4 week Whole Food Challenge Starts Monday!

The goal for this challenge is to get rid of the foods that way me down. I will be following these rules Monday through Friday for each of the next 4 weeks. No Dairy, No wheat, No sugar, No red meat, no alcohol. I'm free to eat and drink as I wish on Saturdays and Sundays.

Each of the weeks begins with Monday as being a Cleanse Day. On Monday, my only food will the juice that I will make in our juicer that morning. I'll be making enough juice to last all day long.

For Tuesday through Friday my

menu each day looks like this:

6-9am: Breakfast (Smoothie or Juice)

9-11am: snack 

Noon Lunch: Salad or soup

3-4: snack (smoothie or veggies)

5-6pm: Dinner (Salad, grain bowl, chicken or fish)

6-7pm: Dessert a couple of times during week

pm or later: Chamomile Herbal Tea 

I will be posting the recipes and pictures of all of the meals and snacks as I am enjoying them.

For those of you who wish to follow along with me, I am including the list of ingredients you'll need for the week are down below the picture.

For Monday's Cleanse juice:

3 Cucumbers

2 bunches of celery

1 bunch of flat leaf parsley

3 green apples

3 lemons

2 fennel bulbs

1 bunch Rainbow Chard

For the snacks and meals we'll be having Tuesday through Friday:

9 carrots

3 oranges

10 strawberries

1/2 inch ginger

Flaxseed crackers (or any other gluten free cracker made with whole ingredients)

Pint Medjool Dates

bunch of bananas

2 sweet potatoes

2 red bell peppers

4 red beets

3 sweet apples

2 cups Raw Almonds

3 Zuchinnis

Tahini 

5 lemons

garlic head

sea salt

Romain lettuce

cherry tomatos

Raw Pecan halves

Flaxseed oil

Butternut squash

a few large yellow onions

a few avocados

1 quart of vegetable broth (organic)

Coconut oil (cold pressed in solid form)

2 bunches spinach

Light Agave necatr

Raw walnuts

Raw Cacao powder

Quinoa

Basil leaves

pine nuts

Parsley

celery

sliced mushrooms

red onion

dried Lentils

Red cabbage

Raw oats (not instant variety)

Raw honey

Veganaise

Raw cashews

Chicken breast

wild boneless salmon steak (about 6-8 oz)

artichoke hearts

dried split peas

fennel bulb

1 golden beet

1 leek

fresh Thyme

Chamomile herbal tea bags (one for each night)

French Lentil Salad

A new dish for me, and a keeper! I found this one in Martha Stewart's 2013 Detox program.

The recipe serves 4, yet only uses 1 tablespoon of olive oil to help make the dressing. This is a superfood salad with a fresh crispness that comes from the crunch of the red cabbage, the chopped roasted almonds give a wonderful nutty flavor, and red pepper flakes and a little spicy kick. I think you'll love it as much as I do! It takes a bit of time to prepare, so make a big batch. This salad will keep in then fridge for 3 days.

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 red onion, finely diced

1 carrot finely diced

1 stalk celery, finely diced

1 cup lentils, rinsed

coarse salt and fresh ground pepper

1 Tbsp lemon juice

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

1/2 cup toasted almonds, roughly chopped

1 cup shredded red cabbage

1 cup chopped fresh herbs, such as parsley

Directions:

1. In a medium saucepan, heat 1 Tbsp oil over medium heat.  Add onion, carrot, and celery and cook until tender, about 6 minutes.  Add lentils and cover with 2 inches of water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes until lentils are tender.  Drain and season with salt and pepper.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together remaining oil, lemon juice, and red pepper flakes. Season with salt. Add lentils mixture, almonds, cabbage, and herbs. Toss to combine.  Add more lemon juice and/or salt to taste.

Warm Quinoa-Avocado Salad with Sautéed Vegetables

Staying true to my quest for no-dairy and low gluten meals - this concoction is a winner! Super healthy and not needing any dressing, this dish will have you smiling with the first bite. The fresh parsley and basil-coated avocado bits are the star of this meal. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did tonight!

Serves 1

1 cup Quinoa
A few leaves of fresh basil, chopped
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
1/4 of a red bell pepper, chopped
1 stalk of celery, chopped
1/2 cup chopped mushrooms
1 avocado, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt and Pepper to taste.

Cook Quinoa according to package directions. You will end up with 4 servings of Quinoa after it is cooked, but you will use only 1/4 of the batch for this recipe. Save the rest in your fridge for use over the next few days. keeps well in fridge.

Put chopped avocado, chopped parsley, and chopped basil leaves in a small bowl and mix lightly until avocado is "dressed" with the herbs.

While Quinoa is cooking, sauté celery, mushrooms, and red pepper in 1 Tablespoon of olive oil in a frying pan. Sauté until soft.

Put 1/4 of the batch of Quinoa on a plate and top with sautéed vegetables, and then top with Avocado mixture.

Enjoy!

Quinoa over Salad dressed with a Dijon-Tahini dressing

This was dinner tonight and it is so healthy and satisfying! I love eating this while the Quinoa is still warm....it makes for a comforting dish. The heat from the dressing adds a wonderful spiciness as well.

1 cup cooked Quinoa
2 cups baby spinach/spring greens mix
a few cherry tomatoes

Dressing:

2 tbsp soy sauce - low sodium
1 clove garlic
1/4 cup chopped white onion
1/3 cup Tahini
1/8 tsp ground pepper
1/4 cup dijon mustard
2/3 cup water

Put dressing ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth

To Serve:


Fill plate with salad greens. Top with warm Quinoa, and then pour dressing on top to taste. Place a few cherry tomatoes on top. Enjoy!

Fill Me Up All Morning Smoothie

It's Easter morning and I'm going to stay away from all of that Easter candy with the help of this awesome smoothie. It's very filling, and delicious!

1 cup water
2 cups baby spinach
1 cup kale
1/2 cup celery
1/2 apple
1 pear
1/2 frozen banana
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 cups ice

blend away and sip all morning.

Green Blueberry Smoothie

This refreshing smoothie woke me up this morning! It was delicious!

2 cups water
1 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen)
1 Fuji apple
1 1/2 cups kale
1 stalk of celery
2 tablespoons Chia seed Gel
Fresh squeezed lemon juice to taste
2 cups ice

Mexican Fiesta Smoothie

The avocado smoothes out the stronger flavors of the Lime juice, Red Bell pepper, and cayenne pepper. I'm sure that a shot of Tequila would go nicely in here as well, but I am drinking it for breakfast after all.

2 cups water
1/2 avocado
1/2 cup red bell pepper
1/2 cup cucumber
2 tomatoes
1 1/2 cup baby spinach
1/2 cup frozen mango chunks
2 Tbsp lime juice
pinch cayenne pepper
pinch sea sal
2 cups ice

Blend away to your Fiesta!