beluga Lentils, Swiss Chard, shallots, garlic, peas, nutritional yeast, red pepper flakes, parsley, lemon zest, salt, pepper, thyme, broth and sherry. It also calls for Earth Balance but I left that out. I took Carr’s advice and paired it with a plate of wild rice, which was a delicious suggestion but doesn’t make for a very lovely or cheerful photo - sorry.

Friday started off with more juice and then an Aztec Spirt. For lunch I made a big batch of the Greensicle Smoothie from Carr’s Crazy Sexy Kitchen to take with me to work. It’s got almond milk, oranges, vanilla, agave, spinach, and romaine leaves. Very tasty. I also ended up drinking a Suja Mango Juice that had mango, Serrano chili, and some other tasty fruits in it.

Aztec Spirit Smoothie 

Dinner was leftover Pho and leftover Ragout.

Saturday I had no more juice left and no time to make anymore before work. Instead I started my day with another Greensicle smoothie, and then I made a batch of the Strawberry Fields Smoothie also from Crazy Sexy Kitchen to take to lunch. This one had Almond milk, strawberries, lemon zest, orange, banana, and spinach, and it was amazing!

Greensicle Smoothie 

The smoothie kept me mostly full throughout the day but I did get hungry around 7pm or so and so I ate 2 packets of Justin’s Vanilla Almond Butter. I find that when I’m working, and I get hungry something small and protein rich gets me through.

Curried Nada-Egg Salad Wrap

For dinner we had the Curried Nada-Egg Salad with Watercress Wraps from Crazy Sexy Kitchen except I didn’t have watercress and so I used Arugula instead. This was a really good tofu ‘egg’ salad. I love a good curried tofu salad, and this one had tofu, green onions, carrot, parsley, cilantro, nutritional yeast, Dijon mustard, curry, sea salt - I opted to use black salt instead, - and black pepper. I didn’t have gluten-free tortillas and so we used sprouted tortillas which is better then just eating the regular wheat kind anyway. The salad also uses a home-made cashew aioli but I didn’t have the time to make it before work so the recipe says you can use Vegenaise instead which I had, so I used that despite not wanting to eat processed foods on the cleanse. These were really good and filling wraps though I think next time I’ll do it with the gluten-free or regular tortillas. Sprouted tortillas are great, but they’re a bit tough.

Sunday I started with another Greensicle Smoothie because I didn’t have time to make juice that day either. Then I made a big batch of smoothie to take for lunch with me. This time it was my own concoction of almond milk, blueberry, orange, banana, spinach, flaxseed, and vanilla. Very tasty, and a very lovely shade of blue but I forgot to take a picture.

Again this smoothie kept me satisfied most of the day but around 6:30pm my stomach began rumbling and I started craving something solid. I knew I had a nice dinner waiting for me at home and I didn’t want to ruin it but I needed something. I wanted sweets, and I wanted chocolate and I craved pizza and all the bad things I can’t eat right now but instead I opted for a quarter pound of maple roasted cashews and surprise, surprise that did the trick. No more hunger, no more cravings. They weren’t overly sweet, nor were they overly salty, just enough of each to stave off the crazy cravings and give me the satisfaction mastication.

Rice Bowl - Brown Rice, Red Cabbage, Broccoli and Green Onion
With Annie's Organic Green Garlic Dressing 

Dinner was a big hearty rice bowl. Full of brown rice, red cabbage, green onions, and broccoli. Super simple, but delicious. Originally I intended to make a dressing of my own but was so tired by the time I got home I decided ‘to hell with it’ and used Annie’s Organic Green Garlic Dressing instead. This was a super tasty and satisfying meal and I quite liked the dressing which I’d never had before.

And that about brings us up to speed. Overall I still feel great, though I experienced more cravings this past week then I did before. I’m not sure why, but I find the days I have the worst cravings are the days I’m working, and particularly seem to hit at night, around the 7pm mark. It’s all mental I’m sure, and probably related to my soaring stress levels at work but I was happy I had the control and the willpower to recognize this and reject the cravings instead of falling prey to them.

Also since I’m feeling much better today will be my first day getting back into an exercise routine! I’m quite excited about that because it’s been far too long.

January Cleanse Part Two...

