Filling Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground beef/turkey
• 1 chopped onion
• 1 chopped bell pepper
• 1 chopped zucchini
• 1 can cream of tomato soup, or 1 16-oz jar of salsa
• 1 cup water or stock
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp smokey paprika
• salt and pepper
• 1/2 bag frozen corn

Topping Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup cornmeal
• 2 Tbsp flour
• 1 Tbsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 Tbsp baking powder
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup whole milk (we use coconut milk)
• 2 Tbsp canola oil

Instructions:

1. Saute beef and onion.  Add remaining ingredients and simmer for 15 min.
2. Mix dry topping ingredients then add wet ingredients and mix only until dry ingredients are moistened.
3. Pour filling ingredients into a 2-quart casserole dish/pan (or better yet, cook the ingredients in a cast-iron pot like our Le Crueset so you have one less dish to wash), then cover with the topping mixture.  Don’t worry if it disappears into the filling as it will rise to form a bread crust.
4. Bake at 425 for 20-25 min, or until the bread topping is done (test with a toothpick).

Ingredients:

• 5 cups nuts (whatever combination you prefer of walnuts, pecans, almonds, and cashews)
• 3-4 fresh dates (pit removed)
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• pinch of salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon

Instructions:

1. Put the nuts in a food processor and process until chunky (not pureed into nut butter!)
2. Add the remaining ingredients and blend further
3. Place mixture into 8×8 pan and dehydrate for several hours to harden/dry it.  Can be enjoyed without this last step, but it will be hard to make bars.  Some toaster ovens have a dehydrate feature.
4. Cut into squares.

Ingredients:

• 1-2 onions
• 3 bell peppers (red, yellow, orange)
• zucchini (optional)
• potatoes, peeled and diced (I use about 1 small russet per person I’m serving)
• 3-4 cloves of garlic
• 1 bag frozen corn
• 6 sprigs fresh thyme
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1 box vegetable stock
• coconut milk (the beverage, not canned)  2-3 cups, or enough to reach the consistency soup you prefer.
• 1 tsp smokey paprika
• salt and pepper

Instructions:

1. Heat the olive oil in a soup pot and saute onion, bell peppers, and zucchini until soft.  Add garlic and cook for 2-3 minutes.
2. Add diced potatoes
3. Add the flour and cook for 4-5 minutes.  It was stick to the pot, but keep stirring.
4. Add the vegetable stock, coconut milk, thyme, and paprika.  Stir well to get all the flour off the bottom of the pot.  Bring to a boil and simmer until the desired consistency is reached.  It may takes 20+ minutes to get the potatoes to break down a touch and help thicken the soup.
5. Add the salt, pepper, and frozen corn towards the end (and heat just enough to keep the corn crunchy).
6. This is a super leftover, as it’s way thicker the next day!

After seeing diet change her skin, hair, and life, Snyder traveled the world for 3-years to learn about food and health.  These experiences led her to formulate an unconventional nutrition plan.  How it caught on with celebrities, I don’t know, but her program is endorsed by Dr. Oz, Drew Barrymore, Fergie, and Ben Stiller.  Her basic premise is that digestion takes up a lot of energy.  If we eat foods that contain enzymes to help with digestion (raw fruits and veggies) or are partially processed (smoothies and juices), we can free up energy to be used towards other bodily functions like detoxification and maintaining healthy skin and hair.  Her recommendations include:

• Eat more veggies–a lot more!!
• Eat fewer animal products, especially dairy (she is a vegan)
• Eat as much organic food as possible
• Eat more raw than cooked vegetables
• Eat high alkaline foods
• Avoid wheat and gluten.  Eat grains like quinoa, millet, and amaranth instead.
• Avoid sugars (she recommends Stevia, coconut nectar, dry fruit, raw honey, or organic pure maple syrup instead)
• Avoid soy
• Drink her glowing green smoothie at least once per day (blended spinach, romaine lettuce, celery, apple, pear, banana, lemon and optional cilantro or parsley).
• Consume fermented foods to provide probiotics and enzymes (she recommends a recipe for fermented cabbage)
• Consider supplementing with probiotics and digestive enzymes
• Have frequent, large bowel movements (she encourages supplements for this, or even gravity-centered colonics to cleanse the colon).

