Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Miso Soup and Udon Noodles


Since the cleanse ended, I have been continuing to draw from dishes that I made during the cleanse and have been having lots of simple stir fries, so I haven't posted any new recipes. But tonight, I made Miso Soup with Udon Noodles and it was delicious, so I thought I would share it! The soup contains some ingredients that I took out during the cleanse (miso, which is a thick salty paste made from fermented soybeans, and kamut noodles, which is a gluten containing grain), but that are fine for many people during a cleanse.
Here is the recipe for Miso Soup and Udon Noodles (see picture to the left):
2 tbsp olive oil, 1 onion, sliced, 3 garlic cloves, minced, 2 tbsp ginger, freshly grated, 1/2 portobello mushroom, chopped, 1/2 cup shitake mushrooms, chopped, 2 carrots, chopped, 1 cup zucchini, chopped, 1 cup sugar snap peas, cut in half, 1 cup black kale, chopped, 2 1/2 cups water, 1 lemon, freshly squeezed, 3 tbsp miso, 1 package of cooked udon noodles, 2 cups cooked chickpeas, 2 green onions, chopped

Heat olive oil in deep pan or soup pot and add onion, garlic, and ginger and saute for 3 minutes. portobello mushrooms, shitake mushrooms, carrots, zucchini, and sugar snap peas and saute for another 3 minutes. Add black kale and saute for another 1 minute. Add water and lemon and bring to boil, reduce to simmer and stir in miso until dissolved. Stir in cooked udon noodles and cooked chickpeas and simmer for 3 more minutes. Remove from heat and stir in green onions.

The miso I used was Genmai Miso by Amano (made with brown rice and soybeans). Because soy is one of the most heavily sprayed and genetically modified crops, I always ensure that I use certified organic soy products to reduce the amount of pesticide residue on the food I am eating (the Amano miso contains certified organic soy). Because miso is a fermented soy product, it tends to cause less digestive upset than unfermented soy, like soy milk, so it can be a better fit for people. The udon noodles I used were Kamut Udon by Sobaya and they cooked up very easily in approximately 8 minutes.

This soup (which was more like a stir fry with a bit of extra liquid!) was quick and easy to make (the meal was ready in less than 1 hour) and it tasted great!

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Cleanse Friendly Gluten Containing Grains

Because I don't tend to eat wheat on a regular basis, I take out all gluten containing grains (which includes wheat, spelt, kamut, rye, and barley), rather than just wheat, when I do my yearly cleanse. Most people though are fine to take out just wheat during a cleanse and focus on the other gluten containing grains instead. Spelt and kamut are especially good gluten containing alternatives to wheat because the bread, cereal, baked goods, and pasta made from spelt and kamut taste very similar to wheat based goods. I especially love the sobaya line of spelt and kamut pastas (they also do have some wheat pastas, so it is best to check the ingredients) - my favorite is the kamut udon and the spelt udon noodles (which I had the day after the cleanse ended!). These pastas cook up very easily and taste quite similar to whole wheat pasta. As well, if I do any baking, I use spelt flour rather than wheat flour - even though it may make for a slightly heavier baked good, it still tastes good (as well I tend to mainly bake non fancy things like basic cakes, cookies, and loaves that perhaps are more forgiving!)!

Monday, February 1, 2010

Thank you!

Now that February has arrived and the cleanse is officially over, I would like to thank everyone who has read the blog and offered their feedback! Writing the blog was a fun ritual at the end of each day of the cleanse!

Because I have done the cleanse for many years, I no longer specifically reintroduce the foods at the end. However, the food reintroduction is an important part of the learning process for someone who is first doing a cleanse or for someone who is doing a cleanse after they have experienced a change in the way they have been feeling since they last did a cleanse. To reintroduce a food, one would choose a single food that hasn't been eaten during the cleanse (ie wheat products) and eat their regular serving size of the food each day for a period of 3 days (and continue to eat all of the rest of the foods that were eaten during the cleanse). If there is no change in the way one feels during the 3 days of eating the food, the food is fine for their system. If there is any change in the way one is feeling (an aggravation in some of the symptoms that had improved during the cleanse), it is a reflection the food is not a good fit for their system and will be best avoided for an extended period of time (by doing so, one will continue to experience the improved level of health they have felt during the cleanse). Regardless of whether one feels different with the reintroduced food, they would still remove the food after 3 days (or before if an aggravation has occurred earlier in the 3 day reintroduction period) and go on to the next food to reintroduce, continuing with the same process until all of the foods have been reintroduced and one has gained a clear insight into which foods are a good fit for their system and which foods are not. Even though this process further extends the work of the cleanse, it can make a huge difference in being able to carry forward the positive improvements one has felt on the cleanse into their every day life.

Although I won't be writing the blog everyday now that the cleanse is over, I will still write occasionally when there are new recipes or exciting information to share! Thanks again for reading!