The Wonders of the Pomegranate: Apple, Pomegranate & Carrot Tonic

A few months ago, when I did my 21-day detox cleanse, I really got into juicing. A few weeks prior to that, the hubby and I watched Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead, a brilliant movie that showcased the amazing power of juicing fruits and vegetables. In that movie, Joe Cross, an Australian business man, goes on a 60-day juice cleanse and films his experience while traveling through the USA and spreading his message of health. What was powerful about the movie was the transformation that Joe goes through. Not only did he reverse many of his health problems, but he embraced a new lifestyle, with which now he has created a huge community. In creating this incredible community on Jointhereboot.com, Joe has introduced so many people to an opportunity to truly change their lives and the lives of their loved ones. Joe and I both share a passion for changing the world through people's relationship to food and in doing so helping them understand how that food affects them physically, mentally and emotionally. This is why I have enrolled at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition and will soon be a certified Holistic Health Coach.

During my 3 week cleanse, I juiced almost daily. You can find many of my juice recipes in the RECIPES section of the blog. But because I was focused on cleansing, many of these juices are packed with plenty of greens, but not all of them are extremely delicious. Don't get me wrong, the juices are quite tasty, but the recipe I will share with you today is simply incredible.

I love pomegranates. Growing up, I ate them often and in large quantities when they were in season. Thinking about the process of peeling a pomegranate, digging out the seed, cracking it in my mouth, sucking the seed, and carefully chewing the pulp in fear of getting appendicitis, brings me back to when I was kid growing up in Brooklyn. Someone told me when I was young that you can't process the seed and if you swallow it, you'll get appendicitis. Spitting it out seemed like too much work so I'd chew it thoroughly and cross my fingers. I still have my appendix, so I'm pretty sure the fear tactic was just that and not based in facts. Nowadays, its even easier to enjoy the juice since there are so many pomegranate juices on the market, but after juicing the seeds myself, I now understand how many go into one bottle of POM juice. It's ALOT!

Native to Iran and Northern India, the pomegranate has been enjoyed my many cultures. It was first introduced to the US in 1769 by the Spanish. Many Persian, Turkish, Azerbaijani, and Greek dishes are made with pomegranate seeds or juice. In tradition Indian medicine, or Ayurveda, pomegranates have been used to treat a variety of ailments, including dysentery, diarrhea, heart problems, gingivitis, and hemorrhoids. The National Institutes of Health are researching the pomegranate's healing properties for diabetes, cancers, the common cold, infant traumatic brain injuries and atherosclerosis.

High in vitamin C and anti-oxidants, pomegranates are a great natural supplement to include in your daily regimen during the winter months. One way to do that is through juicing. While it does take some work to peel and seed the fruit, the effort is well worth it. The juice that is extracted is highly flavorful and deliciously tart. Because it is so tart, I decided to pair it with apples and carrots, two of my favorites for juicing. The result is a very flavorful, tart and sweet juice rich in vitamins and minerals.

Apple, Pomegranate & Carrot Tonic
Seeds of 3 small pomegranates
3 apples
6 carrots

 Process:
1. Juice!
2. Enjoy!

Making Fruit Leather with Barlean's Organic Greens

When I was embarking on my 21-day cleanse, I knew that the program would involve drinking some sort of a shake. In the weeks leading up to the cleanse and during the cleanse, I drank protein shakes daily for breakfast and within an hour, I had severe gas and cramping. I kept drinking it, thinking that my body just needed to get used to it. It's amazing because, our bodies know what's best for them, if only we are willing to just listen. I think that the way the protein is processed, regardless of whey or vegan doesn't agree with my sensitive stomach.

Even though, shakes don't seem to agree with me, sometimes I like my meals in a glass. But all of my experimentation has instilled in me a grain of very healthy skepticism.

When I got Barlean's Organic Greens to try, I was nervous about how it was going to make me feel. Luckily, Barlean's Organic Greens isn't a protein powder, it's a supplement made with superfoods, probiotics, antioxidants, greens, and their high quality flax seeds. Sweetened with stevia and fruit extracts, it adds a nice tart kick to water or juice. Barlean's Organic Greens is high in Vitamin C and it's high content of gluten free and dairy free probiotics and greens helps cleanse and detoxify the digestive system. Finally, it contains two Chinese herbs: astragulus and schizandra, both of which are adaptogenic herbs that help your body manage stress and prevent illness.

I added the powder to a smoothie that I made for my daughter and then used the left over smoothie to make a fruit leather. We think that our daughter maybe a little vitamin K defincient, so we've been looking to get more greens into her diet. Unfortunately for us, she runs the other way whenever she sees anything green on her plate. She drank her Berry Smoothie with Barlean's Organic Greens gladly and couldn't get enough of the fruit leather. I drank a juice with a scoop of Barlean's Organic Greens and I had zero pain and my stomach felt great.

