The Cleanse: WEEK 2

The Cleanse: Week 2

Breakfasts: Oatmeal w/almonds, berries, and rice milk

Fruit Smoothies

Lunches: LEFTOVERS

Salad made with roasted veggie, Newman’s Own Oil & Vinegar

Succotash of Fresh Corn, Lima Beans, Tomatoes and Onions

Dinners:

Vegan Chili, crispy tortillas

Spaghetti Squash w/marinara, sautéed soy chorizo, garden salad

Indonesian Coconut Rice

Quinoa Mandarin Salad

Thai Coconut-Corn Soup, side salad

Peanut Noodles, fresh fruit

Veggie Patties, sweet potato fries, side salad

Ministrone

I made a Gigantic batch of this minestrone soup (my sis-in-law Danielle's recipe). Alan was thrilled with it. Which is a good thing, because we will be eating it for days to come- it made a ton of soup!! So delish.

Ministrone

3-4 cans diced tomatoes, depending on your tastes

1 can tomato sauce

6 cups water

4 veggie boullions ( I used 4 cups of veggie stock from TJ's and it was perfect for our batch)

1 package pasta (eliminate for cleanse)

2 yellow onions

3 large carrots, sliced

celery, to your taste, diced

4 cloves garlic, crushed

fresh green beans

yellow, red, and green bell peppers

zucchini, chopped

1 can drained kidney beans (can increase for cleanse)

1 can drained lima beans (can increase for cleanse)

Saute the following in a bit of olive oil until softened:

onions, carrots, celery,green beans, peppers, garlic

Add and stew until zucchini is soft:

Tomatoes,Water,Boullion,Zucchini,Beans,Italian seasoning (to taste-about 1/8 cup),salt and pepper. Add ½ c.fresh basil toward the end. Serve!

Must Make

I made the Firecracker Tofu Stir-fry last night using agave nectar in place of the honey. It was AMAZING. That is our favorite stir-fry recipe anyway, and it tasted great with the cleanse tweeks. Tip: I cut up the tofu, sprinkled a little soy sauce over it, and baked it at 400 for 30 minutes before adding it to the stir-fry. This really helped with the taste of the tofu- we loved it. We had it with brown rice and big green salad. You will not feel deprived after this meal. Yum.

Peanut Noodles

6 cloves freshly minced garlic

¼ c. fresh ginger, minced

½ c. vegetable oil (or canola, I add less then this)

½ c. sesame paste (tanini) (Found at Sprouts)

½ c. peanut butter (no sugar PB, obviously)

½ c. soy sauce

1/4c. dry sherry (can substitue water or apple juice)

1/4c. sherry vinegar (other vinegar- I'm using no sugar rice vinegar)

1/4c. honey (agave necter)

½ t. hot chili oil

2 T. sesame oil

½ t. pepper

1/8 t. cayenne pepper

1 lb. Spaghetti (brown rice noodles)

1 red pepper

1 yellow pepper

4 scallions

Process garlic, ginger, add oil, tanini, peanut butter, soy, sherry, honey, oil, pepper. Puree all ingredients until smooth. Cook noodles. Toss with ¾ of sauce, add peppers, toss again. Serve remaining sauce on side.

My sis and I ate these last time we were on the cleanse- delish, and very filling. It's going on next weeks menu for sure.

Few things

*We tried the cucumber/basil smoothie. Health in a glass! Alan wasn't so sure about it, but over ice I thought it was ok. We'll have it again.
*The Pumpkin Soup was amazing Danielle!! I thought it was great with butternut squash. We loved it, and I made enough so we had a lot leftover with plenty to freeze.
*We had one of our favorites for lunch yesterday- Vegan Tostadas. Try them!
VEGAN TOSTADAS
Heat small amount of Olive oil over medium heat in pan. Cook corn torillias until they start to darken, turning once. When they are cripsy, lay them out on a paper towels. (Or, shortcut, but the tortilla in a toaster)
Spread with "pinto beans con salsa" from TJ's. Add vegan guacemole, salsa, tomatoes and lots of shredded lettuce. There are delish and super quick.

The Menu's: Week 1

The Cleanse: Week 1

Breakfasts: Oatmeal w/almonds, berries, and rice milk

Fruit Smoothies made w/almond milk

Vegan Apple Cinnamon Waffles w/agave nectar, berries

Lunches: Leftovers

Amy’s Lentil soup w/side salad, balsamic

Succotash of Fresh Corn, Lima Beans, Tomatoes and Onions

Snacks: Mango salsa w/TJ’s soy chips

Crudités w/ miso dipping sauce

Apples w/nut butter

Cucumber/basil smoothie

Celery w/nut butter

Dinners:

Danielle’s Pumpkin Soup (made with Butternut squash in place of pumpkin), rice crackers, salad

