I just popped the button on my jeans

Detox Regime (courtesy of nutritionist Lyn-Genet Recitas)
http://lyngenet.com/


DAY 1
Breakfast
1 cup OAT-FREE granola (second choice: rice-based cereal) and 1 cup berries
Or
20-oz smoothie (Blend 1 pear, 1 cup berries, ice and liquid. Top with 2 Tbsp chia seeds.)


Lunch
Carrot ginger soup (recipe below)
Mesclun-mix salad (mesclun, ¼ cup low-sodium chickpeas, cucumber, ½ ounce sunflower seeds and ¼ avocado) with lime agave or lemon oil vinaigrette (recipes below)
Snack
1 cup watermelon
Dinner
1 head Swiss chard, 2 carrots, 1 onion, 1 zucchini, 2 heads broccoli and 4 shiitake mushrooms in spicy coco sauce (recipe below)
Carrot and beet salad (Grate 4 carrots and 1 small beet and you will have 3-4 servings of a salad) with lime agave or lemon oil vinaigrette
Steamed broccoli with extra-virgin olive oil
Note: Shiitake mushrooms help with immune function. Do not substitute regular mushrooms, which are more reactive and avoid all mushrooms if you have yeast infections.

DAY 2
Breakfast
Cereal (as above) or smoothie
Lunch
Leftover chard
1 cup brown or basmati rice with ½ oz pumpkin seeds
Snack
1 apple
4-6 Brazil nuts
Dinner
Warm kale salad (see below)
Carrot ginger soup
1 cup steamed snow peas with extra virgin olive oil and orange zest

DAY 3
Breakfast
Cereal (as above) or smoothie
Lunch
Mixed green salad (Mixed greens with 1/2 cup low-sodium chickpeas, cucumber, leftover snow peas, ¼ avocado) with lime agave or lemon oil vinaigrette
2 rye crackers with 1 oz cheese (sheep’s milk or goat)
Snack
Apple and 8-10 almonds
Dinner
Chicken with spicy apricot glaze (recipe below)
Grated raw beet and carrot salad (see above)
Sautéed zucchini with onion, basil and lemon zest

DETOX RECIPES


Carrot Ginger Soup
1 .5 liters water
1.5 lbs carrots
1 zucchini
1 onion
2-3 cloves garlic
Raw ginger, cinnamon, cumin, onion powder and black pepper to taste
Chop all ingredients. Add water and simmer for 30 min. Puree the mixture.
(For thicker soup use ½ liter water)


Lime Agave Vinaigrette
¼ cup freshly squeezed lime juice
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/8 cup water
1 Tbsp Herbes de Provence
1 Tbsp agave nectar or honey


Lemon Zest Vinaigrette
Zest from 2 medium-sized lemons or 1 small orange
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
¼ cup balsamic vinegar
1-2 garlic cloves (mashed)
Herbs of your choice (I like Herbes de Provence)
Optional: mustard

Steep the zest in the olive oil for at least one day before making vinaigrette, preferably 4-5 days. Mix in balsamic vinegar, garlic and herbs. Will keep for one week. While mustard is a nice addition, it is high on reactive list and must be tested first.
Quick Spicy Coco Sauce
1 can coconut milk (Do not use low fat.)
Ginger, cinnamon, cumin, turmeric, garlic, onion, black pepper and cayenne—all to taste
½ tsp salt
1 heaping Tbsp brown sugar
Sauté the spices. Add salt and brown sugar. Reduce for 20 min. Will hold for 5 days or you can freeze the remainder. Portion is 1/8t cup per serving.
Warm Kale salad
2 cups kale
Extra-virgin olive oil or coconut oil
Carrot and beet salad (see above)
¼ avocado
red onion
1 oz goat or sheep’s milk cheese
Sauté kale oil for 1-2 min. Season as you’d like (Ginger, turmeric, cinnamon, cayenne, cumin, cloves, and black better aid digestion. Rosemary and oregano are wonderful, too.) Top with remaining ingredients.
Spicy Apricot Glaze
½ cup apricot jam
¼ - ½ cup water
1 Tbsp chipotle peppers in adobo sauce or 2 tsp smoked chipotle powder (less sodium)

Water Cooler Recipes

Adapted from a recollection of favorite Indian family recipes from my colleague Sundar at Fixya.

