March Cleanse

Cleansing is a healthy way to make your body work at optimum power.   We are exposed to toxins daily like pesticides, microbes, and mercury to name a few.  Cleansing by eating a mainly vegan diet (no meat, dairy, sugar or processed foods) and taking supplements can eliminate toxin build up in the kidneys, lungs, colon, and the liver.  

I broke down and bought a "Total Body Cleanse" kit at the organic store.  The kit contains two supplements:  one to be taken in the morning and one to be taken in the evening.  The supplements contain all natural ingredients like flax seed, dandelion root, ginger root, cayenne, etc.  



Here's the cleanse I'm following this week:  Two Day Wonder Cleanse       Four years ago I did a 20 day cleanse, lost 8 pounds, and felt like I had enough energy to conquer the world.  But, I eat healthier now, so I'm just following the cleanse off and on throughout the month of March.   I'm going to winter camp tomorrow and to a St. Patty's day party next week, so I'd be cheating if I tried to commit for the month.

For breakfast, I've been eating quinoa and prunes made in the crockpot.  Trust me, this is super delicious, very healthy and fills you right up!




Crockpot Quinoa

CROCKPOT QUINOA FOR BREAKFAST

1 cup of quinoa
3 cups of water
1/2 cup of milk (I use soy milk)
1/2 cup of prunes

Add to a crockpot and cook in low for 8 hours.  Add cinnamon and milk for a GREAT breakfast.


Here's a sample of yesterdays lunch that had me feeling like I was in a super powerful zone all day:

Power Lunch, Kale Smoothie, Kale Salad and Spirulina Kombucha

The Kale, Apple, Walnut salad I purchased at the Rice Lake co-op and I plan on making it this summer (wow, yummser!).   The Kale Pineapple Smoothie looks gross but was actually super good and an easy way to pack in 4 cups of Kale (yes, that's 4 cups of kale blended).

Super Power Kale Smoothie

4 cups of kale leaves
1/2 cup of pineapple
2 artichokes (canned or from a jar)
Blend and add water if needed. 

Trust me, after this smoothie, the salad and the kombucha I was golden. Proof to me that what you eat directly affects performance whether at work. exercising, or playing. 

As part of my cleansing, I also have been eating some delicious cabbage soup.  Trust me, this is yummy!
Here's the recipe:  Cabbage Cleansing Soup

Cabbage Soup

And last but not least, Kerry Rothgeb gave me her mom's wonderful brussels sprouts recipe:

Pomegranate Brussels Sprouts

Brussels sprouts
Olive Oil
Salt
4 cups pomegranate juice (I used sugar free)
1/2 cup sugar (I used 1 tablespoon of steevia)
Juice from 1/2 a lemon

Roast the brussels sprouts in a 350 degree oven (salt, pepper, olive oil) for about 35-40 min turning every once in awhile until caramelized.  Mix 4 cups Pom juice, 1/2 cup sugar, 1 TBSP lemon juice and add over med heat. Still occasionally until dissolved. Reduce heat to low to med until mixture is reduced to 1 1/2 cups, about 1 hour. Store in jar in fridge.

I used sugar-free juice and steevia in place of the sugar to stay true to my cleanse.   My sprouts did not make it into the jar, because they were so good we ate them right up.  Yum!!   Thanks to Kerry's mom for the recipe!

Pomegranate Brussels Sprouts

As part of my March cleanse, I'm also drinking GT's mult-green kombucha (with spirulina) which is the healthiest drink on the planet (trust me, I did my research).  But more on that soon because I'm making my own!

Also as part of my cleanse I had a massage - can't think of a better way to improve circulation and remove the toxins.  After my massage I took a detox bath which is Epsom salt, baking soda and some essential oils (I used peppermint).  The skin is one large organ not to be ignored, and my skin feels fantastic!!

