I met a good friend for tea today before going to see the movie Eat, Pray, Love. While sipping my chai latte I told her I was planning to begin a 2 week cleanse this week. I love doing brief cleanse/detoxes a couple of times of year and often guide patients through the cleansing/detoxification process.
Upon completion of a cleanse people feel clearer, lighter, and healthier.
For anyone who hasn’t read or watched Eat, Pray, Love, the “Eat” section is about fostering an insatiable appetite and passion for life via a scrumptious stint in Italy filled with pasta, pizza, and wine. All of the slow motion shots of pasta twirling and wine pouring were enough to make anyone’s stomach growl with hunger. Well, after the movie I went straight to the market!
While contemplating how to make an Italian meal at least somewhat cleanse-friendly, I recalled the recipe for a delicious pesto that I used to make quite often. I made it tonight and poured if over quinoa and sauteed veggies – spinach, shiitake mushrooms, leeks, and fresh squash and sungold tomatoes from my garden. While not Italian by any means, quinoa is gluten free and hypoallergenic with a pasta-like texture. It was a delicious meal and 100% cleanse friendly, the perfect reminder that cleansing foods don’t need to be boring or flavorless.
Here is the basic pesto recipe. Please note that I made the recipe by memory without measurements so these are rough estimates.
1 C walnuts
1 bunch basil
1 bunch cilantro
4 cloves garlic
1/2 C olive oil
1/4 C lemon juice
Sea salt to taste
Blend all together in a food processor or blender, add more oil, lemon juice, or water if you prefer a thinner pesto.
For more information on medically supervised cleanse protocols and the health benefits of cleansing and detoxification, call me at (970) 833-1202