2 SUPER BOWLS FOR GAME DAY

Check out these deliciously healthy WINNERS!

Colorful Vegetarian Chili

The vegetable juice adds a nice flavor to this simple recipe. Be sure to get one with no added sugar. After it has cooked about 4 minutes, taste it, and adjust the seasoning to your liking.

Makes 6 servings

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons oil of your choice
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 large onion
• 1 pound carrots
• 3 small bell peppers ( use any color or combination)
• 1 cup frozen corn
• 1 can black beans drained and rinsed
• 1 can navy or cannelloni beans drained and rinsed
• 1 can vegetarian re-fried beans
• 1 large can crushed tomatoes
• 1 16 ounce jar vegetable juice (spicy is fine too)

Chili seasoning blend of your choice or:

• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 2 teaspoons coriander
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• Salt/ Pepper and hot sauce to taste

Method:

Crush and mince garlic.  Chop onion.  In a heavy sauce pan saute in oil the onions and garlic until onions are transparent.  Be careful not to burn the garlic.

Chop all remaining vegetables into fork size pieces.  (Remember that they will shrink a little after cooking.)

Add the remaining vegetables, beans and tomatoes and juice. Stir this all together adding the seasoning to taste.  Bring it to a boil and then lower the heat so you have a steady but low simmer.  Let this cook ½ hour, then taste and season again. 

Chili can cook on very low heat for a up to two hours, or be served as is.

Crock pot option - After onions and garlic are sauteed, simply add the rest of the ingredients with them to a crock pot.  Cook 4 hours on highest setting.

Serve immediately, freeze after it cools, or store in an air tight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Amazing Salsa

This deliciously healthy (and easy) salsa recipe is a real SUPER bowl! 


1 jar of your favorite salsa

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 cup frozen corn (thawed)

1 cup finely chopped cilantro (rinse well before chopping)

2 chopped green onions

Method: Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Chill and serve.

Transition Time

When is all this energy coming?

Our amazing bodies function on the fuel we give them. Every one's normal is different. If your usual diet is full of nutrient-dense, high fiber foods, detoxing might not be noticed. If you are LEAPING in from a typical diet of heavily processed foods, you will likely experience detox symptoms. The changes are for the good. They mean something wonderful is happening...

Bye-bye toxins  

You are stirring up a system that has been sluggish for a long time. Impurities will start circulating through your lymphatic and digestive systems. They may even move through your skin. 

The nutrient-packed, high fiber LEAP foods cleanse your system. Drinking 1/2 your body weight in ounces of water each day moves the nutrients in and the toxins out - as you are probably noticing!

Typical detox symptoms:

• Headaches
• Diarrhea or constipation
• Digestive pain
• Food cravings
• Trouble sleeping
• Fatigue
• Runny nose
• Irritability

The more prominent the 5 LEAP foods are in your diet, the stronger your detox may be. 

This won't last long. As you transition to a predominately whole foods, high fiber, low sugar, nutrient-dense diet you will see vitality increase quickly. You will LOVE the lightness and sense of accomplishment you get by eating these fabulous foods.


Tips to speed the process along:

• Eat more great food - Aim for 100% whole foods and eliminate processed foods completely.
• Move - Exercise and yoga support the work of your lymphatic system.
• Good bugs -Take probiotics as a supplement or in (plain) yogurt or kefir to boost digestion.
• Sleep - Let your body rest and heal. Aim for 8 hours each night.
• Brush your skin - Dry skin brushing stimulates the lymphatic system.
• Breathe - Lots of aerobic exercise brings life-giving oxygen into your blood.

Here are a few things to bring your attention to:

• You are washing and watering your body with every sip of water.
• You are bringing life giving proteins and vitamins to your blood and cells as you eat these good foods.
• You are introducing fiber to absorb cholesterol and waste as it moves through your digestive system.
• You are consuming insoluble fibers to push the waste for elimination.
• You are rebooting what fuels you - sugars, stimulants and chemicals out, REAL life giving food in!

Congratulations!

Getting Ready for the LEAP!

The LEAP begins tomorrow. Here are some tips to help you get started. Be sure to post your progress, questions, and thoughts as they come up. This will be fantastic, but also an adjustment. Be sure to observe yourself, do your best and let it happen!

The Plan:

Each day you must strive to eat all of the foods listed below. You must also drink 1/2 your body weight in ounces of water. The foods on the list are among the most nutrient dense on the planet. That means high nutritional value and compared to the calories they contain. Eat them raw whenever possible. You will see the most benefits if you eat a lot of raw fruits and vegetables whenever possible.

Green Vegetables - Eat at least 2 large servings of any green vegetable. The BEST are dark green leafy items like kale, spinach, Swiss Chard, and collard greens. Others like broccoli, Brussels sprouts, asparagus and beans are the next best, followed by starchy green veggies like peas and Lima beans.

Salad - Eat one very large salad full of dark greens - romaine, spinach etc. and other raw vegetables each day. You will benefit most if this is NOT HEAVILY DRESSED. Use a small amount of dressing or a good healthy oil like flax seed oil and some vinegar or lemon. 

Fruit - Eat three raw fruits every day. These can be frozen fruits as well if they are not in heavy syrup or cooked.

Beans - Eat at least 1/2 cup of beans everyday. These can be in the form of soup, in pasta, re-fried, as hummus or even in chili. Try to have them without added sugars or fats.

Nuts - Eat at least 1/4 cup of raw nuts everyday. 

Shopping List:

At least one shoe box sized container of either romaine, Spring mix or spinach. 

Several cans of low sodium black, pinto, kidney or white beans and chick peas.

Several cans of vegetarian baked beans. You can certainly get other kinds but watch the fat and sodium content.

Pick up dried beans if you have the time to prepare them. (Watch for help on that this weekend.)

Lots of good fresh fruit - apples, pineapples, bananas and all sorts of citrus. You can get frozen berries as well and use them in smoothies. Try to get the berries and apples organic whenever possible.

Raw nuts - pick up a bag or two of what you really like. Trader Joe's has great nuts at good prices. Raw almond butter or any RAW nut butter counts as well. One tablespoon is about all you will need.

Green Veggies - Look for organic dark greens at Whole Foods - the price is very good for what you get especially on collard greens and chard. You can find broccoli at any store now at a good price. You can also find lots of frozen vegetables that are very good - avoid sauces.

Buy yourself a nice big water bottle and keep it filled a lot. Drink it down, and fill it up all day!

More to come on meal planning etc.

Here is an idea for tomorrow:

How about a nice smoothie for breakfast? Use one banana, and another fruit of your choice. Add some greens and blend with a non-dairy milk, water and ice. Feel free to have your coffee and toast later, if you even still want them!

For lunch have a nice big salad with lots of veggies, or stuff it all in a wrap with some hummus. Dip a few more veggies in hummus as a side instead of chips.

For dinner have some chick peas on a nice size salad, and a big helping of broccoli or string beans along with your usual meat or fish. If you are a vegetarian add a baked potato or yam.

Before bed cut up another piece of fruit and enjoy it with some almonds and a nice cup of tea.

It's that easy. Add the foods you want along the way. You may find you don't need to. 

Your body will be thanking you!!!

That's it. I will elaborate more on each item and share ideas in blogs to come.

Join in the GUIDED LEAP for a customized plan with maximum results, weekly recipes, meal ideas, accountability and more. 

The cost for this program is $30. Contact me for details veggiecoach@gmail.com.

Tomorrow-

What to watch for as you begin...