detox and the beauty of salads

I've been cooking plenty lately, but haven't been taking pictures. Dinner is usually my main cooking project, and it's hard to snap good food pics when there's no natural light. Excuses, excuses. In the evenings, I've made soup regularly, and also tofu/greens/brown rice/sauce–type dinners. When my mood is not good, as it hasn't been lately, I try to eat ultra-healthy. It seems to help. I find things like cake, cookies, and bread more irresistible than usual if I'm feeling low. I think it's a grasping for pleasure. Apparently carb-loading boosts your serotonin levels, but I think it's a faster feedback loop than that: Eating something tasty is the most instantaneous pleasure I can think of. Of course, eating carbohydrates to self-medicate backfires. You feel worse soon enough. But fortunately the world is full of good things to eat that won't give you a carb hangover.

Sometimes I loosely follow a three-day "detox diet" that I clipped from Body + Soul magazine a couple years ago. It's nothing like the hard-core detoxes where you consume only lemonade for ten days. I deviate from it a lot, too. I drink coffee in the morning and whenever I feel like it, and usually skip the tea and lemon water. I eat more rice and oatmeal than allowed, and I sauté my greens with garlic in olive oil and salt them. Steamed beets are horrible, so I often substitute some other vegetable. And since the dinner's so small, I add tofu and tahini sauce, and I have a bedtime snack, too. Even though I play fast and loose with the rules, I feel some sort of refreshment after a day or two.

Do-It-Yourself Detox
from Body + Soul magazine

For a week leading up to this simplified, moderate three-day cleanse, created by Cathy Wong, ND, gradually reduce your intake of sugar and artificial sweeteners, white flour, dairy, alcohol, salt, and caffeine while increasing your intake of fresh fruits and vegetables.

Throughout each day of the cleanse, aim to drink at least 8 cups of water and do moderate exercise. Alleviate digestive stress by chewing your food thoroughly and stopping before you're full.

THREE-DAY CLEANSE

Upon waking: A cup of hot water with lemon; meditate for 10 minutes
Breakfast: Smoothie (1 cup berries, 1 cup rice or almond milk, 1 scoop protein powder) or 3/4 c oatmeal and 1 cup berries; green or black tea with lemon
Snack: One small organic apple or pear and 10 unsalted raw almonds
Lunch: 3 oz. organic chicken or turkey, or 1 cup legumes; 1/2 cup brown rice or quinoa; 1 cup boiled swiss chard
Snack: Celery and carrot sticks with 2 tablespoons hummus
Dinner: 1 cup steamed beets over 3/4 cup brown rice; 1 cup boiled kale; 1 cup green, black, or herbal tea with lemon
Before bed: 1 cup hot water with lemon

So, last week I halfway followed the detox for a couple days, and felt a bit less like yuck. Mike then went out of town, and I made a few good salads. Salads are nice for low times because they are quick to put together and energizing. We had a lot of oranges and grapefruits on hand, and I love citrus in salads. (The detox diet has something against citrus fruit, but I'm not sure what, especially since it's in love with lemon water.) I also just discovered raw fennel. I knew about braised or roasted fennel, but it's amazing raw, too.

Here's a simple orange and shaved fennel salad, dressed with olive oil, lemon juice, and some Hawaiian black sea salt that I got at Trader Joe's a while ago. This beautiful salad reminds me that life is good, and that summer will come eventually even though it's Indian Winter in Chicago.



Here's a salad with butter lettuce, orange, raw almonds, sunflower seeds, and raisins. I ate it with some tahini dressing.