The Cleanse From a Skeptics Perspective- Part 1
Post by Natalie Clements, Pilates, Boot Camp and TRX Instructor at Nourish Northwest
Hello again, Nourish family! I feel the need to apologize for going so long without stopping by, but this year seems to be absolutely flying. There have been a lot of big and exciting changes going on in my life and, as I’m sure it does for many of you, it feels like I’m burning the candle at both ends quite often. I thought the 12-day Nourish Cleanse would be the perfect excuse for a reboot; an excuse to slow down a bit, recharge, reevaluate, and get ready for a crazy summer! I’ve never done a cleanse before and wasn’t sure what to expect, but with the way I was feeling, I figured anything was worth a shot!
I’m going to be completely honest and tell you, I didn’t feel great on this cleanse. I believe that this was mostly to do with my body and food intolerances. This was one more step on my long journey of determining the root causes of my health issues. While there were ups and downs, I did learn a lot more about myself and my body. Regardless, it was really hard for me.
This past year and a half has been a long road for me in terms of food; I’ve been on a roller coaster of food allergies and different elimination diets, so I’m still processing what some of the obstacles in this cleanse were. I’m going to be entering the “challenge phase” of the cleanse, reintroducing different foods one at a time, so the work isn’t over for me yet.
But while I was struggling, my fiancé, Drew, was having a very different experience:
12 Days without a burger!? That doesn’t sound good…
I went into this cleanse a pure skeptic. I’m a reasonably fit guy, and I didn’t see a real need to change what had been working for me for a long time. So what if I drink a ton of coffee, diet coke, and energy drinks… I’m tired. So what if I eat Jack in the Box, Carls Jr. and Panda Express every day… I like it, it tastes good, and it’s easy. It was easy for me to dismiss all this talk of healthy eating because, when it came down to it, I could still go out and run for 5 miles. I didn’t see any need to change what I was doing.
My recent engagement to Natalie changed this attitude somewhat. I’ve always heard that it is good for a relationship to try to participate with your partner in their interests, and I knew that healthy food was a big interest of Natalie’s. So, when I saw the email from Nourish about the cleanse, I suggested to Natalie that we do it together (she seemed mildly shocked). I thought that if I gave it a go, I could complain that when it was over I didn’t feel any different, and could resume my previous habits unmolested by complaints of trans-fats, caffeine, and MSG.
Over the first few days of the cleanse, it was as though all of my worst fears were coming true. I had a constant headache, I was lethargic, and it was a ton of work making all of this food for each day. I missed red meat, and milk, and cheese. I might have killed someone for a breakfast burrito. I get free coffee and free soda at work, and I had gone from drinking 8 cups of coffee and 3 or 4 large (movie theater large) diet cokes every day to having no caffeine at all. I was miserable.
But, I stuck with it. After the headache broke on day five, I was starting to feel better. I enjoyed snacking on all the fruits and veggies (and nuts!). I still wasn’t drinking enough water; I just didn’t seem to enjoy it nearly as much as diet coke. But, I was waking up with energy. For the first time since I was a young teenager I felt refreshed and energized after a night’s sleep, instead of feeling like I was just managing to get by. By day six or seven I didn’t even miss the coffee in the morning and was looking forward to my smoothies!
Things really clicked for me when we re-introduced grains on day 7. I’ve never been a huge fan of quinoa, but for the first time in my life I found myself looking forward to it. Eating this diet of grains, fruits, and veggies was making me feel good. I had more energy than I could ever remember, and each day didn’t feel insurmountable anymore. I felt like I had an energy surplus (which makes it much easier to convince yourself to work out).
When all is said and done, I’ll probably reintroduce all types of foods back into my diet. I miss red meat, bread, and alcohol. My goal is to cut way back on the caffeine; I believe it was significantly inhibiting for my body to communicate what it was feeling, and it was definitely affecting my sleep. The cleanse has really changed the way I view food, and how much food impacts my life. I’d never put much stock in food affecting my mood, energy, and sleep so significantly, and I’m glad I took the risk to find out what I was missing.
I plan on coming back to this cleanse whenever I feel my energy waning, my sleep suffering, or my body rebelling. It’s a great way to ‘reset’ yourself, and it’s given me a big smile to carry around every day.
– Drew
As you can see, the cleanse is going to be different for everybody! As much as I may have wanted to sulk on the couch with some comfort food and be done with it, I’m so glad I didn’t. I never felt that “skip down the street” energy that Drew did, but we both learned some important lessons that can translate to anyone, any time of year.
Look for our post next week on the lessons we learned!
Recipe: Halibut with Lemon Caper Sauce
Post by Olivia Martino, Registered Dietitian and Co-Owner, Nourish Northwest
This is one of my favorite ways to prepare fish. The original recipe asks you to drench the fish in flour and fry and also add some butter to the sauce. I wanted to make this recipe “Spring Cleanse” friendly, so I omitted those steps but feel free to add them back in if you are not participating in the cleanse. The recipe is delicious either way. Halibut is definitely a splurge and I have made this recipe with Mahi-Mahi, cod, or any other firm, white fish that I could find.
Halibut with Lemon & Caper Sauce
Adapted From EatingWell: May/June 1991
4 servings | Active Time: 20 minutes | Total Time: 20 minutes
Ingredients
- 1/2 lemon, or more to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- 1 pound halibut fillet (about 1 1/2 inches thick), cut into 1/4-inch-thick diagonal slices
- 3 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 clove clove garlic, minced
- 1/3 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
- 1 tablespoon capers
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
Preparation
- With a sharp knife, remove skin and white pith from lemon and discard. Cut the segments of the fruit away from their surrounding membranes into a bowl (discard seeds). Strain and reserve juice. Chop fruit coarsely.
