Herbal Detox Tea

At The Robin's Nest, the sweetest little tea shop in the west, we carry Herbal Detox Tea, a nutritious tonic for your liver and digestive system.  The ingredients are all roots and the tea has an earthy flavor and light color.  Read about the health benefits of each of the 5 ingredients.

Dandelion root contains many anti-oxidant vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals. It is beneficial for the liver and the gastrointestinal tract.  It is a mild diuretic and stimulates the appetite.  Dandelion Root tea is also excellent for balancing blood sugar.

Eleuthero  is an adaptogen, a compound that helps the body copy with stress.  It boosts concentration as well as immunity and has been shown to increase the body's ability to burn fat during exercise. 

Burdock Root is an ancient blood purifier, and in purifying the blood it clears the complexion.  It can stimulate bile production and regenerate cells of the liver and reduce excessive levels or uric acid in the blood, wonderful antidotes to a rich diet.

Milk Thistle is know to protect and regenerate the liver, and it aids the liver in purifying the blood.  It also has a to fitting a calming effect on the gastrointestinal tract and stimulates digestion by helping to increase the production and secretion of bile and hydrochloric acid. 

Yellow Dock can help support the healthy function of your liver, kidneys, gallbladder, bladder and intestines by enhancing your body's efforts to purge itself of toxins that can overburden those organs. Yellow dock extracts toxins from your body's tissues and acts as both a laxative to stimulate bowel movements and a diuretic to increase urine flow--both of which help remove waste from your body. Yellow dock helps your body produce more bile to break down the fatty foods you eat and improves the flow of bile and other digestive juices. It also helps reduce the amount of irritation and inflammation in your bowels.   Yellow Dock also contains iron, vitamin C, phosphorus and calcium. 

Growing Sprouts in your Kitchen

If you spend a lot of time in your kitchen, you might enjoy growing your own sprouts.  Sprouts are very good for you, they are very alive when you eat them which makes them high in Prana, or vital life energy.  They are a good source of vitamins, minerals, amino acids, proteins and phytochemicals.  Bacteria can develop on sprouts and cause illness, so it is important to use clean equipment and to know what you are doing.  Here is a great site with lots of information as well as a store for supplies  sproutpeople.com. I buy my favorite sprouts at the farmers market, Sunflower Seed, as I am not successful growing them myself. Many small seed sprouts have given me challenge and I recommend new sprouters begin with the following easy sprouters, mung beans, garbanzo beans, cashews and almonds.  For cashews and almonds you are not trying to grow a long stem sprout, but only activating the plants spouting instinct with a short soak of 4-8 hours.  The nuts will then be soft and easily blendable, perfect for making milk, butter or cheese!  For the mung beans and garbanzo beans, after an initial overnight soak we will begin to rinse and drain the beans periodically (1-3 times per day) until the sprouts look like we want them, maybe 2-5 days.  Again, be careful as there is a risk of bacterial infection if something has gotten in to your mix and is germinating along side your sprouts.  Your bean sprouts can be eaten raw on your salads, or cooked or prepared in other ways.

My supplies:  jars and sprouting trays, mung beans, garbanzo beans, lentils, alfalfa seeds and radish seeds

dry radish seeds in tray

dry alfalfa seeds in sprouting tray

beans soaking in jars, seeds and lentils in trays for 8 hours

radish seeds 24 hour soak

alfalfa seeds 24 hour soak

mung bean after 24 hour soak

garbanzo bean after 24 hour soak

radish seed after 48 hour soak

alfalfa seeds after 48 hour soak

mung beans after 48 hour soak

garbanzo beans after 48 hour soak

Kitchari, the perfect food

Kitchari comes from India and means mixture, usually of rice with daal or mung bean and spices.  It is nourishing and also cleansing.  The mixture is very easily digested and provides a plant based complete protein.  It has been used in India in the tradition of Ayurveda as a cleansing or fasting food.  For a period of time only Kitchari is eaten and the body is provided time to cleanse the digestive system and eliminate systemic toxins. Ayurveda believes that all healing begins with the digestive tract, and kitchari can give it a much-needed rest from constantly processing different foods while providing essential nutrients. The blend of rice and mung beans offers an array of amino acids, the building blocks of protein. Its mixture of spices is believed to kindle the digestive fire, the Ayurvedic description for your innate digestive power, which can be weakened by poor food combinations.  Kitchari can be prepared in many different ways with many different varieties of ingredients.  And if I didn't convince you, try this, this, or this!

Brown Rice and Mung Bean turned yellow by Turmeric

1/2 cup mung beans soaked 2-8 hours
1/2 cup brown basmati rice rinsed
Ghee
1/2 onion chopped
1 clove garlic
Mustard Seed
Coriander Powder
Cumin Seed and Powder
Turmeric Powder
Water

Heat a tablespoon of ghee and add a teaspoon of mustard seeds, simmering until they begin to pop.  Then add onions, the rest of your spices, 1/2 teaspoon of each and garlic and sauté on medium for a few minutes.  Add beans and rice and sauté another 2-3 minutes.  Add about 6-8 cups of water and bring to a boil then reduce heat and cook covered for 45 minutes.  Salt and Pepper to taste when you are done.

