First thing in the morning: take 1 tsp. melted ghee before eating. The ghee pulls toxins from deep in the body. each day, I will be taking one more teaspoon of ghee until I am taking 8 before breakfast on the last day. My morning food preparation began with making Spring Masala. The recipe is below and adapted from "The Path of Practice" by Maya Tiwari. This spice mixture is what I will be adding to my kitchari this week. This mixture aids digestion, reduces inflammation, and breaks up congestion stored in the body over winter.
[Spring Masala:
-1 palmful (amount that fits into the palm of your hand)cumin seeds
-2 palmfuls coriander seeds
-1 5-finger pinch yellow mustard seeds
-1 5-finger pinch black peppercorns
-1 teaspoon cardamom powder]
Dry roast whole seeds until they begin to pop over medium-high heat. Grind whole seeds in mortar and pestle and then add cardamom powder.
[Spring Masala:
-1 palmful (amount that fits into the palm of your hand)cumin seeds
-2 palmfuls coriander seeds
-1 5-finger pinch yellow mustard seeds
-1 5-finger pinch black peppercorns
-1 teaspoon cardamom powder]
Dry roast whole seeds until they begin to pop over medium-high heat. Grind whole seeds in mortar and pestle and then add cardamom powder.
The next thing I did this morning was make my digestive aid for the week. An ancient Ayurvedic digestive is thinly sliced ginger sprinkled with lemon juice and salt. I let all the ginger slices sit in the lemon juice as I was cutting enough for the next couple days. I put them one by one into the tiny tupperware and sprinkled salt on them individually. When the container was full, I poured the lemon juice in so the slices don't dry out. I will be eating 2 of these slices 15 minutes before each meal for the duration of my cleanse. It will keep my digestive fire strong and help to ease any nausea that occurs as my body begins to detoxify.
Breakfast was white basmati rice with Spring Masala and steamed rainbow chard. I melted 1 teaspoon of ghee and heated about 1 tablespoon of the masala in there. I then poured this mixture over the rice and greens. Heating the spices and ghee together this way allows the flavor of the spices to permeate the food. I did so much preparation before I ate that I was starving and forgot to take a picture.
My lunch today was lemon beets. This is my own creation based upon the principles of liver cleansing and bile thinning (basically combining oil with citrus). Beets are blood cleansers and rosemary is a nerve tonic. I ate the beets with the rest of my Spring Masala Rice from breakfast. [Lemon Beets: 2 red beets cut into 1-inch pieces, 2 sprigs of rosemary, about 4 tablespoons olive oil, juice of 1 lemon. Mix everything together and roast in oven at 450 for about 40 minutes, turning halfway through]. P.S.- Everything I am eating this week is organic. No chemicals go in this body while I am cleansing!
Breakfast was white basmati rice with Spring Masala and steamed rainbow chard. I melted 1 teaspoon of ghee and heated about 1 tablespoon of the masala in there. I then poured this mixture over the rice and greens. Heating the spices and ghee together this way allows the flavor of the spices to permeate the food. I did so much preparation before I ate that I was starving and forgot to take a picture.
My lunch today was lemon beets. This is my own creation based upon the principles of liver cleansing and bile thinning (basically combining oil with citrus). Beets are blood cleansers and rosemary is a nerve tonic. I ate the beets with the rest of my Spring Masala Rice from breakfast. [Lemon Beets: 2 red beets cut into 1-inch pieces, 2 sprigs of rosemary, about 4 tablespoons olive oil, juice of 1 lemon. Mix everything together and roast in oven at 450 for about 40 minutes, turning halfway through]. P.S.- Everything I am eating this week is organic. No chemicals go in this body while I am cleansing!
