Purification Fun

My husband and I recently finished our 21 day Standard Process Purification Program, so I was excited to share our experiences.  I had convinced him last year to try it with me for his first time, and his initial reaction was that it would be too time consuming and difficult with 2 children.  Me, being determined, convinced him that it would all work out fine.  I was so excited when the first week went by and he told me that he was loving the food, that it wasn't that hard, and that he was feeling great.  He had suffered with stomach irritation and sinus problems for years, and was noticing that his stomach was not feeling bloated and painful anymore, and his sinuses were much clearer at night.  I was disappointed, however, that when we ended the purification, that he backslid to his old eating habits. 

This time, however, even before the program ended, he told me that he was looking forward to keeping up the great lunches that I packed for him to take to work, not eating out, and generally taking better care of himself once the program ended. 

I think the general misconception about the 21 day Purification Program is that it will be difficult, especially when the patient has children.  The only thing different that I do for my children is add extra protein.  They eat the same veggies as I, but I might grill or bake some chicken for them while I am on the first half of the program.   Another misconception is that you will be hungry while on the program.  The goal of the purification program is to keep the blood sugar steady, which must be accomplished by keeping a steady stream of low sugar/carbohydrate foods in the body.  Even my active husband did not feel hungry on either of the 2 programs that we have done. 

I found some new recipes for the Purification Program that I am excited to share with you...

Roasted Cauliflower and Broccoli Soup

1/2 head Cauliflower

1 crown broccoli

3 chopped carrots
3 Tbsp coconut oil
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp pepper
4 cups vegetable broth
1 chopped onion
1/4-1/2 tsp cayenne

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Toss vegetables, oil, salt and pepper in a bowl and spread onto a cookie sheet or Pyrex pan.  Roast for 20 minutes.  

Place remaining ingredients into a large crock-pot.  Add the vegetables once they are out of the oven.  Cover and cook on low for 6 hours.  Blend until smooth with an immersion blender or food processor.  

Jen and Alicia's Squash Dessert

1 Winter Squash 

1 small apple

1 small pear

2 Tbsp melted butter

1-2 tsp cinnamon

Peel and dice squash, apples and pear into cubes.  Drizzle butter over cubes and sprinkle with cinnamon.  Bake at 350 degrees until tender (approximately 30-45 minutes).  


Darcy Ward, D.C.

Purification Fun

Follow these bloggers on their Purification Journey!

Today's Cliche, a highly acclaimed blog led by two of Center for Chiropractic & Wellness' wonderful patients is now home to a daily account of the 21 day Purificaton Program. Authors of the blog, husband and wife duo, will be logging their journey on this phenomenal detoxificaton and dietary revolution. Please check them out, and learn first hand about our wonderful protocol! Check out their first post by clicking below. I recommend subscribing to their blog for easy access to upcoming posts.

If it comes from a Plant, eat it. If it comes from a “Plant”, don’t eat it!

Follow these bloggers on their Purification Journey!

Slow cooked lentil soup: from Good Morning America and Emeril's Slow Cooker Challenge

From the kitchen of Mary Sperling

Cook Time: Over 120 min

"GMA" put out the call and hundreds of viewers e-mailed us their super slow-cooker recipes. After thousands of votes, Mary Sperling's Lentil Soup was one of the five finalists in Emeril's Slow-Cooker Challenge.

Ingredients

3 carrots, chopped

3 ribs of celery, chopped

1 onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, pressed

8 cups water (or vegetable broth)

2 cups lentils, rinsed

1 tsp. dried thyme

1 1/2 tsp. balsamic vinegar

2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. ground pepper

1 bunch kale, washed and chopped

Cooking Directions

Put all of these ingredients in the slow cooker. Set it on low if you are leaving it all day, high if you are starting it around lunchtime.
About 10 minutes before you are ready to serve the soup, add the last four ingredients.
You can add potatoes if you want more bulk. Add cubed potatoes at the beginning of cooking if you do.
Tomatoes are also good in this dish. Add one 14 1/2 ounce can of diced tomatoes at the beginning of cooking if you like. I don't use the tomatoes because my husband is allergic to them.
This lentil soup is everything people want now. It's loaded with nutrition, easy to make, inexpensive, delicious, low fat and vegetarian. As a mother of three and a graduate student, this soup is very handy.
The leftovers (even better the second day!) are a healthy hot meal I send in Thermos to school for lunch. My boys especially like the kale.
I once had a party at my home, and being concerned about having enough food, I threw this soup together in my slow cooker then finished the rest of my party prep. Surprisingly, this afterthought was the favorite food of the day!

Recipe Summary

Main Ingredients: lentils, carrots, garlic

Course: Appetizer/Starter, Dinner, Lunch, Soup

Slow cooked lentil soup: from Good Morning America and Emeril's Slow Cooker Challenge

Yummy Crock Pot Lentils

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 cups lentils -- rinsed
• 2 large onions -- chopped
• 2 cloves garlic -- minced
• 2 cups canned tomatoes -- chopped, with liquid
• 2 cups water -- or stock
• 2 large carrots -- sliced
• 1/2 cup sliced celery
• 1 bell pepper -- diced
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon marjoram
• 1/8 teaspoon sage
• 1/8 teaspoon thyme

Place all ingredients in the slow cooker and cook on the HIGH setting for 2-1/2 hours, or until the lentils are tender. Serves 8 to 10.

