Cleanse Diet

This week I am doing a trial run of the Cleanse Diet presented in Kathy Freston's book, "Quantum Wellness: A Practical and Spiritual Guide to Health and Happiness". Over the past few months I have not felt like my former energetic self. I used to tackle all kinds of tasks and hobbies after work, but now I often feel lethargic, especially after I sit at a desk all day. My funk could be due to my crazy work travel schedule which makes it difficult to follow a healthy diet. Or perhaps it's because I'm soon turning 30? I'm sure the pound of Halloween candy I finished over the weekend isn't helping either! So I'm looking for ways to add energy and clarity to my daily life. I found Freston's book interesting, and the Cleanse Diet intriguing. It is not as extreme as some, like the "Master Cleanse" (yikes!) but it does cut out foods I eat every day, like cheese (the second love of my life, haha). The purpose is to kick start your body into a more healthy lifestyle. I'm starting out small...my plan is to follow it for 5 days, take a day off (Friday girls' night!), then start back up for another week if I want. Since I eat a lot of vegetarian dishes already, I'm hoping it won't be a huge adjustment. Oprah did it for 21 days but she has a personal chef so it was considerably easier on her!

The basics of the diet:
No meat
No animal products - includes eggs and dairy
No caffeine
Natural sweeteners only - no syrup, honey, fake sugar
No gluten - didn't really know what this was until I tried to find bread without it. It's in everything!

Here's my sample menu so far.

Day 1
Breakfast: instant oatmeal with soy milk, chopped apples, ground flaxseed, and cinnamon
Lunch: Quinoa salad
Dinner: Portobello mushroom pita with grilled peppers, onions, and avocado. I couldn't find gluten free buns or bread, but I think I found whole wheat pitas that make the cut.

Day 2
Breakfast: fruit smoothie with soymilk
Lunch: veggie salad with avocado, chickpeas, and walnuts
Dinner: Tofu stir-fry with bell peppers, onions, snap peas, and baby corn.

Day 3
Breakfast: Gluten-free toast with natural peanut butter
Lunch: quinoa salad
Dinner: Thai Green Curry Tofu

Snacks
fruit
baby carrots
almonds
homemade protein bars (these contain whey protein powder, maybe I should switch to soy powder instead)

I'll report back after a couple days - wish me luck!

Caprese Salad

As most of my friends know, one of my favorite restaurants in Fort Worth is Taverna. They make this incredible caprese salad with red and yellow grape tomatoes, and since I've moved I was having a serious craving for it. I had grand plans to use my cherry tomatoes grown in my very own herb garden, until I woke up the next morning and discovered that all my beautiful ripe tomatoes had split skins. According to the internet, it was caused by the monsoon rainstorm that hit us the day before. This made me sad, but I had a backup plan of going to a local farmers market and picking up fresh tomatoes there. When THAT market was closed after work, I gave up and settled for the prettiest tomatoes I could find at the local grocery store. I had to have my caprese salad! Steamy Kitchen had a delicious-looking recipe so I went with big tomatoes rather than the cherry ones.

Steamy Kitchen's gorgeous photo of her salad:

What mine ended up looking like:

Ok, so my presentation skills need some work. But it tasted delicious! Steamy Kitchen has fantastic step-by-step instructions here, so I won't attempt to reproduce them. This recipe only works with FRESH tomatoes and basil so do it while they're still around!

Fajitas!

Continuing our Tex-Mex on the East Coast theme, we attempted fajitas on our new grill. My very nice co-worker donated his old grill to us and we are thrilled and have started grilling up a storm! It's the gift that keeps on giving! I'm convinced that this person will have good karma for at least a year.

Anyway, we couldn't decide between chicken or steak so decided to make both, which of course ended up to be waaayyy too much for 2 people, but the leftovers were welcome. The entire Tex-Mex spread consisted of: chicken and steak fajitas with all the fixin's, grilled corn-on-the-cob, tortilla chips, homemade tomato salsa, and of course Jose Cuervo margaritas.

Here's the grilled meat in all its glory...mmm

I bought flank steak and marinated it in a sauce I used previously on sirloin kabobs. We ended up marinating the chicken in it too so I doubled this batch.

