I believe in the food chain. I see birds eating worms, and cats eating birds, and I think, yeah, ok. This is how it works.
However, during my detox we eliminate animal products. Not under the premise that they are “bad”. Not at all! Meat is simply at the top of the food chain. So when you eat beef, you are eating all the toxins from everything that cow has ever eaten or experienced in its environment. By eating lower on the food chain, you automatically consume fewer toxins.
Makes sense for a detox. It’s good to get a break. And we’re doing it again this fall. (Click here to pre-register)
But guess what, kiddos. Detox is over for now! And I feel really good about the grass-fed ground beef I get from my local farm. I feel good about being part of the food chain, the Universe’s natural order and whatnot.
First, let’s get one thing out of the way: I eat meat. Yes. And I grew up with an Italian mama who made delicious, homemade meatballs all the time. So what’s up with a meat-eating Italian talking about meatless meatballs? Heresy!
Trust me, I thought these were going to suck.
But this is Week 2 of my 21 Day Detox and I have a group of nearly 60 people kicking butt with clean, plant-based food. When my friend Persephone gave me this recipe to share, I had my doubts but gave it a whirl. Hey, recipe testing is a tough job but someone’s got to do it!
Here are some reasons I know my detoxers (and YOU) are going to love this recipe as much as I did:
And right on cue, grilling season begins. You know what that looks like, right? Piles of hotdogs and hamburgers, those soft squishy buns, and colorful bottles of ketchup, mustard, relish, beer.
Grilling is awesome. But I’m not a fan of those buns, or the cheap meats, or the lack of vegetables. It’s so American. As in, Standard American Diet (SAD).
So let’s step up our game this season, shall we? Because everyone likes to have fun, but it’s no fun waking up the next day with a hotdog bun hangover. Read on for a recipe for my Grilled Honey Lime Chicken, Black Bean and Jicama Salad, plus 6 tips for a healthy grill season.
Your computer has been acting all funky or your phone goes haywire and the tech guy behind the counter says, “Turn it off and turn it back on.” You know this advice? It usually works. Oh, the Apple TV is being weird? Unplug it and plug it back in.
This, my friends, is known as starting fresh.
Kids understand this. Every day, Danny pulls my pots and pans off the shelves. He stands in them, both sneakers wedged into even my tiniest pot. (I have to wash them all, but I wait until he goes to bed so the effort isn’t wasted.)
The next day? He’ll happily do it all over again. Kids understand the value of starting fresh.
I also need a fresh start – sometimes 6 or 7 times a day, no joke. I find myself succumbing to frustration, to anger, to anxiety.
Inhale, exhale. Reset. It’s brilliant.
Relationships? Same deal. The closer you are with someone, the more likely you’ll need to unplug and plug in again, at some point. Things get tangled up. Our job is to recognize it before the tangle becomes a true mess and causes irreparable damage.
Step back. Restart.
But it’s not always easy. You know what I’m talking about.
“Camarones Ajo!” I proudly announced to my husband, as I shoved a bowl of shrimp and some grill tongs at him. This was my way of making a last minute dinner sound super fancy and well-planned. I mean, come on. If I can say it in spanish that proves I didn’t just haphazardly pull shrimp out of the freezer, right?
A little deck action? Some grillin’ and chillin’? I hear ya. We are loving our patio and grill along with near-perfect weather. Now I’m no Martha Stewart, but I do like having friends over for yummy food and drinks. Just expect that maybe your napkin will be a folded up paper towel and I ran out of dishes so one of us is eating out of a bowl, ok?
I prioritize the food, not the presentation. Hope you won’t mind.
Inspiration for this recipe hit while I was making a quick grocery run. We were having some friends over in…oh, about an hour. I grabbed some chicken and asparagus for the grill. A bag of arugula for an easy salad. A bag of Terra Chips because, y’know, if they’re gonna be chips they might as well have some nutritional value. And then I spotted the endive.
Reinvent Yourself: 21 Day Detox
(with new mom-friendly, nursing-friendly options!)
Early Bird price available Start date: April 22, 2012 Location: Wherever you are!
Between pregnancy and childbirth, it’s been a couple of years since I took part in my own detox. I wasn’t sure I’d even run it in 2012, until I noticed something:
I feel kinda tired. Sluggish. My skin’s a little gray, my digestion’s a little unhappy. You know I eat well, but pregnancy and early motherhood can take its toll on the best of us! A little too much chocolate here, a little too much pizza there, not quite enough time on my yoga mat, and…bam. I remember why I rely on this detox so much!
Ever feel stuck in a “blah” place? A bit of a rut?
Yeah, I hear ya. But no worries. When you change your food, your life automatically changes with it. It has to – your food literally becomes the tissues of your body and brain. Are you ready to create change and start feeling confident, energized and focused?
You know how you hear about a certain food or ingredient for a long time and one day you finally get up the courage to buy it? To actually make one of those recipes you’ve been eyeing? That was me this week. Michelle vs. The Fava Bean.
Ever buy favas? I hadn’t, mostly because I’d never seen them for sale. But there they were, in all their glory, in the Whole Foods bulk aisle. I grabbed ‘em.
This is courage, people.
To try learn something new on top of an already full to-do list. To take a risk that your husband will hate it. To buy those damn beans that are the size of quarters and say, “Hey. What am I gonna make with these?”
Good timing, actually. I needed to take our weekly menus from winter-ish chilis and pot roasts and introduce some lighter, spring type dinners.
‘Cause it’s been like 75 degrees this week. I love living in the tropical south. (I know, I know, DC isn’t the south.) (Yes it is.)
Welcome to 21 Days of Detoxing! Whether you are one of our amazingly motivated participants or just interested in eating clean, whole, real food – boy do I have some recipes for you! From now ’til May 21st I’ll be featuring a delicious detox-friendly recipe each day. (And if you want to get in on the detox magic I have a Do It Yourself version available – right here.)
Whether you have a garden or CSA, you may be inundated with greens right now. Awesome! But you gotta use it before it goes bad.
Pesto to the rescue!
Ok, maybe you don’t have a CSA or a garden…that’s ok. I wish I had a garden. Wait, I wish I knew how to garden. And our CSA doesn’t start for another couple of weeks.
Doesn’t matter. You and I can still make pesto from whatever looks good at Whole Foods. They didn’t have any arugula this week, or watercress (WTF, WF?) so I got lots of chard. Whatever, getting your dark, leafy greens daily is a super important part of a healthy diet and as long as you rotate what kind you’re eating you’ll be in great shape. For this recipe, you can really use any type of greens you like!
Welcome to 21 Days of Detoxing! Whether you are one of our amazingly motivated participants or just interested in eating clean, whole, real food – boy do I have some recipes for you! From now ’til May 21st I’ll be featuring a delicious detox-friendly recipe each day. (And if you want to get in on the detox magic I have a Do It Yourself version available – right here.)
Sometimes people miss having a hunka hunka burnin’ meat on their plate. Vegetarian entrees tend to be more free-form, less structured items. But here’s a solution to try: Chickpea Patties. (Although if you’re like me you’ll just make ‘em Sloppy Joe style…) I’d try these with a smear of tahini on top, or any salad dressing of choice, over brown rice or salad greens. Or maybe between two slices of millet bread, if you want to go the sandwich route.
I help busy women find balance in our over-worked, over-stressed lives. And because you're short on time, my no-nonsense approach gets straight to the point. A few shifts in diet and lifestyle will rock your world like they did mine. Read on
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