Detox Days 7-8: Fruits, Vegetables and vegetarian protein (+ What to do with leftover Orange Peels and No Bake sweet)

The best part is feeling warm again with solid foods!

Below is my menu to help give ideas. Just waiting until after the detox to add back in grains, nuts and lean meats/fish. Just a scant amount of legumes...trying not to give the body too much fiber after 3 days of relaxing!

Day 7:
Breakfast: 4 oz of Naked Juice

Snack: 2 Hard-boiled egg whites and 1/4 avocado slices

Lunch: CSA Box Veggie Detox Soup

• 3 cups homemade broth, 0.5 cup shiitake mushroom water from Days 1-3.
•  two round green squash (were about lacrosse ball sized), 3 swiss chard leaves, 3 shiitake mushrooms sliced
• 1/4 cup dried lentils

Begin your lentils first in the boiling stock since they take at least 20 minutes (don't make my mistake adding it with only 10 minutes to cook with your added veggies), add tougher stalks, and last 4-6 minutes add leaves, squash and mushroom so they don't get too mushy. Looks like enough for 3-4 small soup bowl servings.

Palm full of strawberries for dessert.

Snack: 4 oz Naked juice blenderized with brown rice protein powder.

Dinner: Salad with roast beets/celery mix, avocado, clover sprouts. Vinegar, oil, salt and pepper.
Note: this was too much fiber for the first day, my stomach was knotty later in the night. So I recommend you have another serving of soup or make a juice/smoothie instead.

Delicious but I paid for it.

Day 8:
Breakfast-2 Hard Boiled Egg whites and 1 cup cantalope

Snack-4 oz naked juice

Post-work out-4 oz naked juice with brown rice protein powder

Snack-1 large carrot cut into sticks and 1/4 avocado mashed

Lunch-bowl of soup (leftover from yesterday)
5 pieces candied orange (not detox material, waaaaagh! but recipe below) and no-bake protein-powder "cookies" modified from this recipe at Purely Twins. I'm embarrassed to say how many I ate. My mind has been feeling really irritated this week, like I need to do something (or eat something..maybe both). So started doing some housekeeping on my inbox and around the house. But now back to what you care about, my modifications to both sweet recipes are included below the happy picture.

Snack-1 cup cantalope & two protein-powder cookies

Dinner-Salad take 2. No problems this time!

Kind of look like mini-spicy fries.

WHAT TO DO WITH LEFTOVER ORANGE PEELS? TWO GREAT PRODUCTS!

After all that juicing, I had a good 3-4 cups (or more since I accidentally threw some away) of orange peels with the pith still on. I had been trying to cut the peel and leave some pith on my Valencias, but the skin was not very thick and it was difficult for me to leave pith, let alone cut even strips with our best paring knife. I followed a Foodnetwork.com recipe since it said you could have pith on the peel (didn't want to try scraping them off the hundred assorted size pieces).  I probably spent half an hour draining the oranges and making the sugar water (making the veggie soup while waiting for water to boil)

Ingredients: 3-4 cups of orange peel; 2.5 cups regular sugar;  about 0.5 cup coconut sugar for coating

You'll also need: small saucepan, small tongs to grab sticky oranges, drying racks/newspaper (to catch crumbs/small orange pieces), spatula

1. After cutting the orange peels into 1/4" strips, bring them to boil 3x (with cold water each time) 
2. Put oranges into a heat-tolerating (non-plastic) bowl and use your saucepan for heating the white sugar (I reduced to 2.5 cups) and water (1.5 cups).
3. Stir and dissolve sugar. Bring the white sugar and water to a simmer for 8-9 minutes.
4. Add orange peels. Allow mixture to come to simmer again. Leave it alone for 45 minutes. Don't stir or else the crystals invade!
5. Drain off the liquid sugar into a jar or other heat-tolerating vessel...save for mixing in tea, oatmeal, or whatever else you want to sweeten with a little orange splash. 
6. Put some sugar in a bowl, I probably ended up using 1/2 cup coconut sugar. Pull out 1/2 cup of orange slices at a time and turn to coat in the coconut sugar. Work quickly as the oranges start to harden and stick together. Put onto the drying rack.
7. Let the pieces dry for 4-5 hours

shape and lump-both taste the same.

