I've been conducting a little experiment: Is it possible to eat just healthy food? I question even considering the concept, because I love my green chile casserole, my French Silk pie, and my cheeseburgers. I love preparing it, serving it to friends and family, and eating it. But, even though I made it with wholesome ingredients, which, in moderation, is just fine; it's still far from the list of foods my nutritional consultant/college buddy, Kelly Greenway, said I should partake in if I wanted to give my body - and liver - a break. Like many Americans, I was looking to get healthier and slim down. My research - and Kelly - noted that if your liver is stressed from processing too much sugar, white flour, alcohol and, well, the endless processed foods found in fast food joints, grocery stores, lunch rooms, restaurants and vending machines, then the weight isn't going to come off. Weight loss is a nice side effect of detoxing, she assured me. At first I pleaded with her to at least keep my carbs. "What about spelt or sprouted breads?" I whined, as I slathered my morning whole grain toast with organic butter - actually something Kelly said was ok once in awhile IF you weren't trying to shed the pounds. "If you must have bread, at least let it be more of a transporter of good fat," she said. Good fats being organic butter, cold-pressed olive and sesame oils, organic virgin coconut oil and a daily dose of cod liver oil (at least 3 grams) that contained both EPA and DHA. But in order to lose weight, Kelly remained firm on the no-bread aspect. "How bad do you want to lose it?" she summed up.
So I did. For about two weeks. I dropped 11 pounds in that first week. I ate nitrate-free sausage for breakfast, without the usual accompaniment of eggs. I don't care for eggs unless they're in egg salad sandwiches or baked in cakes.
For lunches I had salads. A lot. Craving Mexican?
Taco salad!
Wishing for pizza?
Fresh mozarella and basil, tomato salad!
When you are severely limiting what you can put in your mouth - things that you used to put in it without a second glance - you come up with some interesting substitutes. And strange meals that simply satisfy the taste buds. Like a rolled up slice of Boar's Head turkey was a favorite for breakfast. And I can't tell you how many cans of green beans I opened that first week to go with whatever side of pork, beef or chicken I had for dinner. But quickly I found that vegetables and fresh herbs began to play a key role in my daily meals. Since I wasn't allowing myself any form of sugar - even milk - suddenly blueberries were a delicious treat in smoothies. I began to look forward to creating different ways to incorporate coconut milk, which was allowed, into my chicken. I experimented with a balsamic vinegar basted pork loin and a smoked salmon bisque and was transported to Blissville. Even salads morphed into mini appetizers, like the
Artichoke heart, bacon and feta salad.
Yep, those two weeks, I surprised myself with some lovely dishes, which I will add to this blog and eventually get going in a cookbook, for Kelly's clients and whoever else is making healthier choices with no sugar, no milk, no wine, no bread, no pasta or even rice. When you follow though with that choice, you are forced to read labels. You begin to notice things you didn't before, like that sugar is in almost all processed foods, even the "healthy" canned soups. And, as Kelly said, even the healthy processed foods are still processed, so avoid them.I stuck to eating lots of vegetables and proteins as I craved them.
One week it was all about
Chicken.
I didn't want it for the next few weeks after that, opting for more cod and salmon - or my good old reliable standby, beef. But I began to allow occasional bread, like to make a healthy version of
Fish sandwich.
Ok, I also had some wine. And guess what? I still kept losing two to three pounds a week - except for that one week I was a chili cookoff judge, had slices at a local pizza joint in Durango, Homeslice, so I could write a food review, and visited Zia Tacqueria to enjoy a freshly prepared baby burrito with a shredded chicken, chorizo filling and guacamole. I also enjoyed a healthier falafel I made at home with Greek yogurt cucumber sauce with lemon and cumin in a naturally made low-carb pita from Soloman Bakery in Denver.
I didn't lose any weight that week, but the daily 30-60 minutes walks kept me mindful enough to climb back on the wagon of fresh foods. It's been a journey, and I'm discovering new ways to prepare fresh, healthy NON-processed foods everyday, and it's exciting. I have a new appreciation for fresh, organic vegetables, meats and dairy products. I found some great low-carb bread from a bakery in Denver, Julian Bakery, that uses healthy, natural ingredients NOT packed with chemicals typically found in the low-carb products in the grocery aisles. Those products are NOT viable in the no-bread adventure. As Kelly pointed out, your liver has to process all those chemicals too! Just eat a piece of homeade bread. Yes, simplicity is more my style now - and fresh ingredients. Which brings me to my latest craze -
Vegetable smoothies.
I saw the movie, "Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead" and was reminded of the many health benefits of juicing veggies. Kelly had been on me to eat the beets and bitter greens daily, to cleanse the colon and liver. As she said, "Beets are good for the colon because when the gallbladder is stimulated, bile flow is flowing….and that makes you poop. And that is good." When I asked her about taking well-known herbal liver cleansers like dandelion root or milk thistle, she replied "When you cleanse the liver in any way, you have to make sure that the detox pathways are open, the colon and the gallbladder. Otherwise it just gathers all of the toxins up as it removes them from the liver and they redistribute in a worst way. Beets…Beets...Beets..." She also recommended an adrenal supplement for me, for a couple months. "It doesn’t do much for the gallbladder and the colon except maybe help even out your stress response, and balancing out your sympathetic/parasympathetic response which would help your colon in a round about sort of way."
I was taking the adrenal supplement, but not getting enough greens. After watching the movie, I remembered a woman telling me a decade ago how juicing had cured her sickness and how it changed her life - her whole outlook and attitude.
It was like a bell went off. So, I found a juicer for $8 at the thrift store and found a recipe from "Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead," changing it to include a beet and carrots. What resulted was a pint-sized glass of heaven. I was practically buzzing with energy after drinking it, so you may want to enjoy it in the morning.
Also, if you want to enlist the help of a professional, Kelly's information is below. I know she sure helped me see the light, and begin making those healthier choices.
Kelly Greenway NTP
Pend Oreille Chiropractic
Beetilicious Juice
1 beet
1/2 lemon
3 stalks of kale
2 inches ginger root
1 granny smith apple
1/2 cucumber
2 carrots
Juice in a vegetable juicer (even the lemon should be chopped in half, with the skin left on - though never leave the skin on oranges or grapefruits if you choose them). Drink right away.