And so the cleansing continues - I had meant to post a couple of days ago but time gets away from me, and then I caught a cold middle of last week and didn’t feel all that inspired to write. That doesn’t mean I haven’t been keeping track though, and interestingly being sick has helped me stick pretty rigorously to the cleanse. Since fresh fruit and veggies - lots of garlic, onions and greens - are the best things to eat when you’re under the weather.

Each days starts the same with a 20oz glass of water - there’s nothing particularly special about this number it’s just that all my drinking glasses hold about 20oz of liquid. - Sometimes with lemon and sometimes not it depends on how I feel. I normally drink immediately upon waking, but I don’t always drink a full glass before decided to eat. I’ve found that waiting to eat until I’ve drunk a full glass of water better helps me to determine whether or not I’m actually hungry. You’d be amazed, sometimes those ‘hunger pains’ you feel in the morning is just a need for water.

Grapefruit/Orange/Lemon Juice &
Immune Me Juice 

When I begin to feel hungry again I grab a 12oz bottle of fresh juice. Either it’s the grapefruit, orange, lemon concoction I mentioned before or a green juice. The Green Juice pictured here is the Immune Me Juice from Kris Carr’s “Crazy Sexy Kitchen” it contains cucumbers, green apples, lemon, ginger, and romaine lettuce. Though it’s not my favorite juice from the book - nor my favorite green juice - it’s still pretty good, less sweet then some green juices I’ve had before, with a real cucumber taste. Great ginger zing though.

Everyday Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday, Sunday and today I followed my 12oz juice 2-3 hours later with either a smoothie or a bowl of oatmeal. My bowl of oatmeal is always pretty well the same. Quick cooking oats, sliced almonds, dried cherries or cranberries, fresh or frozen blueberries, flaxseed, pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds, unsweetened almond milk and a few drops of liquid vanilla stevia. Super hearty and filling.

Oatmeal 

In the case of the smoothie - which I neglected to photograph each day, my apologies - I either had a Green smoothie - usually a combination of spinach or kale, wheatgrass, banana, pineapple, mango or blueberry and water - or I made the AJ’s Power Smoothie from Kris Carr’s “Crazy Sexy Kitchen” this is a smoothie combo of Almond Milk, Blueberries, Mango, Almond Butter, Cinnamon, Kale, and Spinach. Overall this smoothie is pretty good, though not as sweet as I initially thought it might be.

Masala Tofu Scramble 

On both Friday and Yesterday I was feeling inspired and decided to treat my husband and myself to a breakfast of solid food that wasn’t oatmeal. On Friday I was really feeling like a hearty tofu scramble and so I decided to make the Masala Tofu Scramble from Anupy Singla’s book “Vegan Indian Cooking” It’s a very simple recipe - Tofu, cumin seeds, onion, ginger, Serrano chilies, turmeric, chili powder, sea salt, black salt and cilantro.

Now on this cleanse I’m not doing ‘oil-free’ ‘salt-free’ or ‘gluten-free’ but I am trying to limit all three of these items in my diet to minimal amounts or in the case of wheat - a few times per week. So instead of using the 1 Tbsp of oil called for in this recipe I used 1 tsp. I also used only 3/4 tsp of black salt as opposed to ½ of black salt, and a ½ tsp of sea salt. I also decided we needed a little more green in our life and so I added 1 cup of frozen peas and a generous handful of baby spinach to the scramble. It might sound crazy, but this was one of the best scrambles I’ve ever had. It was moist, and flavorful with great combination of tastes and textures. To make it a bit heartier I served it over dry toasted wheat bread and sliced tomatoes. - The toast in this meal was the first wheat I’d had in 5 days.

Chickpea Flour Crepes 

Due to our tremendous sucsess with Anupy’s Scramble I decided yesterday that I wanted to give another one of her breakfast options a try. This time I wanted something gluten-free and so I picked the Chickpea Flour Crepes - or Besan Poora - from “Vegan Indian Cooking” Making them was a bit like making a socca except instead of cooking the entire batter in a cast iron skillet all at once you make smaller thinner crepes with it. I was kind of skeptical at first about how it might turn out but I have to say these were incredible and so filling! This kept me full pretty much all day. At around 5pm yesterday I had a 12oz juice, and was still only moderately hungry when dinner was ready at about 9pm.