CRAVING PROTEIN & NON-FRUIT SWEETNESS?  No bake Cocoa-Coconut Oil Protein Truffles (that's what the texture reminds me of, kind of airy and a soft velvety crumble in your mouth)

Notes: If using dates, you should have a blender/food processor to make date paste. I looked on Vegan Yack Attack to find substitutions for agave since I didn't have liquid stevia. I had not heard of caramelizing sucanat nor do I know what that is. I have heard of brown rice syrup. There's some controversy about agave, that the over-proccessing is harmful to our health, but I haven't looked into it. Another day.

 If your coconut oil is solid, I measured out 4 tbsp and it yielded about 6 tbsp after being melted. The authors suggested additional coconut oil if you want thinner cookies/rounds.

The dough will be somewhat crumbly, just press firmly into your tablespoon and remove from the side with a spoon or your finger and reshape/pack if needed. If you happen to have an ice cream scooper that can push or wipe the dough out it will help (my mom has one that comes in a TBSP size but I have yet to find one) The dough will hold up better once it's chilled.

Ingredients: (changes after strike out)

• 1/4 cup hemp protein powder Sunwarrior brand "Blend" protein (cranberry, hemp, pea)
• 1/2 cup Sunwarrior brand Brown Rice Protein Powder
• 1/4 cup lucuma  cocoa powder (the authors have even more substitutions listed)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla (omitted as I didn't want to add alcohol to my detox menu)
• 1/2 teaspoons stevia, liquid 5 dates (made about 5.5 tbsp of paste)
• 8 6 tablespoons coconut oil, liquid
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

1. In a mug or small bowl soak your dates in hot water for at least 1/2 an hour. Then use same water with dates in blender to make a paste.

2. Mix the other ingredients in a small mixing bowl.

3. Melt your coconut oil if necessary. Then add to mixing bowl.

4. Add date paste to mixture and stir to have an even dough.

5. Press into the tablespoon or scoop and make the truffles.

6. Put them into the fridge for 15 minutes. Authors say you can freeze them, I know mine won't last long enough to do that!

What's your favorite snack to bring on an outdoor trip?

Detox Days 4-6: Juicing-just liquids (Recipes included)

It softens the blow to my mind if I can have more than one kind of drink. I drink as I'm hungry (or it's been four hours max), making sure to have plenty of water and herbal tea in between to help flush out the toxins. I think it's about 4-12 oz that I drink in a serving depending how much tummy growled. I didn't remember how full a juice can make you feel!

Recommend if you have somewhere to be in the morning to rinse and cut your produce the night before to help save time. Before you start the detox or at least before getting to the juicing part, research places that have juice drinks in case you run late/are out and need something. I have been told Starbucks carries a bottled juice product by my co-worker. If you're near certain San Diego farmer's market, Green Fix Smoothie has a lot of fans. I have one of these Robek's store (chain) by my house and most people probably would already think of Jamba Juice. Another friend recommends San Diego Blenders in El Cajon or Mission Valley area.

 Here's a sample plan, to help give you ideas. For just juicing for me I overbought! I'm going to end up with 5 oranges, 1 entire celery bunch, 1/2 bundle of kale and 2 cucumbers left. I guess it can't hurt to have juicing for a snack or meal the next few days when I reincorporate solid foods. I just have so much pulp now in my freezer I don't know what to do with it all. Dave thinks toss it. Normally I put 1/4 cup in my protein pancakes. Any ideas? No, don't have a worm bin yet. I will add buying these supplies to my Indian grocery mart and Indian meal trip for mid-June! Making deadlines can help and telling other people your plans for accountability can put a plan to action. Bug me about it, readers!



<------The BEFORE  picture of Juice #2

AFTER: Drink #2 Swampy

Day 4
#1 Carrot-orange-ginger-kale (1 carrot, 2 oranges, sliver of ginger, 2 kale leave/stems) : I took it with me on a five mile hike with an ice pack. For some reason got really bitter. Sometimes my fresh squeezed OJ gets bitter if left alone for a few hours. Maybe it was the ginger. Not my favorite b/c of the bitter. Made enough for one serving.

