Detox Diaries - day 6
Dreams returned to their usual meld of non-food related items. Wake up feeling AOK.
Juice for a change to help face the new day.
Pear Zinger Juice
1 pear
1 apple
1 lemon, skin removed
ginger root, 1/2-1 inch, depending on your zing tolerance!
Parts 1 and 2 of breakfast were taken around a dentist appointment. I have to say that in the 20 odd years since I stopped eating meat I’ve never had a new cavity.
The reward for the never entirely relaxing visit to the dentist was a punnet of blueberries. I know they are “good” for you but most I have tasted have been ho-hum. However spurred on by the euphoria of the big organic grocery store (which lacked any other fruit that excited me) I parted with the big bucks for a cupful of organic berries. I am now a convert. They are sensational! Sometimes you really do pay for what you get.
Having started the working day late I didn’t have a lot of time to face the lunchbox challenge. I always buy my lunch, but I knew without the one saving grace in the city being open I’d have to pack my own today. I’d bought some good quality babaganoush, fresh with no additives and scooped some into a small container and hastily chopped up some veggie sticks. In a ziploc bag I threw in some ice to keep it from going off. Some almonds and a big bottle of filtered water completed the preparations. Oh yes, am still downing 2-3 litres a day of that precious fluid in various forms!
Lunch tasted great, but I still like the ritual of eating outside of the office. There is always the threat of the phone ringing or someone coming in, to upset the digestion. I’ve got to say I’m looking forward to going out to eat other people’s food next week.
The other downside is that although the detox is less extreme since the weekend’s fruit fast, I hadn’t really tested myself. Energy was better than expected and I hadn’t suffered any big crashes, but in reality I had done very little for 3 days. But today all that changed. By 5pm, despite nibbling on a few almonds, my brain shut down. Blood sugar had plummeted and I couldn’t add up numbers. Fortunately I’m not an accountant, but I feel like an idiot stumbling over simple sums in front of clients. By the time I got home I was literally running in circles, knowing I needed to eat (some blueberries helped, but not enough) but not being able to decide on what. The plan was to make veggie stock for some lentil soup. Dumb plan when it is 6pm, you’re hypoglycaemic and dinner will take 2 hours to cook! I chased my tail for a while and after reading lots of recipes took ideas from 3 different ones to come up with my own.
Bean salad with parsley pesto
The pesto bit
Combine: parsley, pistachios, 1-3 cloves of garlic, a little grated lemon zest and some lemon juice in a food processor and blitz til smooth. Then add 1-2 avocado and blend briefly. (Non-detoxers could add a slurp or 2 of extra virgin olive oil and a pinch of salt.)
The bean salad bit
White beans (cooked from dried would have been better but a can of well rinsed organic beans can be a lifesaver sometimes) and diced salad vegetables..
Mix the pesto through the salad and you have a well balanced, 10 minute meal!
The pesto in particular was fabulous – thanks to Flip Shelton’s idea to use pistachios. I’m still waiting for her recipe to go up on the RRR’s Breakfasters site, but I know it also had mint and basil. The avocado came from a Golden Door recipe book, it extended it and gave a little creaminess. It would be great on steamed greens or a chunk on top of a vegetable soup, as it is half way between a pesto and gramalata.
Planning is the key to a successful detox I reckon. To avoid tonight's problems, instead of resting I spent the night making vegetable stock (from all those dag ends of celery etc that I have been gathering) and eventually a no-fry, red lentil and vegetable soup - so there is something for dinner when I get home late from work tomorrow.
Tomorrow – and I thought today was tough! How life’s little crises can threaten a detox, will she make it or won’t she?
Juice for a change to help face the new day.
Pear Zinger Juice
1 pear
1 apple
1 lemon, skin removed
ginger root, 1/2-1 inch, depending on your zing tolerance!
Parts 1 and 2 of breakfast were taken around a dentist appointment. I have to say that in the 20 odd years since I stopped eating meat I’ve never had a new cavity.
The reward for the never entirely relaxing visit to the dentist was a punnet of blueberries. I know they are “good” for you but most I have tasted have been ho-hum. However spurred on by the euphoria of the big organic grocery store (which lacked any other fruit that excited me) I parted with the big bucks for a cupful of organic berries. I am now a convert. They are sensational! Sometimes you really do pay for what you get.
Having started the working day late I didn’t have a lot of time to face the lunchbox challenge. I always buy my lunch, but I knew without the one saving grace in the city being open I’d have to pack my own today. I’d bought some good quality babaganoush, fresh with no additives and scooped some into a small container and hastily chopped up some veggie sticks. In a ziploc bag I threw in some ice to keep it from going off. Some almonds and a big bottle of filtered water completed the preparations. Oh yes, am still downing 2-3 litres a day of that precious fluid in various forms!
Lunch tasted great, but I still like the ritual of eating outside of the office. There is always the threat of the phone ringing or someone coming in, to upset the digestion. I’ve got to say I’m looking forward to going out to eat other people’s food next week.
The other downside is that although the detox is less extreme since the weekend’s fruit fast, I hadn’t really tested myself. Energy was better than expected and I hadn’t suffered any big crashes, but in reality I had done very little for 3 days. But today all that changed. By 5pm, despite nibbling on a few almonds, my brain shut down. Blood sugar had plummeted and I couldn’t add up numbers. Fortunately I’m not an accountant, but I feel like an idiot stumbling over simple sums in front of clients. By the time I got home I was literally running in circles, knowing I needed to eat (some blueberries helped, but not enough) but not being able to decide on what. The plan was to make veggie stock for some lentil soup. Dumb plan when it is 6pm, you’re hypoglycaemic and dinner will take 2 hours to cook! I chased my tail for a while and after reading lots of recipes took ideas from 3 different ones to come up with my own.
Bean salad with parsley pesto
The pesto bit
Combine: parsley, pistachios, 1-3 cloves of garlic, a little grated lemon zest and some lemon juice in a food processor and blitz til smooth. Then add 1-2 avocado and blend briefly. (Non-detoxers could add a slurp or 2 of extra virgin olive oil and a pinch of salt.)
The bean salad bit
White beans (cooked from dried would have been better but a can of well rinsed organic beans can be a lifesaver sometimes) and diced salad vegetables..
Mix the pesto through the salad and you have a well balanced, 10 minute meal!
The pesto in particular was fabulous – thanks to Flip Shelton’s idea to use pistachios. I’m still waiting for her recipe to go up on the RRR’s Breakfasters site, but I know it also had mint and basil. The avocado came from a Golden Door recipe book, it extended it and gave a little creaminess. It would be great on steamed greens or a chunk on top of a vegetable soup, as it is half way between a pesto and gramalata.
Planning is the key to a successful detox I reckon. To avoid tonight's problems, instead of resting I spent the night making vegetable stock (from all those dag ends of celery etc that I have been gathering) and eventually a no-fry, red lentil and vegetable soup - so there is something for dinner when I get home late from work tomorrow.
Tomorrow – and I thought today was tough! How life’s little crises can threaten a detox, will she make it or won’t she?
Labels: beans, detox, drinks, favourites, gluten-free, photos, recipes, vegan. dairy-free, vegetarian
posted by GS at 7:05 pm
1 Comments:
Healthy and delicious.
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