1/4 cup soy sauce
3 tbsp light brown sugar
3 tbsp white vinegar
1/2 tsp garlic powder or mince 2 cloves fresh if you have it
1/2 tsp salt
freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup lime juice
1/4 cup lemon juice

Heat grill to 400F. Grill chicken about 5 minutes on each side and steak for 7-10 on each side, until cooked to preferred doneness.

Fajita toppings of your choice:
Grilled sliced bell peppers Grilled onion strips
Grilled sliced for some heat!
salsa - I made the same roasted tomato salsa as my previous post
chopped cilantro
diced tomato
Mexican flavor shredded cheese
guacamole - the avocados weren't ripe enough in the store to use in our feast :(
sour cream

I prefer the whole wheat tortillas, but any kind will work. Place meat, then cheese, then toppings in the tortilla, wrap and enjoy! Here is a picture of our entire feast!

Dos Salsas

We made two types of salsa to go with the previously posted Chicken Enchiladas with Red Sauce. Both were very basic, but both turned out delicious!

Craig was in charge of the pico, and he rocked it. I was very proud. :)

RECIPE - pico de gallo
2 tomatoes, finely chopped 2 jalapeno chile peppers, seeds and ribs removed and finely chopped
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, finely chopped
2 tbsp lime juice
salt and pepper to taste
Mix all ingredients together and chill prior to serving.

RECIPE – ranch-style tomato salsa
4 tomatoes
1 -3 jalapeno chile peppers ( I used 1 for a mild+ heat), cut in half with seeds and ribs removed
1 large onion, quartered
3 cloves garlic
¼ cup fresh cilantro, chopped
3-4 tbsp lime juice
Salt and pepper

Preheat broiler on high. Place tomatoes, jalapenos, onions, and garlic on broiler pan and broil vegetables 4" from heat, 3-4 minutes on each side. The veggies are done when: The tomatoes are cracked and blackened, the jalapenos are be blistered with black spots, the onions are soft and blackened on the edges, the garlic is softened but NOT burned.

For a less runny salsa, squeeze the juice out of the tomatoes when taking them off the broiler pan.

In a food processor, combine jalapenos, onions, and garlic; pulse to a coarse paste. Add tomatoes, cilantro, 3 tbsp lime juice. Season with salt and pepper. Process briefly to combine. Transfer to medium saucepan. Simmer over medium heat for 5 minutes. Season more with salt, pepper and lime juice if needed according to taste. Bring in for coworkers to enjoy. Serve warm or chilled with tortilla chips.

Chicken Enchiladas with Red Sauce

I made it to the East Coast! With all the travelling I've been doing for work I haven't had time for cooking, but this past weekend I made a point to try something new. Since there aren't many Mexican restaurants to satisfy my regular cravings like in Texas, I realized I'll have to learn how to make it myself. A new challenge! I started off with something easy, a basic Mexican dish of enchiladas, pice de gallo, and tomato-based salsa.

I bought most of the fresh ingredient at a local produce stand, which was great. There are tons of them around here. The tomatoes were sweet and juicy, and the jalapenos were very fresh. As a bonus, I also got a basil plant for $2! The hardest ingredient to find was the dried red chile peppers. After going to a (way overpriced) specialty store with no luck, I was shocked to find them at the local Food Lion in the Mexican food section. Score!

RECIPE - Enchiladas

Chicken:

1 lb bonless skinless chicken breasts

1/4 onion

1/2 tomato

1 sprig fresh cilantro

4 1/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth

Sauce:

15 dried New Mexico red chile peppers

1/2 tomato, seeded and cut into 1" pieces

1/4 medium onion, cut into 1" pieces

1 clove garlic

2 sprigs fresh cilantro

1/2 tsp dried oregano

12 corn tortillas (6" diameter)

1/4 white onion, minced

1/2 cup Monterey Jack cheese, grated

In a large saucepan over medium heat, combine chicken, tomato, onion, cilantro, and 4 cups of chicken broth. Simmer for 10 minutes, until chicken is cooked through. Remove chicken from pan and cool to room temperature. Shred chicken into thin slivers. Strain the cooking liquid into a measuring cup and reserve for the sauce (need about 3 1/2 cups).

Stem dried chile peppers, tear open, and discard ribs and seeds. Put chile peppers back into large saucepan and cover with 3 cups of the reserved chicken liquid. Simmer over low heat for 10 minutes, or until softened.

