Kitchari Challenge – Recipe #1

30 Mar 2011 2 Comments

by marisashealthykitchen in Cleansing, Home Cooking, Vegan Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

I love Kitchari!! Kitchari is typically considered a fasting food and is used to purify digestion and cleanse systemic toxins but is also an amazing meal on its own account. I eat it at least once a week at the amazing Jivamukti (Jivamuktea) Cafe. When Michael and I were in India I expected to eat it all the time, but strangely we never had it, not once! So upon returning home I wanted to take on my very own Kitchari Challenge 🙂 I am going to play around with different takes of this amazing mixture of Dal and Rice. Some recipes have many spices in them and some call for just a dash of salt. This is where my challenge comes in, I want to try many of them out. I will post them as I make them. Enjoy!

I made a super big double batch of this first recipe and Michael and I were thrilled to have it in the house for over a week! It was super enjoyable and very nourishing.

Kitchari Recipe
Recipe adapted from The Ayurvedic Institute

1 cup     Basmati Rice
2 cups     Mung Dal (split yellow)
7 cups (approx.) Water
a bit of     Salt
2 Tbs.     neutral oil (like canola)
3 tsp.     Mustard Seeds
2 tsp.     Cumin Seeds or Powder
2 tsp.     Turmeric Powder
2 tsp.     Coriander Powder
2 tsp.     Fennel Powder
1 pinch     Asafoetida (Hing)(I was very excited to bring this back from India – although you can easily get it at your local Indian store)

I did not adapt my recipe for the specific doshas – but below is what The Ayurvedic Institute suggests to do.
* For Vata or Kapha conditions:
add a pinch of ginger powder
* For Pitta: leave out the mustard seeds

  1. Carefully pick over rice and dal to remove any stones. Wash each separately in at least 2 changes of water.
  2. Sauté the seeds in the oil until they pop. Then add the other spices. Add the mung dal and salt. Sauté for 1 or 2 minutes. Add boiling water, bring to boil, then simmer for 30 minutes or until the dal is about 2/3 cooked.
  3. Add rice and stir to mix, adding extra water if required. Bring back to the boil, then simmer for 20 minutes or until rice is fully cooked. Aim to have minimal water remaining, leaving the lid on the pot to allow any excess to slowly be absorbed.
  4. Stir until the rice and dal begin to mush together and Enjoy!

My latest 10 Day Juice Feast

03 May 2009 7 Comments

by marisashealthykitchen in Cleansing Tags: , , , ,

green-juice

I just finished a 10 day juice feast and loved it. I have done so many juice feasts over the last couple of years and they just get better and better! I feel so good, clean and light the whole time. I want to feel this way all the time. I have so much energy and I love knowing that I am really cleansing out my body. I drink between 64-80 ounces of green juice throughout the day and lots and lots of water and herbal tea. Many people drink 96 ounces for a juice fast and over a gallon for juice feasting, so you are not limited, as it is a juice feast 🙂 drink as much as you want and what you feel is right for you. Most of my feast I was drinking 64 ounces of juice. It really made me wonder and think about how full and satisfied I was feeling throughout the day. If all I needed was such a small amount of food, why do I eat more than this on a regular basis! I am sure the reason as my sister-in-law said, is that “Food is yummier than juice”. We go out to big dinners or the office orders in lunch, etc. In life you can always find an excuse. But I find that listening to my body and eating when it is hungry is the best route for me. The struggle is to know when to stop. I only need a small amount of food, but we live in America where even our salads are Huge! Something to work on….and I will 🙂

But back to my cleanse… I normally get my juices from 3 different sources. I make a lot of them myself in my fabulous Breville juicer.  It is wonderful having my own juicer at my home, but you do not need one, or you can get a less expensive model if you are not sure how much you will be using it. We make green juice in my house every morning, so for us this was a very worthwhile a great investment! During the feast, I strain this juice to make sure I am not ingesting any fibers. On normal morning we just go ahead and drink, as it will not affect you negatively. I also supplement my own juices from Liquiteria. Such a wonderful place, they sell fresh pressed juices (which is what I buy during the cleanse because they are made in the Norwalk Press*)  fresh-squeezed juices, smoothies and some delicious snacks and food! I am so lucky that this place is within walking distance from me, amazing! Plus, they even deliver to me! Then there is this great cleansing service called The Blueprint Cleanse.  I love them! Their juices are divine and they deliver them right to you (or you can pick them up) They deliver 6 fresh pressed juices (they use a Norwalk Press as well), 3 days at a time. What I do is I order 6 days of the juice and drink 4 of these juices a day which lasts me 8 days. As I said, I only need the 4 (64 ounces) juices a day and I want to give my body what is says. (unless it is really asking for a plate of nachos, which is ok to give in to every once in a while) So I use these 3 methods of attaining my juice throughout the duration.

