Many-a-Dark-Green Later: Sugar-Free Week One

In case you missed my last posts, I am eating along the guidelines of the Anti-Candida Diet this month in an attempt to balance the yeasts in my body. I am also participating in the Chase Daylight Vegan Challenge with this cleanse, and you should really check out Ryan's awesome blogging on her adventures in the world of veganism. Now, onto the sugar-free frontier...

Funny how when we make dietary commitments, they seem remarkably simple. No refined sugar? Heck, I've done that before. I love the natural flavors of foods, and I don't usually need anything to sweeten my already delicious fruits and veggies. I can easily skip the brown sugar on my breakfast porridge. I felt anything but insecure last Wednesday as I decided once and for all to go anti candida this month.

Blow number one: I didn't just lose the obvious crystallized and syrup sugars. I also cut out all fruits, except for avocado, tomato, and fresh lemon. That hurt a little. No apples or bananas in my breakfast porridge now. Looking stark. I got a definite sad face, but I kept my chin up.

Then came blow number two: low-carb diet. Gotta cut out as many carbs as possible so the yeasty little beasts can't feed on them. So not only are the apples and bananas gone from my breakfast bowl, the porridge is called into question too. While whole grains are allowed, they aren't really the focal point any more. That is a bit strange for most eaters, myself included. Add in the loss and/or reduction of starchy vegetables, like potatoes, carrots, and beets, and you've got one confused cook.

I wracked my brain and those behind many, many anti-candida websites in my quest for simple recipes this week that were vegan, gluten-free, and anti-candida. That's not a lot of wiggle room, my friends. But, a few bland dishes of plain greens later, I emerged with my first good anti-candida recipes, which are here for you to enjoy.

First, because I did Shankhaprakshalana to start my cleanse, an ayurvedic intestinal cleanse from Asana Pranayama Mudra Bandha, I knew I had to start out my eating with lentils and rice. specifically, it's supposed to be a very simple kicheri with ghee and turmeric. I opted for plain red lentils, brown rice, and turmeric with flax oil on top. Delicious.

By day 2 I introduced some veggies to the meal, but kept the thick soupy consistency for ease of digestion. Unlike the juice fast I did for new years, this one recommends cooked veggies to start, again for ease of digestion. To each her own, so whatever feels right is probably it. For me, cooked, soft, and gentle sounded good a mere 48 hours after flushing everything out of my digestive tract.

The meal here is kicheri with the addition of a little carrot, turnip, garlic, onion, parsley, and kale. The flavor is unbelievably good, and the texture is so comforting and easy on the belly. I have no qualms about eating this meal regularly for the rest of my life, candida or no! I didnt use traditional Indian methods for cooking because I didn't want to fry the oil or spices in the beginning. This is more like a one-pot homey stew than your average restaurant kicheri, but it's really, REALLY fantastic, healthy, and easy.

If you're not on the ACD (anti candida diet) feel free to add more carrots and other starchy veggies, or not!

The dish here is shown with less kale than the recipe calls for.
Expect much more delicious greenery, this bowl wasn't quite up to snuff!)

Humble Kale Kicheri (for 3)

1 1/2 cups red lentils
1 cup brown rice
2 tsp flax oil
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
1 turnip, chopped
tons of kale, chopped
a bunch of parsely, chopped
1 yellow onion, chopped
1/2 tsp turmeric

Rinse the lentils and rice and put in a pan with 3 cups water, the onions, carrot, turnip and the turmeric

Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat, and cook for about 30 minutes. Stir occasionally and check that all the water doesn't evaporate. Add more as needed to keep the consistency a little on the stew side.

When the rice is done, add the kale, parsley, and garlic, stir them into the kicheri, and cover again. Cook for 5 minutes and turn off the heat. Serve with flax oil drizzled on top, and roasted pumpkin or sunflower seeds if desired. mmm....

When I felt like I couldn't eat another bite of kicheri (took about 4 days), I entered the realm of other legumes. I made a very hearty bean soup with I used as a base to add steamed veggies to for a few meals in a row. It was extremely satisfying yummy, especially given the simple ingredients list:

Four Bean Country Stew (makes 4-6 servings)

3/4 cup dried kidney beans
3/4 cup dried black beans
1/2 cups dried chickpeas
1/2 cup red lentils
1 piece kombu seaweed

1 cup large onion chunks
6 cloves of garlic
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
a dash of salt

2 carrots, chunked
1 turnip, chunked
a whole lot of dark green: spinach, kale, chard, etc.
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley

Soak the kidney beans, black beans, and chickpeas overnight. Drain, rinse, and set in a pot with the kombu seaweed and about 6 cups water (adjust as needed to keep from drying out). Cook for 1 1/2 hours, or until the beans are tender.