Transfer chile peppers and 2 cups chicken liquid into blender or food processor. Add tomatoes, onion, garlic, cilantro and oregano; puree until smooth, sauce should be thick but pourable. Season with salt and pepper. Coat 13x9 baking dish wiht nonstick spray. Pour 1/3 of blended sauce into bottom of baking dish.

Place 2 to 3 tbsp of chicken on each tortilla, sprinkle with several minced onions, and roll into a tube. Arrange enchiladas seam side down in the baking dish. Spoon remaining sauce on top. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake enchiladas for 10 to 15 minutes, or until cheese is melted.

Recipes for the pico de gallo and salsa coming next!

Monika's Cinnamon Toast Cupcakes

Even though I am the 3rd blogger to post these cupcakes originally posted by my friend Monika, I must do it. They are unbelievably delicious and I do not bake and found these incredibly easy to make. Use them at your discretion, because once your friends know you can make these little bites of heaven, they will continually harass you to bring them to every event you attend. On the other hand, if you find yourself in the proverbial doghouse for whatever reason, a dozen of these babies will get you out of it. Guaranteed. Not that I've ever been there or had to use a bribe to get out of it.

Without further ado, I present the link to the Cinnamon Toast Cupcakes:

http://adamandmonika.com/Site/Sushi_%26_Chocolate/Entries/2007/9/5_Cinnamon_Toast_Cupcakes!.html

Enjoy.

Thai Green Curry with Shrimp & Tofu

My team at work goes to this nearby Thai place on a weekly basis, and since they never seem to get sick of it, I decided to try it out. They highly recommended the green curry, which I ordered with fried tofu. It was creamy, sweet, salty, with just the right amount of heat to bring out all the flavors. I loved it! This past weekend I decided to try to recreate it at home and was absolutely successful and surprised at how easy it was. I found this great recipe on epicurious.com as a start and made some modifications to it to match the restaurant version. I'll definitely be making it again!

Here are some tips I have learned about stir frying. Stir frying is so fast and easy, but the tricky part is the order in which to stir fry the ingredients. You don't want anything over- or under-cooked. Since it goes so fast, make sure to have all the ingredients prepped, opened, and ready to throw in the hot pan. You don't want to be fumbling around in the fridge searching for something while your shrimp is turning into rubber. Also, make sure to add the ingredients starting with what takes the longest to cook to the shortest. This may seem obvious but when you're dealing with a lot of ingredients at once it's easy to forget.

Update August 2010: Recently I discovered an Asian market nearby that sold green curry paste, so I bought it to replace the Thai Kitchen one that I usually use. Wow, what a difference! Previously when I made this dish, it came out somewhat bland and I had to kick the flavor up by adding garlic chili paste or more green curry. But using this authentic curry paste it was not bland at all, much spicier, and I didn't have to add any chili paste. Much improved!

RECIPE:

1 tbsp canola (or other type) oil
1/2 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced
3/4 cup green onions, sliced (about 8 small)
8 oz shiitake mushrooms, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 pound uncooked shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 package extra firm tofu, pressed for 15-30 minutes, then cubed
1/2 can bamboo shoots, sliced into strips
1/2 red bell pepper, sliced into strips
2 tbsp Thai green curry paste (add more to taste if desired
1 tbsp Thai red garlic chili paste
2 tbsp fresh basil, sliced into strips
1 14oz can light coconut milk
1 cup low-salt vegetable or chicken broth
3 tbsp Thai fish sauce (nam pla)
1 tsp sugar
Chopped fresh cilantro

Heat oil in skillet or wok over medium-high heat. Cook onion and tofu about 5-7 minutes until onion is translucent and tofu is crispy brown on edges. Reduce heat to medium. Add green onions, bell pepper, mushrooms and green curry paste, stir for 2 minutes. Add coconut milk, broth, fish sauce, chili paste, basil and sugar. Bring to boil, then add shrimp. Cook shrimp until tails curl up to the heads and they have just turned pink. At this point turn the heat down low and taste your curry. If it's bland in flavor, add more green curry paste. If it's not hot enough, add red chili paste a tsp at a time. Garnish curry with cilantro and serve in a wide shallow bowl, by itself if you're going low-carb, or with sticky rice.