The best part about juicing is how I feel. I have so much energy, the first couple of days I am bouncing off the walls. I know this is because normally 80% of our energy goes towards digestion and while I am juicing my body gives all that energy back to me! So incredible! I wake up feeling great and always try to remember the crazy vivid dreams I had. I love how clear my mind is in order to have these kinds of dreams!

During the juice feast I have gone out to lunches, dinner, events and even cook many meals for my family. People are always curious and say things like “I could never do that” or “I would be starving!” or “Are you sure you don’t mind me eating” or “How can you be around food!?”. Although a lot of people think they are not capable of doing these cleanses or feasts, I have seen many of these same people go for it, even just 3 days, and had pleasant experiences. I am literally NEVER hungry during the cleanse! I would probably go on like this forever if I didn’t love food so much, it feels sooo good and I am a little sad to end it. I have yet to take my first bite of food! But as I said before, it is a feast, so if you are feeling hungry, light-headed or just want more; drink more juice, it is that simple! Also I am feeling so good about what I am doing for myself that I can be anywhere, with people eating all sorts of food and feel great! I am not jealous of what they are eating or feel bad that I can’t eat; I know I am doing the best thing for me at that time. And let’s be serious, the food will always be there! You can have some when the juice feast is over.

On a daily basis drinking green juice is so good for you! It is like an instant shot of goodness and health everyday! I really feel it as all those live enzymes and nutrients enter your body and wake you up. If you do not feel you can do a juice cleanse, or are not able to, or even if you have done cleanses and juice feasts before; adding green juice to your diet at least once a day is something to consider or learn more about.

* The Norwalk Press uses a hydraulic press to extract pressed juice. This the single most nutritionally complete juice, containing 3 to 5 times more vitamins, minerals & enzymes than juice extracted any other way. They also have a shelf-life of up to 4 days when refrigerated. The one problem is that they are super expensive!

Liver/Gallbladder Flush

13 Apr 2009 2 Comments

by marisashealthykitchen in Cleansing Tags: ,

Yestrday I  finished up my second Liver/Gallbladder Flush. I first learned about the Liver/Gallbladder Flush about 3 years ago from my wonderful friend Katherine Irby. She is an amazing licensed acupuncturist and herbal medicine practitioner and she conducts a spring cleaning every April, which includes this flush. (www.bewellbk.com) I did this flush for the first time 3 years ago with Katherine and found it really successful. I eat mostly raw and love going on cleanses. I am on a mission to be pure and cleanse myself inside and out.

Although you may feel a little queasy during this cleanse, I think it is so important as it will help you optimize your health. I feel great knowing that I am getting rid of these gallstones from my body. I also feel extra successful because you actually see them leaving your body!

I feel really good about doing this flush because I know there are so many problems and diseases associated with having a fatty liver. By doing a gallbladder flush you take steps to restore your liver and improve your health. You can improve digestion, have more energy and vitality, improve emotional health, and have a younger body, a clearer mind, and a better life.

If you are interested below is what I did this weekend:

On Saturday I ate a normal breakfast and lunch. Three hours after I took two teaspoons of Epsom salts dissolved in one ounce of hot water. The taste was pretty unpleasant but I followed it up a little freshly squeezed citrus juice. Two hours later, I repeated this process. I had citrus fruits and freshly squeezed citrus juices for my evening meal. At bedtime, I had 1/2 cup of unrefined olive oil blended with 1/2 cup of citrus juice mix. I know it sounds intense, but using a straw to drink the mixture makes it so much more tolerable. After drinking the oil/citrus mixture I lied down immediately in bed on right side with my knees pulled up close to my chest for 30 minutes. I watched a movie with my husband so it really wasn’t so awful. Sunday morning, one hour before I ate breakfast, I took two teaspoons of Epsom salts dissolved in two ounces of hot water. It did not hurt when they come out as you are eliminating, but you might feel a bit queasy, but it is manageable. I was at home most of the day because I did not want to risk being in a public restroom, but I pretty much felt fine and ate a normal breakfast and lunch.

** I would suggest doing the flush on a Saturday evening so you can spend Sunday comfortably in your house. It is advisable to stay home the day you pass the stones. It is also advisable to do the flush in the evening so that you can go directly to bed.

** Do not drink liquids after you drink the oil until the next day.

If you are looking for more information, please read, ‘The Amazing Liver and Gallbladder Flush’ by Andreas Moritz. This book outlines how to do the flush.

It is advised that you consult with a licensed health care professional when considering doing this cleanse.

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