Enough for three days!

What I Brought to Thanksgiving 2012

Holiday Salad

1/2 Red Cabbage sliced thin

Green Lettuce like herbal blend or arugula in equal proportion to cabbage

4 ounces Sunflower Seed Sprouts

2 cups Walnuts

2 pomegranate

2 stalks of celery diced
6 ounces diced candied pineapple

1 shallot diced

1 garlic clove dices

juice of 1 lemon

apple cider vinegar

olive oil

salt and pepper

Jalapeno Chile Relleno

Jalapenos

Jack Cheese

Flour

Egg

frying oil

To make this recipe you need to first roast your chiles.  After they have been roasted, cooled, peeled and seeded, you can stuff each with a small slice of jack cheese.  Now you prepare your eggs by beating the whites until stiff peaks form then gently folding in the egg yolks.  You get your oil hot and ready for frying, about 1 1/2 inches deep.  You take the chiles and gently coat them in flour, dip them in the egg until coated and drop into the oil.  Fry for 2-4 minutes on one side until golden and then flip to cook on the other side 1-3 minutes.  Dry over paper towels to absorb the oil.

Satsang from Swami Sivananda

Tonight I lead an event/class at my shop called Satsang.  We begin with silent meditation for about 20 minutes.  Next we sing the Daily Chants  which takes about 15 minutes.  If we are in the mood for song, we might sing some more chants at this time.  Next is the study or philosophy part of our gathering where we will either read form a book by Swami Sivananda such as Bliss Divine or Swami Vishnu Devananda or maybe from the Bhagava Gita.  If we are blessed with a wise soul, we might be given a lecture by a swami, doctor or scholar or on a special day enjoy a performance by a dancer or a musician.  At the conclusion we sing a variety of chants and prayers (maha-mrityunjaya, universal-prayer, arati)and then share in the prasad.  At the first of the recent Satsang gatherings I read from Swami Sivananda's Book, Bliss Divine, the chapter on Satsanga, and here are some of my favorite quotes.

Swami Sivananda 1187-1963

Swami Vishnudevananda

"If the dust is in the company of the wind, it soars high in the sky.  If it is in the company of muddy water, it becomes a dirty mire.  If the air is in the company of jasmine, it wafts a sweet aroma.  If it is in the company of offal, it disseminates a foul odour.  Put the parrot in the company of wicked men.  It will start abusing.  Put it in the company of Sadhus.  It will repeat, "Ram, Renga, Renga."  Even so, if one is in the company of a sage, he attains knowledge and soars high in the realm of eternal bliss."

"In the East, students are always advised to seek the company of holy men and listen to their conversation, thus fanning into flame a little spark of love and earnestness.  Only a strong soul can keep itself glowing in isolation, and the beginner will do well to take the opportunity that comes in his way to strengthen his own aspirations by communion with others who share them."

Lakshmi, Ganesha and Saraswati

"If you cannot get the Satsanga of living Mahatmas, you can take recourse to the study of books written by great souls.  When you study them you are in holy communion with the authors.  If you study Vivekachudamani, you are really having the Satsanga of Sankaracharya for the time being.  If you read Yogavasishtha, you are really having Satsanga with the sage Vasishtha.  In the evening, four or five people can assemble together in a temple or a quiet room and can study for one or two hours either the Gita or the Upanishads or the Ramayana or the Yogavasishtha or the Bhagavata.  Slowly your mind will be purified.  You will get the real taste for the spiritual path."

Oatmeal Stuffed Apple

Hers, with Walnuts

His, without!

Simple, but takes a little time.  I served them with a steak knife to make them easy to cut. The apple is so sweet, you could leave out the maple syrup and cut back on those calories.

1 cup oatmeal
2 cups water
Salt
Maple syrup
Raisins
Walnuts
2 Apples

Preheat the oven to 375* and put a small pot over medium flame.  Put oatmeal and water and pinch of salt in pot and cooked over medium low for ten minutes stirring occasionally.  Carefully cut the center out of an apple keeping the bottom of the apple intact so that the apple makes a small bowel. Place 6-10 raisins on the bottom of the apple and cover to half way with oatmeal. Drizzle in a small amount of maple syrup and fill the rest of the apple with oatmeal to overflowing.  I placed the two apples in a small cast iron skillet and set that in the oven at 375* for 15-20 minutes.  About half the oatmeal was leftover and I got it hot just before serving by placing it in the oven for a few minutes.  I nestled each apple over a scoop of oatmeal and garnished with a drizzle of maple syrup and some walnuts.

Layered Tortilla

I saw a photo for something like this, and thought it would be great for a party if much taller than I made and with more layers of different fillings like beans, guacamole and roasted chilies. But for just my husband and I, two layers of tortillas was more than enough, half was leftover.  I prepared three fillings, spinach, tomato and mushroom.

