Tag: Detox

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My Favourite Hot Detox Tonic

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I’m feeling particularly nostalgic at the end of this year, mainly because it was our first full year of parenting. This year Adriana blossomed from a 3 month old baby in January into a 15 month old hilarious, chatty, and very strong-willed toddler by December. The change!!! We witnessed first words, first crawls, first teeth, and first steps in 2015. My iphone filled capacity countless times (breathe…), but I still worried that I wasn’t capturing enough. The sheer amount of development, growth, and experiences that we’ve shared together in 2015 are enough to make my eyes well up with tears. Even though I know there were tough times in every area of life, right now I’m reflecting through rose coloured glasses. I hope the memories will stay a part of me in one way or another, even if I wasn’t so great at documenting everything like I did in the early months.

Like every year, I consumed more than my fair share of treats this month. After we got home from visiting family, I found myself at the grocery store stuffing my cart with produce galore and planning homemade plant-heavy meals in an effort to bring back the balance. The great thing about plant-based eating is that it only takes a day or two to get back on track and feel energized once again. I’m not someone who shuns sweets entirely at the start of a year (I love my dark chocolate way too much), but instead prefer to focus on what I’m adding to my diet. Celebrate that stuff!

I love, love, love experimenting with homemade hot tonics, and I’ve been tweaking my favourite concoctions for a few years now. I know anything detox is so cliche this time of the year, but this drink really does make me feel amazing after weeks of indulgences so I don’t even care. In the past, I’ve often used fresh turmeric, fresh ginger, cayenne, and sliced lemon (see my “Healing rooibos tea” on page 69 of The Oh She Glows Cookbook), which is awesome, but it requires a trip to the grocery store, and finding fresh turmeric can be hit or miss. Recipes need to be accessible so I came up with this delicious “pantry” version for those times when I want it now. It’s fast, there’s no grating/peeling involved (unless you opt for the fresh ginger version), and you can keep the ingredients on hand in your pantry (aside from the lemon, but I usually have those miracle workers on hand!) to enjoy any time the craving strikes. Yes, you will crave this drink…it’s that good. I know this is going to be my reset button drink all winter long.

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Hot Detox Tonic

Vegan, gluten-free, grain-free, nut-free, oil-free, soy-free

Get ready to feel warm, energized, and ready to tackle the New Year! This is my new go-to hot beverage of choice when I want to hit the reset button, amp up my metabolism, and boost circulation. It comes together fast with ingredients that I tend to keep on hand. I love to drink this throughout the day, but it’s especially effective when consumed on an empty stomach after waking. I use a ginger tea bag for a quick option, but I provide a fresh ginger option below too. Just keep in mind that using fresh ginger produces a more intense and spicy tea. Also, if you ever have some kicking around, fresh mint is also an invigorating, tummy-soothing addition.

Yield
2 cups
Soak time
7-8 minutes
Prep Time
5 Minutes
Cook time
0 Minutes
Total Time
5 Minutes

Ingredients:

  • 1 ginger tea bag or 1/2 teaspoon fresh grated ginger (see tip)
  • 2 cups boiling water
  • Few dashes cinnamon, to taste (I like Ceylon cinnamon)
  • Few dashes ground turmeric, to taste
  • Few dashes cayenne pepper, to taste (use less if you don’t like heat)
  • 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
  • 1 small lemon slice
  • Pure maple syrup, to taste (I use 1 teaspoon)

Directions:

  1. Grab an extra large mug or a small teapot (3 cup capacity). Place ginger tea bag inside.
  2. Boil 2 cups of water and pour all the water into the mug/teapot. Cover and steep the ginger tea for 7-8 minutes.
  3. Remove tea bag. Set aside the tea bag to cool. Once the tea bag has cooled a bit you can gently squeeze it into the pot to infuse the tea with even more ginger flavour.
  4. Add the cinnamon, turmeric, and cayenne. Whisk until combined.
  5. Add the vinegar and drop in the lemon wedge. Whisk to infuse the lemon.
  6. Add maple syrup, to taste, and whisk to combine.
  7. Serve immediately and enjoy!

Tips:

1) In lieu of the ginger tea bag, you can substitute a packed 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated ginger. This version is spicier than using a tea bag. Pop the fresh grated ginger into a tea ball or mesh tea steeper, and steep tea for about 6-7 minutes. Proceed as usual.
2) The spices tend to settle at the bottom of the mug/pot. Simply whisk it now and then to redistribute.

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I’d like to wish you all a New Year filled with happiness, health, love, and your wildest dreams becoming reality! Thank you for all your support, comments, love, and encouragement in 2015. I can’t wait to share the fun things we have coming up in 2016.

Angela

© copyright 2016 Oh She Glows. All Rights Reserved.

Oh She Glows

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Salted Almond Butter Freezer Fudge + Everyday Detox Cookbook

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My friend and fellow blogger, Megan Gilmore, from the popular blog Detoxinista just launched her first cookbook this week, Everyday Detox: 100 Easy Recipes to Remove Toxins, Promote Gut Health, and Lose Weight Naturally. I was lucky to be able to review this cookbook before it went to print and I’ve been eagerly anticipating the hard copy on my doorstep. Just like on her blog, the recipes in her debut cookbook are unfussy, whole foods based, and feature short ingredient lists. I’ve been a fan of Megan’s for years and I’ve always admired her ability to take a handful of simple, whole foods ingredients and turn them into something practical for everyday life. While Megan doesn’t ascribe to any particular dietary label, she creates many vegan, paleo, vegetarian, and gluten-free recipes. About 75% of the recipes in Everyday Detox are vegan or can be made vegan by swapping out the sweetener or leaving out the cheese. All of the recipes are gluten-free. There are around 50 gorgeous photos shot by Nicole Franzen.