Yummy Crock Pot Lentils

Palak Ki Daal: Moong Lentils with Spinach

I love this Daal for two reasons - it's tasty and filled with good stuff! Daals are great, healthy food by themselves, but with the spinach in this dish, things only get better! You can serve Palak Ki Daal with plain boiled rice and a pickle of your choice or just have by itself like a soup! This is what I call good, easy food!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup moong daal - moong/ split yellow lentils
  
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 1" piece of ginger grated
• 1 small bunch spinach, washed and chopped roughly (approximately 1/2 lb or 250 gms)
• 3 tbsps melted butter or olive oil
  
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 dry red chilli broken into half
• 5 cloves garlic chopped very fine
• A pinch of asafetida
• Salt to taste
• Half a lime/ lemon

Preparation:

1. Wash the moong daal thoroughly under running water. Soak in warm water for 20 minutes.
2. Put the daal into a deep pan and add water (level should be 2 finger digits over the top of the daal). Set up to boil, on medium heat.
3. Add the turmeric powder and ginger now and stir. Cook till the daal is soft enough to mash. Add more water as you cook, if required, to keep the consistency similar to that of a thick soup.
4. When the daal is cooked, add the spinach, season with salt to taste, stir and reduce the heat to minimum.
5. In another small pan, heat the ghee till hot and add the cumin seeds. Fry till sizzling stops and then add the dry red chilli, chopped garlic and asafetida. Fry till garlic turns pale golden in color. Now carefully add this ghee-spice mixture (called tadka in Hindi), to the cooked, simmering daal. It will sizzle and might splash so be careful!
6. Put the Palak Ki Daal into a serving dish, garnish with a squeeze of lime/lemon and serve.

Palak Ki Daal: Moong Lentils with Spinach

Garlic Flavored Lentils

Made with masoor daal (orange lentils) this dish is simple and very tasty. It is in fact almost a staple in most homes. It makes a great accompaniment for plain boiled rice and a vegetable or meat dish. The recipe makes enough for 2-3 servings and is best made in a pressure cooker - it gets done faster this way.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup masoor daal
• 3 cups water
• 2 tbsps vegetable/sunflower/canola cooking oil
• Salt to taste
• 1 onion chopped fine
• 1 tomato chopped fine
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 1/2 tsp red chilli powder
• 3 tbsps ghee (clarified butter)
• 3 dry red chillies stalks removed and broken into small pieces
• 1/2 tsp asafetida
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 8-10 cloves of garlic

Preparation:

1. Wash the daal thoroughly.
2. Mix the daal, water, cooking oil, turmeric powder, red chilli powder, salt to taste, onion and tomato in the pressure cooker or a deep pan and boil till the lentils are very soft.
3. In another small pan, heat the ghee well and add the cumin seeds which will sizzle. When they stop sizzling add the garlic and dry red chillies and fry till the garlic is light brown. Add the asafetida and turn off the fire.
4. Quickly add this ghee and spice mixture to the boiled daal and stir well.
5. Eat piping hot with rice and other dishes.

Garlic Flavored Lentils

German Lentil Salad

Ingredients

• 250 g small lentils
• 1 medium carrot, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 bunch parsley
• 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
• DRESSING
• 7 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons vinegar
• 2 tablespoons white wine
• 2 tablespoons mustard
• 1 pinch cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• salt, to taste

Directions

1. Cook the lentils in salted water for 20 minutes or until they are soft.
2. Put all the dressing ingredients into a small jar, cover with the lid, and shake until they are well-combined.
3. Chop the carrots into tiny cubes, and sauté the carrots and minced garlic lightly in olive oil; remove the pan from the heat and add the parsley and the lentils, and toss them with the dressing; and serve at room temperature.

German Lentil Salad

Morrocan Lentil Stew

SERVES 6 (change servings and units)
Ingredients

• 1 cup dried lentils, sorted and rinsed
• 1 lb butternut squash, peeled and cubed
• 10 small red potatoes, cubed
• 1 onion, chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 (14 ounce) cans diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 tablespoon curry powder
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon white pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 2 cups water
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 8 ounces frozen cut green beans, thawed

Directions

1. Combine all ingredients except green beans in a 4-5 quart slow cooker.
2. Cover and cook on low for 7-8 hours until lentils, squash, and potatoes are tender when tested with knife.
3. Increase heat to high setting.
4. Stir in thawed green beans, cover and cook for 10-15 minutes until mixture is thoroughly heated and beans are tender.
5. If you have a new, hotter cooking crockpot, cook on low for 6-8 hours until lentils and potatoes are tender.
6. If the recipe is 'mush' you cooked it too long. And always season food to taste.
7. The crockpot mutes spices, so you may need to add more curry powder and cumin before you serve it.

Morrocan Lentil Stew

Roasted Kale Chips

Roasted Kale Chips

Countless other food bloggers have started out their post on kale chips saying "Why did it take me so long to make kale chips?" so I'll spare you that lament and just say that now that I've finally made roasted kale chips myself, I certainly see what all the fuss is about. Not only are they full of nutritious goodness, but roasted kale chips are delicious. If you don't believe these roasted crispy kale leaves can be that special, just check my list after the recipe to see how many other bloggers have raved about them...--Kalyn's Kitchen

Roasted Kale Chips