2 whole wheat tortillas
1 1/2 cups frozen spinach
1 1/2 cups mushrooms
2 cups tomatoes
2 shallots
3 cloves garlic
2 tabelspoons of Goat cheese
1/2 Avocado
Red Wine
Oregano
Butter
Olive oil
Salt and pepper

In a pot I heated a little oil and added the frozen spinach and cooked over low heat stirring occasionally until thawed.

In a small cast iron skillet I heated a little butter and added a diced shallot and after a few minutes added two diced cloves of garlic. Next I added about 6 chopped mushrooms and a dash of red wine and a teaspoon of dried oregano.  I sautéed for another few minutes and then set aside.

I the same oiled skillet I added a tabelspoon of olive oil and sautéed a diced clove of garlic and two cups of diced tomatoes for about 4 minutes then set aside.

I lined a baking sheet with parchment paper and set my first tortilla in the center.  I spread the spinach evenly over this tortilla and placed the second tortilla on top.  I spread the tomatoes evenly over this tortilla and then sprinkled the mushrooms on top, the diced avocado, goat cheese, salt and pepper.  I baked this in the oven at 350* for about 15 minutes.

Corn Fritters

Corn Fritters reheated Sunday for Brunch and served with poached egg and bread fresh from the farmers market

My Corn Fritters ready for sampling!

I found this lovely recipe on the internet while researching vegetarian food options for a Spanish Tapas party: corn-fritters-with-spicy-honey.  I made some adjustments to the recipe based on what I had available, and the results were delicious!  I did not make the dipping sauce in the link, but instead served the fritters with a little glob of mexican cream and put on the table our collection of hot sauces...Yum!

Roasted Corn fresh from the cob

3 ears of corn
1/4 cup rice milk
1 egg
1 shallot
2 cloves garlic
2 green onions
2 tbsp cilantro
1 1/2 cup corn bread mix
tsp salt
tsp sugar
1/2 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp pepper

I roasted three ears of sweet white corn in the oven at 400* for 15 minutes then let them cool.  Once cool I cut the corn kernels off the cobs.  I mixed together an egg and 1/4 cup of rice milk and added this to the corn and blended it all together in my blender.  While the corn was cooking I diced up one shallot, two cloves of garlic, two green onions and 2 tablespoons of cilantro and set this aside in a big mixing bowel.  Next I mixed together the dry ingredients.  I hade a great organic corn bread mix so I used 1 1/2 cups for the base and added to it a pinch of salt, a pinch of sugar, a dash of coriander and black pepper.  Now in to the mixing bowel of diced greens I poured the corn blend and the dry ingredients and gently folded it all together with a spatula.  In a small pot I heated 1/2 cup grapeseed oil and 3/4 cup of sesame seed oil and spooned the corn batter in to the hot oil.  I fried them 3-5 minutes and flipped once golden and fried another 3 minutes on the second side.  I set them to cool on paper towels, flipping occasionally as they cooled to degrease.

The batter ready for the frier

The first fritters in the oil

A few more minutes on the second side

A delicious Vegan Dinner

Fresh Juice...Get Some!

I love fresh juice.  I bought my juicer one day at Costco with my mom.  It was after college and I was living at home and starting to get interested in health.  It probably cost about $100 and ten years later it still works great.  When it breaks I will upgrade to a stainless steel model.  Although the simple taste of a juice with one or two ingredients is amazing, I usually blend quite a few things together, directed by what I have available.  I try to use mostly vegetable with only a little fruit for sweetness.










Here is a list of things I throw in the juicer:

Celery

Cucumbers

Carrots

Beets and their Greens

Kale, Spinach...

Lemons and Limes

Ginger

Jicama
Apples
Pears

30 Day Cleanse...Day by Day

Cabbage, Celery, Cucumber, Apple, Lemon

It has been a beautiful fall.  I have travelled, celebrated and experimented in the kitchen.  My mind is filled with memories, and my waistline is filled with a few extra inches of useless adipose.  I have kicked it up to high gear many times before...fasting, cleansing, dieting, whatever you want to call it, sometimes I need to balance the culinary celebrations with a little abstinence.  I began yesterday a new turn towards the better, the healthier, the lighter and the greener with a thirty day cleanse.  Maybe I'll extend to sixty days....if I had any wisdom or discipline I certainly would!

I believe in cleansing in tiers or levels.  For the first level I choose some things to eliminate from my diet and some things to emphasize.  I will eliminate all dairy and most meat to begin with as well as coffee.  I will increase my consumption of fresh juices mainly composed of vegetables.  I will also exercise daily in a few different ways.

The strata of veggie juices, beet, carrot, celery, ginger.

Day One Menu
Breakfast: green tea, veggie juice and a piece of whole wheat toast
Lunch: veggie juice, chips with hummus and olives
Dinner: daal, quinoa, cooked cabbage and salad
Activity: Dog walk, Bikrams Yoga, taught 2 yoga classes
Day One Observations: I bought a big cabbage at the farmers market on Sunday, and I am determined to use it every day till its finished.  Yesterday I made an amazing stuffed cabbage dish and tonight it was simple sauteed cabbage.

