We like a lot of kale salad and it keeps really well for a few days. But if you don’t want as much just half the recipe.

Avocado Kale Salad 

• 3 heads lacanato kale, chopped
• 1 avocado
• 3-4 tablespoons lemon juice
• 3-4 tablespoon Braggs, tamari or nama shoyu

The Base - before adding the toppings

This is the 2nd Salad in the Kale Salad Challenge

Raw Kale and Pear Salad
inspired by Chef Rachel Greenspan

1 lb Lacinato kale, cut crosswise in very thin slices
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup basil, diced
1 red onion, chopped
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 tablespoon agave
2 pears, diced – carefully take onions out and leave some agave to sautee pear in
cinnamon, to taste
juice of 1 lemon
3 tablespoon white or red wine vinegar
salt and pepper
handful of pepitas, toasted

1. Place kale, garlic, and herbs into a large bowl.
2. Sweat onion with 1 tablespoon olive oil for about 5 minutes or until translucent. Add agave and continue cooking until nicely caramelized, another 10-15 minutes.
3. Carefully take cooked onions (place in the bowl with kale) out of the skillet, leaving some agave liquid in the pan. In the same pan, saute diced pear until tender but still firm (add a dash or two of cinnamon to the pears). Once cooked, add to the kale and mix through.
4. To dress salad, add remaining 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil, vinegar, lemon juice, and salt and pepper, all to taste. Let the salad sit for about 30 minutes to 24 hours to tenderize the kale without having to cook it. The salad should be vinegary and delicious.

Lisa Dawn made this OUT of this world lasagna! We have seen her amazing Ricotta Cheese in her Stuffed Shells, but to taste this you would think that this was gourmet ricotta cheese made in Italy. But happily it was Vegan (but still super gourmet ) And the homemade tomato sauce was also deelish!

Joey made this amazing pesto pasta sans cheese of course. It was so gorgeous with the fresh grape tomatoes and basil! Beautiful and super tasty!

I made my favorite Raw Crisp Caesar Salad with Pinenut parmesan and Artichoke Guacamole with mulit-grain pita chips. Yum!!!

On a side note, I can’t help but brag about Lisa & Paul’s overly impressive and adorable son Luke! Lisa had this great deck of cards with all the US Presidents pictures on them. Luke was able to go through all of them and name them!!! SO CUTE!! And he is under 2 years old!

Such a super great night with friends and deelish vegan food!

Amazing photo courtesy of Lisa's fabulous husband Paul!

My Plan for the Cleanse:

Weeks 1-3 (21 days): (I plan on doing this part for 4 weeks)

• Breakfast: Smoothie/Juice or Protein Shake
• Lunch: Clean meal made of detox friendly foods (see list below)
• Dinner: Smoothie/Juice/Soup/Blended Foods
• Snacks: anything from the approved list, but only snack when truly hungry, not just bored. (I can certainly relate to this!)
• Drink A LOT of water and/or herbal tea.
• Also ideally lunch should be the real food meal, but of course since this is an extended cleanse, if you need to switch lunch and dinner sometimes it is fine, BUT make sure you keep
  a 12 hour window between dinner and breakfast free of food for optimal digestion and detoxing. (This actually makes this so much easier to sustain for weeks at a time, knowing that you can still go out for dinner sometimes!)
• The shakes/smoothies/juices are meant to help decrease the amount of work your digestive system has to do so it can rest and  restore.

The general list of foods to remove for Elimination Diet includes: grains with gluten, anything processed (including all soy products), fatty nuts, nightshades (potatoes, tomatoes, peppers and eggplant), condiments, sugar and obviously no dairy, animal products, alcohol, caffeine or soda. Click here to see Elimination List. and here to see the Shopping List.

Weeks 4: Juice Cleanse

I love my juice cleanses! See this post for more details.

Weeks 5: Back to the Elimination Diet Cleanse detailed above

With all stages I will include lots of Yoga of course and some cardio exercises.

Here is my first week of the cleanse broken down meal by meal to make it super easy for you to cleanse! Of course adjust times and recipes for your life and preferences. Meals in Bold have recipes listed below. I will post a few more recipes next week to add more variety

DAY ONE

8am Upon Rising: room temperature lemon water &/or herbal tea
10am Breakfast(at least an hour after waking): Morning Green Smoothie
1:30pm (lunch): Romaine with Caesar Dressing and Capers
8pm (dinner): Apple and Butternut Squash Soup

DAY TWO

8am Upon Rising: room temperature lemon water &/or herbal tea
10am Breakfast(at least an hour after waking): Morning Green Smoothie
2:00pm (lunch): Kitchari from JivamukTea Cafe (they use brown rice instead of white basmati! perfect!)
4pm (snack): A handful of mixed seeds and nuts
7pm (dinner): Shake: 1 serving UltraClear and MetaFiber mixed with water

