Spring Cleaning Day II: Baked Grapefruit, Kitchari, Green Smoothie, Buddha Bowl (II)

Spice mix- Kitchari

Well look at that! You are one day into the Spring Cleaning Cleanse. Congratulations! Tomorrow we will dig a bit deeper to focus on foods that really help to clear out all those bad toxins we've built up. And don't worry, I have even more delicious recipes for you to try. Baked grapefruit (one of my favorites!), another green smoothie, kitchari (bet you haven't heard of that one!) and another buddha bowl. How does that sound? Pretty good I hope!

Alright, so you may be feeling a bit off today, especially if you typically drink caffeine or eat a lot of sweet/salty foods. But don't worry, once your body adjusts you will find that you have a lot more energy, and your body will feel much healthier. As I talked about yesterday, part of a cleanse is ridding your body of bad toxins. "What exactly are toxins?" you might ask. Toxins are "chemicals or poisons that are known to have harmful effects on the body". These toxins come from a variety of sources including the food we eat, our water sources, the air, and chemicals involved in the preparation/processing of our foods. Although our body does have a natural way of detoxifying, the typical American diet puts so much stress on this system, that it is no longer able to function efficiently. By providing our body with a little extra support, we can help boost our system's detoxifying effects.

The typical American diet contains a truck-load of highly processed foods. From the cereal we eat in the morning to the bag of chips we grab as an afternoon snack, our meals are chock-full of preservatives, food dyes and chemicals. Processed foods are among the most common contributors to toxic build-up in our bodies. When we are no longer able to detoxify efficiently, we feel sluggish, congested, and irritable. We may catch colds frequently, or have more noticeable digestive problems, By decreasing (or better yet, eliminating) the processed foods we eat, we can help reduce the burden we put on our detoxifying system, allowing it to function better and make us feel healthier.

The goal of this spring cleanse is to allow you to see the quick benefits of eliminating processed foods from your diet. While you don't have to follow this exactly or continue after it is complete, I hope this provides you with a bit more insight into how good your body can feel when you are eating whole, real foods. Although this is not a traditional cleanse, I have tried to add in a few cleansing foods, while also making sure that all the recipes contain only real, whole ingredients, both of these aspects will help to reverse the effects of toxin overload.

Well hopefully this gives you a better understanding about why detoxifying is important.... I realized that I didn't write too much yesterday about this, and thought it would be helpful to know more. Alrighty, now on to the best part.... the food! Here are the recipes for day II:

Breakfast: Baked Grapefruit and (leftover) Oatmeal
- 1 grapefruit, sliced in half
- cinnamon 
- leftover oatmeal: prepare to your fancy. Note: no brown sugar (processed!), use honey, agave nectar, molasses, etc...
~ Preheat oven to 375 F. Sprinkle cinnamon over Grapefruit halves and bake on baking sheet for 20 minutes. Serve while hot.

Lunch: Kitchari
Now this takes a little explaining.... Kitchari is an Ayurvedic staple known for its cleansing qualities. It is easily digestible and helps rid the body of pesticides and insecticides. Many Ayurvedic cleanses require you to eat Kitchari for 2 - 3 meals each day. By having a mono-diet using few digestive enzymes, it allows your digestive system take a little 'break', and reboot your detoxifying system. The spices also are important anti-inflammatory agents.

This recipe comes from my mom's good friend, Kate Towell. Kate, an Ayurveda and Holistic Wellness Counselor, has created  a wonderful Ayurvedic spring cleanse. Check out her website to learn more about her work!

Kitchari- Ayurvedic cleansing staple

Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup brown basmati rice, wash and soak overnight
- 1 cup yellow split mung dal (golden lentils work well too), wash and soak overnight
- 5-6 cups of water
- 2 cups of vegetables: pictured here: green beans, kale, carrots, zucchini- chopped
- 1.5 Tbsp ghee (clarified butter)
- 1 tsp of the following: black mustard seeds, cumin, turmeric
- 1/2 tsp of the following: coriander, fennel, fenugreek
*** note: all of these spices you should be able to find in bulk at most grocery stores/co-ops

Directions:





Soak the yellow split mung beans overnight. They will expand quite a bit!

Soak the brown basmati rice overnight.












Wash and chop all the vegetables and set aside.

In a saucepan, heat the ghee over medium heat.
Add the spices and saute for 1-2 minutes. You will soon begin to smell the lovely aromas of this delicious spice mix!

Add the rice and mung beans and saute for 3-5 minutes, or until fragrant. Add the vegetables and cook for another few minutes. Stir in 5-6 cups of water and bring to boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to medium-low and cook for 30-45 minutes, until rice/beans are tender. The consistency should be similar to a very creamy risotto. As is, the taste will be somewhat bland. If you would like, add add a bit more cumin and turmeric until you achieve the taste of your pleasing. You can also add a touch of fresh ginger to the spice mix for additional flavor. Serve over a bed of fresh greens.

Green Smoothie

Snack: Green smoothie # 2
- A very large handful of spinach
- 7-8 strawberries
- 1 pear
- 1 stalk of celery
- 2 oranges
- 3 pieces of pineapple
- 1/4 cup of coconut water
- Ice
~Blend together until smooth.







Dinner: Buddha Bowl
- Eat leftover buddha bowl from night before! Heat up or serve cold. 
- You can find the recipe here

Resources:

• http://kblog.lunchboxbunch.com/2009/09/what-are-toxins-in-my-body-detox-101.html#gsc.tab=0
• http://www.katetowell.com/signs-you-should-cleanse