Beet Refresher with cucumber, celery apple and ginger.

Breakfast: veggie juiceDay Two Menu
Lunch: veggie juice, cucumber stuffed with tuna and lettuce salad
Dinner: cabbage pomegranate salad, daal, crispy potatoes, risotto, brownies
Activity: Dog walk, Bike Ride, Bikrams Yoga
Day Two Observations: Today I used the cabbage in a raw salad reminiscent of a salad I made a few weeks ago at my day of the dead dinner party.  I was going to go all vegan this week, but I was too busy at lunch to make a separate walnut based stuffing for my cucumber and tuna for my husband, so I ate some tuna.  At dinner I experienced the decadence of vegan food with crispy potatoes and warm comfort foods.  Apperently the excitement of the dinner effected me and I indulged in a recent craving, to make brownies from scratch ( with help from Smitten Kitchen) and cook them in a waffle iron...the results were amazing and I ate way too much!

A beautiful vegan dinner for fall.

I woke up feeling a little down on myself for my brownie extravaganza before bed.  But I had made such progress in the first few days with watching my food and upping my exercise, that I still saw a dip in the scale despite the brownies.  After all, its only the first tier, the time to focus on the positive, like not drinking coffee or eating any cheese!  Day three is busy with work which will help me to focus on others rather than on myself.  My mind has been wandering a lot today to espresso, so I have begun to flood my system with the Herbal Detox Tea that I sell at The Robin's Nest.  I probably drank about 6 cups of the tea throughout the day. I worked till late and my husband took me to dinner at Whisknladle.

Day Three Menu
Breakfast:  Green Tea,  smoothie
Lunch: Veggie Juice and Cabbage Pomegranate Salad
Afternoon Snack: rissotto, chips and olives
Dinner: Restaurant meal of small portion decadence...ravioli with short rib, Cesar salad (without Parmesan), eggplant and bacon flatbread and a piece of waffle brownie at home.
Activity: dog walk, massages, taught 2 yoga classes
Observations:  although dinner was decadent, I made choices such as eating less bread and butter than I usually would and being a picky customer, requesting things made without cheese.  The portions at the restaurant are small, and my husband and I like to share.

Too many strong flavors last night, I woke up with some angry bowels.  Gave myself a home enema, took a warm bath, and made a pledge to stick to health today!

Day 4 Menu
Breakfast: Green Tea, Veggie Juice
After Yoga Snack: Green Lemonade and a shot of wheatgrass at Juice Kaboose
Lunch: Wheat wrap with leftover daal and risotto and sunflower seed sprouts
Snack: Humus, Chips, Walnuts and Olives
Dinner:  Veggies and Rice Noodles
Activity: Dog walk, Bikrams yoga, taught 1 yoga class
Observations: A busy morning with juices throughout and then three small meals at late times in the day, 2, 5 and 8:30.  We went to the movies and ate an unusual late meal at the mall, small bowels of noodles at a place named noodles!  Today was another typical first tier day, living healthy but still living in this world!

Preparing "Green Lemonade" with professional juicer

Juice Kaboose has been the place in La Jolla to get fresh
juices, wheatgrass, smoothies and sandwhiches for years!

Photo by Lou Mora

I'm feeling great today.  I'm proud of myself for resisting a smoky cup of espresso and for drinking so many veggies this week!  I'm feeling lighter and have seen the scale dip down three pounds this week!  With the weekend upon me and Thanksgiving next week, I'm just going to maintain this first tier of my cleanse for a while.  This entails eliminating all coffee and all dairy from my diet (1% dairy allowance) and most meat from my diet (3% meat allowance) and increasing into my diet freshly prepared juices, raw fruits and veggies, herbal teas, and general home made, whole foods goodness!

Day 5 Menu
Breakfast: green tea and Fresh Juice
Lunch: veggie juice, detox tea
Snack:  Hummus, Pitta Chips, Olives and Walnuts
Dinner:  Home made sausage and mushroom ravioli with tomato sauce and green salad

Activity: dog walk, massage, Sivananda Yoga Series, 1/2 mile open ocean swim and sunset surf session!

I'm having a lot of fun keeping this food journal with photos and insights from my cleanse.  My husband asked me a few days ago what my intentions were by doing this, I said to loose weight by establishing positive habits.  I am transforming my tendencies towards food by directing my actions conscientiously.  Ad I am sustaining the practice for a period of time to encourage more pervasive results.  Well, day six I woke up and looked out my window and there was a huge bright double rainbow stretching across the sky!  I went straight to Bikram's Yoga and skipped morning juice.  My husband brought me lunch at work, and if you live in La Jolla and haven't tried the Promiscuous Fork yer, go there!  Dinner was amazing, deep frying may not be the "cleanse" way to go...but it gives that bit if decadence to a meal to make a vegan dinner truly satisfying!