Berry Smoothie with Barlean's Organic Greens
Ingredients
2 cups of Frozen Organic Berries
2 cups of Coconut Water/Water/Alternative Milk
2 scoops of Barlean's Organic Greens

Process:
1. Add all ingredients into a blender and blend on high until smooth
2. Enjoy!

Barlean's Greens Very Berry Fruit Leather
Ingredients
2 cups of Berry Smoothie with Barlean's Organics Greens

Process:
1. Spread smoothie on a Silpat Mat at thin as you can get it without any holes

2. Dehydrate at 115 overnight (total of 8-10 hours)

3. Enjoy!

Life After My 21-Day Detox Cleanse

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It's been three weeks since I finished my 21-day detox cleanse and I thought it would be a good time to give an update on how I'm feeling.


Several days after I ended the cleanse, we went on vacation. It was definitely a bit hard to take my new learned lessons on the road, but staying with my in-laws allowed me to cook many of my meals at home. I maintained being grain and dairy free until my daughter's and father-in-laws birthdays, where I enjoyed several slices of the most delicious gluten-free, vegan, refined sugar-free cake I'd ever had! I loved every single bite of it! I also didn't feel any physical repercussions from eating cake, no physical pain of any sort.


After visiting the in-laws, the hubby and I visited Boston & Cape Cod. We had the most amazing time whale watching in Provincetown and enjoyed our fair share of delicious New England lobster.

    

One goal I committed to on the trip was ensuring that I was open and honest about my food allergies/sensitivities when dining out. In the past, I'd be really embarrassed to discuss with the waitstaff my laundry list of things I can't eat. The result would be that I would feel sick often after dining out. I'd have stomach pains, headaches, joint pains and a variety other random ailments.  I am happy to report that I was able to stay symptom free post my meals with the hubby during our trip.

Grilled Octopus from Craigie on Main in Boston

Summer Squash Roasted in Duck Fat from Craigie on Main in Boston

Tilefish with Crabmeat & Vegetable Ragout

Speaking of pain, ever since I stopped drinking the whey based shakes I had during the detox program and went back to being completely dairy free, all of my pain completely disappeared. It was a really good lesson for me, reminding me that there is no better medicine than whole food nutrition. But it was also a reminder that I really am allergic to dairy. I remember when I originally went dairy free, my daily migraine headaches completely went away. It took three years of daily goat dairy consumption to bring on symptoms of pain again, but luckily just three days to make them go away.
 
Since returning from vacation, I've continued eating grain-free, dairy-free, and refined sugar free meals. I've been feeling pretty good. For those interested, I've gained back about three pounds of the 10 pounds I lost as part of the cleanse in the last three weeks. As I said before, I'm expecting to gain most of the weight back and didn't do the cleanse for the weight loss. The most important thing is that I feel great, have plenty of energy, my stomach doesn't hurt after meals, and I'm not hungry between meals during the day. 

21-Day Detox Day 8: Vegan Veggie Spaghetti & Pesto

It's day 8 and I'm fantasizing about the yummy chicken I'm going to cook for dinner. As part of the detox, I can have one 4 oz serving of protein a day. I can either have it all in one sitting or split it up. Today I'm saving it for dinner. The protein has to be organic or pastured-raised (chicken), grass-fed (beef, veal), wild (fish), cage-free/pastured-raised (eggs). The point is to continue detoxing without adding any additional toxins. Every vegetable that I've been eating in the last week has been organic to ensure that I am not taking in any pesticides or other harmful chemicals.

For breakfast, I made a yummy juice.

Red Bunny Lemon

3 carrots
5 celery stalks
1 small beet
1 lemon
6 beet green stalks
5 mint springs
1/2 apple
2in ginger knob
cup of spinach

For lunch, I made spaghetti! Spaghetti squash that is! Spaghetti squash is a really fun winter squash that yields stringy, noodle-like threads when cooked. Squashes reduce inflammation, improve qi circulation and help alleviate pain. This squash is super easy to cook and is delicious.

Vegan Veggie Spaghetti & Pesto

Ingredients:
1/2 cooked Spaghetti Squash
2 tbsp Gina's Pesto Sauce (clean sauce made with olive oil and lemon juice) [Available at Rainbow]
2 tbsp olive oil
Celtic salt to taste

Process:
1. Set oven Bake at 350
2. Cut squash in half and place on an oiled parchment sheet. Bake for 30 mins and turn off the oven. Leave squash in oven for 20 mins
3. Remove and let cool.

4. Using a fork, scrape the insides and you'll get noodle-like strands

5. Put in bowl and mix with pesto

6. Add salt and enjoy!

As a snack, I made homemade veggie crackers made from juicer pulp.

