Is My Kitchen Toxin Free?

 

According to Dr. Alejandro Junger, the reason we're fatigued, sick, overweight, and have chronic pain is because toxins are trapped in our  bodies. In his book, Clean, he explains how they get there and how we can get rid of them. In a nutshell, toxins come from our environment, our homes, what we put on our bodies, and what we put in our bodies. He explains how we were created with a daily detoxification mechanism. He calls is a 12 hour window. In general, food takes about 8 hours to digest. Once the body is done with that job, it shifts to the job of detoxification; but only if we let it. Between dinner and breakfast there literally needs to be a period of 12 hours when we do not eat. This gives the body 8 hours to digest and another 4 hours to detoxify the toxins which have entered the body during the day. If we do not allow our bodies this daily detoxification then toxins accumulate, and over years inflammation and fat take over our system and we feel the affects of fatigue, sickness, being overweight, and chronic pain.

 

During the elimination portion of this program it is important that we educate ourselves as to where these toxins come from so we can eliminate them. What benefit would it be if we detoxify but we continue to allow the toxins entrance? Let's start with our kitchen food.

 

Dr. Junger explains that during this detoxification we must eat fresh whole foods. Nothing should come packaged in a box, jar, can, tube, bottle, or bag or have high fructose corn syrup, sugar, chemical sweeteners (like aspartame) or artificial colors in it. We should also eliminate any GMO (genetically modified organism) ingredients which are soy, canola, cottonseed oil, or corn. Also, gluten (wheat, barley, rye, bulgur, spelt, oats - except gluten free; dairy - including yogurt, cheese, ice cream, ricotta, milk; or the night shades (tomatoes, potatoes, sweet potatoes, peppers, or eggplant). All of these are toxic or have the potential of being toxic in the form of allergies of which we may not be aware.

 

In order to get ready for the 21 days of detoxification, we must clean out our cupboards and refrigerators, read labels, and start tossing.

 

What is left is fresh wholesome foods; vegetables, brown rice, quinoa, greens, fruits, antibiotic-free and hormone-free chicken and fish, etc.

 

Since doing this detox last year, I have taken a few shortcuts like buying vegetable or chicken stock in a box or jar. But for this fast I will once again make everything from scratch. So today, I will begin by making my own stock and freezing it for soup recipes and making quinoa during the cleanse.

 

      To make a chicken stock, you need a carcass of chicken bones, 2 onions-peeled and cut up, 4 carrots-peeled and cup up, 4 celery stalks cut up, 6 stalks of fresh parsley, and 1 Tbsp peppercorns. Put in a large pot and add one gallon of cold spring water. Bring to a boil then turn down heat to medium and simmer for 2 hours. Discard the carcass and the vegetables. DO NOT ADD SALT at this time since the stock will concentrate and could become too salty. Always salt just before you're ready to eat something.

 

      When cooking food starting from cold water, the flavor leeches out into the water, which is what we want here. When placing food in boiling water, the flavor stays in the vegetables. When making stock, we want all the flavor of the vegetables to find its way into the water. Then we toss the vegetables and start the soup with fresh ones.

 

Some may have concerns at how unseasonal it is to be drinking a cold juice for dinner when it's cold outside, so I've included a soup recipe which could easily be pureed with a blender and included as a "juice" for dinner.

Indian Dal Soup – Clean
Adapted from Dr. John McDougall recipes, by Veronica Patenaude

Serves 6
8 cups low sodium vegetable broth
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion, minced
6 large garlic cloves, minced
2 Tbsp minced fresh ginger
2 cups dried red lentils, rinsed and picked over
2 ½ tsp roasted ground cumin
2 ½ tsp roasted ground coriander
¾ tsp turmeric powder
½ tsp ground cardamom
¾ tsp ground cinnamon
¼ to ½ tsp cayenne pepper
¼ to ½ tsp smoked paprika (optional)
Sea salt to taste
Freshly ground pepper to taste

1. Place oil in a large soup pot. Add the onions, garlic and ginger and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes to bring out flavors, stirring occasionally.

2. Add the vegetable broth, lentils, and all the spices.

3. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20-25 minutes until the lentils are tender and falling apart. [At this point you could puree the soup with an immersion blender. If you don't have one, you should cool the soup slightly before pouring into a blender or Vitamix to prevent it from expanding and burning you during blending.]

4. Add water if a thinner soup is desired.

5. Check seasonings and add salt and pepper to taste.