Day Six Menu
Breakfast: Green Tea
Lunch: Fresh Juice and Hippie Burger from The Promiscuous Fork
Dinner: Corn Fritters, Layered Tortilla, butter leaf lettuce, rice
Activity: Bikrams Yoga

I love Sundays!  Especially Sundays when you wake up before the sun and hear the last drops of rain dripping down before the start of a sunny but blustery day.  I can feel my energy becoming more clear and sparkly.  I sat for meditation 30 minutes, first time since I had begun the cleanse.  Then some glorious early morning times with my dogs on the beach.  Back at home I treated my husband to s splendid Sunday breakfast in bed.  The farmer's market is always a mandatory Sunday morning activity.  At lunch I went a little crazy with last nights delicious corn fritters and with the parents coming to dinner tonight, today is a day of healthy luscious soaking in of life!  I also let my self slip today and enjoyed an espresso in the afternoon.

Day 7 Menu
Breakfast:  veggie juice, Oatmeal Stuffed Apple
Lunch: fitters, poached egg, toast, salad
Dinner: salad with avocado, pomegranate, walnut, pear and roasted squash seeds, Vegetarian Lasagna, butternut squash and cooked chard and spinach.

Enough Juice to power me through 3 Yoga Classes!
Cucumber, Celery, Beet and Greens, Apple, Lime and Ginger

Monday morning finds me on the second day of my moon cycle (just to share with the world way too much information) and I feel freakin awesome.  I did not experience any of the usual emotional dip the occurs, I haven't had any cramps or fatigue or bloating.  But I'm still respecting my time and putting strenuous exercise on hold for a few days and trying to chill.  The weather is beautiful, everyone is excited for Thanksgiving, and the surf is picking up!

Mixing up my Monkey Smoothie, Banana, Sunflower Seed Butter, Cacao, Bee Pollen, Hemp Powder and Rice Milk

Day 8 Menu
Breakfast: Green Tea, Monkey Smoothie
Lunch: Veggie Juice, hummus with pitta chips and olives and small bowel of leftover pasta and squash
Dinner:  Veggie Fried Rice, Garlic Potatoes and Salad
Activity:  Dog walk, taught two yoga classes

Fried Rice, Potatoes and Salad for Dinner

Sticking to yummy vegetarian food today.  Back to Bikram's yoga after a few days rest.  For lunch my husband and I got food to go from our favorite local eatery, The Promiscuous Fork.  They have a hot sandwich on dark bread with a bean patty, a portobello mushroom, sprouts and a pesto sauce.  It is delicious.  It's the second one I have had on this cleanse, the first being on Saturday.  Sure beats celery juice!

Day 9 Menu

Breakfast:  Smoothie

Lunch: Veggie Juice and Hippie Burger
Snack: olives, pitta chips and hummus

Dinner: Rice, stir fry veggies and salad
Dessert: chocolate and oranges
Activity: Dog Walk, Bikrams Yoga

Timing the stir-fry to finish right with the rice

Healthy Dinner for Two

I woke up a little grumpy, my mood reflecting the grey morning after so many mornings of sunshine.  But I was pleasently surprised to step on the scale and finally see the number on my license!  I've reached the first goal of my cleanse, down the extra 5!  What a great way to go into Thanksgiving tomorrow.  I'm going to keep it purely vegan again today like yesterday and with my new cycle beginning, I'm ready to step up the exercise a notch as well!  Hmmmmmm....or maybe some friends will have us over and I'll eat chicken and drink too much..here's to the holidays!

Day 10 Menu

This was so delicious I made it for breakfast and lunch!

Breakfast: Veggie juice and slices of tomato with avocado and walnut
Lunch:  more tomato slices with avocado and walnut.
Dinner:  Chicken Tacos and fru fru drinks
Activity: Dog Walk, taught two yoga classes and went surfing!

Thanksgiving...it's not just one day!  For four days I let loose a little, allowing myself a daily coffee and eating from the more decadent food groups of bread, meat, cheese and sugar!  And I coupled the decadence with a step down in activity and a step up in lounging with my family and preparing delicious meals!  I ate very healthy, but some portion sizes too big and liquid calories way too much.  I felt my energy drop, my sleeping at night become more restless and some minor headaches made their way into my life.

Day 11 Menu
Breakfast: half a veggie burrito from Rigobertos rice, beans, lettuce, guacamole and salsa in a flour tortilla
Lunch:  Hummus, veggies and olives
Dinner: salad, turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, gravy, chile relleno.
Activity:  Dog walk, surfing

Day 12 Menu
Breakfast: French toast and egg
Lunch:  Hmmm?
Dinner:  pizza and salad and cupcakes!

Birds in a Nest...holiday breakfast!

Day 13 Menu
Breakfast:  veggie juice
Lunch:  half a veggie burrito from Rigobertos unofficialyl known as "Los Dos"
Dinner: salmon, salad, broccoli potatoes
Activity: Dog walk

Day 14 Menu
Breakfast: Toast and juice
Lunch:  Huevos Rancheros
Dinner: wheat pasta with roasted veggies and salad
Activity: Dog walk

Back on Track!  Tommy keeps me moving!