#2 Carrot-orange-kale-beet greens: (did 2 large carrots, 5 small oranges, 1 bundle each of beet greens and kale) Non-bitter for unknown reasons! The greens were very strong the first day, but taste better to me the next day. Made enough to fill one cariff (about 5 servings) and 1 serving.

Plain OJ


Day 5:

Drink #3-My favorite"-Canta" wait to sip on this. n'yuck, n'yuck,

#3 Carrot-cantalope-cucumber (2 large carrots, 1/2 cantalope, 2 cucumber): my favorite juice so far. The melon almost tastes creamy! This made enough to fill one cariff..

leftover of #2

plain OJ

#4: Natural (sugar) high-beets have a high sugar content, antioxidants and folic acid.

Day 6:
Leftovers of #2 and #3

#4 Beet-kale-orange (4 small oranges, 1 beet, 4 kale leaves) for two servings: Overall very sweet and easy to drink. Thanks to my friend Ann's advice, add a little beet at a time as it can have a strong flavor. I was quite happy with just having the beet as an aftertaste. Every now and then I pick up the book "How Carrots Won the Trojan War" by Rebecca Rupp for some interesting history/facts about various fruits and veggies. In regards to beets, most notable to me that it was once believed beets could be reddened by watering with leftover sediment from making red wine. In actuality, red comes from betacyanin. Ability to metabolize betacyanin in some people doesn't work as it should and can lead to pink piddle. So don't be alarmed in the bathroom. 


Plain OJ


One last tip, carry a travel toothbrush with you if you're going to be at work all day. The juices made a film on my teeth.




Have any favorite funny food facts?

Detox Days 1-3: Fruits, Veggies, Grains & Oils

Have you tried a juicing detox/cleanse/fast before? Maybe you're feeling sluggy or the stomach is off. Maybe the beautiful weather is just reminding you that you want to work towards showing off some skin. There can be weight loss, but for long term-health I would count on the detox just being a diving off point to help make eating cleaner a habit. I've seen detoxes range from 3 days (even saw a business based on this at the La Jolla Farmer's market this past weekend and on Groupon) to 30 days (online paleo challenges, juicing). From my experience, consistency in a mostly healthy (occasional treats ok!), varied diet and exercise is really the best, most sustainable way to be the best you.

In the past I have tried 14 day detoxes, the Master Cleanse (cayenne-lemon-maple syrup) and a juicing/Master Cleanse (juice for breakfast, dinner and lemonade the rest of the time), both times using senna tea for...ahem... moving the junk out. After it was all said and done, I did come out feeling like I was more alert, a light/happy feeling and my hip joints seemed to loosen up a bit when practicing yoga. Yes, usually the first 3-4 days blow as far as feeling crabby and deprived...after that the body/mind adapt mostly. Have to say drinking the exact same sweet and cold for that many days was boooooring.

I wanted to try something a little different this year. Not following a particular plan-just making something that fits my calendar (promised to go out for a graduation dinner Saturday). Start off just eating very light and clean for three days, then go three days of juicing only and two days to come off with juice, veg soup and raw salads. I was a bit hesitant to start a detox this year given I wasn't hitting the gym when I did detoxes before, but a friend sent me an article from Bodybuilding.com about benefits for weight lifters.

I would just caution if you have health conditions, you want to check with a doctor or registered dietician before you try.

After setting my mind to it (probably the hardest part) and making sure my perishable food was eaten already, I was ready to go buy my food supplies (already had a Jack Lalanne Juicer and have some plastic cariffs for storing juice, ideally you make it and drink it fresh but we can't always carry a juicer with us or take 3 days off work to be at home...also cleaning the juicer that many times a day would be a drag).

