Post Cleanse - What now?

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Can you believe you've nearly finished! You have two days in which you will follow the 10 steps and then you will be in what I have tagged the "Post Cleanse Phase." The official end of the cleanse is Wednesday morning. You need to be aware that if your planning on finishing the cleanse you should slowly introduce foods back into the diet and be sure not to do it in one foul swoop. If your enjoying the cleanse and you don't want to fully finish, your not alone! I will be with you. If your finishing up, please be careful that you don't overdo it. I strongly recommend you take notice of the following:

~ for the next three days, have at the most one meat/chicken etc meal per day
~ continue to drink plenty of water and get adequate rest
~ avoid alcohol for these 3 days
~ should you be re-introducing coffee, I suggest using soy milk
~ wait three days (with the introduction of meat) before you introduce dairy, so that it is gradual.
~ continue with lemon water and pro-biotic each day

Of course you don't have to switch back! You have done such a magnificent job, and I'm certain you are feeling so much better for it, you may not want to undo all the great work!

I will be introducing some soy milk, spelt bread, and maybe some dark chocolate to the mix. Im planning on remaining vegan for a week or so and then probably remaining vegetarian for a few weeks. I have done this many times, sometimes for up to a year because I know I feel better for it. Having said that we are not all genetically the same! Some people function better with more protein in the diet, others a balance of protein, fat & carbohydrate, and if your like me very little meat protein is necessary. You are going to need to listen to what your body is telling you; I'm quite sure that after the past week, you have learnt to listen to your body that little bit better.

I love how clean I am feeling! Every single time I cleanse, I love the result. I have never been disappointed, not ever.

I know because you love the recipes so much I'm going to leave you with this beauty!

Nat & Sara's homemade baked beans

When Sara and I were at uni we literally lived off this recipe! Its so delicious - if you do re-introduce bread, its awesome on toast!
I prefer to use dried beans that I have soaked overnight, but if you are happy to use tin beans, you can use any variety. I prefer mixed beans.

1 onion diced
2 cups of 4 bean mix (or a tin of beans)
3 fresh tomatos chopped (or one tin)
1 red/green capsicum
I bunch of corriander
Salt and pepper to taste

In a pan, use a few tablespoons of coconut oil (or olive oil - coconut oil is my preference as it is much better for you) and place diced onion in. Add the capsicum and stir. Cook for a few minutes before adding the tomato, salt and pepper and allow to cook for approx 10 minutes or until it has the consistence of relish.
Add beans and continue to cook for a further 5 minutes.
Mix through corriander
Season to taste.

You can also use this as a vegetarian version of burritos filling.

So delicious!


Nat's Veggie Burgers
(these are for the post cleanse phase as they contain egg)

1 grated zucchini
1 graded carrot
1 grated onion
1 grated potato - fluid squeezed out
1 cup chopped parsley
1 cup spelt flour (or regular flour)
1 egg
Grated cheese (once your not cleansing!)
Salt and Pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients and allow to sit in the fridge until ready. Roll burgers into the size you prefer and cook on BBQ or in shallow pan.

All the good stuff - Vegan Treats!

I've stumbled upon one of the best blogs I have ever seen. I found 101 Cookbooks via Sarah Wilsons blog, so I can't take the credit for snooping this one out, but it has some wonderful Vegan (and otherwise) recipes on there. Certainly stuff for the whole family. Im going to share a few with you that we tried out last night. I've taken these directly from her 101 Cookbooks blog.

I have two words. Absolutely Delicious. You need not ever feel like your missing out with mouth watering dishes like these!

Sautéed Zucchini
I hate to say this, but if you want to do a larger amount, double the recipe, but divide and cook the zucchini in two pans. If you crowd the squash too much, it steams rather than browns, and loses too much structure, which isn't what you're after.

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
5 medium garlic cloves, thinly sliced
3 medium shallots or new red onions, thinly sliced
fine grain sea salt
2 medium zucchini, sliced into 1/4-inch thick coins
a good handful of dill, chopped
1/4 cup Marcona almonds or toasted almond slices

In your largest skillet heat the oil over medium-high heat. Stir in the garlic and cook until it starts to take on a hint of color. Stir in the shallots and a big pinch of salt, and cook until they start to soften, a couple minutes. Add the zucchini, stir to get it coated with a bit of oil, and arrange the coins in as much of a single layer as your pan permits. Dial the heat up a bit if needed, add another pinch of salt and cook, stirring occasionally until the zucchini browns - ten minutes or so. Remove from heat and fold in the dill and almonds before serving. Taste, and adjust the seasoning if necessary.



Baked Sweet Potato Falafel Recipe

2 medium sweet potatoes (orange inside), around 700g or 1 1/2 pounds in total
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 small cloves of garlic, chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander
2 big handfuls of fresh cilantro/coriander, chopped
Juice of half a lemon
a scant cup (120g) gram /chickpea flour
a splash of olive oil
a sprinkling of sesame seeds
salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 425F degrees (220C) and roast the sweet potatoes whole until just tender - 45 minutes to 1 hour. Turn off the oven, leave the potatoes to cool, then peel.

Put the sweet potatoes, cumin, garlic, ground and fresh coriander, lemon juice and gram/chickpea flour into a large bowl. Season well, and mash until smooth with no large chunks. Stick in the fridge to firm up for an hour, or the freezer for 20-30 minutes. When you take it out, your mix should be sticky rather than really wet. You can add a tablespoon or so more of chickpea flour if necessary (the water content of sweet potatoes varies enormously).

Reheat the oven to 400F/200C. Using a couple of soup spoons (put a well-heaped spoonful of mix in one spoon and use the concave side of the other to shape the sides) or a falafel scoop if you have one, make the mixture into falafelly looking things and put them on an oiled tray. Sprinkle sesame seeds on top and bake in the oven for around 15 minutes, until the bases are golden brown.

Makes about 18 falafel, enough for 4 - 6.

We have people for dinner tomorrow night. With so many great recipes I will be able to make something we can all lick our lips over. I will send the men out to the BBQ, they can have meat and I will have veggie burgers held together with chick pea or spelt flour. I will whip up Grilled Salt and Vinegar Potatoes - of course, because I can eat that! Throw together a toss salad and we will all be happy.

Oh and whilst on the topic of 101 cookbooks. When I finish cleansing I plan on making this, and also this oh and also this not necessarily in that order! If you can't tell, I have spend countless hours drooling over all things this blog has!

I feel like I now need to slap us all across the face to bring us back to alkaline mode. Today is your 4th Day. Your over halfway - well done. Some of you have had a few slip ups, but keep going, Tuesday will be here before you know it!