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?

Indian Culture & Vegan Snack-Lighter Pakora's

Ate at Bawarchi Dosas in Miramar area with Kristina this month. I just love Southern Indian for offering Chinese dishes on the menu as well as having some bread-like items that are often made from lentil, chickpea or rice flour (I will always miss naan but this makes up for it).

 Kristina kept getting distracted by the odd dance videos playing on the TV screen behind me. The man mainly gave Zoo-lander-esque looks as he pauses from his Ricky Martin type dancing the in rain routine at a club. The woman sadly stares at him from across the room and a glistening tear rolls down her cheek. Her hair whips around in the wind.   He steps down and walks ever so slowly towards her while putting on his sunglasses (in the club). The other thing that we noticed is that the man and woman in each video never actually kissed. Cultural value? I did a little reading on BBC.

 Aside from having bouts of laughter, we were adventurous and tried Masala Papad (note: order yummy yogurt based mango lassi drink to go with this mouth numbing crispy lentil-based appetizer.)  I have seen papads at Fresh and Easy (or am sure the Indian market near this restaurant carries them) that you can just fry up at home, or apparently you can microwave them if you are trying to be healthier.

Speaking of trying to be healthier, I tested out a baked pakora recipe I found on Irreverent Vegan's blog over the weekend. I wish I hadn't run out of parchment paper-trying to butter up foil did not cut it...but at least stuck on there is better than having to soak and scrub the cookie sheets.  I chopped up beet greens to use instead of spinach and also just add grated zuchini as that is what I had on hand. Personally, I was a bit put off by the chutney that went with the recipe. I think I am used to/prefer the more vinegar-based chutneys and it was a bit much on the ginger for my liking (and I do like ginger-pickled with sushi, in candy form, for upset tummy as a tea). I've copied the pakora recipe below with my modifications. I think next time I might try decreasing the salt. I would make this again-very tasty even without a sauce. Just be ready to heat up your home-500 F bake temp! Nice winter recipe, no? Save on your heating bill! We're just starting to have drizzly, light jacket weather here.

Baked Pakora (chickpea battered veggies)

• three handfuls of chopped leafy greens (beet greens today)
• one zucchini grated-this one was probably about 1" diameter and 7" long
• 2 cups chickpea (garbanzo bean) flour-I got Bob's Redmill brand, starting to see this available at even regular chain grocery stores now, but again go for Indian market if you want it cheaper. I liked the taste of the Redmill flour though.
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 tsp curry powder
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 1/2 tsp red pepper (optional)
• 1 1/2 tsp dried coriander (cilantro)
• 1 1/2 cups water

Tools needed: spatula safe for oven flipping, cookie sheets, parchment paper, 1 large bowl

Pre-heat the oven to 500 F.

Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Add water a bit at a time, until you make it a bit thicker-than-muffin batter type consistency. Add your rinsed, chopped/grated veggies (you can be creative here use what you have on hand) and mix until covered with batter.

 Spoon batter onto parchment paper lined cookie sheets. The lumps should hold their form (not keep spreading) The size lumps I  made yielded about 12 pakora. Make bigger or smaller-just adjust the cooking time (also depends on your oven, I had to take mine out early). 

The original recipe has you bake on one side 8 minutes and then flip the pakora on the other side for 10 to get the crunchy crust. Mine only needed 8 minutes on the second side, luckily I stayed in the kitchen because they brown fast!

 

What recipe have you health-ified and loved? (or hated?)  What's your take on PDA's in public?