Next up, I'm taking a detox yoga class on 3/22.  Detox yoga is a technique to flush out all remaining toxins to the point where you actually smell the toxins in your urine.  That's a powerful yoga class!

Here's a little video of Gus' snow tunnel:

Happy detoxification month!  And, thanks for reading!

Kristin

Sprouts, Salads, and Dressings

Recently, I watched "Forks Over Knives" on Netflix, and it got me thinking that eating raw, fresh, local vegetables will allow me to live a long, healthy life.  But, let's face it, it's 15 below today and our growing season is almost hard to imagine.  I received a sprouting jar and sprouting seeds from my friend Debi Defoe-Greene and I felt inspired to give it a try!  Greta has the sunniest room in the house, so I have been growing them in her room and on Thursday she came out of her bedroom crying.  When I asked her what was wrong she told me about a "yucky, gross jar" - apparently my jar of sprouts freaked her out.  When I explained my experiment to Graham he said, "only you mom, only you."  But guess what, my kids love them.  Greta ate 2 bowls of salad for breakfast this morning (that's my girl).

In order to sprout, you will need seeds and a jar with a lid containing holes.  You can find these supplies at a health food store.  Here's some more detailed video instructions:  Cute Couple Demonstrating How to Grow Sprouts  After 4 days of rinsing sprouts you have a whole jar full of sprouts packed full of vitamin C.  Sprouts are great in a pita pocket or on a salad.

Sprouts and Greens - the fabric is actually a dress I bought in NYC this summer:)

Easy, delicious, cheap and HEALTHY.  Yum!

Back in 2008 I went on a vegan cleanse for 3 weeks, I lost 8 pounds and never felt so energetic and AMAZING.  But, after 3 weeks I was also HUNGRY and so I went back to eating dairy but never ate meat again (I was never really into meat to begin with so it was easy).   After I'm done with this crazy training for the Birkebeiner ski race, I'm going to do another cleanse because it's so healthy and makes a person feel like a million bucks.

Now, let me give you my opinion on lettuce salads.  The organic salad mixes that are available at every store (yes, even Walmart) taste so amazing, contain the dark leafy greens that contain all vitamin A and C as well as fiber, calcium, iron and are not covered in crazy chemicals which raise your estrogen and make you super hungry (aka fat).   Recently we went to a nicer supper club for my oldest son's birthday and I ordered a "not-so-cheap" salad.  Forgive me, now I'm going to sound like a food snob.  The salad consisted of the white / light green lettuce you find in the cheap bags, at least 1 cup of bleu cheese (1 ounce is a serving) and 1 1/2 cups of walnuts (again 1 ounce is a serving).   Yuck.   Not everyone is aware of the fact that salads should be dark green and should not have taken a bath in pesticides.  Yes, the quality is better in the organic salads but the taste difference alone will blow you away.  Totally.

Dressing Mixer, Pasta Jar, Balsamic Vinegar and my sprouting jar

Now how cool is this, I was shopping at the Thrift Shoppe this week and I found this cool, antique pasta holder AND this awesome salad dressing mixer.  The salad dressing container has recipes for 4 different kinds of dressing which means I might not ever buy dressing again.   Most dressings are made with crap, but I like the fact that with my new mixer I can whip up a dressing made with olive oil, garlic, spices, etc.

Even the kids can help make our salad dressings

Here's my favorite Italian Dressing:

1 cup Olive Oil
1/2 cup white wine or balsamic vinegar
1 T sugar
2 pressed garlic cloves
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp basil
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp salt


Talk about easy, economical, healthy!  I'm so excited with my new find.

Gus mixing the dressing

My kids were in a car accident last weekend and it has had me totally looking at life in a whole new way.  I was at gymnastics with Greta last night and I teared up 3 times with both joy in watching her perform and the realization that she had one close call.   I'm convinced that there was an angel in the car protecting them. 
This quote seems perfect for this moment: 

I better get skiing!  The Birkie is coming up :)

Kristin