Recipes

Popeye was on to something! The animated character’s creators were telling us to eat the leafy green stuff long before it became a featured salad on restaurant menus or the pulverized, secret ingredient in fruit smoothies and brownies. Raw or cooked, cleanse or not, spinach is an excellent add to any weekly veggie list!

It’s the vegetable that has the worst reputation… at least it did a number of years ago. There used to be a general belief that Brussels sprouts were gassy, stinky, horrible-tasting, mini-cabbage balls that most people detested… Then one day, the idea of roasting the hearty layered spheres became a thing and many long-ago haters of the veggie became true believers.

It’s one of the most approachable filets in the fish case at your local grocer, in my opinion. Halibut, with its clean flaky white texture, is by far one of my favorite go-to fishes for a healthy cleanse, or non-cleansing, meal. 

QUINOA – No cleanse is ever complete without this seed (that we eat like a grain) with a cute letter sequence that may make you wonder if you’re pronouncing its name correctly. If you read it the way it’s written you might say [Kee-no-ah]. However, it’s pronounced, “Keen-wah.”

If you’re a skim milk drinker like I tend to be, off cleanse, almond milk is a very suitable substitute that has skim’s thirst-quenching, no-fat taste and body. It works well in cleanse-approved breakfast cereals, and there’s some notable good stuff sloshing around in its characteristic carton (if store bought) or carafe (if homemade).

On some cleanse mornings, I like to wake up my mouth and mind with the refreshing taste and juiciness of darker-skinned berries. Dark berries are known to have brain-boosting qualities that are epic. And, on taste alone, those plump little nuggets brighten my mouth with a clean sweetness.

The avocado is California’s state fruit. Our beautiful, emerald alligator-skinned, tear-dropped gems, dangle from many neighbors’ prolific trees. It’s often the ingredient of choice – whether snack or mealtime – for Californians and people across the country. And they’re the perfect fruit-disguised-as-a-veggie cleanse staple.

Grilled chicken is the protein our family gravitates to. Yes, we eat a fair amount of fish, but chicken, I would say, is our family’s staple protein product. As you might imagine, the qualities inherent in chicken are excellent features for a cleanse.

It’s the official vegetable of our great state. It packs a punch in the nutrition department. Its taste is mild and agreeable, slightly nutty (some call that “earthy”) and to me, I taste subtle floral notes when it meets my tongue. And the best way to eat it proves to be a fun table pursuit that even kids find kind of entertaining!

When I crave candy-like sweetness while cleansing, dried mango tops the list of my picks. Not only is it naturally sweet, it’s also chewy, similar to gnashing taffy. It’s a snack escape into sweetness.