Southwest Black Beans w/Brown Rice, corn tortillas, side salad

Martha’s Big Batch Vegetable Soup, side salad

Firecracker Tofu Stir-fry, brown rice

Veggie Patties, sweet potato fries, side salad

Dessert: frozen apple slush

Cleanse Week 1 Recipes

Succotash of Fresh Corn, Lima Beans, Tomatoes and Onions
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
Coarse kosher salt
1 large garlic clove, minced
3 cups chopped red tomatoes (about 1 1/2 pounds)
2 1/4 cups corn kernels cut from 4 ears of corn (preferably 2 ears of white corn and 2 ears of yellow corn)
2 cups fresh lima beans (from about 2 pounds pods) or 10 to 11 ounces frozen lima beans or baby butter beans, thawed
3 tablespoons thinly sliced fresh basil
Heat oil in heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and sprinkle with coarse salt. Sauté until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add garlic; stir until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add tomatoes, corn, and lima beans. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until corn and lima beans are tender and tomatoes are soft, about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season to taste with salt and pepper. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill. Rewarm before continuing. Stir in basil and serve.

Mango Salsa

2 large mangos (fresh & ripe)

3 T. white onion, grated

1 medium green bell pepper, finely diced

1 medium red bell pepper, finely diced

3 T. olive oil

3 T. rice vinegar

1 T. green onion tops, finely diced

1 large avocado, diced, salt & pepper to taste

Mix everything together folding in avocado last. Tastes even better the next day. Serve with tortilla chips.

Miso Dipping Sauce and Salad Dressing

1 large carrot, peeled and roughly chopped

1 large shallot, peeled and roughly chopped

2 tablespoons roughly chopped fresh ginger

1 tablespoon sweet white miso

2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar

1 tablespoon roasted sesame seed oil

1/4 cup grapeseed oil

2 tablespoons water

Pulse the carrot, shallot and ginger in a blender until finely chopped. Scrape down the sides, add the miso, vinegar and sesame seed oil and whiz together. While the blender is going, slowly drizzle in the grapeseed oil and the water.

Cucumber/Basil Smoothie

1/2 cup fresh basil 1 English cucumber, cut in half lengthwise

1/2 lime, zest and pith removed 1 apple, cut into wedges

Starting with the basil, juice everything into a glass, give it a stir and enjoy.

Portuguese Pumpkin Soup

5-7 potatoes

9-10 carrots

4 cloves garlic

2-3 c. fresh cooked, mashed pumpkin (Substitute Butternut Squash)

2-3 small onions

olive oil

salt

peppercorn medley

Boil all, puree with hand mix. Garnish with peppercorn.

Southwest Black Beans and Rice

1 (16 ounce) bag dried black beans

1 (16 ounce) bag brown rice

1 red onion (chopped)

3 jalapeno peppers (seeded and chopped)

7 cups water

1/4 cup lime juice (or Lemon)

1 cup cilantro (chopped)

2 (8 ounce) cans diced tomatoes with green chilies

1 (16 ounce) bag frozen corn

1 (16 ounce) bag four-cheese Mexican blend cheese (OMIT)

Rinse and sort beans. Mix beans, rice, onion, jalapenos, and water into crock-pot. Cook on low for 8.5 hours. Add lime juice, cilantro, tomatoes, corn, and cheese. At this time also add 1/3 cup of desired cajun seasoning (Tony's, Emeril's, Luzianne, ect.). I use Lusianne, because it has less sodium. Continue cooking for another 30 minute. Serve warm by itself or, wrapped in a corn tortilla like a burrito, or serve with tortilla chips like a dip. Add a dab of guacamole for color, texture, and taste.

Martha’s Big-Batch Vegetable Soup

2 T. olive oil

2 c. chopped onions

1 c. thinly sliced celery

2 t. Italian seasoning

salt and pepper

3 cans (14.5 ounces) chicken broth *substitute veggie broth

1 can (28 ounces) diced tomatoes, with juice

1 T. tomato paste 8 c. mixed fresh or frozen vegetables, such as carrots, corn, green beans, lima beans, peas, potatoes, and zucchini

Firecracker Tofu Stir-fry

1/2 cup raw honey**sub agave necter
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
3 teaspoons cornstarch **OMIT
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
6 garlic cloves - minced
3 teaspoons fresh grated organic ginger root
1 organic red bell pepper seeded and chopped
1 1/2 cups organic snow peas cut into 1 inch pieces (can substitute shelled edamame if desired)
3 organic/free range boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips**Substitute Tofu
4 organic green onions - chopped
9 cups cooked brown rice
Directions
Whisk together honey, soy sauce, vinegar, cornstarch, red pepper flakes until cornstarch is dissolved. Set aside. Heat olive oil over medium high heat. Stir in garlic and ginger and stir fry until fragrant about 1 minute. Add bell pepper and snow peas and stir fry an extra minute until colors brighten. Add chicken and onions, stir fry until chicken is cooked through about 4 minutes or so. Stir in reserved sauce mixture. Cook and stir until sauce boils and thickens. Serve over cooked brown rice with a big green salad.

FROZEN APPLE SLUSH: Freeze a small portion of 100 % Apple Juice. Take out of frezzer about 30 minutes before you want to eat it. Eat like a slushie.