Playin’ The Edge

When it’s tough to manage the food requirements on a detox, sometimes you feel like you have to live like a monk – in silence, at home eating tiny bowls of plain brown rice.  But it just ain’t true.   One of the things that you can do quite enjoyably while detoxing is make Sunday dinner.  Of course it doesn’t have to wait til Sunday, Saturday is good too.  It just means making a pile of good food so that you have leftovers or invite some friends over so that your lifestyle feels less monkish.

Roast chicken with double-baked potatoes is the perfect kind of menu for this.  It’s hearty food that you wouldn’t make on a weeknight and the baked potatoes make it feel a little special.  Double baked potatoes are the perfect thing to do on a weekend day when you’re puttering around.  They need time, you want to start early, but they’re not a lot of work.

The other cool thing about a dinner like this is that it helps you save a bit of money.  Detoxing can feel expensive but you get a lot of meals from a roast chicken.  After you’re finished de-meating it, throw the chicken bones in the freezer until you have time to cook them up to make a stock.  Divide the stock up and use some for adding flavour to rice and stir fries.  Or make a veggie soup.  Add some brown rice to your veggie soup and it’s a stick-to-your-ribs detox lunch.

Baking potatoes are easy on the budget too.  They aren’t expensive and you can make a bunch of them, freeze or refridgerate them and then bake them when you’re ready to eat.  Or even microwave one for a quick detox lunch.

I’m not providing a recipe for roast chicken because you can find a million of them online and i don’t have a particular favourite.  But here’s how to do the:

Double Baked Potatoes

Start early in the day so that you can let the potatoes cool before you scoop out the guts, it’s not worth burning yourself.  You’ll need 4 evenly sized baking potatoes.  Turn the oven on to 400 and scrub the potatoes.  I love potato skins, it’s where all the vitamins are, so scrub ‘em good because you’re inviting me over too right?  Prick them each a couple times with a fork and then put them in the oven.  Don’t worry if the oven isn’t up to 400, the potatoes can use the extra time.  Set your timer for 60 minutes.

At the 60 minute mark, prick them again with the fork.  The skin will be firm, but the potato inside should be soft.  If not, give them another 10 and check again.

Once the potatoes are done, set them on the stove and let them cool.  When you’re ready for the next phase, cut each potato in half and scoop the guts out with a spoon into a good sized bowl.  Try not to destroy the skins.  Put all the skins on a large pie plate or plate.

Mash the potato guts and add 1 TB of butter and a bit of chicken stock at a time until you get a nice mashed potato consistency.  I put in about 1/4 cup of stock.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Sprinkled in some dill if you like it.

If you like a simple smooth mashed potato, you can stop here and fill the potato skins.  If you like “stuff”, consider adding a chopped green onion.  Also a handful of parsley is good.  You could also put in some lightly steamed tiny broccoli bits to add color.  Be creative.  If you have a lot of guts, the potatoes will be nicely mounded and that’s ok, they’ll just need a bit more time to warm.

If you know your guests will have *no* interest in eating like you are, sprinkle a little cheddar on their potatoes, you know, the stuff that’s getting hard in the back of your refridgerator because you’re detoxing.

Cover the potato plate with plastic until your chicken is 15 or 20  minutes from finishing and put them in the oven.   If the potatoes start getting browned they’re done, but as long as they’re warmed through you’re good (i stick a finger in one to see what the inside temp is and then memorize which potato it is to ensure it ends up on my plate).  If your chicken needs to sit for a bit, you can put the potatoes back into the warmed oven.

Make another veg or salad for this meal and your friends will so impressed.  You may  get another detox convert to join you next time.  Happy detoxing.

Wow Happy New Year.  And what a time of imbibing and noshing I’ve had!  Although I’m not a big resolution person (I seem to attempt improvements all the time) I do have some plans for bettering my eating, getting my exercise and rest.

I know for many, the new year involves starting a detox and good on you!  Sometimes when I start a detox I am totally keen and can’t wait to kickstart it. When I feel that way I make this soup.  It’s super good for you and also tastes really good.  There’s something about green and white veggies that pack a double whammy of cleansing with high octane nutrients.

This recipe is from my second detox cookbook and when I was recipe testing I gave it to some friends for lunch (who weren’t detoxing) and it was so good they asked for seconds.  It’s also really flexible, I swap in spinach, peas and broccoli for the green, if that’s what I have in the house.  I also add a handful of leftover brown rice to my bowl when I want a more substantial meal.

Green Soup
1 tbsp olive oil
3 leeks
1 leaf of kale
1 cup chopped celery
2 cloves garlic
2 slices of fresh ginger
½ cup chopped parsley
chicken or veggie stock*

Chop the leeks and sauté them in olive oil.  Add coarsely chopped kale, celery, garlic, ginger and parsley.  Add enough stock to just cover the contents and simmer for 30 minutes.  Allow the soup to cool a little and then puree it.

