On Sunday I went to a cooking demo at Cru, a gluten free, vegan and mostly raw restaurant in Silverlake. The class was the first of a four week series focusing on detoxing and I thought it would be right up my alley but it ended up being a little…much for me. For me, learning that I was gluten intolerant changed the way I think about food, my body and my health. When you go gluten free, you have to become an obsessive label reader and it’s very easy to go from obsessive label reader to just plain obsessive. Once you start looking into food, you can fall down a rabbit hole of food/lifestyle choices. People in the food-as-lifestyle world have very strong opinions about what and how one should eat. Gluten free, dairy free, soy free, corn free, nut free, vegan, blood type, paleolithic, food combining and all the other diets our there are enough to make your head spin. I went to this class expecting some new recipes that I could add to my detox arsenal and I got that. I also got some surprising perspective.

As I watched the (huge) crowd listen attentively to the nutritionist telling them that they should not eat dairy even if they have a severe calcium deficiency because “dairy actually isn’t a very good source of calcium” and that water isn’t the ideal pH for our bodies and should be alkalized before drinking, I started to think it was about time for me to step back and re-evaluate how I was thinking about this whole detox and my diet in general.

I want to feel good. That is why I started all this. I already know that eating gluten makes me feel bad and eating nothing but chips for three days makes me feel bad but that doesn’t mean that I should never eat chips again. After all, eating a FEW chips actually makes me feel good! So does eating a gorgeous hunk of smoked gouda (damn these cheese cravings!) Just like it’s not necessary for everyone to undertake a gluten free diet, it also isn’t necessary for me to undertake a dairy or meat free diet. I LIKE dairy and meat sometimes. Detoxing from them let my body recalibrate but I didn’t feel any revelation the way I did when I gave up gluten. After this detox is over, I intend to bring back the foods I like. As long as they don’t make my body send out distress signals the way gluten does, I am going to eat them, when I want them, BUT (here is the kicker) I am going to do so IN MODERATION. A lot of people feel sick when they eat dairy. I am not one of them. I can eat dairy without feeling sick but I can’t eat all dairy all the time without feeling sick.

In my normal diet I eat a lot of dairy, therefore I also eat a lot of fat and calories. Learning some healthy vegan recipes allows me to have the option of eating something nourishing and good for me that still satisfies my cravings for food that is hearty and flavorful. This recipe required me to invest in some newfangled ingredients but it is definitely a keeper and is the PERFECT detox recipe to satisfy cheese cravings.

Mushroom Quinoa Risotto:

Serves 2
- 1 1/2 cup cooked Quinoa
- 1 Tbsp coconut oil
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 Tbsp rosemary, minced
- 4 Shiitake mushrooms, sliced
- 1/4 onion, finely diced
- 1 cup chopped spinach
- 1/2 cup soy milk (recipe originally called for homemade cashew milk. I was too lazy to make it and my almond milk was slightly sweet so I used soy. During detox, you generally want to avoid soy but it is what it is.)
- salt to taste
- 1-2 tsp nutritional yeast (I had heard of but never tried this. I got some from the bulk area of Sprouts pretty cheap. Tastes JUST LIKE CHEESE in vegan recipes!)
- 1 tsp gluten free Tamari (recipe called for Bragg’s Liquid Amino Acids. Didn’t have any. This worked fine)

Heat oil in a saute pan over medium high heat, add onions and saute until translucent and soft.

Add garlic, mushrooms, rosemary, spinach and saute until mushrooms are tender and spinach is wilted.

Add quinoa and soy milk and reduce heat to medium low.

Cook for 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally and adding a splash of soy milk if the mixture gets too dry.

After 5-10 minutes the mixture should have a thick and creamy consistency. Add salt, Tamari, nutritional yeast and stir well.

Taste and adjust seasonings then serve!

Howdy! Today is my eighth day of detoxing/cleansing and I am going strong. My skin is a hot mess and I am a little on the moody side but I have lost four pounds so far and my digestion is in fine form. Last year I did a one week detox and lost ten pounds but it was a much more rigid plan and I needed to lose more. I was happy to look back and see that I started this year 4 pounds lighter than I started last year. Now with this extra four pounds lost and the detox continuing for at least another week, I really feel like I am on the right track.

