Spring Cleaning Week 1: Gearing Up with Groceries!

I love grocery shopping.  Love.  It.   However, I particularly enjoyed this week's trip because 1) we eliminated all but a very few processed foods (soy milk, brown rice pasta) in preparation for the cleanse, and 2) I surprised the hub by coming in under the weekly budget with even more produce than usual.  WOOHOO!

I planned and purchased with these eliminations from the cleanse list in mind (see last post for cleanse guidelines and further details):

* All Level 1 eliminations: processed sugar, alcohol, yeasted products, white flour products

* Level 2 eliminations: White potatoes, white rice, peanuts, strawberries,  fruit juice, jams (animal products, of course!)

* Reduced processed soy products ( I will have soy milk and tempeh this week (mostly because I have them to use up))

*Reduced wheat/gluten (as in...only one dish and only because I just now realized that the ramen has wheat/gluten in it --argh!  See -- before I even begin, I have a good reminder to be gentle with myself in this process.)

Thus, I plan to operate at Cleanse Level 2 this week, as I am not eliminating all items from the second section in the guidelines.  To help you with your planning, I've included grocery item needs to the best of my knowledge and ability at this time.

Cleanse Purchase Overview:
(As always, buy what works for your needs and budget.)

2 heads of baby bok choy
1 bunch red Swiss Chard
1 pkg. celery hearts
1 spaghetti squash
1 fennel bulb
1 orange beet
2 broccoli heads
3 parsnips
2 Portabello mushrooms
1 head Boston lettuce
1 head green cabbage
2 sweet potatoes
bananas
apples
pears
romaine lettuce (two 3 pks.)
red/yellow onions
garlic
1 can black beans
1 bag unsalted brown rice cakes
1 vegan garlic pepper ramen
almond butter
tea/coffee/seltzer

Anticipated Items of Use from Pantry/Refrigerator/Freezer :
soy milk
bouillon
lentils
Canned tomatoes
Frozen homemade tomato sauce
garlic
shallots (4)
herbs
tomato paste
agave-sweetened ketchup
olive oil, tamari, rice/red wine/balsamic vinegar
stone-ground mustard
maple syrup
agave
dates
hemp seeds
almonds
white bean dip
brown rice
frozen fruit
mushrooms
kale
carrots
frozen corn
bean sprouts
tempeh
Frozen leftover pea and avocado guac

Menu Plan (beginning Sun. 2/27- Fri. 3/4)

Breakfasts: 
alternate between fruit/veg. smoothies, rice cakes with almond butter and fruit side, sweet potatoes and greens, and Steele's Raw Bars (my first dehydrator experiment -- finally!)

Lunch/Dinner Dishes:
*TONIGHT* Lentil Soup over Greens:
How nice that someone already posted Deborah Madison's recipe for the Lentil Soup from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone!  Yes, I think I've actually talked about this recipe before, but it is a fantastic healthy recipe so...revival, revival, revival -- wooooo!

My notes: I used 2 T. dried parsley, 3 carrots, 3 stalks of celery, 1.5 onions, and 6 c. water + 2 t. bouillon.  I don't do the garlic/salt pre-blend shenanigan.  I just add garlic with veg. and then add salt as needed.  I use my beloved immersion blender for a bit at the end (after removing the bay leaves) to smooth the deliciousness a bit, but it is still chunky!  If you like thinner soup, go with the 8 c. of stock/water+bouillon combination.  I sauteed rinsed kale (with water droplets still clinging) in a one t. oiled pan over med. heat  -- wilt to your liking.  Serve soup over greens.

Spicy Thai Basil Lettuce Wraps (inspired by this weekend's NYC trip)
Spaghetti Squash with Homemade Tomato and Roasted Root Sauce
Bok 'n Broc Stir Fry (clearly I will have to play a little ACDC with this one)
Mom G.'s Cabbage Salad (Veganized!)
The "Magical Fruit" Bowl

Snacks: raw bars, salads, white bean dip with veggies, fruit

Bevs: LOTS of water (Steele suggests starting with warm lemon water each morning), tea -- I got both the White Orchard and the Detox Infusion (Yay for Mighty Leaf sale!) to bring a bit of variety to my chamomile standard, and hazelnut coffee (I've taken the cocktails off of the table, so I'm allowing the minimal morning cup... for now).