*always check the ingredients to make sure it doesn’t include ingredients like msg and yeast that should be avoided during the detox.  I find organic brands are the most reliable.

I’ve been thinking about Squash Soup because it’s easy to make and it’s great during a detox.  It’s filling and delicious.  I tripped over this recipe and really liked the spices in it.  I don’t know what a Red Kuri is, i’d just make it with my ol’ fave Butternut.

It makes a barrel of soup, which is handy.  It feels like you’re always cooking on a detox.  It’s perfect when you feel like having some friends over.  You can convince them that detoxing doesn’t mean subsisting on brown rice.  And you get leftovers too.  Thanks goodness it freezes well.  So make it during week one of your detox and take some out to defrost for week two.

If you’re someone who loves crunchy bread with your soup,  try brown rice cakes with hummous, mushed up avocado or butter.

Here’s the recipe with a few adjustments to make it detox-friendly:

Red Kuri Squash Soup
Serves eight to twelve, with leftovers

Ingredients
2 lb. red kuri squash
1½ c. onion, diced
2 tsp. garlic, minced
2 tbsp. butter
½ tsp. ground cardamom
2 tsp. ground cumin
2 tsp. ground coriander
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
2 c. water
21 c. vegetable stock
Salt

1. Roast the squash in a 350º oven 60-90 minutes, or until soft. When cool, scoop out the flesh.

2. Sweat onion and garlic in butter in a large pot on medium heat until soft.

3. Add the spices (cardamom, cumin, coriander, cinnamon) and white wine. Cook on medium heat until liquid is reduced by half.

4. Add squash flesh and vegetable stock.

5. Simmer on medium-low heat 30 minutes.

6. Puree the ingredients in the pot with an immersion blender (if you don’t have one, transfer in batches to a blender).

Back when i started detoxing i couldn’t wait to get the thing over with so i could go back to cheese, milk, pasta and lots of cream in my coffee.  But now I try to eat more detox healthy all the time.  It came about slowly.  I didn’t force myself, i just kept working at finding things I liked among the healthy foods and let them take over for things i’d prefer not eat as often.  Now I can’t remember the last time I’ve eaten a french fry.  And I’m good with that.

I also had a realization.  While I try to stuff as many veggies as possible into family dinnertime, we still have food that appeal to the masses, like my kids.  The place where I really have control over what i consume is the meals I have at work:  breakfast, lunch and snacks 5 days a week.

Before, in the a.m.’s I would bring too little to work.  I’d think “oh yeah that’s enough food” and then I’d be at work and the hungries would hit and I would end up at a store or vending machine.  Now I bring lots of food but try not to spend a lot of time prepping.

On Sunday I make a big salad of grains (like brown rice or quinoa), veggies and some protein like feta cheese, beans or canned salmon.  Or I’ll make something like Greek Chickpea Salad.

I’ll fill 3 containers and put them in the fridge.  In the a.m., I just have to add salad dressing (the real stuff like Paul Newman’s, not the diet crap with all the scary ingredients).   Then i don’t have to think about lunches again until Thursday.

Sometimes I make a vat of carrot soup with lots of tasty spices.  I refridgerate enough in containers for 2-3 days and freeze the rest for another week.

I’ve found that if I bring two smallish lunch meals like soup and a salad, I’ll eat one at 11:00 and then the other at 2:00 or so.  Then I don’t spend my time snacking and I consume way more veggies.

I’ll also bring extras like fruit, greek yogurt and homemade oatcakes (whole wheat flour, 1/2 the sugar) on Monday and then the food is there to eat at some point in the week.

I even stock back-up.  I have drawer snacks like almonds and peanut butter for putting on bananas if I feel like i could use more protein.  I think i was always afraid that if I had a lot of food around me at work that all I’d do is eat.  But really, i eat the same amount, just better because i have plenty of healthy options.

My hero (he doesn’t know it) is this guy in my office who’s mid to late 40s and obviously lifts a lot of weights.  He clearly takes good care of himself.  He brings an armload of various sized plastic containers in to work and puts them all carefully in the fridge.  Big containers with salad and chicken, little ones with dips, dressings and yogurt. He brings in 2-3 days worth of food each time.  Now that’s organized.

He also washes the containers out at work and I’ve started doing that too.  There’s usually some point in the afternoon when you can use a 3 minute break and then it’s one less thing to do at home when you could be organizing the next day’s food.  Hope some of that helps –  happy detox-eating all the time.

Wow, I finally finished the cookbook and got it up on the site.  I’m really excited about it.  I figured how to make a detox granola.  I know, another breakfast option – woohoo!