So what’s in these delicious magical crepes you ask? Chickpea flour obviously, and water, onion, ginger, serrano chili, cilantro, sea salt, coriander, turmeric and chili powder. There were also suppose to be fenugreek leave in the batter but I don’t know where you might find those for sale around here - possibly the Indian market but I wasn’t about to run out to look, and so I just left that out. Anupy says that the recipe is pretty adaptable and she encourages you to experiment with different batter ingredients and also suggests filing the crepes. I liked the idea of filling the crepes and so I sauteed the half an onion that didn’t go into the batter, along with some garlic, spinach, and tomato. I happened to have fenugreek seeds in my pantry and so I used 3 tsp of those rather to replace the flavor the leaves might have imparted.  She also suggests serving the crepes along with mint or peach chutney but I didn’t have either nor did I have the proper ingredients to make chutney. Instead I mixed some tamarind concentrate with water and made a quick tamarind chutney to drizzle over the pancakes. Tamarind chutney is my favorite anyway and so I didn’t feel like I was missing out.

The flavor of these crepes was really spectacular, and they kind of reminded me of an egg, even though there were no eggy ingredients in them. Typically I prefer a sweet breakfast if I’m going to have breakfast, but this just might have made me a savory breakfast convert.

Now what I’m sure you’ve all been waiting eagerly to hear about. What have I been eating for dinner? Well Wednesday night was simple I was really just craving greens you know? So I made one of my ‘go-to’ quick and easy rice bowls. This particular one contained brown rice, steamed kale, minced raw garlic, minced pickled ginger, diced tomato, red cabbage, and sesame seeds. Over top I drizzled some of that spectacular Tahini dressing that I’ve been using on my Woodstock Peace Salads. - Which I talked about in January Cleanse Part One

Rice Bowl with Kale 

Thursday night I really needed some immune support you know? All Wednesday night into mid-day Thursday I had a fever of over 100. By Thursday evening I was feeling a little better because the fever had finally broken and gone, but I was tired and needed some food that would support me. I decided to make the Garlic and Greens Soup from Colleen Patrick-Goudreau’s book “The Vegan Table. This is a super simple soup that uses a whole head of garlic! Plus an onion, potatoes, vegetable broth, kale, salt, pepper, and rice vinegar. It’s actually a really tasty soup despite how simple it sounds although I thought it could use more garlic. Maybe it’s just because I naturally put ½ to 1 full head of garlic into almost all of my meals anyway that I didn’t notice the garlickyness of this, but I ended up adding some extra garlic powder.

Garlic and Greens Soup

Along with the soup I made a salad. The Chopped Salad from Kris Carr’s “Crazy Sexy Kitchen” this is a super simple but delicous and satisfying salad of romaine, chickpeas, parsley, sunflower seeds, flax oil, white balsamic vinegar, sea salt and black pepper. I also added avocado because, well why not? I’ve made this salad on a few occasions before and really like it. Even my husband enjoyed it and he’s neither a big fan of sunflower seeds or chickpeas.

Chopped Salad 

Friday, Saturday, and Sunday we ended up having the exact same thing for dinner. The Crazy Sexy Bean Chili from “Crazy Sexy Kitchen” I had really been craving chili for a while and it seemed like the perfect time to make one. Typically my husband is not a fan of chili - he hates beans! I know a vegan that hates beans, absurd! - so he wasn’t too thrilled about it but I decided I didn’t care. I wanted chili he could eat leftovers. This particular chili is made with cumin seeds, olive oil - I used half the amount listed - onion, garlic, jalapeno, chili powder, seitan or tempeh - I used seitan because I had some homemade seitan patties in the freezer - zucchini, potato, black beans, kidney beans - I was a bit concerned about this because Kidney beans are the only variety of bean I don’t like! - crushed tomatoes - I didn’t have any so I used 14 oz diced tomatoes and 6 oz tomato sauce - water, maple syrup, sea salt, cilantro and kale.

Crazy Sexy Bean Chili 

This is a super veggie packed chili, but I was a bit skeptical. Most chili recipes I make call for vegetable broth not water, and they typically have more spices so I was worried this chili might be bland. Crazy thing is, it was the most flavorful chili I’ve ever made. Seriously I’ve had some good chili in my time and this really tops the list, it’s probably going to be my ‘go-to’ chili from now on. I didn’t even notice the kidney beans and the mixture of veggies, seitan and beans provided a perfect balance. The chili was so good in fact that my husband tasted a little and then devoured an entire 2 bowls! I’ve never seen him go crazy for chili like that, I’ve never seen him eat beans with such relish! Since he loved it so much and It was so easy to make I decided that after our leftovers ran out Saturday night that I’d make another batch for Sunday. Seriously, this is a totally heavenly chili, and so good it doesn’t need extras like vegan sour cream or vegan cheese - though we did add some diced avocado to the top, because, like, why not?

