The two main questions I receive from clients at the end of summer:
- I’ve eaten so much over the summer that I don’t know where to start. What should I eat?
- How can I detox and dump some bad food habits (or too much alcohol ☺)?
Most of us had plenty of opportunities over the last couple of months to eat foods that might not be a normal part of their diet. That’s such a good thing! I honestly don’t believe you should turn down the opportunity to eat something out of the ordinary.
However, with that said, it can only take a few days of sugar to develop a real habit. Or a few days of no veggies before your colon gets a tad sluggish.
Here are my top three recipes (all from TJ’s) to help you to pull the plug on some newly established bad habits and detox some sugar out of your system.
Green smoothie INSURANCE shot:
Keep it simple:
- 1 cup of frozen berries
- 2 cups of frozen spinach
- 1 peeled lemon
- 1 peeled & pitted avocado
- Add enough fluid to cover the ingredients. I usually just use water but you could add your favorite milk or even protein powder to really power pack the smoothie.
Throw it all in your blender and you will hit at least 2 servings of veggies and 1-2 of fruit and one great healthy shot of brain fat.
I consider this drink as added insurance against the rest of my food day falling apart.
KEY DETOX INGREDIENTS: lemon & spinach.
- The spinach has chlorophyll that can help the body to detox heavy metals & pesticides and aids in liver detox.
- The lemon also helps the liver in detoxing and helps to restore your body’s PH
Detox Asian Salad
I recently saw The Pioneer Woman make this salad and it looked amazing. I’ve upped the detox ingredients and can now make it in less than 10 minutes. I love taking more complicated recipes and simplifying them for busy working people.
All of these ingredients are from TJ’s:
- Bag of shredded cabbage
- Broccoli slaw
- purple cabbage
- Sliced bell pepper
- Cubed chicken
Dressing
- Garlic 2-3 cloves, chopped
- Ginger 3 Tbls chopped fresh
- Sesame oil 2 Tbls
- Red wine vinegar ¼ cup
- Olive oil ½ cup
- Coconut aminos (or soy sauce) 1/3 cup
- Sprinkle of EBTB seasoning
Toasted cashews or almonds (not peanuts)
KEY DETOX INGREDIENTS: honestly, ALL of the ingredients can really help. The key ones: Broccoli & almonds.
- Broccoli is high in antioxidants and helps to stimulate the detox of the digestive tract.
- Almonds are high in minerals and help to support the white blood cells during a detox.
Coconut Curry Chicken Soup
Ingredients
- 2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, I cut them in half lengthwise
- 1/2 tsp garlic salt
- 3 tbsp. coconut oil
- 1 onion quartered
- 1 tbsp. minced garlic
- 1 tsp minced or grated fresh ginger
- 1/2 jalapeño pepper
- 2 cans (14 oz.) coconut milk
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 2 tbsp. curry powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1 1/2 tsp dried basil
- 1/2 cup salted roasted cashews or nut of your choice, I used almonds
Garnishes
- Chopped fresh cilantro optional
- Small fresh basil leaves optional
- Sliced jalapeño pepper optional
Instructions
- Sprinkle chicken with garlic salt. In a large wok or skillet over high heat, heat oil until smoking. Working in batches, add chicken and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring constantly, until no longer pink inside and slightly crispy on one or two edges. Using a slotted spoon, transfer chicken to a bowl and set aside. After chicken cools, chop in bite sized pieces.
- In a blender or food processor, combine onion, garlic, ginger and jalapeño; blend on High until smooth. Add coconut milk, chicken broth, curry powder, salt and pepper; blend until smooth.
- Make It Now: In a large saucepan, combine chicken and any accumulated juices, coconut milk mixture and dried basil. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Immediately reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes to deepen flavors. Remove from heat. Ladle into bowls and top with cashews, plus cilantro, fresh basil and jalapeño, if using.
- Make It a Freezer Meal: Let chicken cool completely. Pour chicken, coconut milk mixture and dried basil into a labeled gallon-size (4 L) freezer bag. Seal, removing as much air as possible, and freeze. Place cashews in a quart-size (1 L) freezer bag and seal. Place both bags in another gallon bag and seal together.
- Thaw and Cook: Place soup in refrigerator for at least 12 hours or up to 24 hours to thaw, or run lukewarm water over bag until you can break soup apart. Pour bag contents into a large saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Immediately reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes to deepen flavors. Remove from heat. Ladle into bowls and top with cashews, plus cilantro, fresh basil and jalapeño, if using.
KEY DETOX INGREDIENTS: Turmeric/curcumin, garlic & ginger.
- Turmeric has antioxidant & anti-inflammatory properties. Curcumin (the power phytochemical that gives turmeric it yellow color) helps to stimulate bile production and eliminates toxins in the liver.
- Garlic: Garlic is the most effective broad spectrum anti-microbial agent possessing 39 different anti-fungal, bacterial, parasitic and viral agents.
- Ginger: Ginger is used in many popular cleansing programs, as it is thought to cleanse the body by stimulating digestion, circulation, and sweating. Its digestive actions may serve to cleanse the build-up of waste and toxins in the colon, liver, and other organs. Ginger info taken from thealternativedaily.com
Recipe modified from @seriouslygoodfreezermeals