- Salt and pepper both sides of fish. Heat 3 tsp oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the fish until the interior is opaque, 1 to 3 minutes per side. Transfer to plates or a platter and keep warm.
- Add garlic to the pan and cook, stirring, for several seconds. Add broth and bring to a boil, stirring. Add lemon and juice and capers swirling the pan. Spoon the sauce over the fish. Sprinkle with parsley and grind more pepper over top.
Recipe: Moroccan Roasted Vegetables with Fresh Herbed Quinoa
Post by Olivia Martino, Registered Dietitian and Co-Owner, Nourish Northwest
My spring cleanse group is on Day 8 and that means they are starting to add foods back in. Way to go, guys!!!! You are doing a great job and it only gets easier from here. One of the issues we discussed at our mid-cleanse meeting yesterday, was making sure to focus on mainly eating vegetables. Since foods like nuts, beans, fruit and grains were allowed during most os the cleanse, it can be easy to fill up on those foods before getting your veggies in. However, one of the main points of the cleanse is to provide your liver with an overabundance of supportive nutrients to do its detoxification job efficiently. So, what is the best way to make sure you fill up on veggies? Make a TON of them at once! While, the ingredient list of this dish may look intimidating, keep in mind, this is a make-one-time, eat several times, type of dish. Aside from a lot of chopping, this is a very easy dish to prepare and has a ton of flavor. It is also a balanced meal, as it contains chickpeas for protein. The other beautiful thing about this dish is that you can substitute with any veggies that you like.
Moroccan Roasted Vegetables
Adapted from Mooswood Restaurant New Classics
Serves 6
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Baking time: 40 minutes
Ingredients
1 medium red onion, cut into 1/4 inch slices
1 medium zucchini, cut into 1/4 inch semi-circles
1 small eggplant, cut into 1/2 inch thick semi-circles
1 large sweet potato, cut into 1/4 inch thick semi-circles
2 medium fresh tomatoes, chopped
1 small head of cauliflower, chopped
1 can chickpeas, drained
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 Tbsp ground cumin
1 1/2 tsp turmeric
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp cayenne
2 tsp salt
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, thoroughly mix together the onions, sweet potatoes, cauliflower, tomatoes, chickpeas, zucchini, garlic, oil, lemon juice and seasonings.
3. Spread the vegetables onto an unoiled 11×17 inch baking tray. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and stir well; then bake for another 20 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender. Serve warm over quinoa.
Fresh Herbed Quinoa
Serves 4
Total time: 15 minutes
Ingredients:
1 cup quinoa
2 cups water or broth
2 Tbsp fresh chopped herbs (parsley, chives etc)
Salt and pepper
Directions:
1. Bring water or broth to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add quinoa, reduce to a simmer and cooked, covered for 15 minutes.
2. Stir in fresh herbs and season with salt and pepper.
Recipe: Black eyed Peas with Kale
Post by Olivia Martino, Registered Dietitian and Co-Owner, Nourish Northwest
Here’s another recipe for my Spring Cleanse group. I’ve been hearing some feedback that people are having trouble thinking of good ways to get more green veggies in. This recipe will do the trick! It’s also a good one because black eyed peas are very substantial and almost have a “meaty” flavor.
Black Eyed Peas with Kale
Ingredients
1 pound dried black-eyed peas
1 head kale, chopped
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 red onions, peeled and sliced
4 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
1 tablespoon dried oregano or Italian seasoning
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 bay leaves
2 teaspoon coarse sea salt or kosher salt
1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
Procedures
The day before you plan to serve this dish, put the peas in a bowl, cover with water by at least 2 inches, and refrigerate. The next day, drain well before using.
Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 275ºF.
Heat olive oil in a Dutch oven Add the onions, garlic, oregano (or Italian seasoning), and black pepper and cook, stirring, for 8 minutes. Add the kale and saute until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the drained peas, bay leaves, salt, and 6 cups water. Bring to a simmer, cover, and transfer to the oven.
Recipe: Chia Pudding
Post by Olivia Martino, Registered Dietitian and Owner, Nourish Northwest
Chia pudding is a versatile and easy recipe that we have made many times in our cooking classes at Nourish Northwest. It works well in our “Shake the Sugar Habit” class because can satisfy a sweet tooth, with very little added sweetener. We also make it in our “Cool Inflammation with Food” class and bump up it’s nutritional power with some potent anti-inflammatory spices, such as cinnamon and ginger. Today I am posting this for my spring cleanse group who I’m sure are looking for easy ways to fill up fast. This is a great satisfying snack that is good to always have on hand. But sorry cleansers, no added honey for you. It will still taste delicious and satisfying without it. Play around with adding some of the mentioned spices, or even cacao powder for a chocolatey treat. Enjoy!
Chia Seed Pudding
Total time: 15 minutes, plus 3 hrs chilling
Makes: 4 servings
Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups light coconut milk
3 Tbsp honey
1/2 cup chia seeds
1/2 tsp lemon zest
Directions:
In a 1 quart jar, combine coconut milk and honey. Shake to combine. Add chia seeds and lemon zest. Close the jar and shake well.
Refrigerate until the mixture is very thick and pudding-like, stirring or shaking occasionally.
Serve the pudding in bowls with fresh fruit and/or nuts.
