Detox day 12 : Poached Cod with Fennel Orange salad (mostly form our garden)

Finally we can eat protein!!! After 10 loooong days of raw veggies (and few cherries) we can finally add protein into the diet. Well actually we have cheated just a little, and had chicken a couple of times, when we were out, or just way too hungry!! Overall I am pretty happy with the way the Purification program is going, I definitively have been through some up and downs, dizzy, tired, cranky, bloated....it's all part of it. Oz lost 6 pounds in 10 days, a pretty dangerous thing for him, as he battles to keep his weight on, but to my great relief he has already put 3 back on. I maybe lost 3 pounds...as an added bonus, but we'll till the end of the program.
So today I was in the garden and I picked up a beautiful fennel and a bunch of small lettuces and watercress. I came home and the only protein I had handy was some cod (wild caught of course) from TJ's. Now the challenge was to combine all these elements into a yummy dinner. The result was actually better than my expectations, e voila' a new recipe is born:

POACHED COD WITH FENNEL ORANGE SALAD
(of course I recommend all seasonal, organic, local ingredients when possible)

INGREDIENTS

For the salad

1 fennel with tops
1 small bunch watercress
2 oranges
1 green onion
1 lemon
1/4 cup olive oil
a dash of cayenne pepper
sea salt
freshly grated black pepper

For the cod

1 lemon
1 large green onion
4 cod filets
most of the tops from the fennel
1/2 cup white whine
1/2 cup water
sea salt
freshly grated black pepper

First prepare the salad so it will have the chance to marinate for about 1/2 hour.
Remove the zest from one of the oranges and save it in a small bowl.
Slice the fennel and the green onion very fine, put into a bowl with the watercress chopped and one orange peeled, skinned and cut in pieces.
Now use the bowl with the zest to mix the dressing adding the juice of one lemon, a dash of cayenne, a pinch of salt, 1/4 cup olive oil and some fresh pepper. Whisk the dressing together and add to fennel mix. Now is best to refrigerate for at least 1/2 hour.

Now the cod. In a 12-inch skillet prepare the poaching bed. Trim and slice the lemon and arrange it one layer across the bottom of the skillet, add sliced green onion and the all wispy parts from the fennel tops. Add wine and water. Now place cod fillets in skillet on top of the fennel tops. Cover pan with a tight fitting lid and turn the gas on high until the liquid will start to simmer, then reduce heat to low and cook until the cod will look opaque and flake when pulled with a fork, about 12 to 15 minutes.

When the cod is done remove it gently with a spatula and hold it warm in a covered plate. Return the pan to high heat and simmer the cooking juices until reduced to few tablespoons.

Now strain cooking liquid into a bowl, add the juice of 1/2 orange, salt, pepper and some thinly sliced green onions.

I served the dish by making a layer of lettuce on individual plates, then gently laying the cod over it. Drizzle the fish with the sauce then place the chilled salad on the plate next to it.

Buon Appetito!

PS
I used cod for this recipe because that is what I had at home, feel free to use salmon (wild caught) or dover sole instead...

For good information about sustainable healthy seafood:
http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/cr/cr_seafoodwatch/sfw_recommendations.aspx

A interesting site about TJ's new seafood policies published by greenpeace
http://www.traitorjoe.com/who.htm#update

purification program = lots of raw food!!!

This is a raw salad. Romaine lettuce, cilantro, carrots, zucchini, cauliflower,sprouted sunflower seeds, mung bean sprouts and for dressing the Liquid Gold Elixir from Natalia Rose's book "The raw food detox diet".


Liquid Gold Elixir (SALAD DRESSING)

2 cups fresh lemon juice
3 whole cloves garlic
3 tablespoons minced ginger
3 tablespoons Nama Shoyu soy sauce
3 heaping tablespoons raw honey (omit for purification program)
1 ½ cups cold-pressed olive oil

1. Place all of the ingredients except the oil in blender.
2. Begin blending at normal speed.
3. As the mixture is blending, slowly add the olive oil until it’s completely blended.

Purification program Day 3

We made it through another day (almost) without cheating.....well, Oz still smokes few cigarettes and I had a few cherries...not so bad.
Day 3 has been a bit up and down, I am tired, had a poison oak outbreak all over my arms, and got an headache that comes and goes.

I think I am not doing enough to get those toxins out....tomorrow I need to sweat more, do a dry brushing, drink more water, exercise!!! And tomorrow I have a photo shoot in the morning (I am the photographer) squeezed between the farmer's market and the weekly trip to the milk farm. As we can not have any milk for 3 weeks, on Sunday we are making cheese. That will be a fun experience to write about I think.

Well I think I am a little lightheaded now, so it's time for bed. Tomorrow is day 4, 6 more to go before eating any meat...

The Purification Program - we are on day two!!

Detoxing seems to have become so common it's almost a fad, but sadly enough with the levels of toxins present in everything around us, it is more a necessity than a fashion trend! Just think about the amount of people that YOU personally know who have been affected by cancer, it could be a friend, a relative a coworker....and cancer is just the tip of the iceberg, diabetes, alzheimer, obesity...the United States, creator of the "Western Diet" also created some of the most common and deadly "lifestyle diseases".

Well, I have been quite obsessed with food and nutrition and with being healthy for a long time. (Since I moved to the US 17 years ago, I have not been once to a conventional allopathic doctor and I have never been to a hospital.) Now that I have finally changed our living environment for a much healtier one, it is time for a general health overhaul! What better time for a cooling and cleansing diet than 100 degree weather??!!

I do have to admit that this idea did not just arrive out of the blue, our landlord and dear friend Deb, who is an amazing chiropractor and nutritionist, did the same detox about a month ago. Being this a specific program from Standard Process, the manufacturer of all the whole food supplements I have been using with for the last seven years, I knew it would be a serious ad effective program.

Surprisingly, my husband Oz, joined me in the program, without even too much begging or convincing.
So here we are, at day two.

We are taking 3 or more shakes a day of protein and whole nutritional elements plus 30 capsules of greens, detoxing herbs and supplements.
In addition to that we can eat as much raw vegetables as we like, a little bit of fruit, herbal teas, and of course lots of water.

Today, as our fridge became dangerously empty, I ran into town and stocked up on organic veggies....then ran home and took out my raw recipe book.
The first yummy dish I made today was a Beet, carrot and zucchini salad with romaine lettuce, mung bean sprouts and a Umeboshi vinagrette.
Not bad for raw veggies.

Now after all this writing I am getting hungry again and am going to go and make myself a raw carrot ginger soup.

Bon appetit!

http://www.standardprocess.com/display/2680.spi