A few of her ideas that I haven’t been able to fully embrace include:

• Only eat fruit on an empty stomach.  Since it digests so quickly, consuming fruit with other foods causes it to ferment and acidify the entire meal.  But I don’t like to eat an apple by itself because sure enough, I get hungry 20 minutes later.  I prefer to eat it with some protein/fats (like nuts) to slow the digestion and feel satiated for longer.
• Eat alkaline first.  She suggests raw veggies or her glowing green smoothie.  I’ve never liked eating my salad alone first.  I prefer to eat it with my meal.
• Don’t eat anything in the morning if you’re not hungry.  This is fine if you don’t have a job or responsibilities.  Many people need to eat breakfast while they’re home so they can get on with their day and have the energy they need.  I may not be near a kitchen or food when my hunger strikes at 10am.
• Do not consume caffeine, even green tea (which I love and drink daily!)
• Limit beans because they contain protein and starch (which she does not want you to combine) so she therefore calls them “nature’s oops.”
• Do not consume polyunsaturated oils like canola, grapeseed, safflower, sunflower, cottonseed, corn, and soybean.  We mostly use olive oil in our house, but she doesn’t care for that either.  Especially when it’s heated.
• She also has 3 specific phases of the diet, and you’re supposed to stay in the first phase for at least a month before moving on.  This is to ensure that detoxification occurs gradually and does not overwhelm your system.

All of the information up to this point was already included in her first book The Beauty Detox Solution.  However, starting with chapter 4, she finally includes something new.  This section I really enjoyed, because I love hearing about how good specific foods are for you.  She mentions specific foods that help with hair, skin, eyes, etc.  Many of them are already in our diet regularly–including bell peppers, avocados, spinach, cucumbers, carrots, celery, broccoli, kale, cabbage, banana, blueberries, apple, pineapple, lemon, almonds, walnuts, arugula, onions, and garlic.  A few of them I’m trying to incorporate like acai, coconuts, figs, pumpkin seeds, cilantro, quinoa, millet, chia seeds, and sunflower seeds.  Some of them won’t realistically be making it into our kitchen any time soon, like spirulina, chlorella, bee pollen, hemp seeds, and radishes.

The final section of the book is recipes.  We’ve tried some of them and they’re decent.  Some, like the Endurance Protein Bars, are definitely going to become a regular.  Others, like the mashed cauliflower (to mimic mashed potatoes) did not pass the family’s approval test.

I do find that eating a diet similar to the one she recommends has improved my skin and hair, as she promised.  My skin is tighter, the bags under my eyes less pronounced, my hair is softer.  However, it’s very challenging to eliminate dairy AND gluten.  Cutting out sugar hasn’t been nearly as hard, especially when I have her yummy protein bars (made with dates, figs, and maple syrup) for “dessert.”  Overall I would say this book is worth reading, although the diet Snyder recommends is really quite extreme and in my opinion, probably not sustainable.  But for now, I’m enjoying trying to follow it (the summer vacation in 6 weeks is certainly a big motivator!)

Ingredients:

• 4 ripe bananes, sliced and frozen for 3+ hours
• 2 tbsp maple syrup
• 1/2 cup almond (or coconut) milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Topping ingredients:

• 1/4, or more, cups chopped nuts (she recommends almonds, we used pecans)
• 2 tsp maple syrup
• sprinkle of course sea salt (we used pink himalayan salt)

Instructions:

• After bananas are frozen solid, puree them in a food processor with other ingredients, until the consistency of soft-serve ice cream.
• Mix topping ingredients in a bowl, then spoon onto servings of the “ice cream.”