Last nights dinner was another winning meal from “Crazy Sexy Kitchen” I made the Coconut and Red Lentil Soup and it’s probably one of my favorite red lentil soups now. It’ll probably be another ‘go-to’ recipe for me. Again it’s a super simple recipe, cumin seeds, coriander seeds, olive oil - I used less then half the amount called for - Serrano chili, onion, red lentils, vegetable broth, coconut milk, ginger, lemon zest, lemon juice, salt - the recipe calls for ½ Tbsp but I couldn’t in good conscious put that much salt into anything! So I used 1 tsp. Black pepper - a ½ Tbsp is also called for but I used a little under 1 tsp instead,- fresh cilantro and diced avocado. This soup was really flavorful, really creamy, and just plain delicious.

Coconut and Red Lentil Soup 

So, how have I been feeling? Overall I’d say that despite being sick I’ve felt a lot better then I had been feeling previously. Most noticeable is an increase in energy. I feel more alert, more awake and I’m better able to make it through the day without yawning or laying down for a nap. My brain doesn’t feel foggy, my body doesn’t feel so leaden and heavy. I don’t think I’ve lost weight but I feel lighter and leaner despite that. Probably because I’m not bloated and my bodily functions are normalizing. I have less trouble waking up in the morning and can stay up later - like I used to be able to.

As far as temptations are concerned, yes there have been some hard moments. At least a few times I’ve found myself craving something sweet - particularly chocolate - but I’ve been able to find ways to overcome this. I find these cravings often come in the evening and so if I make a hearty satisfying dinner they typically don’t persist. However if they do I’ve been able to stave them off with fresh juice, or in Thursday’s case a healthy dessert. Thursday I really wanted something sweet and it was driving me bonkers so I decided to make the Banana Chia Pudding from Matthew Kenney’s book “Everyday Raw Express” it’s a super simple Vitamix recipe. You blend together cashews, water, cinnamon, vanilla, nutmeg, ginger, bananas, and agave - I used 1/3 cup instead of the ½ cup called for. Then you pour it over a ½ cup of chia seeds stir and refrigerate until it’s congealed. Bam, practically instant pudding, and while this might not sound all that phenomenal let me tell you. This stuff is like crack! I’m serious, if I could mainline this stuff I would. It’s amazing! What’s great is you don’t even have to feel guilty about eating it! It’s absolutely perfect on it’s own or you can jazz it up with some fresh fruit or chopped nuts.

Banana Chia Pudding 

I also had some caffeine cravings and there was nothing I could do to find a suitable replacement and so I just had to ‘be strong’ and exert my willpower. I try and drink a significant amount of water, and I have been drinking quite a bit of tea - due to the cold - so that does help The occasional Kombucha or coconut water doesn’t hurt either and I remind myself that I feel great after drinking these things as opposed to how I feel after drinking coffee which is an immediate buzz, and then a total crash and ‘blah’ feeling.

So far I’m most proud of myself when it comes to eating at work. I have a bad habit of snacking on junk at work, and work is really my biggest downfall when it comes to sweets. That’s when I crave chocolate the most. Since I’ve been sick I’ve been arming myself with travel mugs of hot tea, and 2 12oz bottles of green smoothie. I sip these things slowly over the course of the day, or save a bottle of smoothie for my lunch break and I’ve found that my hunger was completely satisfied and I felt no need whatsoever for sweets or snacks. Packing a smoothie is also quicker then packing a ‘traditional lunch’ and so I think I’ll continue this trend even after my cleanse is technically over.

The only thing I haven’t been able to do is exercise. I was hoping to get into a real good exercise routine as I started my cleanse but having this cold has kind of thrown that out the window. Low pressure activities like walking would have been acceptable if the weather wasn’t so bad, but with -20 degree temperatures I hardly think it wise to venture outdoors for a walk. I could do some easy yoga inside but the headache and sinus pressure I’ve felt over the past few days made that impossible. Just bending down to tie my shoes had my head feeling like it was going to explode. So exercise will have to wait, but at least the eating portion of the cleanse is going as planned. Stay tuned for the next installment.