DAY THREE

8am Upon Rising: room temperature lemon water &/or herbal tea
10:30am Breakfast(at least an hour after waking): Morning Green Smoothie
2:00pm (lunch): Raw Sesame Nut-meat salad from Bonobos
7:30pm (dinner): Shake: 1 serving UltraClear and MetaFiber mixed with water

DAY FOUR

5 am Upon Rising: room temperature lemon water &/or herbal tea
7:30 am Breakfast(at least an hour after waking): Morning Green Smoothie
12:00pm (lunch): Kitchari and a kale side from JivamukTea Cafe
4pm (snack): A handful of mixed seeds and nuts
8:30 pm (dinner): Cucumber and Avocado Soup

DAY FIVE

8am Upon Rising: room temperature lemon water &/or herbal tea
10am Breakfast(at least an hour after waking): Shake: 1 serving UltraClear and MetaFiber mixed with water
1:30pm (lunch): Berry Protein Shake
4pm (snack): A handful of mixed seeds and nuts
7pm (dinner): Coconut/Avocado Raw soup & Lover’s Salad from Caravan of Dreams

DAY SIX

9am Upon Rising: room temperature lemon water &/or herbal tea
11am Breakfast(at least an hour after waking): Berry Protein Shake
1:30pm (lunch): Chocolate Protein UN-Milkshake
4pm (snack): A handful of mixed pumpkin and sunflower seeds
7pm (dinner): Soba Noodle Soup at Souen Ramen

DAY SEVEN

9am Upon Rising: room temperature lemon water &/or herbal tea
11am Breakfast(at least an hour after waking): Mango and Coconut Smoothie
2:30pm (lunch): Leftover Soba Noodle Soup & Small Salad  with Caesar Dressing
5pm (snack): A handful of mixed seeds and nuts
9pm (dinner): Leftover FROZEN Berry Protein Shake (so fun! I was able to eat it like a creamy sorbet instead of drinking it )

RECIPES

Morning Green Smoothie (2 servings)(We drink this most days as it is now )

1 cup frozen Blueberries or raspberries
1 cup frozen Mango or Pineapple
big handful of baby spinach or 3 stalks of kale or chard
2 heaping tablespoons Synergy Green Powder, Vitamineral Green or other green powder
1 tablespoon Maca
1 heaping teaspoon Crystal Manna Blue green algae or E3AFA2 heaping tablespoons Psyllium Whole Husks or MetaFiber1 serving of Vegan Protein (soy-free) powder; Vega, UltraClear, Life’s Basics
2 cups Almond, Hemp or Coconut milk
1/2 cup water or coconut water

optional: coconut (unsweetened) or avocado

Blend everything together and Enjoy! Feel free to play around with ingredients (adding or ommitting them) but pay attention to the elimination diet guide (ie no bananas for this smoothie)

Berry Protein Shake
Recipe adapted from Dr. Alejandro Junger

1 cup nut/rice/hempseed milk of your choice (either homemade with 1/2 cup nuts and 1 1/2-2 cups water, or unsweetened)
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
1 cup fresh or frozen raspberries
1/2 cup fresh or frozen blackberries (optional)
3 pitted dates
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 serving of Vegan Protein Powder
1 serving of Fiber powder, Psyllium Husks or 2 ounces aloe juice
Handful of Spinach or serving of green powder

1. Blend all ingredients until smooth.

Mango and Coconut Smoothie

• 1 cup frozen mango
• 1/2 frozen pineapple
• 1/2 cup dried unsweetened coconut
• 2 teaspoons agave
• 12 ounces almond, coconut milk or coconut water
• handful of baby spinach

Blend and Enjoy!

Chocolate Protein UN-Milkshake

This was out of control deelish! It was so creamy and chocolatey! I would not have it everyday, but for a treat, especially when cleansing, it was amazing!

4 ounces of water
8 ounces of almond milk (unsweetened)
1/2 of an avocado
2 teaspoons organic almond butter
a pinch of sea salt
1 serving Chocolate Protein Powder – Vega Chocolate is Great!
1 serving MetaFiber
1 tablespoon Agave
1 heaping tablespoon raw cacao powder

1. Blend all ingredients until smooth.

Apple and Butternut Squash Soup
Recipe from Clean Book; Dr. Alejandro Junger

2 cups Butternut Squash, peeled and chopped
2 stalk celery
2 green apples, peeled
1/4 cup pine nuts
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 cup fresh tarragon, chopped
4-5 cups water

1. Blend all ingredients except tarragon in a high speed blender.
2. Check Seasoning
3. Add the tarragon and blend again for 10 seconds, just enough to be mixed in.
4. Serve in a bowl or mug slightly warm or at room temperature.

Cucumber and Avocado Soup
Recipe from Dr. Alejandro Junger
1 serving

zest of 1/2 lime
juice of an entire lime
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cucumber, peeled and seeded, roughly chopped
1/2 avocado, peeled and roughly chopped

Blend everything together until totally creamy and smooth.