Roasted Eggplant Dip 

Roast a giant eggplant coated in light oil, either on an open charcoal grill or in a grill pan in the oven @ 400 degrees, for 35-40 minutes, until very tender and cooked through. 

Peel the eggplant completely. Mash the eggplant to a pulp, and add yogurt (regular dairy yogurt or nondairy coconut yogurt) until the mash becomes creamier. The consistency doesn't have to be totally smooth, though.

On the stove, heat up some oil (grapeseed or olive oil will do) and throw in a couple teaspoons of cumin, mustard seed, chili pepper flakes (or fresh minced chili pepper) and turmeric. When the spice mixture begins to pop, remove from heat, and combine with eggplant mixture. 

Serve as a side, with pita chips or flat bread. 

Roasted Spicy Potatoes

Dice 3 russet potatoes into quarters or cubes. The size of the potato dices depends on your preference. 

In a skillet, toss the diced potatoes with 2 tbsp grapeseed or olive oil. Add 2 tsp chili pepper flakes or fresh minced chili pepper, salt, cracked black pepper, and a tiny dash of sugar. Cook in the skillet at medium-high for about 7 minutes, trying to coat potatoes with oil and spices as evenly as possible, then transfer potatoes to a bake sheet. Roast potatoes on the bake sheet in the oven for ~25 minutes @ 400 degrees, or until they look crispy brown. 

Serve warm as a side or with toothpicks as a finger food.

Spicy Carrots

Peel and shred some carrots. Squeeze some lemon juice onto the carrots, and add some salt. In a saucepan or fry pan, fry up cumin and mustard seeds in a little bit of oil, until the mustard seeds begin to pop, and  then add it to the carrots.
Serve as a side dish

Crispy Brussels Sprouts

Ingredients

1 lb brussels sprouts, trimmed and quartered
3 Tablespoon grapeseed oil

3 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar
4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

A fistful of sliced almonds
salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste
1/4 cup freshly shredded Parmesan or Pecorino-Romano cheese

Preparation

Preheat oven to 380 degrees F. 

Blend oil and vinegar. 

Place the quartered brussels sprouts on a heavy rimmed baking sheet.

Add garlic, drizzle with oil mixture, and add salt and pepper to taste. 

Add sliced almonds.

Mix everything with your hands to coat everything, then spread them out in an even layer.

Roast for 15-20 minutes, stirring every 8-10 minutes to cook evenly. When brussels sprouts and nuts are as dark and crispy as you want them, remove the pan from the oven and let them sit for 5 minutes or so to slightly cool off. 

Sprinkle with cheese.

California Pear Cake

• Ingredients

• 1 cup organic granulated sugar
• 1 egg
• About 1/4 cup grape seed or olive oil
• 1/8 cup apple cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 1 cup unbleached all-purpose wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
• 3 diced (1/2 in.) peeled firm-ripe pears (preferably Anjou pears)
• Optional: 1 cup chopped walnuts
• 
  

Preparation

1. In a large bowl with a mixer, beat sugar, egg, and oil until well blended, about 2 minutes.

2. In another bowl, mix flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and cloves.

3. Add flour mixture to egg mixture and stir just until evenly moistened. Stir in diced pears and nuts. 

4. Oil a 9x13 inch pan and place in the oven. Essentially, you're preheating the oil before pouring in the batter.

5.Check temperature of oil in bake pan; make sure it's hot enough (maybe drop a tiny bit of batter to test, if it fries up it's ready).

6. Pour batter the in the hot oil pan. The batter should sizzle and begin to fry when the batter is poured in.

7. Bake in a 350° oven until top of cake looks caramelized, about 45 minutes (about 30 minutes in a convection oven). 

8. Cool on a rack. Serve warm or cool; cut into rectangles and lift out with a spatula. Dust with powdered sugar.

Handmade.

Made by Hand / No 2 The Knife Maker from Made by Hand on Vimeo.

7 Billion

http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2011/10/population-seven-billion/100176/?google_editors_picks=true

Every time I give you a set of given truths, your universe gets smaller. TV is a box of truths.

Speaking of which, can anyone tell me what the hell this is?
http://www.truthsat.tv/