Day 18 of Detox

This morning I did Pilates from a DVD at home. I stayed up till midnight working so am feeling a little jaded and not up to an intense cardio workout. Breakfast was my gluten free cereal, oh wait a minute. I forgot to tell you what I add to this. So, into the big jar with the cereal go goji berries and nuts and seeds that I toast with shoyu, a Japanese soy sauce. It is similar to tamari but milder in flavour. By doing this I am increasing the antioxidant properties and protein levels of my breakfast. Then on top I added fresh blueberries, nectarines, sheep’s milk yoghurt and apple juice.

I felt like a coffee today – perhaps because I was up late but I haven’t even thought about coffee for at least 4 days. I often hit a mental slump 2 weeks in and I think I may be suffering from that now. I start to feel that I need to look outside or elsewhere for food. Perhaps it is because I am not eating any starchy carbs except for the occasional bowl of cereal.

I will make sure I eat quinoa (keen-wah) tonight and focus on that for the next few days. I adore this ancient grain and give out thanks to whoever decided to commercialise it. Quinoa has been grown in the Andes for 5,000 years and it reputedly kept the Incan armies strong and robust. It comes from Bolivia and is a Fair Trade product which means that there is no middle man and the people who grow and tend to the crops actually receive a fair amount for their work. This alone will give you warm fuzzies when you eat it! But, it is also one of the highest protein containing grains, does not contain wheat or gluten and is high in minerals. I try to buy the red one (there is white, red and black) as it is higher in iron which I need.

I use quinoa in many ways – add lemon zest and parsley and serve grilled fish on top, throw into your soups and casseroles to increase protein levels or simply throw though a salad. Check out the quinoa risotto recipe on my blog from Chef Andy. To cook quinoa, use 2 parts water to 1 part quinoa, simmer it gently in water for approximately 8 minutes then strain and let rest for a few minutes.

Ok, lunch today was a casserole from my freezer – cannellini beans, lentils, red cabbage, vegetables etc. I have snacked on nectarines and peaches for the afternoon while thinking about dinner. We are having a dinner party and I am cooking so it needs to be fresh, beautiful and detoxifying!

I went and saw Niko from the fish shop and he suggested some local mirror dory fillets. I immediately thought how great they would be with some quinoa, lemon zest and parsley. I was planning on making a large salad with enough left over for me to take for lunch tomorrow. So, as I didn’t have anything at home I went to the Asian grocer’s. This place is incredible as it is always packed and it’s relatively cheap. If I can’t source organic ingredients or I get stuck for options then I always recommend to patients to find a local store that has a very high turnover and the produce is fresh.

A couple of points here – often these smaller shops will be buying produce that there is a glut of so hence they can on sell it cheaply. Also, I prefer to spend my consumer dollars supporting small local businesses than multinationals like Coles or Woolworths. I often do a price comparison just for fun – today I bought a pineapple from the local shop for $1.99, in Coles it was $3.99!

So dinner was perfect – grilled mirror dory, quinoa with lemon zest and parsley and then a super salad of: rocket, spinach, cucumber, carrot, broccoli sprouts, avocado, sheep’s milk fetta, and blanched asparagus. I was going to add toasted pumpkin seeds for the zinc as well as crunch factor but I ran out of time.

Tomorrow I am going to let you know what herbal and supplemental support I take during a detox and why. Many patients ask me this and I think it is important that you realise I do a much stricter detox than I ask you to do. I know what it feels like to be grumpy, bored, feel like you are missing the fun etc etc.