I also really got thinking this time about the best ways to keep the whole 80/20% food thing straight.  It’s one of the challenges of doing the Wild Rose D-Tox.  I heard someone say once that eating on the detox is no big deal, they just make a big pot of chili and then eat it constantly.  And I thought, um, aren’t beans and meat 20% foods?  So shouldn’t chili maybe make up one meal?  Or at least put it on brown rice which you can eat in unlimited quantities?

My point is that it’s hard and I included some advice on how to figure it out in the cookbook.  I also included 6 recipes that you can make with all 80% or foods from the unlimited list.  In other words, eat up.  No math required.  Things like Lemon Rice and Almond Crusted Salmon.  Those dishes are so yummy I eat them when I’m not detoxing.

So check it out if you’re thinking about your next detox.  For a mere $4.95 e-book, it costs less than your next bag of organic brown rice.  Happy Detoxing!

I recently paged through Miss Dahl’s Voluptuous Delights, which as much fun to read as it was to drool over the recipes.  She’s a good writer (happens to be grand daughter to Roald Dahl of Charlie and The Chocolate Factory fame) and her words make you taste the food she describes.

She’s also a foodie and a transformed one.  She went from eating anything to enjoy herself to eating more carefully to take care of herself.

I was reading her recipes and then realized they were healthier than i thought.  Voluptuous health food?  She clearly loves food but she’s smart about it.  Sure she’ll use creme fraiche in a recipe but often only a tablespoon to add that creamy punch.  Also, a bunch of them are detox friendly.  Like the Scrambled Tofu breakfast.

Only she uses mushrooms which aren’t on the list but I thought you could handily substitute pretty much any veg.  Greens would be tasty, so would lightly fried grape tomatoes.  Maybe peppers and onions.  See I’m drooling again. Here’s the recipe:

Scrambled Tofu with Cumin and A Detox Friendly Veg to Take the Place of Shiitake Mushrooms

1 T of sesame oil

1 c of substituted veggies

salt and pepper

1/2 a block of firm tofu

1 heaping t of cumin

1 T of chopped fresh thyme plus extra to serve

Heat the oil in a pan and saute your veggies.  Season and set aside.  Add a little more oil to the pan and crumble the tofu in with your fingers and cook until it looks like scrambled eggs.  Stir in the cumin and thyme with a wooden spoon.  Make sure the tofu is coated evenly.

Spoon onto two plates and pour the veggies on top adding some more thyme if you please.

When you’re planning your next detox, I highly recommend getting your hands on Tosca Reno’s Eat Clean Cookbook.  She’s the 50-something chickie who’s often on the cover of Oxygen magazine becuase she’s married to the publisher and really hot.

She has a recipe for Exotic Spice Mix on page 190 that looks like this:

1 t cumin seeds

1 t black peppercorns

2 t sweet paprika

1 t cayenne pepper

1 t cinnamon

1 t coarse seasalt

1/2 t anise seeds

1/2 t ground nutmeg

You toast all the spices dry in a frying pan over medium heat for several minutes until the pan just begins to smoke.  Then let the mixture cool, pulse it in a spice mill until it’s finely ground and transfer to a jar and seal.

Doesn’t that look amazing?  And all detox friendly, you would never have a to have a boring flavoured meal ever again.  I don’t have a spice mill but thought I would just grind it by hand in a bowl.  It wouldn’t be fine, but I like a mouthful of surprise when I eat!

She uses it in a sweet potato salad.  That would definitely not be like Mom’s half-a-jar-of-mayo potato salad.  If you turfed the molasses and used a couple sliced prunes instead of raisins it would also be detox friendly.

Sometimes you have to get creative when you’re detoxing or 10 days can feel like a year.  Pick up Tosca Reno’s book and get inspired!

Honeybunny was bbqing our steaks last night and I decided after a couple of gin and tonics to start my detox this morning.  I normally detox in April and here it is May, and I still hadn’t started.  So I finally did a “what’s the worst that can happen??” and decided to jump in.  No regrets this morning.

Because although I hadn’t done a detox grocery shop, i wasn’t in bad shape.  I threw a butternut squash (sliced in half, de-seeded, coated wtih olive oil, salted and peppered) on the barbecue to roast while the steaks cooked.  The skin got charred a bit and the inside looks soft and sweet.  I’ll use it to make a pureed squash soup with onions, garlic and chicken stock – my favourite.

I had lots of brown rice in the cupboad so I set up the rice cooker and cooked up a bunch. 

I also threw a chopped onion and oil in a pot over heat until it started to soften, threw in garlic and 2 cups of chopped tomatoes and mashed them a bit while they cooked.  Then I added a can of chick peas.  I felt in the mood for italian flavour so I threw in some oregano, basil and thyme with salt and pepper.  I’ll eat it with the rice for lunch.

