A Detox Recipe For Success

January 06, 2018

 

photo credit - Mike Kenneally 

 

Here is an amazing recipe to help kick off the New Year and support all of your efforts to cleanse your body after holiday feasting and indulgence. It’s made with a blend of greens and veggies that are all uniquely flavorful: earthy beets, with pungent cilantro and parsley; bitter dandelion with tart and sweet chard; salty celery with spicy garlic; and refreshingly tart apple cider vinegar in the salad dressing.

 

If you didn’t know this already, the more you dislike the bitter flavor, the more your body needs bitter-tasting foods. The bitter flavor is absent from typical American fare, and that is a sad thing, for your body gains significant benefits from bitter greens, and here is why: when the bitter flavor is detected by the brain via the taste buds, a cascade of events takes place. The brain sends messages stimulating the salivary glands, stomach, liver, and gallbladder. Digestion, absorption, and nutrient assimilation is improved, meaning you will get more benefit from your meals. This enhanced digestive process is also beneficial to the immune system, mood, and overall energy levels.

 

That said, the other ingredients in this simple and flavorful salad can help heal your body in other amazing ways:

• Dandelion greens, celery, and parsley stimulate the kidneys, helping them work better, and reducing excess water retention
• Celery is reputed to reduce acids that cause arthritis and gout
• Beets are stimulating and nourishing to the liver
• Many people eat beets as a way of managing their blood pressure
• Beets, dandelion greens, and parsley leaves are loaded with iron, and can help build up your blood if you suffer from anemia, or heavy menstrual cycles
• Garlic kills harmful bacteria, but also nourishes the good bacteria in your digestive tract

 

The healthier you become, you actually begin to crave the more complex flavors of salad greens and fresh herbs. As your palate clears, you can detect subtle flavors in food such as delicate sweetness, saltiness, or tartness.

 

The people who will gain the most from this recipe include:

• Acne sufferers
• Sluggish digestion
• Arthritis
• Overweight
• Blood sugar problems
• Bloating and water retention
• Mood swings
• PMS, menopause
• An angry disposition
• Depression
• Anemia and other nutrient deficiencies
• Lack of mental focus
• Frequent colds, or allergies
• Lastly, an irrational fear of eating greens

 

Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine, once said “Let food be thy medicine, and medicine be thy food”.

 

You will need:

½ bunch fresh dandelion greens, torn into bite size pieces

1 bunch of rainbow chard, stemmed, torn or chopped into bite size pieces

½ bunch cilantro leaves

½ bunch flat leaf parsley leaves

3 celery stalks, thinly sliced on a slight angle

1 medium size roasted beet, peeled, diced

 

For the dressing:

2 garlic cloves, pressed or minced very fine

¼ - ½ teaspoon salt, to taste

1/8 teaspoon pepper, or to taste

6 tablespoons olive oil

2 to 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

 

In large bowl, toss all the leaves and veggies together. In another small mixing bowl, combine the garlic, salt, pepper, olive oil, and vinegar. Toss the salad and add the dressing right before serving.

 

Try it and let us know what you think!

 

~Kita

 

 

 

 

---

Leave a comment

Comments will be approved before showing up.

Name *

Email *

Comment *

---

Also in Loose Leaf Blog