The Final Countdown

Only two more full-days left in the 'boat :( I am always surprised how fast time slips by...

I am happy I can say we are still charging. Katie has been an amazing help thus far and I know we will get everything accomplished before Friday!

Clean Report: I have been a walking zombie. Not literally, but I seriously cannot believe how much I can sleep... Like 10 hour nights... My dreams have been fabulous though! All and all, the hunger is still low and everything else has been great. You should seriously get Clean!

**Berry Booty-ful**

Breakfast Smoothie

1 C mixed raspberries and blueberries

6oz. coconut water

4oz. water

3 tbsp hemp seeds (or suggested amount of another protein powder)

5 kale leaves

2 tbsp chia seeds soaked in warm water with cinnamon and cardamom

1 date

1 tsp honey

1 tsp cinnamon

¼ tsp cardamom

**More Like Nutrious-Mix**

**Peg's Lunch**

Elk Burger
¼ lb ground elk meat
¼ onion sliced
1 garlic clove minced
2 shiitake mushrooms sliced
¼ tsp garlic power
¼ tsp all season salt

Heat pan to medium with olive oil. Form meat into fist size balls, flatten, and season with garlic powder and all season salt on each side. Add garlic and onion to hot pan and cook until translucent. Once tender, add mushrooms and cook until slight browned and tender as well. Before you put burgers in pan with onions, add a little more olive oil. Cook for 5 minutes. Flip and cook for 5 more minutes, or longer for well-done.

**Slrup**

Butternut Squash Soup
we are still experimenting... getting closer to perfection though! Stay tuned!!

Lake Day!

 **Beautiful Steamboat Lake**

Today we woke up, got ready, made our lunches, and hit the road to Steamboat Lake for a day of stand-up paddling! We rented these awesome inflatable stand-up paddleboards from Back Door Sports. They were lightweight and easy to maneuver. I could stand-up paddle for daaayyyyssss! Annie, Pegs and I had an amazing time. The lake was empty with perfect conditions—just a slight breeze later in the day. We are taking advantage of all we can do since we only get one more full day with Annie.

 **Pegs 'n Megs**

 **My Headstand! So Excited!!**

 **AnnDoggy**

 **Round 2 on the Paddle Boards**

 **Bundled Pegs**

 **Resting with my other Middle-Half**

Breakfast Smoothie

1 C raspberries

1 C blueberries

1 C shredded coconut

10oz. water

3 tbsp hemp seeds (or suggested amount of another protein powder)

3 kale leaves

1 tbsp ground chia seeds

1 tbsp almond butter

1 tbsp chopped pecans

½ tsp vanilla

½ tsp cinnamon

Salad with Smoked Trout

2 C mixed lettuce

4oz. of smoked trout

½ an avocado sliced

¼ C red onion sliced

¼ C green onion chopped

¼ C Peg’s house dressing

Veggie Juice

8 stalks celery

6 kale leaves

5 romaine leaves

2 carrots

1 small green apple

1 lemon

1 handful of parsley

1 tbsp ginger

Clean New Year

Today marks the Jew New Year, so we spent our morning in Rosh Hashanah service. Pegs and I received aliyah, a Torah blessing, for change in the new year--Very exciting! After service, I got a lymphatic massage for the cleanse and Pegs cooked with Annie. They made stuffed cabbage, meatloaf, mashed parsnips with cauliflower, coleslaw, and chocolate covered strawberries! Annie is not going to go hungry with us!!

Breakfast Smoothie

1 C raspberries

1 C blueberries

1½ C shredded coconut

10oz. water

3 tbsp hemp seeds (or suggested amount of another protein powder)

3 kale leaves

1 tbsp ground chia seeds

1 tbsp almond butter

½ tsp honey

½ tsp vanilla

½ tsp cinnamon

Chicken Burgers with Onions and Mushrooms

1/3 C ground dark chicken meat

2-3 shakes of garlic powder and All Season Salt on individual patties

2 tbsp olive oil

3-4 shiitake mushrooms chopped

½ small yellow onion chopped

-Heat pan to medium with oil. Take chicken meat and form into balls. Flatten balls with palm on a piece of parchment paper and season. When pan is hot, place onions and mushrooms in pan. Once onions and mushrooms are soft, add patties and cook for 5 minutes on each side.