It's Monday, I'm still down three pounds from my starting weight, no longer five...But I'm ready to kick it back in to gear.  Today I am planning to make vegan, all plant based foods for me.  In addition I will kick the coffee habit (again) as well as add bread products to my no list as well as sugary sweets and perhaps it will be a day of prohibition...or at least moderation.  With day 15 I am entering the second tier of my cleanse defined as vegan foods prepared at home and with the elimination of bread, sweets, coffee and alcohol.  It also begins the Kitchari Cleanse, an Ayurvedic way of cleansing the body I have used many times in the past.  I have added whole apples in the morning with sunflower seed butter as I felt I wasn't getting enough protein or enough fiber with juicing.  At lunch I kept up my favorite snack this month of hummus and olives but replaced chips with raw veggies.

Day 15 Menu
Breakfast: Green Drink, small apple with sunflower seed butter
Lunch:  Hummus with raw veggies and olives
Dinner:  Kitchari with arugula and avocado
Activity: Dog Walk, Bikrams Yoga


Its interesting to begin a draft of my post and then return to it later in the day.  Today I became weak at the bank (but remained strong like steel the rest of the day).  I knew I shouldn't, but I served myself a cup of free coffee and ate a tiny chocolate chip cookie they serve up every day from a toaster oven in the break room!  So let's consider coffee...what's the big deal?  It tastes delicious and gives me a bolt of energy.  It's fun to go to coffee shops and order up a brew.  But with coffee comes cream and sugar, trash in the form of starbucks cups and lids and cozies not to mention the cost, $2-$8 per serving can add up on the road.  At the bank I only allowed myself the coffee black, but there is still the remnant of a cup in the holder of my car...And that energy perk of coffee?  I have learned I can appreciate it in a small dose mid-morning or mid-day on a full stomach.  But coffee first thing in the morning leaves me trembling, sweating and emotionally unstable.  So we'll try again tomorrow to abstain from the bean!

Flowers on my morning walk.

Coastal Rose

I was super disciplined yesterday, and today I'm down 7 pounds from my start two weeks ago!  I'm officially 1 pound under the weight on my license instead of 6 pounds over!  And I can see the bulge of blubber around my belly shrinking!  Today I have the day off, so plenty of time to exercise.  But I need to keep myself busy so I don't resort to snacking!  Not much effort is needed for food preperation today as I will be mostly eating whole foods and I made enough kitchari yesterday to last through the day.  I made another interesting pledge to myself, to not spend any money during my day off.  Instead of going to yoga class at a studio, I enjoyed my town.  I rode my bike to the cove and did exercises on the grass like I use to do with my dad when he was training me for track and field, sprints, bounds, cross steps, high knees and butt kicks and then down on the mat for sit-ups and leg lifts.  It was beautiful breaking a sweat in the breezy ocean air.  I brought my stuff to go swimming too, but it looked pretty cold.  I rode my bike back home and used a hula hoop I picked up recently at a friends moving sale for ten minutes to shape up the middle!  Two hours of free fun!

Day 16 Menu
Breakfast:  Green Juice, Apple with sunflower seed butter
Lunch: Kitchari with arugula and avocado
Dinner: Hummus with raw veggies and olives, Kitchari with arugula and zucchini
Activity: Dog Walk, circuit training, bike ride

Kitchari with Arugula and Zucchini

Woke up sore from my cross-training workout. But feeling tight and strong.  Today was another successful day of dwelling in the second tier, the land of plant based, gluten free, sugar free food...the land of Kitchari!

Day 17 Menu
Breakfast:  green tea, green juice and 1/2 apple with sunflower seed butter
Lunch:  veggie juice and raw green salad with walnuts
Dinner: kitchari with arugula and spinach and some kale chips
Activity:  dog walk, Bikrams Yoga, bike ride, taught 2 yoga classes

Dinner, Kitchari stuffed Bell Peppers with cheese and salsa
Tomato for me and bruschetta for my man

My actions were strong yesterday, but my mind weak.  Yoga felt impossible and although I didnt feel hungry, I was craving yummy things.  Today I feel more sore than yesterday from Tuesday's cross training and I am dealing with some familiar pain from my past in my feet when I run.  Luckinly my sweetheart of a husband was happy to give me a foot rub early this morning and I'm feeling better.  But I'm going to keep the activity to a minimum and maybe get a massage...the massage didn't happen, and upon indulging during a late morning visit to Trader Joe's that left me feeling jittery and gross, I need to put extra attention into making my cleansing dinner something special.  Healthy and delicious is the balance I am after!

Day 18 Menu
Breakfast:  Green Drink, apple with sunflower seed butter
Lunch: Tofu spring rolls with peanut sauce, chili lime cashews, iced coffee!
Dinner:  Hummus, Tomato and avocado with Kitchari stuffed bell peppers
Activity:  Dog walk, bike ride and taught yoga

After eating so much store-bought Hummus lately, I finally made some from scratch, delicious!

