So, I’m on Day 4 of the cleanse, and it’s going pretty well. This is an easy week, though– eating plant foods while eliminating caffeine, sugar, dairy, alcohol, meat products, you know the drill. I usually eat plant foods, so that part wasn’t hard. It was the caffeine and sugar that got me. The first day I had the traditional caffeine withdrawal headache, but that night I got food poisoning so that kinda started me off with (literally) a bad taste in my mouth. But I persevered. I know, you are all proud of me.
Now I feel better and the sugar and caffeine cravings are subsiding. Next week will be harder with only raw plant foods, and I’m terrified for week 3 which is all liquid plant foods. One day at a time, y’all.
So, the other night I made a Moroccan-style stew for dinner, since the program called for a vegetable stew but I didn’t really like the recipe. It was quite delicious, and my Speedlite flash had arrived that day so it gave me a chance to try it out while taking shots of the stew.
I adapted this recipe from Dean Ornish’s book, which I’ve done before, and it turned out pretty well so I thought I’d share it.
Moroccan-Style Vegetable Stew
serves 4
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 cups vegetable broth
- 1 1/2 cups diced zucchini
- 1 large sweet potato, peeled, in 1/2″ dice
- 1 cup diced red bell pepper (or whatever color you can find)
- 1 cup diced yellow bell pepper
- 1 cup sliced mushrooms
- 1 15 oz. can diced tomatoes (preferably no salt added)
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1 15 oz. can chickpeas or great northern beans, or beans of your choice
- 1/4 cup bulgur wheat
In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic and cook until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the zucchini, sweet potato, bell peppers, mushrooms, tomatoes, cinnamon, coriander, cumin, salt and pepper. Simmer for 5 minutes until vegetables soften. Add the vegetable broth and bring to a simmer. Cover, lower heat, and simmer for 5 more minutes. Uncover and add the beans and bulgur wheat. Simmer for 10 more minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes and serve.
It’s a really easy recipe and has a slightly more unusual taste with the spices. You can serve it over a bed of pasta, couscous, or brown rice. Or just eat it alone!
I AM proud of you and extremely impressed. I can’t say I’d be able to stick to a cleanse for very long. Maybe I will try a mini-cleanse, let’s say for a week? I’ve really been enjoying all your personal challenges. They are inspiring and entertaining.
xo