This was good, but perhaps a bit on the bland side. The recipe did call for the "plain" varieties of soy milk and soy yogurt, but I used "unsweetened plain." I had assumed those were synonymous. Thinking about it now, however, I do remember seeing that most varieties of plain soy milk have a good amount of sugar (many of the brands--wayyy too much!), and that's why I always opted for unsweetened in the first place. I suppose this explains why my smoothie contained nearly 35 fewer Calories than stated on the recipe. I didn't really feel I was missing the sugar, so there's no need to go out and buy regular plain.
Snack 1: Apple & Raw Almonds, 240C
I like slivered almonds because you feel like you get to eat more than if you were to have the same amount nibbling on whole almonds. (Almond slices would be too extreme though. There's no way I would have the patience or discipline to eat each individual slice one-by-one; I'd probably get fed up and chug them in by the palm-full as if I were in a movie theater eating popcorn.) The only problem with these is that they're blanched, and so I miss out on some of the phytonutrients and fiber which I assume are in the skin. Anyway, I also included a pic of the detox broth I enjoyed with the snack.
Lunch: Tarragon Chicken Salad, 370C
This recipe was my first introduction to tarragon and watercress. The tarragon was nice and pleasantly aromatic, but as I tasted the watercress while trimming away the thick stems and washing the leaves, I nearly decided to throw it all out and substitute with another green. By itself, the watercress tasted overly bitter and extremely peppery. I remember thinking that the dish should have been named as a kind of watercress salad, for surely the watercress flavor would have overpowered the chicken and all the other ingredients. But fortunately, my taste buds were happy to discover that the combination of watercress, chicken breast, radishes, celery, pear, pine nuts, tarragon, ground cardamon, and walnut oil worked superbly well! In flavor and texture, I thought each component complemented the others nicely. I particularly liked the walnut oil and pear cubes because they respectively afforded the salad a curious "hmm...what is that?" and surprising "ooh wow! what's that?" factor. The watercress was not forgotten, but it didn't taste nearly as pungent as it did on its own. And I've learned that watercress is the best natural source of the phenylethylisothicocyanate (PEITC) compound, a powerful detoxifying and anti-cancer agent. I did some research and found this article from J. Nutr. Biochem.: http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0955286306000489 . Check it out. Seems like a prime example of nutrigenomics, yeah? I'm gonna train myself to enjoy watercress now, haha.
Snack 2: Olive Tapenade & Raw Veggies, 110C
I've never liked whole olives before, so I wasn't expecting to enjoy this snack too much. The tapenade ended up tasting similar to those I've sampled at our local Whole Foods Market, and I didn't think those were that great either. There has always been something about preparing and cooking my own dishes, however, that usually makes the final outcome instantly more appealing. This snack was no exception and was very enjoyable. Maybe it was because of the roasted garlic puree mixed into the tapenade. Anyway, in the past couple years I've slowly trained myself to enjoy zucchini, butternut squash, and onions, and they are some of my favorite vegetables now. I'm now slowly learning to enjoy beats as well, and I think olives and watercress will be my next venture. Yes, variety is the spice of life.
Dinner: Black Bean-Cocoa Soup with Lime Zest, & Arugula Salad with Golden Vinaigrette, 410C
This day has been all about surprises. Chocolate soup?! It sounded appealing until I read all the other ingredients. Actually, I've always been gustatorily adventurous, but I suppose I was pretty shocked this time by the seeming insanity of cocoa powder being used in a savory dish. The cocoa, cumin and lime really worked well together! It's absolutely genius, really. Now I have another use for the stash of cocoa powder besides hot chocolate and baked goods. Anyhow, I may have simmered the soup a little too long, and it ended up looking like a stew. Regardless, this dish was awesome.
The only time I ever have arugula is as part of the continental salad mix from Costco. By itself, I've found today that it tastes quite bitter, just like the watercress from lunch. The "Golden Vinaigrette" was made with extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, and ground turmeric. Using turmeric in a salad dressing was also a novelty for me today, as I usually use it only in curries. It's another cool powerfood because of its anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, and anti-oxidation effects, among many other benefits: http://www.drugdigest.org/DD/DVH/HerbsWho/0,3923,4046%7CTurmeric,00.html
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Today's workout: p90X Cardio X
2 comments:
This is an excellent blog! Thank you for all the time and effort you put into it. The photos are great.
I am also getting started on the detox. One suggestion re) the nuts. If they taste bland, try a light toasting to jazz the taste up. Makes all the difference. Just keep an eye on them in the toaster- some can burn quickly. I toasted a mix and added coconut too. Then I make 1/4 c. servings for my snacks. Tasty.
Yes, I love toasted/roasted nuts. Their flavors are so much more intense. I suppose Dr. Hyman prefers them raw most of the time though so as to preserve as much of their healthful unsaturated fats as possible. Ah well, they're still good raw. And hey, your snack idea sounds pretty good! I'll try it out sometime. Thanks!
Mark
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