Lunch time found me making some poor, but not awful, decisions.

Day 19

Another night of long and deep sleep, awoke with the excited energy of a surfer wanting to get down to see the swell.  The waves are big, but with the full moon the tides are extreme so we'll see if I discover a good window to surf.  My energy feels a bit low today and I'm wanting to clean my house and make things lighter and brighter.

Day 19 Menu

Breakfast:  tea, green drink, small bowl of lentil Kitchari

Lunch:  Tomatoes with hummus and kitchari

Dinner:  Sushi!  Miso, rice, vegetable spring rolls, peppers stuffed with crab and salmon

Activity:  Dog walk, Housework, surfed big cold surf!

Woke up at went to early morning Bikrams Yoga, assisted by smoothies and juices.  The cleanse is basically back to tier one for the weekend, healthy choices but more indulgent and often prepared for commerce (technical way of saying, eating out).  Saturday was a busy day of work, so I ate what I could when I could and enjoyed an impromptu invitation to a friends thanksgiving and Christmas tree dinner party.  Sunday was family day and I made whole wheat ravioli stuffed with pumpkin or stuffed with turkey sausage and mushroom.  We also ate roasted Brussels sprouts and salad. My girlfriend brought over a chocolate pecan pie she had made.

Day 20 Menu
Breakfast:  Tea, Smoothie, green juice after yoga
Lunch : 1/2 veggie burrito
Snack:  hummus with olives and pea crisps
Diner: sweet potato, stuffing, potatoes and gravy, salad, cranberry sauce
Activity:  Bikrams Yoga, Massages

Day 21 Menu
Breakfast: green drink smoothie
Lunch: Indian vegetarian buffet!
Dinner: ravioli family dinner with roasted brussel sprouts, salad and chocolate pecan pie!
Activity: dog walk

Over the weekend four different times I ate way to much.  Sunday night my belly was splitting and my body had stored in little subcutaneous pockets all the weight I had kicked out of town over the last two weeks.  My over indulgence is disappointing, but that is why I choose the holidays for a little focused cleansing.  There are so many opportunities to indulge this season, I think my routine is becoming better defined as 5 days on and 2 days off, let's hear it for the next five days on!  Game On!


Day 22
The weekend was beautiful fun with friends and family, and now on Monday I'm ready to get disciplined again and regain my lost progress!  I grew a beautiful bunch of sprouts over the last few days, so I'm using them as a base to inspire and support me to keep the week plant based. I'm retuning to my second tier of cleansing, staying away from all types of bread, meat, dairy and instead trying to increase my consumption of raw food, Kitchari and small portion sizes.

Day 22 Menu
Breakfast:  Green Drink, a few brussel sprouts and garbanzo sprouts
Lunch:  Sliced tomatos and avocados with hummus, sprouts and olives
Dinner:  Lentil Kitchari and green salad
Activity:  Dog walk, taught 2 yoga

Day 23 Menu
Breakfast:  Green Drink
Lunch: Sprout Salad
Dinner: Kitchari with roasted mushrooms and brussels sprouts and salad...and cookies!

Activity: Dog Walk, Bikrams Yoga, taught yoga

I am into the final week of my cleanse.  My skin is clearer and brighter than I've ever seen, I'm sleeping great, my energy and mood are up and I haven't been too strict with myself, so I'm happy to continue and don't feel denied or bored by my meals.  I'm feeling strong and its mid-week so I think it's perfect time to lick it up to tier three for a day or two.  Tier three is inspired by a cleanse I did a few years ago The Cleanse of Santa Fe.  This was a kit I bought that contained an assortment of supplements, herbs and teas and came with detailed instructions for what to eat and other activities to do.  Today is a Greens Only day.  These days provide maximum purification focusing on the colon, skin and lungs.  Chlorophyll cleanses the colon and the blood and provides prana, or vital energy, to the body, connecting us closely to the sun.  These foods are light, giving the digestive system a rest while providing maximum nutrition.  I'm also introducing the The Master Cleanse into my day.  I began cleansing with a 3 day Master Cleanse, but find it to acidic for my teeth and so only drink it in moderation and substitute honey for maple syrup.

Day 24 Menu
Breakfast: Juice: celery, cucumber, lime, cilantro and ginger and bowl of roasted brussels sprouts
Lunch: salad
Dinner: dinner
Activity: long dog walk, taught 2 yoga classes

The first two weeks of my cleanse I saw my excess weight drop away.  The last week my weight has stayed pretty stable at my regular "license" weight and I haven't seen my weight dip below that.  My tummy is getting a bit flatter and my energy level has been high.  I went on a great walk yesterday with my dog and had tons of fun teaching yoga in the evening.  Today I'm going to stick to teir three, Green Foods only and maybe strive for all raw foods....  It was a cold and gloomy day, and in the evening my body was screaming for something warm, so I skipped the raw food and made a beautiful zucchini chowder.

