Black Bean, Chickpea & Avocado Salad

Um, amazing?! This salad recipe is a keeper. Both D and I couldn't stop eating it despite having very full bellies! It takes next to no time to prepare and is incredibly fresh & flavourful.

Black Bean, Chickpea & Avocado Salad

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

2 green onions, thinly sliced

2 plum or vine-ripened tomatoes, chopped

1 sweet yellow or red pepper, diced

1 avocado, peeled, pitted and diced

1/4 cup chopped fresh coriander

*The recipe doesn't call for it but I added about 1/2 cup of corn kernels. Definitely a great addition!

Dressing:

1 tsp grated lime rind

1/4 cup fresh lime juice

1/4 cup vegetable or olive oil

1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced

1 small clove garlic, minced

1/4 tsp EACH salt & pepper

In large bowl, toss together black beans, chickpeas, onions, tomatoes, yellow or red pepper, avocado and coriander.

Whisk together lime rind and juice, oil, jalapeno, garlic, salt and pepper. Pour over bean mixture; toss to coat.

*If making the salad ahead of time, add avocado just before serving.

Black Bean, Chickpea & Avocado Salad. Canadian Living. The Vegetarian Collection. 2010. p. 23

Curried Lentil, Wild Rice and Orzo Salad

In my post-cleanse euphoric state, I decided to pull out some old & forgotten cookbooks in the hopes of re-energizing our weekly meal plan. I went waaay back to a cookbook my mum purchased (and I clearly "borrowed" permanently) in the late 90s. My dad was fairly young (early 40s) when he had a heart attack in 1990. This event rocked our family & our diet and gone were our traditional British dinners and replaced with healthy curries, stir fries & salads. After working with a dietician, my mum's cookbook collection was expanded to include those by the Heart & Stroke Foundation, Canadian Diabetes Association and the Canadian Medical Association.

This recipe is from Anne Lindsay's New Light Cooking and will definitely be added to our rotation. It makes a good sized portion and can be kept for up to 2 days.

Curried Lentil, Wild Rice and Orzo Salad

1/2 cup wild rice

2/3 cup green or brown lentils

1/2 cup orzo pasta

1/2 cup currants

1/4 cup chopped red onion

1/3 cup slivered almonds, toasted

Dressing:

1/4 cup white wine vinegar

2 tbsp water

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp Dijon mustard

1/2 tsp EACH granulated sugar, salt and ground coriander

1/4 tsp EACH turmeric, paprika, ground nutmeg and ground cardamom

Pinch EACH cinnamon, cloves and cayenne pepper

1/4 cup vegetable oil

In separate pots of boiling water, cook wild rice (35-40 minutes), lentils (25-30 minutes) and orzo (about 5 minutes) or until each is tender but not mushy. Drain well & transfer to a large bowl. Add currants and onion. Set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk together vinegar, water, cumin, mustard, sugar, salt, coriander, turmeric, paprika, nutmeg, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves and cayenne. Whisk in oil. Pour over rice mixture and toss gently. Let cool completely before covering & refrigerating for at least 4 hours.

Serve sprinkled with almonds.

*Raisins can be substituted for currants (this is what I used).

*Long grain converted rice can be substituted for orzo (cooked for about 20 minutes).

Lindsay, A. (1998). Curried Lentil, Wild Rice and Orzo Salad. Anne Lindsay's New Light Cooking. p. 50.

Cleanse: Day 12

And it's over... well, in some +/- 18 hours it will be over. Would I do it again? Absolutely. I've felt better than I have in a long time and I think this was a quick & relatively painless way to back back to healthy ways. I'm motivated to drink more water, eat better and in general, eat fresher.

I did the Wild Rose 12 Day Detox Cleanse. There are 4 different supplements you take while following a rather loose meal plan. The meal plan is comprised of 3 different categories of food, which are further broken down into encouraged, acceptable & to be avoided. It's easy to work with for grazing and incredibly easy to put actual meals together.

Laxaherb. Just warning you, one of the supplements is called Laxaherb. Interpret that as you see fit!

At the end of the 12 days, I lost 5.2lbs. I am down to 130lbs but more importantly, I feel awesome. The bloated feelings are gone and I feel less sluggish & tired. I'm sleeping better than I have in ages (which I still attribute to giving up caffeine) and I actually wake feeling rested & alert, a feeling typically hard to come by when the alarm goes off at 5:20am.

The cleanse is only supposed to be done once or twice a year. I will do it again in 6 months but I'm really hoping (and I feel quite motivated) to keep it up. I know there are some things I will need to add back into my diet but I will do so in moderation. I cannot live a life without cheese and I know it's not realistic to never eat carbs again. But, salad has appeared at every meal lately and that is a good thing. We're flying through apples each week and in general, just eating better.

Did I mention I'm down to 130lbs?!

Cleanse: Day 11

In 43 short minutes, I will officially be on day 12 and my last day of the cleanse. I will also be sleeping so really, it's not worth noting.