Add the lentils, carrots, turnip, onion, salt, pepper, turmeric, and rosemary. If needed, add a little more water. Cook, covered, until the veggies are soft, about 30 minutes, and add in the greens, parsley, and garlic. Cover again and cook for 3-5 more minutes, until the greens are wilted and the garlic is just cooked. Serve with roasted pumpkin seeds and/or steamed broccoli.

Finally, I couldn't look another bean in the eye, and I turned to salads for lighter fare. It's hard to make a salad that's truly satisfying when you're used to a bowl-full of hot carbs and protein. I came up with a few types that really hit the spot though. I didn't manage many pictures, but here are two with photos at least.


A super simple mix of nüssli-salat (corn salad) and spinach topped with avocado, celery, roasted sunflower, pumpkin, and sesame seeds, and a drizzle of flax oil.

A bombilicious spinach and unidentified dark purple green (use any lettuce you want) with carrot, celery, roasted flax, sunflower and pumpkin seeds, and this incredible, AMAZING Lemon-Zatar Yogurt Dressing.

OMG it's so good. I served my salad with a little more dressing spread over a rice cake and sprinkled with more zatar, because I couldn't resist.

Lemon-Zatar Yogurt Dressing
1 cup plain soy or other yogurt
2 tbsp flax oil
2 tbsp zatar
juice of almost a whole lemon (about 3/4)
1 clove garlic

Grate the garlic clove and mix it all up. For a thinner dressing, add a bit of water. That's it! Try not to eat it ALL off the spoon directly, it's worth the wait to put it on a salad....

Last, but certainly not least, was a Creamed Avocado-Arugula mix. Very simple and good. I served it with fresh spinach alongside Kale Kicheri for a dark-green foodgasm yesterday afternoon.

Creamed Avocado-Arugula Salad (serves 4)
1/2 ripe avocado
juice of 1/2 lemon
a twist of fresh ground black pepper
a dash of salt

water as needed

150 g fresh arugula, washed
50 g spinach, washed

Mash the avocado with the other dressing ingredients until creamy. add water and whip until the mixture is fluffy and barely pourable. Toss the salad arugula and spinach with the avocado blend and top with roasted seeds, cherry tomatoes, chopped celery stalk, or anything else you like.

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Mustard Sprout Salad and Herb-Strewn Roasted Beets: A Light Late Lunch for Sunkissed Evenings

Some days require a little love packed in your lunch box. Yesterday, it was the way the sun incubated me through the window, slowing me down to the momentum of a boozy sunbather. I just couldn’t tolerate anything blah in that luxurious light, so I cooked a fantastic meal and served it still warm at work for an extra-special Tuesday treat.

Herb-Strewn Roasted Beets (for 1. It’s pretty easy to up the output, just add more beets!)

Ingredients
1-2 washed, whole beets, greens removed and saved for something tasty later
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp fresh or dried thyme
a dash of Herbamare or other herbed salt
1 tsp oregano, marjoram or thyme, or combination

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 F (175 C)
Rub the oil onto the beets and lay them on a sheet of tinfoil. Sprinkle the thyme and a drizzle of water over them and wrap the tinfoil securely around them.
Bake for 30-40 minutes, until tender.

To serve, slice each into rings, removing the skin if you wish, and arrange overlapped on a plate. If they seem dry at all, brush or rub a drop of olive oil onto the cut surface. Dust with salt and the remaining herbs.

Very Simple Mustard Sprout Salad (for 1. Easily, easily increased, substituted, and supplemented)

Ingredients
2 tbsp mustard seed sprouts
½ small head of chicoree
1 medium carrot, grated

2 tsp wine vinegar
1 tsp sesame oil
a squeeze of lemon juice
a dash of sugar, agave, or maple syrup (optional)
a pinch of salt
a grate of pepper

Directions
Slice the chicoree into rounds and toss them with the sprouts and carrots.
Mix together the dressing ingredients and toss it all up. Fertig!

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Spicy Chickpea Salad (makes heaps)

“How about hummus?”
“I don’t know, it’s such a pain, and we don’t have a food processor.”
“Ok, just a tahini dip.”
“Ok, good.”

