Ready to start into an alkalizing spring?!

As I told you a bit earlier this week on my blog’s Facebook page I have some new ideas and resolutions coming up for this spring. We all know spring time is cleansing time and the meteorological date of spring reminds me painfully that bikini season is just around the corner. I am not a fan of diets though, nor of starving – not, at all! But since I experimented with an alkalizing, anti-inflammatory detox last year and just felt great, different things made me come up with a plan:

1) An awesome book which I got for my bday from a lovely friend (who also does amazing vegan catering btw, check out Billie D. if you live in Malta): Crazy Sexy Diet (by Kriss Carr) which explains all advantages of switching to an anti-anti-inflammatory, alkalizing lifestyle in a great way of storytelling. (Some of her principles can be found in this article)

2) Another amazing book, which came some weeks later – also a belated bday pressie from my dear friend C <3. Aren’t my friends just awesome?! It’s called Honestly Healthy (by Natasha Corrett and Vicki Edgson) – similar principle, easy explanations and mouthwatering recipes and photography (more info on their website)

3) As mentioned above: holy moly – summer is coming in big steps!! And at least for me it’s high time to red rid of some extra warming winter kilos!

Therefore, you’re cordially invited to join me on some weeks of good intentions for great health 😀 The principle is easy: eat as much alkalizing foods as somehow possible (at least 60, ideally 80%) and try to skip or at least minimize (let’s stay realistic 😉 the bad stuff such as refinded sugar, wheat, alcohol, coffee and ready prepared, processed food which often contain unhealthy fats, artificial flavors and taste enhancers. Instead of that there will be green smoothies, juices, yummy soups and salads and even deserts – but made in a healthy guilt free way! Combined with gentle exercise (I love my yoga for instance) this will be a great experience for your body, your mind and your health in the long run.

But what does this mean and what is it for?? By changing your normal eating habits and including more raw foods you will automatically focus on foods that decrease inflammation in your body. As some of you might know most nowadays diseases like cancer, diabetes, heart problems etc. come from inflammation. So it’s a long term investment in your health, in yourself, in your future! For more details on the alkalizing & anti-inflammatory principle do your research via the web or get one of the books mentioned above which I like even better as you can always reread and refer to it. Anyhow for some basic explanations and web tips check out my first detox article of last year, for a review of my last detox read the last one with all conclusions)

Today we start with a lovely light and healthy dinner. After a beautiful class of yoga (thanks MichelleBartoloYoga!) there’s nothing better than a yummy healthy meal, already prepared and waiting for you. To make my life easier we stocked up the fridge with tons of greens & veg like spinach, coriander, mint, rucola, broccoli, cucumbers, leeks, carrots and so on. With a full fridge like this, tonight’s soup is not only extremely easy to make, but also super delicious.

All you need…

Some broccholi stalks (never throw them away!), carrots, leek, turnip cabbage, yeast free vegetable stock, himalayan salt, some turmeric, curry powder, Asafoetida (?), cumin, some coconut oil

Optional: add some precooked quionoa or millet, fresh herbs like parsley or coriander, a squeeze of lemon or lime in the end.

What to do….

Chop up all veg and roast it a bit on low temperature in coconut oil, fill up with a bit of water so it’s only covered. Let it simmer for a bit so the veg gets some bite. Add the spices, stock cube and himalayan salt. Then top up with a bit more water and let it simmer gently for another 10-15 min. Season to taste.
If you like more substance add some healthy grains like quinoa or millet.
Garnish with fresh herbs and enjoy!

Talk to you soon – and whoever is up for joining me on some healthy weeks, let’s connect and motivate eachother!

Detox week 1. A first conclusion & a lovely new favourite salad.

Today a week ago I started with my detox. No sugars, no alcohol, no dairy, no white flower, no yeast and a 70% – 30% ratio of alkaline – acidic food to sum it up really briefly. In the beginning I felt quite lost. My favorite cooking methods like frying, baking with cheese – not allowed. So, it feels a bit like learning to cook a second time! After shopping all my new “basics” which means tons of grains, seeds, nuts and even more veg I felt well equipped and ready to explore new territories 😀

The first days were pretty awkward. The green smoothies in the morning were the easiest, you mix different greens with 1 apple and water, that’s it. If you like you can add cucumber, celery sticks and one day I tried to make my own almond milk out of soaked almonds and water. But the rest of the day turned out to be a bit more difficult. Lots of the stuff needs soaking so you have to plan ahead. No good for people who work from home like me and normally just go to the fridge when they get hungry! However, some of the grains came out nicely, some less (my amaranth with fresh spinach more looked like baby food) but I survived and felt tiny steps of improvement and broke myself more into the new way of cooking.

When it comes to recipes I only wanna share one thing with you this week, an amazing, super yummy salad and it’s totally alkaline and fits the diet perfectly. More photos of my experiments in the photo gallery below.

Super yummy salad with sweet potatoes, brussel sprouts, fresh peas & a lemon tahini dressing

Ingredients (served 6):
Different lettuces, 3 sweet potatoes, brussel sprouts, fresh peas (peeled), kale (cut in bite sized pieces without the stem), coconut oil, sea salt
For the dressing:  Mix fresh lemon juice, olive oil, tahini (I used the dark one), fresh ginger (finely chopped) and sea salt

Method:
Steam the veggies shortly so they still keep a crunch (apart from the sweet potatoes, they may be a bit soft), put coconut oil on top and sprinkle with seasalt when they are done and hot. Let them cool off. Prepare the plates with your lettuces and spread them nicely. Add the dressing. Arrange the steamed veg. Drizzle with some additional olive oil. Sprinkle if you like  – I used shelled hempseed and crushed whole hempseeds which are a vital source of fatty acids, fibre and protein.

Bon appetite!

(Thanks Mich, for the lovely inspiration, just LOVE the sweet potato – coconut oil combination <3)

P.S. If you are interested in seeing a list with alkaline – acidic foods, I am using the list on The PHMiracle website, developed by Dr. Young the kind of guru when it comes to the alkaline diet. Another website I really liked is Energiseforlife.com where a young guy called Ross takes it further with a bit of a younger, fresher approach.