Day 25 Menu
Breakfast: green apple and kiwi slices
Lunch: salad and Master Cleanse
Dinner: zucchini chowder
Activity: Dog Walk, taught yoga

Today I find my weight has dipped a pound or two from my green days.  I think I will continue with one more day of raw greens, maybe sticking to juice and master cleanse depending how I feel...Very interesting day, drinking lots of fluids, juice, master cleanse, Kombucha but no solid food, we'll call this tier four, juice fast.  Energy was very steady and strong with no feelings of hunger or craving.  In the evening a friend came over with Indian food, I served my guests and partook of a small bowel of salad with a little noodles and Indian sauciness drizzled on top.

Day 26 Menu
Breakfast: Tea, Green Drink
Lunch: Veggie Juice and Master Cleanse
Dinner: lettuce, avocado, assortment of sprouts, whole wheat noodles, spoon of saag, spoon of curry
Activity:  Bikrams Yoga

These 30 days are flying by. I'm pretty surprised on these last few days of consuming so very little to see my weight stay pretty stable.  It would be great if I could be measuring my body fat index or percentage because I think I would see more progress there, so I have to go by feel, and it feels like I'm thinner, firmer and my skin looks great!  Bottom line, my body likes that magic number printed on my license and I pretty much need to starve myself and do a lot of exercise for an extended period of time to see my weight dip lower than that.  At the beginning of my cleanse my portion sizes were still to large and throughout the cleanse I have cheated a bit in the way of liquid calories, a subject I will not go into detail about on this public blog!  Day 27 I woke up early and went to a friends house for prayer and meditation in honor of his birthday,a perfect tier four activity!  Then the remainder of the day was spent at the Saturday Open House at my tea shop, The Robin's Nest. Usually my husband will bring me some lunch to share, like a vegetarian burrito or my favorite hippy sand which. He's a sweetheart and picked me up a green lemonade from the Juice Kaboose.  I woke up with a pinched nerve in my neck and by the afternoon I was feeling irritable, bored and hungry!  So I knew that like yesterday I couldn't keep up the liquids for the whole day.  Yesterday's dinner was very small but tonight I gave myself a full dinner plate and even had a few bites of my husband's grass fed steak and two pieces of chocolate!

Day 27 Menu

Breakfast:  veggie juice

Lunch: veggie juice and master cleanse

Dinner: salad, roasted brussels sprouts, mushroom, potatoes, fennel and peas, a few small bites of steak and some chocolates!

Day 28

I'm really excited about today.  I have a few guests coming to my house for Healthy Cooking Class.  I'm going to share many of the recipes I have been utilizing throughout my cleanse.

Day 28 Menu

Breakfast:  Tea and Green Juice

Lunch: beet-and-cashew-cheese-stack, Kitchari, mung-bean-coconut-soup, Raw Hummus, Vegan Chocolate Cream Pie

Dinner:  Taco with smear of Kitchari, guacamole, sprouts and diced tomatoes

Activity:  work!

When not drinking celery juice, this chef loves fresh pasta!

Woke up hungry!  Still some problems with a pinched nerve in my neck and almost a month of cleansing found me raiding the cooking class leftovers!  Definitely ate more today than I have in awhile, and definitely ate too much at dinner, but the pasta was so wonderfully chewy...it is important to come out of your cleanse gradually, just like we started the cleanse. If you go straight from juicing to a hamburger and fries, you'll get sick!  So today is back to tier two, vegan foods prepared at home with love and care.  Although I'm at the "end" of my cleanse, I will it be jumping back to any bad habits quickly. I will continue to eat a healthy, organic, plant-based diet of mostly home made food.  My ability to feed myself and my family well is my greatest Dharma!

Day 29 Menu

Breakfast:  Tea, smoothie and some roasted veggies

Lunch: Mung bean coconut soup with spicy cashews, avocado and lime

Dinner: pasta primavera, salad, chocolate

Activity: Dog walk, taught yoga and went surfing

Day 30 Menu

Breakfast: tea and green juice

Lunch: leftover pasta

Dinner: Chile relleno de arroz with kidney beans and salad

Activity: Long dog walk and surfing!

Cleanse Summary

I've made it!  Not too difficult because I didn't give myself strict rules. I allowed myself to slowly craft the cleanse according to what I felt ready for each day. My overall weight loss is 6 pounds and I'm sure my body fat percentage has gone down a few points.  Most importantly, I have established a lot of positive habits and have come up with some new creative ways to eat healthy.

I organized the cleanse into tiers.

Tier One is the 5% diet from Forks Over Knives.  This is a mostly vegan diet, many days it was a vegan diet, allowing for a tiny bit of meat for flavor but focussing on organic plant based foods and an elimination of coffee and dairy from the diet.  I also began substituting meals with fresh juices, in tier one I had a juice every morning for breakfast.

Tier Two eliminates all meat, bread and sweets and begins replacing meals with Kitchari, our  Himalayan mono-diet.

Tier Three is Greens Only, meaning only green vegetables and juices are consumed, and as much as possible, raw.

Tier Four is liquids only, green juices and master cleanse. I didn't do any complete tier four days, I ended up having a light dinner on these days.