Truth be told...with the pre-Oscar spread courtesy of our neighborhood gathering, I'm not quite on the cleanse train yet, but I am ready to go for tomorrow, and hey! -- that still makes me ahead of the game by a day!  Not quite ready?  Don't worry -- Perhaps you can do your grocery shopping tomorrow, and join me on Tuesday!  What about the exact ingredients?  Again, no stress -- buy what works for you this week and/or what adheres to your desired level of the cleanse, and we'll go from there!  I'll post the recipes for the dishes as I make them, and you can make substitutions to the posted recipe as needed, make your own cleanse-friendly dish, or make the recipe another time when cleansing is right for you.

What about yoga?  I'm starting with a hot Power Yoga session tomorrow morning, but you can start with Day 1 of the "21-Day Yoga Journal Challenge" or another yoga program/workout!  Even though I'll be doing my own Day 1, I do plan to complete one of the guided meditation sessions (as posted in conjunction with the Week 1 of the YJ challenge) after my class.

I'm excited about beginning a new month with this revitalizing process; I hope you'll post if you plan to join me in any capacity!

Spring Cleaning for the Body

This past fall, I did a system cleanse for the first time, as part of the "Ripe for Sugar-Relief" group run by Jae Steele.  Steele is a registered holistic nutritionist, blogger of Domestic Affair and writer of two vegan cookbooks, Get It Ripe and Ripe from Around Here.  The former includes a section on cleansing in addition to vegan cooking and lifestyle basics, and the latter offers substantial discussion and guidance about local food; both offer delicious and diverse recipes that mindfully consider other dietary concerns and source availability. I encourage you to click on the embedded links for a more detailed description of her work.


Although my cleansing process was in no way perfect the first time, I quickly and noticeably saw changes in my body and my body's behavior.  As per Steele's suggested timeline and, more importantly, my own need  to do some bodily "housekeeping,"  I'm going to do a two-week cleanse beginning on March 1.  Some people with whom I've discussed this process have had an interest in this more natural way to cleanse the body, as opposed to packaged, artificial materials or the oft-stereotyped cayenne water, semi-starvation approach.  I admit that I have not tried either of these other options, but as always, I think the more natural the effort to heal and help the body, the better.  Certainly, I am no medical expert and am not posting this information here as medical advice; I simply thought I'd share with you (with Ms. Steele's permission) the dietary guidelines she posted for our group effort.  The basic idea is to consume a plant-based, whole food diet with no/low sugar to help one's body clean itself up.

Ripe for Sugar-Relief Guidelines (as posted by Steele)
"I propose a 2 category system. EVERYONE will get rid of:
* Sugar (including white sugar, brown sugar, glucose-fructose, corn syrup, etc.)
* All alcohol (wine, beer, liquor, whatev)
* Any yeasted products (breads, etc)
* All white flour products

If this is where you're comfortable, you're a *1*.
If you want to go deeper, you'll get rid of as many of the following as you can:

* "Whole" sugars : molasses, barley malt, rice syrup, agave, maple syrup, honey
* White potatoes, white rice
* Peanuts, strawberries
* cow/dairy [really, no animal products of any kind -- most in the group were already vegan/vegetarian, so this really went without saying for us]
* Soymilk, tofu, processed soy products (faux meats, etc)
* Dried fruit (dates, raisins, apricots, etc)
* Wheat
* All gluten (incl. spelt, kamut, rye, etc)
* Corn, cornmeal
* Coffee, black tea
* Fruit juice, jams

This makes you a *2*. 
However, if you cut ALL of the above items, you're a *3*."


This time around, I aim to be a consistent "2" for two weeks and redo Yoga Journal's "21-Day Yoga Challenge" to help with the cleansing (and just because consistent practice, like a conscientious diet, has done wonders for my overall sense of well-being).  My plan is to post daily about my yoga/cleanse progress in addition to the usual recipe posting. I hope that during this process, you might be encouraged to give either one or both of these activities a try -- even 1-2 days a week can make an impact!  If you want to join me for the full period, I would certainly enjoy the company.

As always, please feel free to forward the blog to anyone you think might be interested in its regularly scheduled programming or health special a la March Madness (elimination...elimination?  It works, right?).  Stay tuned for "Week 1: Gearing up with Groceries!"