Dinner

Pegs and I were not that hungry so we just decided to fast… not that we recommend this… 

These Recipes have to wait for the Book!

 **Chicken Stuffed Cabbages**

 **Chocolate covered Strawberries**

 **Peg's Famous Meatloaf with Mashed Parsnips**

Clean City

Friday afternoon I headed to Denver for a weekend with my beloved JennBunny. I was skeptical how it would go eating Clean and all, but it wasn’t bad! I did have one flop… After a long night of dancing I foolishly ate a baby food packet that had pureed bananas and milk in it—total fail... READ ALL YOUR INGREDIENTS!!! I had to forgive myself quickly though because the cleanse must go on. Aside from that road bump, I ate Clean all weekend: smoothies for breakfast, salads for lunch, and either baby food or another smoothie for dinner (I know, it sounds gross, but my sister Alex turned me onto the baby food and they are DELISH!). I am happy to know now that I can stay Clean while traveling!

 **Plum Baby Food**

Saturday

**AMAZING Vegan Beet Salad @ Root Down**

 **Denver Highland's Farmer Market**

 **Quick Trip to Boulder**

**Bunny and her View**

Sunday

 

**Rent-a-Bikes**

 **Loving the City**

 **Broccoli Soup: it's what's for Dinner**

Broccoli Soup

2 T olive oil                                   

1 bunch Broccoli (Approx. 2 C chopped)

4 C Stock: chicken, vegetable or no-chicken broth                                                 

½ Onion rough chopped  (or 1leek green part only, or 1 small shallot finely chopped)

1-2 cloves of garlic chopped  

Salt & Pepper to taste

Other nice additions: ½ C zucchini, sugar snap peas, spinach

• Sauté onions in oil in a medium pot over medium heat.  Add the broccoli, garlic, and added vegetables if using.  Cover vegetable with 4 cups of broth of choice.  Cover and bring to a boil.  Lower heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Carefully use an immersion hand blender and puree the soup.  IF you like it chunky, remove ½ and puree in a food processor and mash the remaining soup.  Add salt and pepper to taste. Another nice touch is a slice of lemon squeezed!

 

Fourth Day Clean

 *The Yoga View**

“lokah samastha sukhino bhavanthu; may all beings in the world be blessed with peace, happiness, and well-being” was our morning chant after a lovely yoga session on the deck.

Once we were warmed-up, Pegs had us clean in preparation for Ann-Dogg’s arrival tomorrow (my younger middle-half). We did the floors, dishes, laundry—the whole-shebang. We finally ate around 3:30/4, way later then we would have liked, a delicious Mediterranean dish. Then afterwards, Pegs and I took more pictures than you could imagine or her pie. Pure torture.

Clean-wise: hunger levels are still low!

Breakfast Smoothie

1 C mixed raspberries and blueberries

½ C shredded coconut

10oz. coconut water

3 tbsp hemp seeds (or suggested amount of another protein powder)

3 kale leaves

1 tbsp ground chia seeds

1 tbsp hazelnuts

1 tbsp chopped pecans

1 tsp raw cocoa

½ tsp honey

½ tsp vanilla

½ tsp cinnamon

 Mediterranean Halibut with Quinoa Tabouli and Bok Choy/Beet Greens

8oz. Halibut

1 tbsp coconut oil

1 tsp dill
½ tsp garlic powder

½ lemon juiced

-Heat pan on medium-high. Season halibut with lemon and dill. Next add a tablespoon of coconut oil to pan. Sear halibut skin side down on medium-high heat for 3-5minutes covered. Carefully flip halibut and continue to cook covered for 3-5minutes (depending on thickness of fish and how rare you like it).