So here's my progress so far on cleaning up my solid foods in phase 1. Those with recipes**

Day 1: 
 Breakfast: Oatmeal = 1/3 cup coach's oats + 4 chopped dates + 2 tbsp unsweetened coconut flakes toasted (250F for 3 minutes in my toaster oven...otherwise unpleasant blackening!) + 1 cup water + 1 scoop brown rice protein powder + cinnamon
Snack: 1/4 cup toasted walnuts and 1 apple
Lunch:  No-name #1 = 2 cups cabbage steamed in veggie broth with shichimi togarashi (Japanese chili-spice mix for udon), 4 dried shiitake mushrooms (soaked overnight, save the broth for a soup or okonomiyaki) sliced, 3/4 cup cooked brown rice , eaten with Korean seaweed.
Snack : **Curry-spiced shredded carrot patties & popcorn made with coconut oil and salt
Dinner: Salad. Topped with 1/2 cup roasted carrots,3/4 cup home-sprouted mung beans (really easy and cheap to do yourself, but you need 3 days prep time! I followed Padhu's Kitchen with great success.) with a grapefruit-garlic-vinegar dressing. Similar to previous post but no Sriracha, mustard or honey. Note to self: do not eat if going out to any social events or if having meetings at work. Keeps the vampires away though.

Day 2:
Breakfast : Oatmeal again
Snack: Walnuts, Grapefruit
Lunch: Vietnamese Spring rolls with leftover roast carrots, leftover curry-spiced carrot patties, shiitake mushrooms, lettuce, mung bean and leftover salad dressing.
Snack: dried dates, baked sweet potato fries
Dinner: 3/4 cup brown rice, carrot top/pea sprout saag with 2 hard boiled egg whites (bring eggs to boil in water, turn off heat and let sit 18 minutes with lid on)

Day 3:
Breakfast: same as last night's dinner
Snack: 1 scoop brown rice protein with water, 1/2 cup frozen strawberries and 2 pitted dates shake.
Lunch: Same dinner as Day 1
Snack: 1/2 cup fresh strawberries;** Toasted celery leaf-Navy bean soup with togarashi, shiitake mushrooms; baked sweet potato fries
Dinner: mung bean and brown rice "okonomiyaki" with shredded zucchini and minced garlic filling eaten with lettuce. Ate 1/4 cup brown rice with the small amount of saag while waiting, cuz okonomiyaki is not a quick dish to cook.And I was impatient so it came out quite ugly and not set in the middle.
 
I feel ok, but only felt happily full after noshing on the sweet potato fries and the saag. (At least for working out/yoga I don't have to worry about feeling too weighed down.) The other times I was just made to feel no longer on empty. Having the mint tea after meals helps. The next phase (three days) will be tough with just juicing, two of the days I need to make enough to take with me to work. I stocked up at farmer's market today...will see if it's enough to make it through (plenty o' grocery stores in my hood if I need to re-supply).  I got 2 bunches of kale, 1 heart (?) celery, 6 cucumbers, 5 lb bag of valencia oranges, 1 small cantalope, 1 bundle swiss chard and a bundle of carrots. Have good variety of herbal tea: jasmine and mint! and of course senna leaf (those don't taste so good to me but I'd rather do this than the salt water flush-that made me want to hurl).

CURRY-SPICED GRATED CARROT PATTIES-makes 5 small (golf ball) patties (light lunch/two snacks)

Ingredients
3 tsp sesame seeds
3.6 oz grated carrot
1 tbsp flax seed ground and mixed with 3 tbsp hot water (allow to sit 10 minutes)
1 tsp curry powder
1 tsp thinly sliced ginger
4 tsp chickpea flour

Heat pan on medium-high with a tsp of sesame oil (or other oil of choice)

Mix all ingredients in a small bowl. Form patties.

Fry about 4 minutes on each side until crispy and warmed through.

TOASTED CELERY LEAF-NAVY BEAN SOUP (1 serving)

Ingredients
1/3 of celery heart's leaves-rinsed and dried, and baked ~350F about 5-10 minutes until crispy
1.5 cups veg stock
3/4 cup cooked Navy bean
3 soaked overnight and sliced shiitake mushrooms (also tastes good using nutritional yeast, probably a couple tablespoons is enough for one bowl)

Stick all ingredients except the mushrooms in a blender if you like a smoother texture.

Heat it up in the microwave or on the stove.

*Stay tuned for progress/recipes on the 3 days of juicing. On day 2 of 3 today!

Juicing means less dishes and time spent cooking, what's the first thing you would do with your spare time?