Ingredients:

• 1 can light coconut milk
• 1 cup frozen pineapple
• 1 cup frozen mango
• 1 banana
• Handful fresh kale (washed with ribs removed)
• Handful fresh spinach leaves (washed)
• Pineapple juice, to taste (use as a sweetener)
• Optional:  Stevia (as a sweetener), Chia Seeds (for extra fat, fiber, and omega-3′s)

Instructions:

• Add to blender and puree for at least a minute, until very smooth.  Makes 24-32 oz, so modify the recipe if you only need one serving.

This time, I saw significant changes to my skin.  By significant, I mean changes I’ve never seen from any topical product.  I think my skin is firmer with more even tone, especially around my eyes.  The book says people on the program become less “puffy,” and I agree–my skin is taut and not puffy.  Not just on my face, but also somewhat around my midsection (which is something I greatly desire after having three children).  My facial skin is no longer breaking out either.  Ever since our move to a more humid climate, I’ve been struggling with pimples and blackheads.  It’s really incredible how all of that disappeared without a single change to my topical regimin.  I have had absolutely no breakouts since about two weeks into the cleanse, something that has eluded me for the past four months.  I also find myself really not needing caffeine in the morning and having balanced energy levels throughout the day–I wouldn’t say my energy is high, but it feels consistent.

I officially completed the program a few days ago, but given the impressive results, I am continuing with a modified version.  I still have a smoothie for breakfast, but then a solid meal for lunch and dinner.  I am keeping dairy and wheat out of my diet, and am trying to eat more raw foods.  I am also giving my body 12 hours of fasting each night, using the steam room regularly at the gym to give my body another route of detoxification (through sweat!), taking fiber and magnesium oxide supplements to aid with regular and substantial elimination, and trying to avoid too much snacking.  I’ve found my results to be so personally motivating that I’m starting to read other books about detox diets, like The Beauty Detox Foods, to learn more.

Oh yeah, and the cough is gone!  :)

Broccoli and carrot cole slaw, quinoa with veggies and beans and diced avocado

The grains I’ve been enjoying include quinoa, millet, and amaranth.  I typically do a Mexican-themed flavor or a Mediterranean one.  My Med version of quinoa is mixed with purple cabbage, kale, cannelleni beans, cucumbers, whole olives, and is served with hummus.  The grain salads keep well, so I can make a good sized batch and eat them for several meals over the next 24 hours.

The last time I did The Clean Program, I thought it was ridiculous to make your own nut milk.  It seemed like way too much work.  But this time, I gave it a try, and it wasn’t bad at all.

Fresh Almond Milk:

1.  Soak 1 cup organic, raw almonds in filtered water for 2-8 hours.

2.  Strain off soaking water.  Blend almonds and 3 cups filtered water in a blender.

3.  Strain milk from nut meat.

The result tasted like a slightly thinner version of the almond milk we buy, minus the sweetness.  It keeps for 2 days in the fridge.  We use ours immediately for smoothies.  The only shame is tossing all that nut meat out, but at least we compost it.

The theory behind fresh squeezed juice is that fresh vegetables and fruits are full of vitamins and minerals, as well as enzymes that aid in digestion.  You couldn’t possibly eat the three plates of veggies and fruit shown below in one sitting, but you could drink the 1 L of juice they produced.  Take away the fiber, but keep all the other benefits.  This makes the juice super easy for your digestive system to process, freeing up your liver to spend time detoxifying your body.

It is a lot of work to buy, store, wash, cut, and juice all these vegetables, so I don’t do it every day.  But the juice tastes so good.  24 oz of this stuff costs $9 plus tax at the nearest juice shop, so it’s definitely a deal to make at home.  My kids love it too!

Pineapple, lemon, apple, celery, carrot, spinach, and kale.

The result–one full liter of juice.