Cleanse Meal #3: Tila-Pious!

Well, the cleanse is over (thank God!), but I did want to go back and highlight
one delicious meal we had even given all of the restrictions.
Tilapia fish was on the "safe" list and neither of us had ever had it so we thought it was a good opportunity to give it a try. I knew we would have to infuse it with flavor and that it would probably be pretty boring on its own. After putting up a post on seriouseats.com, I got some great ideas from fellow tilapia eaters. After some small changes, this is what I came up with:

Spinach and Tomato Smothered Tilapia
serves 2

2 tilapia fillets (cod or another firm fish would also work well here)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 thinly sliced red onion
frozen or fresh spinach (I had some frozen in the freezer so I used about 3/4 a box, thawed, drained)
3-4 diced tomatoes
1/2 cup diced mushrooms (optional)
1 lemon
cumin
paprika
salt
pepper

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. In an oven safe pan, saute onions in olive oil until soft. Add garlic until fregrant. Add mushrooms and saute those up a little bit. Then put in spinach and stir to combine (or wilt fresh spinach). Season with salt and pepper. Add in chopped tomatoes and simmer until it comes together.
**BONUS: If you have any delicious Greek olives from the deli, add some brine to the sauce. This adds an unbelieveable flavor!!
3. Meanwhile, prep your fish by drizzling lemon juice on both sides and dusting with cumin, paprika and s & p.
4. Remove about 1/2 of the sauce and put in a bowl to the side. Nestle the fish fillets in, making sure there is some sauce on the bottom. Add the remaining sauce to cover the top of the fish. If it seems a little dry, you can add some water or chicken stock to moisten it a little bit.
5. Cover pan with foil and pop in oven. Cook for about 20-25 minutes or until fish is cooked through.

Serve with brown or white rice. Enjoy! I coudn't believe how much flavor this fish had. We will definitely will be making this again post-cleanse!

Cleanse Meal #2: Breakfast of Champs

One of the few things you can have for breakfast on the cleanse is oatmeal. Let me tell you, I love oatmeal but on day 3 I am ready for something a little different. Unfortunately our options are limited. I decided to take our cleanse oatmeal to another level this morning. Here is what I came up with:

Banana Bread Oatmeal
serves 3 or 4

1 1/2 cups steel cut oats
6 cups water
Dash salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
handful of toasted walnuts
a few generous tablespoons of pure maple syrup
vanilla almond milk (if desired)
1 banana, cut into little pieces

Bring water to a boil over stove. Add salt. While water is heating up, combine oats, cinnamon and ground ginger, mix until spices cover the oats. Add to water when it comes to a boil. Stir on high heat until oats start to come together, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to low. Simmer for 30 minutes, stirring frequently. Take off heat, add nutmeg. Dish out into serving bowls. Add a little almond milk, top with banana slices, nuts and maple syrup.

Cleanse Meal #1: Apple Snack

My husband and I are testing our will power and doing a 14 day colon cleanse. I know what you are thinking, stock up on the toilet paper and head for the bathroom. I am writing this on day #3 and so far so good. No fighting for the throne up to this point at least. Unlike other cleanses where you cannot eat any food (which I am against), this cleanse focuses on very healthy eating and some supplements and shakes to clean you out. As far as the diet goes, this meals no caffeine (no coffee!, sugar, baked goods, dairy, alcohol, red meats). Basically it is a ton of fruits, veggies, brown rice and legumes. Certainly puts my cooking skills to the test. Given that Dusty and I are constant snackers, this area can be challenging, given we don't feel like munching on a bunch of black beans at 10:00 at night. Here is a simple delicious snack I came up with last night. We will defiantly make this part of our regular diets.

Apple Snack
2 apples (I used Macintosh, tart green ones would be really good too)
All Natural peanut butter
Honey

Very easy. Core and cut apples into sections, put on plate. Put in a hunk of peanut butter in a bowl, a good squeeze of honey in another. Dip apple slices into both bowls. Enjoy!