Jeanne here.
Even though I’m 14 years into this ‘real food’ thing, I still feel like I need to “clean it up” a few times a year.
I cut out dairy. Meat, fish and poultry. Wheat. Alcohol. And tomatoes (they are really acidic, and at this time of year, they are just not locally available in Montana anyway).
What else is there, you ask???
I eat a lot of sautéed or roasted veggies. Baked sweet potatoes. A lot of big salads with kale and spinach and chard and butter lettuce and cabbage and avocados and blanched green beans. Soup. Quinoa. Brown rice. Soaked oats and millet. Apples. Berries. Bananas.
Sounds boring, right?
I know.
But honestly, I’m surprised every time about how much I love the food during a cleanse. It takes me about two days of eating bland clean food to remember that just because I’m on a cleanse doesn’t mean I can’t have food I love. I remember that I’ve got turmeric in the cupboard. And cardamom. And cloves. Ginger. Black pepper. Toasted sesame oil. Rice wine vinegar.
And it only lasts about 10 days, unless I’m feeling really ambitious and strive for 40!
So for my next few posts, I’m going to share with you some of my favorite “cleanse” recipes.
Like this cabbage, celery and cashew salad with an Asian inspired toasted sesame dressing.
INGREDIENTS:
- 1/2 head of cabbage (shredded or chopped to bite-size bits)
- 3 stalks of celery (thinly sliced on the bias)
- 1/2 cup raw cashews
- 3 scallions (chopped)
for the dressing
- 2 Tbls toasted sesame oil
- 2 Tbls rice vinegar
- 1 Tbls liquid aminos (or soy sauce or coconut aminos)
- 1 to 1 1/2 tsp chili-garlic sauce
- 2 Tbls sesame seeds
Combine all the salad ingredients in a large bowl.
Add all the dressing ingredients to a small mason jar. Shake to combine.
Pour over the salad and toss to coat. Serve immediately, or let it stand in the dressing for up to an hour.
Do you know the happy dance? Because you might want to learn it so you can celebrate this simple and simply delicious salad.
PS – I use this dressing all the time. Not just on cabbage. It’s wonderful on a kale salad. Or with a delicate lettuce like watercress. Or on butter lettuce. It’s just plain tasty.