Yet later that night, preparing everything for the yoga and brunch workshop, I felt that hummus was necessary. It was obviously a delirium-induced conclusion, because as I finished cooking the chickpeas early the next morning, I knew immediately that we had too much food and not enough time to make 400 grams of chickpeas into hummus with a mortar and pestle.

Hurrah for mistakes, because the resulting salad is a very welcome addition to my recipe collection. I have been enjoying (a lot of) it by itself or tossed with fresh greens. Actually, if you wanted to, you even COULD toss it all in a food processor and make hummus after all!

In fact, I am thinking that later this week some falafel might grown where the salad was planted...I'll keep ya posted.

Spicy Chickpea Salad

Ingredients
4 cups cooked chickpeas
1 large green bell pepper
4 carrots
1 cup mung bean sprouts
½ cup chopped parsley (plus 2 tbsp garnish)

Juice of 1 lemon
2 cloves garlic
½ inch ginger root
2 tbsp miso paste
salt and pepper to taste
2 tbsp bragg’s/tamari
½ cup oil
½ cup white wine vinegar
¼ cup water kefir or some water + another vinegar of choice + a dash of sugar
1 tsp hot paprika
1 tbsp zatar (plus 2 tbsp garnish)

Directions

Chop the bell pepper and carrots into small chunks.
Into a large jar, grate the ginger and garlic. Add the other dressing ingredients, mix, and pour over the salad. Let it sit for an hour or two in the fridge before serving, then garnish with the zatar and parsley.

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Summery Lemon-Lentil Salad

Last year I was left flat broke with nothing but a ticket for the Sziget festival when my wallet was stolen in Poland. I decided, 'well, there are worse places to be money-less than an awesome festival,' so I continued on to Hungary and camped out with Couchsurfers. As I had accommodation costs covered with my borrowed tent (thank you Gregoire!), I was left with no worries. Except...what to eat...

Well, to be honest, with all the drunken festival-goers buying food and leaving it literally untouched on the picknick tables around, all I really had to do was sit at one and wait for a steaming plate of food to be stumbled away from. Which I did a few times. But with so many eating peculiarities (just try not eating dairy or meat at a festival in hungary...), and a sturdy craving for something better, I scraped together my change and trekked off Margit-Sziget to the Auchan supermarket in search of a good meal.

I returned, after a thorough perusal of the food aisles, with the cheapest "meal ingredients" in the place (at least, from things that didn't need to be cooked): canned lentils, tomatoes, carrots, a lemon (my luxury item), and garlic. This was to be the beginning of a long series of lentil salads which kept me going happily through even the weirdest circumstances in my travels.

The recipe here is a more domestic adaptation, including things like (gasp!) salt and other luxuries travellers rarely posess. It is extremely flexible, and is a fantastic way to eat a satisfying meal in summer that still keeps your stomach light and unburdened. Fresh herbs and seasonal veggies are always, always better, so if you can manage to get to somewhere other than the bargain section of Auchan, I reccommend varying to fit your environment!

Summery Lemon-Lentil Salad (serves 6 as a side salad.)

Ingredients (like I said, I'm lenient-be creative):

Salad:

• 4 cups cooked lentils, cooled (the small dark ones, dunno what they're called. just not any that will get mushy! you want them firm; aldente, we'll say)
• 2 large carrots
• 2 large ripe tomatoes (firm is best)
• 1 cucumber
  
• 1 small onion
• fresh basil, thyme, rosemary, oregano, parsley, marjoram...whatever, it's all good

Dressing:

• juice of 1 whole lemon, and a dash of grated zest if it's organic
• 2 tbps of your favorite salad oil (sesame is delicious)
• 1/2 tsp Braggs liquid amino acid, if you have it. Otherwise, soy sauce, tamari or salt to taste
• 2 tbsp apple cider or light wine vinegar
• a splash of balsamic vinegar
• as much garlic as you like raw
  
• add your own special seasoning-miso, paprika, curry, mustard, cumin, cardamom...

Directions:

1. Wash carrots and tomatoes, and any other veggies you're using.
2. Chop tomatoes, carrots, and cucumber into small cubes (creative carrot chopping techniques look nice too)
3. Finely dice the onion and herbs
4. Combine all of the above in a bowl
5. Press the garlic, mix up your dressing and add some water if needed to get a light, thin consistency.
6. Mix the dressing with the salad and chill. It tastes better after a few hours to combine flavors. Garnish with fresh herbs and lemon slices.
   

Notes:
Serve with bresh bread, on rice cakes, in wraps, over rice, and/or with the amazingly yummy Tahini Whip (highly reccommended)!

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