January 29, 2012

My 21-day Clean Program cleanse is complete, and I'm happy to report that it went great!  I lost 6.5 pounds, and over 3 inches from my waist, hips and thighs. I continued to do cardio 5 or 6 days a week, but this wasn't the time to ramp up the exercise so the weight loss wasn't due to more workouts. Weight loss was not the main goal, although it's nice to be rid of that post-holiday puffy bloaty feeling that most of us end up with in January.

The main goal was to detox; to get rid of all the nasty free radicals roaming around, along with the mucus (sorry, gross) that is formed by the body to try to isolate the toxins. I feel great, as Dr. Junger promised. My achy knees are happier, I'm sleeping much better, I have better energy and mental clarity, and I feel calmer. I can't explain it all, but it's all documented in Clean: The Revolutionary Program to Restore the Body's Natural Ability to Heal Itself, and everything that Dr. Junger said would happen, did happen.

The only problem is, I want to stay on this program forever! I love it. One of the things I love most about it is the Raw Green Soup I had for dinner almost every night, and am now totally addicted to. I'm still making it a couple of times a week even though the cleanse has been officially over for a week. SisMama said she would upchuck if she had to eat this, but I promise it's delicious. It does take a slightly adventurous palate to try it for the first time, but after the first taste I think you'll agree. It's yummy and addictive.

I based my soup on a recipe from Thrive: The Vegan Nutrition Guide to Optimal Performance in Sports and Life by Brendan Brazier, but I tweaked the flavors quite a bit since I like a little zippety-do-dah in my food. It's essentially spinach blended with water, avocado, lemon, protein powder and some seasonings. I know, I know, I know! It's sounds like it would be horrible. I can't explain it, just trust me. Here's my version.

Raw Green Soup

1/2 large avocado (or 1 whole small one)
2 cups baby spinach, very tightly packed
3 cups water
2 tblsp hemp protein powder
1 tblsp hemp oil
2 tblsp raw unsalted pumpkin seeds
1 raw garlic clove
1/8 to 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (or to taste; I use a lot)
2 tblsp fresh chives
Frank's Red Hot Sauce to taste
Dash sea salt
Dash black pepper

Pile all ingredients into a blender and whirl around until it looks creamy and you don't see any dark green spinach bits spinning by.

This recipe makes 2 servings. Store leftovers in a glass jar in the fridge and use the next day if possible. It doesn't darken, but the avocado will start to take on that old guacamole taste.

Note: I use my KitchenAid blender to make this and it works like a champ.You don't need an expensive Vitamix to pull this off. A good blender or food processor should be fine.

~BigSis