Super Veggie Crackers
Ingredients:
As much juicer pulp as you want

Process:
1. Lay out juicer pulp on parchment paper and press down to get as thin of a layer as you can

2. Either:

(a) Set oven to it's lowest setting, place baking sheet into the over, pry oven oven door with rolled up kitchen towels. Bake for 3.5 hours and turn over and bake for another 2 hours

or

(b) Dehydrate for 6 hours, turning over once (my oven dehydrates at 140 degrees)

3. Crackers will look like this, once ready

For dinner, I made hubby and me some more of the tasty squash. I paired it with my signature BBQ buffalo chicken and some sauerkraut I picked up at the farmers market.

BBQ Buffalo Chicken
Ingredients:
3 chicken thighs or 2 chicken breasts
2 tbsp Bragg's Raw Apple Cider Vinegar
1 tbsp Spice House Smoked Spanish Paprika
1 tbsp Spice House Half-Sharp Hungarian Paprika
1/2 tbsp Celtic Salt
2 tbsp olive oil

Process:

 1. Mix all ingredients in a bowl using tongs

2. Heat oil on a grill pan or frying pan
3. Place chicken in pan and cook until golden brown (8-10 mins)

4. Flip over and cook for another 6-8 minutes (until fully cooked)

 5. Enjoy!

After dinner, I had a juice shake as a snack around 9:30. I had gone to the farmer's market and picked up a bunch of organic veggies. For $20, I was able to buy:

2 bunch of carrots (4 huge carrots each) with all tops intact
1 bunch of beets (4 long beets) with all tops intact
2 Lacinato Kale
2 Swiss Chard
1 Curly Chard
1 Fennel Bulb

Who said eating healthy is expensive!

Scary Green Monster
10 cups of carrot tops
2 large carrots
1 fennel
1 granny smith
2 inch ginger


I have to say that eating the chicken was a bit uneventful, although extremely satisfying. I thought the heavens would open up or something, but really it was just another Wednesday. I guess it's good knowing that I can survive without protein. Ever since FA, I felt like I needed to eat protein with every meal to survive. For a while, I was eating red meat at almost every meal. Sometimes a healthy intervention really opens up your eyes about your beliefs about yourself. It feels really great to be learning so much about myself.

21-Day Detox Day 7: Gingery, Lemony Bok Choy

It's my last day without protein! Hooray! I can't complain about eating all the green leafy veggies this week because I really like leafy greens, and knowing how good they are for me made me feel like I spent the week pampering myself. It's not the type of pampering I'm used to, i.e. massages, manicures, and martini's, but it's a new kind of pampering!

So, how do I feel? I feel awesome! My coworker told me my skin looks much clearer; the hubby gave the same compliment later in the day too. I do have to say that I haven't had any breakouts and my pores look cleaner and smaller. I haven't done anything differently in terms of my skincare regime either. I'm doing this cleanse to feel physically better, I didn't expect my skin to look better. What a bonus!

For breakfast, I had another one of my juice creations with my Estrium Whey.

Broco-carro-celeraus
1 head of broccoli (it takes much better juiced)
3 large carrots
2 stalks of celery
3 mint springs
1/4 lemon

For lunch I made a delicious Bok Choy dish.

Gingery, Lemony Bok Choy

Ingredients:
2 Baby Bok Choy
1.5 tbsp ginger
1.5 tbsp coconut oil
juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2 tsp cayenne
Celtic salt to taste

 Process:
1. Heat oil

 2. Chop ginger and saute

3. Cut off bottom of bok choy, separate leave and wash thoroughly


















4. Once ginger is golden brown, toss bok choy into pan



5. Add cayenne and salt, and cover to steam
























6. Add lemon juice, mix and enjoy!



I stopped by Whole Foods to pick up an Evolution Fresh Organic V Juice on my way to see Dr. Melissa for our one week check-in. She muscle tested me and adjusted some of my supplements. One of the supplements I am taking is Chlorella Vulgaris. Chlorella binds to heavy metals, pesticides, and other toxins and carries them out of the body. It's an algee that is very high in protein and omega-3's and its extremely helpful with a variety of diseases, including chronic fatigue and diabetes. She doubled my dosage. She also added Metagenics' UltraClear Renew as a medical food. Ultraclear is supposed to help the detoxification process and has been designed for people who have muscle pain. Starting tomorrow, I will have one scoop of Estrium Whey and one scoop of the Ultra Clear with my juices. Also, as part of the cleanse program, I got to spend 30 minutes in Dr. Melissa's infrared sauna. I felt super relaxed afterwards and was ready to get home for dinner.

For dinner I made the bok choy dish again because I enjoyed it so much at lunch. I paired the bok choy with a juice.

Minty Green Fennelade
1 fennel
1 apple
2 celery
2 sprints mint
cup of arugula

My first week is over and I've survived and actually even thrived! 2 more weeks to go!