I have not been incorporating much exercise into the new year thus far because I’ve been fighting a mean cough/cold that sapped me of my energy and on top of that, all the coughing I was doing caused a muscle spasm in my neck that made working out nearly impossible. I did take 10-20 minute walks three days last week and today my neck is better, my cold is almost kicked and I finally want to get into the gym and sweat AND I can’t wait to start yoga classes. 2011 started a bit rough but I think this diet has helped me wrestle back some control and so as a favor to my body, I am keeping up the diet for at least another week, maybe more.

Here are some of the best and worst meals I’ve enjoyed or…not enjoyed as part of this cleanse.

This citrus salad was composed of gorgeous pink Cara Cara oranges and grapefruit. I peeled one of each fruit then cut them into circular slices and then roughly chopped those slices. The pith of citrus is supposed to have loads of Vitamin C but it also nearly gagged me. I loved the fruit but next time, I might supreme them rather than peel them. Supreming is a pain in the butt but it gives you gorgeous jewels of fruit that are much easier to eat and I think my Vitamin C intake is just fine with all the kiwis and citrus I’ve been eating.

Korean Shingo pears have been rocking my socks. Take a look at how massive this baby is, it’s almost as big as MQ’s Tintin mug! These pears are packed with fiber and Vitamins C, E, and K. They are also juicy, tasty and filling. A great detox snack.

One night, Sous Chef and I didn’t plan our dinner very well. We were running errands and forgot to bring healthy snacks and we ended up at Whole Foods, cranky and starving. We decided to try some of the raw, vegan, gluten-free offerings they had since those looked 100% detox friendly. I got this Chipotle Ranch Wrap.

MQ got some kind of veggie “pizza.” His tasted like a nutty pita with zesty veggies on top. Mine tasted like a bandaid. I was now exponentially more cranky and starving so I quickly cranked the oven up to 400 F and tossed some cauliflower in a splash of olive oil and a sprinkle of sea salt.

*TIP: DON'T roast your cauliflower on a silpat, it won't get as brown and caramelized. I took mine off the silpat and roasted them right on the tray.

I roasted it for about 10-15 minutes and had one of the best meals of the whole week.

Did it help that I was near tears with hunger by the time it was ready? Probably, but it was delicious and I would make it again in second!

Mmmmmm. Breakfast Quinoa! This is easy to make ahead and SOOOO filling and yummy. Make your quinoa with almond milk instead of water, add a 1/2 tsp of cinnamon at the end then put in the fridge. In the morning, pop a scoop of it in the microwave for about a minute, top it with roasted pecans and fresh or thawed berries and a drizzle of raw honey or maple syrup. Again, mmmmmmmm, I say.

I’ll keep you posted as my detoxification continues. Let me know if you have any questions or would like me to post my daily meal plans and recipes!

We were told to make a three course meal that we would enjoy using ONLY the ingredients on our tray supplementing with ingredients from a limited list that included: salt, pepper, sugar, oil, vinegar, wine, chicken broth, eggs, flour and butter. Does that sound like a lot? Trust me, it’s not!

Our instructor told us this was supposed to be fun, an exercise to help us stretch our brains but also to show us how much we already know. She said we’d be surprised by what we could do with limited ingredients and no recipes.

Going into this challenge I felt excited and confident. I watch chopped! If I can imagine what to make with squid ink, gummy bears and Sriracha, I should have NO problem coming up with three simple dishes using everyday ingredients! As I stared at my tray, the panic began to rise into my throat. No onions. No shallots. No garlic. I looked around the room and saw that nearly everyone had an onion, a shallot or some cloves of garlic on their tray. I know I have mentioned this before but once upon a time, onions and shallots wouldn’t be allowed near me without me crinkling my nose and mock-gagging in disgust. The idea of being frozen in space, unable to cook without them was pretty ironic and I might have found it amusing were I not wiping the cold sweat from my brow and trying not to roll into the fetal position.