BUT... I will say that today was by far the hardest day yet. I had flashbacks to some nasty side effects from day 1 as well as insane cravings. I'm pretty sure I drooled all over my co-worker's delicious looking lunch from Chipotle and it took all my power to avoid eating any of the 3 dozen muffins I baked tonight. I managed to stay strong and fought through the urges! Sadly, a big glass of water doesn't really satiate cravings.

Last night was the first time in weeks that I ventured into a grocery store. We've made an effort the last few weekends to hit the St. Lawrence Market on a Saturday morning to pick up our meat, fruit & veggies for the week. I've got enough pantry stock going that I haven't needed to shop at a grocery store. However, I had to go last night to pick up a number of items needed for my office breakfast tomorrow and I realized just how much I am impacted by grocery store marketing & promotions. It's like any possible craving I may have ever had in the past immediately surfaces and I have insane 'have to have NOW' feelings. I walked down the snack aisle and stared longingly at chips, licorice & sours. I had to force myself to keep going. Things I never buy like crackers suddenly looked damn tasty. I'm lucky that I didn't buy anything I didn't need but speaking from experience, the ONLY reason is because I'm on the cleanse. As I left the store, I realized how much more I enjoy shopping at the Market. Besides, I love spending those mornings with D & M wandering around the Market.

Big day tomorrow! Final weigh-in and then it's time to come up with a plan to stick with it.

Cleanse: Day 9

So exhausted. First day back after 3 lazy days off was too much for my system! Heading to bed but checking in for a quick update.

Despite being so close to talking myself out of it, I talked myself into a quick 5km run. Totally worth it and my legs have that lovely & good sleepy feeling now. So, 10km for the week already!

Still going strong on the cleanse. I ate a huge dinner of field green salad with avocado in a simple dressing of olive oil, lemon, salt & pepper with a chicken breast stuffed with basil, spinach & roasted red peppers. Seriously, who knew you could eat so well on a cleanse?

And It's Over...

The 3-day weekend is over and it's back to reality tomorrow. Actually, back to reality tonight because minimal workday morning craziness is all down to evening preparation. This is the first May long weekend in years that we've spent at home but it was worth it.

First, I survived days 6, 7 & 8 on the cleanse. I made a quinoa salad this afternoon and the feta called to me but I successfully fought the urge. I did a teeny tiny cheat on Saturday when my salad at the restaurant came with a delicious maple-vidalia vinaigrette and I didn't balk but rather inhaled. I also ate my weight in roasted unsalted almonds but those are allowed! I can safely say that I am loving this cleanse now. I feel amazing and it's so worth it. I'm used to the little side effects (more on that as well as the name when it's over) and the day-to-day is simple.

Second, I ran! The lousy weather & the cleanse (due to said side effect) meant I've been sitting idle for about 10 days but I forced myself out this afternoon for a 5km loop. Dropping a lb here or there is great but at the end of the day, I actually have to do something to lose the pudge. And really, I can hardly use the "I just had a baby" excuse anymore when my 2+ year old is standing beside me.

Third, I tackled my 'to do' list and got a lot accomplished:

• Trip to the St. Lawrence Market to pick up meat, fruit & veggies for the week. Done!
• Weed front garden. Done!
• Sweep & tidy the front porch. Done!
• Finish tidying the backyard & gardens and get the patio furniture set up. Done!
• Make a trip to Value Village to drop off clothes & household items no longer needed. Done!
• Finalize the pattern of the photos of M in our upstairs hallway. Done!
• Continue working on purging/tidying the spare bedroom (read: dumping ground). It isn't complete but I made definite progress. Deadline is our trip to NYC in late June.
• Hang the Gary Taxali print ANYWHERE just to get it off our bedroom floor. Didn't happen.
• Bake a batch of muffins and do a bit of advance preparation for next week. Done!
• Finalize my menu for Friday breakfast at work. Done!

All in all, it was a great & productive weekend. We spent so much time outdoors with lots of trips to the park & playing out in the backyard. We visited with the grandparents and had D's dad over for dinner last night. We wandered the nursery today and picked up a new hydrangea plant (to replace sad & dead rhododendron lost by my black thumb) and a few other garden essentials. Tomorrow's dinner is already prepared and lunches are packed.

Life is good.

Orzo with Parmesan & Basil

This is definitely one of my favourite recipes for entertaining. It's quick, easy & delicious and often requested by D. We usually serve it along side steak but it's great with chicken or fish as well.

Orzo with Parmesan & Basil

3 tbsp. butter

1 1/2 cups orzo

3 cups chicken broth

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

6 tbsp. chopped fresh basil

Salt & pepper to taste

Melt butter in a frying pan over medium-high heat. Add orzo and saute for 2-3 minutes until slightly browned. Add broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until orzo is tender and liquid is absorbed, about 20 minutes. Mix in parmesan & basil. Season with salt & pepper. Transfer to a shallow dish & serve.

Serves 6.

*Orzo with Parmesan & Basil, The Rest of the Best and More, The Best of Bridge, 2004.