The book’s chapters include: 1) An easy approach to detoxing; 2) stocking your detox-friendly kitchen; 3) liquid nourishment; 4) morning favorites; 5) salads, dressings & sides; 6) soups, sandwiches & wraps; 7) casseroles & comfort foods; 8) sweet treats; and 9) back to basics.                                                                                                                                                       

Detox-based cookbooks tend to make me think of hard-core fad diets and cleanses, but thankfully Megan’s approach is much less drastic. She encourages you to practice daily healthy habits and believes in eating whole foods (ie., unprocessed, refined-sugar free, chemical additive free) on a day to day basis – making a lifestyle change – rather than teetering on the extremes and cyclic nature of dieting. Megan doesn’t believe in calorie counting because she says it “doesn’t take into account the quality of foods we’re consuming nor the body’s ability to digest natural foods versus processed ones.” Instead of looking at the calorie count on a label, she says to ask yourself a few questions: Where does the food come from? Is it in its natural state? How many ingredients does it contain and do you recognize those ingredients? Better yet, she says, select foods with no label at all. I love that last tip. The recipes in Everyday Detox are also based on the principles of food-combining and how food-combining can impact digestion (which is something I admit that I’m not overly motivated to follow), but whether you want to learn more about food-combining or not, the recipes can be enjoyed simply because they are healthful and delicious.

Today, I’m happy to share a recipe from her cookbook for all of the almond butter lovers out there! I couldn’t help myself and added a homemade chocolate topping and Maldon sea salt flakes. It was a hit with our friends!

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Salted Almond Butter Freezer Fudge

Vegan, gluten-free, grain-free, no bake/raw, refined sugar-free, soy-free

This almond butter fudge is lightly adapted and shared with permission from Everyday Detox (2015) by Megan Gilmore. I also threw on a homemade chocolate coating for a snappy burst of chocolate in each piece, and a garnish of flaked sea salt. Be sure to keep this fudge in the freezer because it melts at room temperature.

Yield
21 pieces
Freeze time
1.5 hours
Prep Time
15 Minutes
Cook time
0 Minutes
Total Time
15 Minutes

Ingredients:

For the freezer fudge (lightly adapted from Everyday Detox):
  • 1 1/2 cups raw smooth almond butter
  • 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons virgin coconut oil
  • 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
  • 1/4-1/2 teaspoon pink Himalayan sea salt or other fine sea salt, to taste
For the chocolate topping:
  • 3 tablespoons virgin coconut oil
  • 1.5 tablespoons pure maple syrup
  • 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
  • Pinch of pink Himalayan sea salt or other fine sea salt
  • Maldon sea salt or other flaked sea salt, for garnish (optional)

Directions:

  1. Lightly grease a standard size loaf pan (9″x5″) and line with a piece of parchment paper cut to fit the length of the pan.
  2. For the fudge: Spoon the almond butter into a large mixing bowl.
  3. In a small pot, add the coconut oil, maple syrup, and salt (only the fudge ingredients here). Heat over low, until the oil is melted. Slowly pour the wet mixture into the bowl with the almond butter, stirring as you go. Stir until completely smooth and combined. It’ll be quite runny at this stage.
  4. With a spatula, spoon the almond butter mixture into the prepared pan. Smooth out. Place the pan, uncovered, on a flat surface in the freezer. Freeze for around 1 hour, or until the fudge is solid.
  5. For the chocolate topping: In a small pot, add the oil and melt the oil over low heat. Remove from heat and whisk in the maple syrup, cocoa powder, and salt until smooth. I like to place the chocolate sauce in the fridge for several minutes until thickened slightly.
  6. Slice the frozen slab of fudge into about 21 (1-inch) squares and place on a large plate lined with parchment paper, about a half-inch between each piece. Spoon the chocolate sauce on top of each square (a scant 1 teaspoon per square). Place back in the freezer until the chocolate is solid. Sprinkle on some flaked sea salt, if desired.
  7. Break apart the squares of fudge (if the chocolate pooled at the bottom) and enjoy immediately. Return leftovers to the freezer.

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I also tried out the Strawberry Basil Blast smoothie a few times. I change it up a bit using half the avocado and lemon juice. It’s also good without the fresh basil (I don’t always have it handy because I love to kill me a basil plant), but I do recommend trying the basil version first. I’ve made a cherry-basil combo in the past and it really is awesome in a smoothie! This smoothie will be on heavy rotation throughout the summer.

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Some other recipes on my must-try list include: Raw Falafel Wraps, Enchilada Stuffed Cabbage Rolls, and “Beef” and Broccoli.

Thanks to Megan for letting me share this almond butter fudge recipe today. Be sure to check out Everyday Detox which is hot off the press this week!

© copyright 2015 Oh She Glows. All Rights Reserved.

Oh She Glows