Dinner was sweet potato and lime soup. Although spice isn't usually eaten during a cleanse, I wanted a little bit to break up the sinus congestion I have felt coming on today as detox begins. This is a soup that I created tonight with my family. The recipe will follow. My son made the soup stock with enough water to fill our biggest pot 2/3 full, 1 onion cut in half, 2 carrots, 2 cloves garlic, 1 palmful peppercorns, and 2 sprigs rosemary. He just put all these things in the water and simmered for 40 minutes. Then, he strained everything out and I used the stock to make the soup. I ate the 2 garlic cloves for immune protection. It is important to remember that cleansing flushes the lymph system, so if you have been exposed to viruses recently, they are likely to make themselves known. Since almost everyone I see lately in my office has a cold or the flu, it is always important for me to keep my immunes system up to par. This soup has cilantro, which is an antihistamine and purple kale. Bitter greens help to decongest the body as winter ends and are full of antioxidants and micro-nutrients. [Sweet potato lime soup: about 4 cups soup stock, 1 giant sweet potato or 3 normal-sized ones, 2 palmfuls cilantro, 2 chopped cloves garlic, 1 palmful shredded ginger, 1 3-finger pinch coriander seeds, 1 3-finger pinch yellow mustard seeds, 1 2-finger pinch turmeric, juice of 1 lime, 2 handfuls chopped purple kale, 4 shakes of cayenne pepper. Put all ingredients into stock except for kale and simmer over medium heat for 1 hour. After 1 hour, add kale and cook until kale changes color.] We also made white jasmine rice and threw a handful of chopped cilantro in the rice. We added the rice to the soup. It was delicious and definitely cleared my chest and sinuses!
My herbal support: Neem to cool Pitta (inner fire), Manjistha to drain the lymphatic system, and Kutki to support my liver as it processes all the toxins I am releasing. I am taking the lowest dose of these 3 times per day after meals. I prefer to use food as medicine when possible, so the ginger slices are my digestive support. As I write this, I am unwinding with a nerve-calming tea made with lavender, rose, gotu kola, and hibiscus flowers.
Today was mostly purchasing the rest of my groceries and cooking to set myself up for the week. My mental cleansing practices include no television, internet, Facebook, or checking e-mail. The first thing this morning, I opened my phone and checked for text messages from patients. Then I caught myself. All day, I kept reaching for my phone reflexively, but I was successful in having a tech-free day...until I did this blog. My family has agreed to support me and also be television and internet free all week. Every day, I will include exercise, meditation, and self-nourishing practices. I practiced meditative eating today to begin my mental grounding. Hot many things we do while we eat! How often is it that you just sit and think about how wonderful the food tastes? Well that is what I did today at each meal. When my mind wandered, I brought it back and focused on the beautiful flavors in my food. At the end of the day after dinner, I took a long walk with the dogs for exercise. I then did a self-massage with coconut oil, with lymphatic drainage. I drew a hot bath for myself and put eucalyptus oil in, and I sat in the warm water for 20 minutes to let the oil soak into my skin and nourish my body.
I am soaking split yellow mung beans overnight in water to make kitchari for my breakfast tomorrow. In case anyone is interested, below is my cleansing foods grocery list. Things I will not be consuming are: pre-made foods, fruit of any kind (except using lemon and lime juice), nightshades (eggplant, tomato, bell peppers), bread, coffee, dairy, soy, nuts, meat, eggs, and probably no beans except for the yellow mung beans.
My grocery list (organic):
-ghee
-turnips
-red and golden beets
-purple and green kale
-red Swiss chard
-sweet potatoes
-garlic
-lemons
-limes
-carrots
-white jasmine rice (brown rice is harder to digest)
-parsnips
-yellow mung beans
-ginger root
-whole fennel
-chicory "coffee"
-raw honey
-olive oil
Spices (organic):
-yellow mustard seeds
-black peppercorns
-whole fennel seeds
-turmeric
-coriander seeds
-cumin seeds
-cardamom (seeds or powder)
-salt (I use iodized to support healthy thyroid function)
I am tired after today! Goodnight.
I am soaking split yellow mung beans overnight in water to make kitchari for my breakfast tomorrow. In case anyone is interested, below is my cleansing foods grocery list. Things I will not be consuming are: pre-made foods, fruit of any kind (except using lemon and lime juice), nightshades (eggplant, tomato, bell peppers), bread, coffee, dairy, soy, nuts, meat, eggs, and probably no beans except for the yellow mung beans.
My grocery list (organic):
-ghee
-turnips
-red and golden beets
-purple and green kale
-red Swiss chard
-sweet potatoes
-garlic
-lemons
-limes
-carrots
-white jasmine rice (brown rice is harder to digest)
-parsnips
-yellow mung beans
-ginger root
-whole fennel
-chicory "coffee"
-raw honey
-olive oil
Spices (organic):
-yellow mustard seeds
-black peppercorns
-whole fennel seeds
-turmeric
-coriander seeds
-cumin seeds
-cardamom (seeds or powder)
-salt (I use iodized to support healthy thyroid function)
I am tired after today! Goodnight.