My mid-morning snack was a kale salad.  Last night I ripped up some kale into bite sized bits, added a handful of sunflower seeds and topped it with olive oil, salt and pepper and a squirt of lemon juice.  I wouldn’t normally put dressing on my salad when it’s going to sit overnight, but it works with kale.   The leaves are so chewy that it just softens them up and makes you feel less like a horse munching on hay.  Or a cow chewing her cud.

This morning i was stuck on breakfast (the detoxers dilemma!).  I didn’t have any unsweetened soy milk and i hate it anyways.  I thought, what the heck can i add to my oatmeal?  So i made this dead simple breakfast:

Oats & Berries

I put 1/2 cup of oatmeal in a bowl and added 1/2 cup of frozen berries (blue, black and raspeberry).  I added enough water to a little more than cover the food and microwaved it for 60 seconds.  I stirred and microwaved for another 30. 

The berries really add flavour and some sweetness to the oatmeal.  They also keep the oatmeal from being a tasteless gluey mess.  This is my new favourite breakfast.

Volume 1 of my detox cookbook has been selling regularly and I’m thrilled about that.  The idea that I might be helping people eat well on the detox so they don’t “fall off the wagon” makes me feel really good.  Good enough to keep working on recipes for a second volume! 

I figured out a way to make detox-friendly granola, which is exciting.  You may not think that one can get excited about granola but if you’re like me and enjoy an a.m. bowl of cereal (anytime really) you really miss it during the detox. 

And this granola is yummy.  I just miss the dried fruit, but I’ll live.  I also figured out a nutty salmon recipe that I plan to make all the time,  not just when I’m detoxing. 

I’ve been thinking about how to keep track of the 80% and 20% restrictions of the Wild Rose Detox.  I want to include more “eat as much of this as you want” recipes so we can spend less time figuring out how much 20% food can be squeezed into our daily diet. 

That’s one thing I love about the Wild Rose detox, i don’t have to quit coffee and there *are* foods i can eat as often as i like.

I’m also realizing that spring is upon us and it’s time to plan my own bi-annual detox.  I’m thinking of doing more juicing this time.  I’ll keep you posted.

Detoxers often shake in fear of the thought of breakfasts for 10 days while detoxing.  Because if you don’t like hot cereal your options are incredibly limited.  You can do an egg and some sauteed veggies. 

I do that and add a bit of brown rice too, getting it toasty in the pan.  Then I clear a spot in the middle and add the egg.  It’s not eggs and bacon with toast but it has some flavour and fills me up when I need a decent breakfast.

Lately in my non-detoxing life I’ve gotten into smoothies.  It took a long time because I could not find edible protein powder.  I find plain ol’ fruit and stuff does not stick with me.  My naturopath had told me that I need to eat more protein for breakfast and suggested smoothies but I had had a rough history with the chemical powders. 

One time I bought one of those huge containers of protein powder from some weighlifting store.  I don’t know why the containers need to be so huge, to make you feel like you’re already big and strong? 

It was some fruity flavour an it tasted like eating some Wild Berry Body Shop product.  It. Was. Awful.  And I couldn’t throw it away for the longest time because it had been so expensive and I kept hoping I would try it again and finally Honeybunny got sick of looking at it and did it for me. 

Then I heard about Whey Gourmet, people said it tasted much better.  So I played it safe and tried the Vanilla flavour with fruit and juice or milk and it worked.  Woohoo! I’d found a smoothie that tasted good!  When Whey Gourmet went on sale at my store I splurged on the chocolate and while it does taste a bit chemically, mixed with a ripe banana and milk, I can live with it, yum. 

I’ve gotten hooked on drinking smoothies before morning workouts because they digest fast and easy and I don’t “enjoy breakfast all over again” when I start working hard, like I do with solid breakfasts.  The other benefit to smoothies is that they’re much easier to consume in the car than other crumby crumbly breakfasts.  I just pour it into a big water bottle and drink it with a thick straw (thank you MacDonald’s).

So when I was getting ready to start this fall’s detox I thought, damn how will I get my smoothies fix??  Protein powder is definitely not on the food list.  So here’s what I did:

Detox Smoothie

Ingredients:  Half a carton of silken tofu, 1 cup of frozen berries, 1/2 cup of unsweetened soy milk, 1/2 cup of juice

Directions: Whir the ingredients up in a blender, pour it into a 3 cup container and enjoy.

The food lists say that you should drink juice and soy milk “in moderation”, whatever that is.  But I figure half cup of each is probably safe.  I found my detox smoothie stuck with me as well as my usual ones and tasted great.