I tried to brainstorm, looking down at the foods before me: 1. frisee lettuce 2. patty pan squash, summer squash and zucchini 3. baby cherry tomatoes 4. filet of beef 5. nectarines 6. rosemary. Hmmm, I thought, what about stuffing the patty pan with other roasted squash and tomatoes? But without rice or some other binder, that would turn into a mush pot. What about a nice creamy squash soup? Without any dairy? Or alliums? EEP! I was seriously about to pass out when I approached my teacher and meekly asked her if I might maybe, possibly, perhaps, if it’s okay, have a bit of onion? Or shallot? Lucky for me, someone had just asked her if he could NOT use half of his onion and she generously let me have it. I was flooded with relief though it was tempered with a twinge of guilt and a feeling of failure at having not easily mastered the challenge as it stood. I put those feelings behind me and got to work.

I figured that if I chopped the squash and roasted them, I could get a nice, sweet flavor that would go really well with the tomatoes and some caramelized onion in a frittata. I quickly chopped the squash into small cubes and tossed it with olive oil, salt and pepper. I put it in the oven to roast at 350 F.

As the veggies were roasting, I slowly caramelized my onions, cooking them in a skillet with a drizzle of olive oil over medium low heat.

With those items taken care of, I turned my attention to the main course. I knew I wanted to use the beef for my main but I couldn’t think of much to do with it using the ingredients at hand. I decided to saute it then slice it and serve it over the frisee as a cold steak salad. I had so many tomatoes that I figured I could use some tomatoes in the frittata and use the rest to make a roasted tomato vinaigrette. I love how even a small amount of heat makes tomatoes a million times sweeter so I tossed half of my tomatoes with olive oil, salt and pepper and roasted them at 350 for just a few minutes, until some of the skins had begun to burst. I let them cool and then gently mixed them with sherry vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper. I let the flavors meld while I cooked the steak, sauteed in a SCREAMING HOT pan then finished in the oven. I wanted medium rare but my results were a hair under medium well. Oh well. It still tasted good to me, I am not super picky about doneness when it comes to my own meat. In high school I ordered my steaks WELL DONE (cringe!!!!) I set the steak in the fridge to cool and rest while I got back to my fritatta.

My veggies came out of the oven caramelized, softened and smelling divine. I spread them along with the caramelized onions in the bottom of a small pie pan. I whisked together a couple of eggs with a splash of water to fluff them up and then poured the mixture over the veggies in the pan. I placed halved cherry tomatoes all over the top and put the pan in the oven until the edges were just brown and the center was set.

Dessert. Yikes. All I had left to use were the nectarines and the rosemary. I would have loved to make a nectarine rosemary ice cream or a panna cotta but without any dairy, that would have been a mite tricky. I saw many people around me kneading pie crusts but I knew that was out of the question for me. My nectarines were a little on the janky side, they weren’t very ripe or juicy and the skins were a bit mottled. Our instructor drilled into our heads that we must always adjust our techniques to the ingredients and quality of ingredients we have. I decided to slice up the nectarines and soak them in some red wine with a sprinkle of sugar to give them a bit more depth of flavor and bring out some of the sweetness. After letting them soak for about 30 minutes, I took them out and sauteed them in a pan with butter and sugar to caramelize the outside and soften the inside.

To use the rosemary. I made a balsamic reduction sauce by cooking down balsamic vinegar with the rosemary until it was a thick syrup, adding in a splash of the red wine I had soaked the nectarines in and straining out the rosemary sprigs.

I must say, I was so impressed by how everyone in the class came up with creative and tasty dishes using just the ingredients on hand and the skills we know by heart. If I had access to a pantry full of ingredients, I would have done A LOT of things differently but I felt that I had used what I had to the best of my abilities and made a damn tasty meal.

Here is my final menu:

Summer Vegetable Frittata with Caramelized Onions

Frisee Salad with Sliced Filet of Beef and Roasted Tomato Sherry Vinaigrette

Red Wine Macerated Nectarines, Caramelized with Rosemary Balsamic Reduction