In the Home Stretch. . . well, not quite . . . Day 9

I hope everyone had a happy Monday.  I have received some great feedback on my cleanse journey and I appreciate that!  It's day 9 of my Orenda Clean Burn Shape cleanse.  It's definitely been challenging as I've had more than my normal number of social commitments.  A few cheats here and there, but overall I have stuck to the plan.  I'm feeling great and definitely craving more of the good stuff - whole foods.  I enjoy being creative with the shopping list provided and I brought a couple of my dishes to a party last night.  They were a hit!  It's nice when other people discover eating healthy can also mean eating tasty.  

Here is an interesting change of plans  . . . I will be following up this cleanse with an unexpected, well really more forgotten, juice cleanse.  I had ordered a Groupon for the Peeled 3 day juice cleanse a while back.  Ordered my juice and forgot about it.  Well, today was pickup day!  So tomorrow, I am starting a 3 day juice cleanse.  Now, normally, I wouldn't recommend doing something like this back to back, especially with someone who has never done a juice cleanse.  I have done plenty of them and I'm sure I will be fine.  If you're in the Chicago area and like fresh juice, check out Peeled http://peeledjuicebar.com/.  They often run Groupons which are a great deal.  I usually make my own juice and I will post my review on Peeled in a couple of days.

In the meantime, I wanted to share a recipe with you.  It's a variation on a Gabriel Cousens recipe.  I hope you enjoy!

Veggie Medley

8 stalks asparagus

2 tomatoes diced

handfull of green beens, trimmed and cut in 1 inch pieces

2 cups broccoli chopped

1 yellow or orange pepper cut into slices

1 red pepper cut into slices

1 fresh bulb fennel, chopped

1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped

1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped

Sauce

3-4 fresh tomatoes

1/4 cup olive oil

1/2 of lemon, juiced

1/4 cup water (more if needed)

1 inch piece fresh ginger

1 tsp italian herb mix

fresh ground pepper and sea salt to taste

Heat oven on lowest setting

Combine the first 9 ingredients in a glass bowl or baking dish.  

In a high speed blender, add the sauce ingredients and blend until smooth.  Pour over the vegetables.  Place in dehydrator and heat until warmed or place in oven on lowest setting for 30-45 min or until warmed through.  Veggies should still be crisp.  

This was a hit at the party I took it to!