Kale Salad #1

1 bunch of kale, any kind
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 Tablespoon Nama Shoyu and Tamari
2 tablespoons sesame seeds,  toasted
2 tablespoons pepitas, toasted

1. Remove kale leaves from stalk. Roll up the leaves up cut into ribbons.
2. Massage the dressing into the kale and let it sit for 30+ minutes. (this can last a few days in the fridge as is!)
3. Toast the seeds in a dry frying pan, shaking constantly for a few minutes. Toss in the seeds and serve.

Spinach & Orange Salad with Maple Sesame Dressing
Makes 2 servings

4 cups raw baby spinach
1/2 small red onion, sliced
1 orange, peeled and segmented
fresh black pepper, to taste
1 1/2 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted (in a dry skillet, toast for a few minutes, stirring frequently)
2 tablespoons maple syrup
2 tablespoons tamari
1/4 teaspoon water

1. Place spinach in a large bowl. Toss onion and orange segments on top of the spinach. Season with black pepper.
2. Whisk sesame seeds, maple syrup, tamari, and water together in a small bowl. Add to salad and toss to mix.
3. SO simple, enjoy!

Caramelized Tofu and Brussel Sprouts
adapted from 101cookbooks.com
Serves 2 – 3 as a main, 4 as a side

1 block extra-firm tofu cut into thin 1-inch segments
a couple pinches of fine-grain sea salt
a couple splashes of olive
4 medium cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup pecans, toasted and chopped
4-5 tablespoons fine-grain natural cane sugar or brown sugar
1 lb. brussels sprouts, washed and cut into 1/8-inch wide ribbons

Cook the tofu cubes in large hot skillet with a bit of salt and a splash of oil. Saute until slightly golden, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and pecans, and cook for another minute. Stir in sugar. Cook for another couple of minutes. Scrape the tofu out onto a plate and set aside while you cook the brussels sprouts.

In the same pan (no need to wash), add a touch more oil, another pinch of salt, and dial the heat up to medium-high. When the pan is nice and hot stir in the shredded brussels sprouts. Cook for 2 – 3 minutes, stirring a couple times (but not too often) until you get some golden bits, and the rest of the sprouts are bright and delicious.

Combine and Enjoy!!

Super Bright Green Brussels

Tofu and Pecans

tofu & dill cream sauce

Cucumbers with Creamy Dill Dressing

1 1-1lb package firm low-fat silken tofu
1 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
3/4 teaspoon dried dill weed
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/4 tablespoons lemon juice
3 1/4 tablespoons seasoned rice vinegar
1 1/4 tablespoon cider vinegar
2 cucumbers, peeled and thinly sliced
1/4 cup thinly sliced red onion

1. Purée tofu, garlic powder, dill weed, salt, lemon juice, and vinegars in a food processor until completely smooth, 2 to 3 minutes.
2. Place cucumbers and onion in a salad bowl. Add dressing and toss to mix. Chill 1 hour or more before serving.

Picnic Perfect Chicken-less Salad
adapted from Healthy, Happy Life

1 package Trader Joe’s Chickenless strips
or 1 1/2 cups of grilled seitan, firm tofu or tempeh
1 1/2 cups celery, chopped thinly
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 tsp salt
1/2 Tbsp paprika
1 small orange, diced
1/2 cup red cabbage, shredded
2 Tbsp dried Tarragon, chopped
4 Tbsp Vegenaise, heaping
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 lemon, juiced or 2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp lemon zest
1/4 cup flat parsley, chopped
3-4 Tbsp sunflower seeds, roasted/salted
2 scallions, chopped thinly
optional: 3 Tbsp Arrowroot powder (natural thickener)
optional: 1 tsp cayenne
*Add more Vegenaise if you want a richer creamier chickenless salad

1. Saute, grill, bake or microwave chicken-less strips or seitan/tofu/tempeh. Chop into small cubes. Place into medium sized bowl-set in fridge to cool while you prep the other ingredients.
2. Clean and chop celery.
3. Finely chop tarragon.
4. Shred and chop cabbage. Dice and de-seed orange. Zest and squeeze lemon.
5. Add to a medium glass bowl:
Protein: chickenless cubes or seitan/tofu/tempeh cubes.
6. Add olive oil. Stir oil into cubes.
7. Add celery, orange, lemon juice, lemon zest, salt, pepper, paprika, cabbage, parsley, sunflower seeds, parsley and scallions. Mix well. Fold in veganaise and tarragon.
8. Add optional arrowroot powder gradually and fold into salad. Add optional cayenne and more black pepper to top of salad.
9. Press salad firmly into bowl, cover and place in the fridge for a half hour to chill. Chill overnight if you have time.
10. Serve! Add to sandwiches, pitas or eat with hearty grain crackers. Picnic perfect!

Cucumber, Watermelon & Soy Feta Salad

4 cups of watermelon, chopped
2 cucumbers, peeled and chopped
soy feta, chopped

Combine everything together and enjoy! Would be yummy with mint as well.