 

1 yellow onion chopped

5 shitake mushrooms chopped

10 olives pitted

2 tbsp capers

1 tbsp coconut oil

-In the same pan as fish, heat to medium then add coconut oil and onion. Cook until the onions become translucent, then add mushrooms.  Once mushrooms are soft, add capers and olives. Leave on low heat until onions and mushrooms are lightly browned

(around 8 servings)

1 Cup quinoa cooked

 2Tbls. olive oil

 2-3 Tbl minced fresh mint

1/2 tsp Celtic sea salt, maybe a little more taste before serving

1/4 C fresh lemon juice

1-3 cloves minced fresh garlic

1/2 C finely chopped scallions

3/4 C finely chopped fresh parsley

-Place warm cooked quinoa in a large container. Add olive oil,mint, salt, lemon juice, and garlic.  Mix well and refrigerate for 1 hour.  Then add scallions and parsley. Mix well.

-Optional additions: diced cucumbers, tomatoes, toasted sunflower seeds or pine nuts. Cilantro is another variation as well. 

-Made 1 day ahead is best!  Enjoy!

2 heads of bok choy chopped

1 handful of beet greens chopped

2 tbsp olive oil

1 garlic clove minced

-Heat pan on medium-low. Then add olive oil, garlic, bok choy, and beet greens. Cook until leaves are tender.

Veggie Juice

7 stalks celery

6 kale leaves

2 carrots

2 small green apples

1 lemon

1 handful of parsley

1 handful cilantro

1 handful of spinach

 **Found this gem from our hike last Saturday at Jonah Lake**

Clean Mentality

 Today was a day of reflection. For all the families affected by 9/11, we will always remember. Pegs and I are sending lots of love and positive energy out there. It is days like these that remind me to count my blessings. Like my amazing parents, my wonderful sisters, my beloved family, my shanti-girl, my friends, our health, our planet, all the places I have seen, where I live, my home, where I get to visit, my body, my mind, my senses, my faith, and for the other half of my molar which I lost last night, thank you for all the delicious meals you helped me consume. 

**you were a great crown**

I am especially grateful of what I get to do every day. Being raised by such an open-minded woman who healed me through food. All of us have the ability to nourish our bodies with the freshest ingredients to keep our bodies healthy. Food is love. So love yourself!

On another note, Megs&Pegs are feeling great. I am trying to figure out my hemp protein powder, it makes my morning smoothies grainy, but all-and-all they are decently tasty and filling me up. Honestly, I am not even eating as much as Clean recommends and I am still feeling satisfied. This is what we ate today… 

 

Breakfast Smoothie

1 C raspberries (or blueberries)

½ C shredded coconut

10oz. coconut water

4 tbsp hemp protein (or suggested amount of another protein powder)

3 kale leaves

1½ tbsp almond butter

1 tbsp ground chia seeds

½ tsp vanilla

½ tsp cinnamon

Salmon with leftover Quinoa, Rice and Sunflower seeds (2 servings)

8oz. salmon

1 tbsp coconut oil

1 tsp dill

½ tsp garlic powder

½ lemon juiced

-Heat pan on medium-high. Season salmon with lemon, garlic powder, and dill. Next add a tablespoon of coconut oil to pan. Sear salmon skin side down on medium-high heat for 3-5minutes covered. Carefully flip salmon and continue to cook covered for 3-5minutes (depending on thickness of fish and how rare you like it).

2 C cooked rice, quinoa and sunflower seeds

3 shiitake mushrooms chopped

2 cloves garlic chopped

1 yellow squash diced

1 zucchini diced

1 C yellow onion chopped

1 tbsp coconut oil

1 tbsp olive oil

½ tbsp Celtic salt

-Heat pan to medium. Once hot, put coconut oil, garlic and onion in pan. Cook until the onions become translucent, then add mushrooms. Cook until mushrooms are soft. Lower heat to medium-low and then add zucchini, squash, salt and olive oil. When squash are soft, add rice mixture and re-heat for a minute or two.

2 heads of bok choy chopped

2 tbsp olive oil

1” ginger thinly sliced

-Heat pan on medium-low (we just used the same pan as the squash rice so it was already hot). Then add olive oil, ginger, and bok choy. Cook until leaves are tender.

 **Pegs with our new juicer**

Veggie Juice (32oz.)

7 stalks celery

6 kale leaves

2 carrots

2 small green apple

1 lemon

1 handful of parsley

1 handful of spinach

(in our glasses, we also added 1 tbsp of ground flax seeds)

 **AHH! Feels so good being Clean**

 

Clean Program

Today was our first day on the Clean program, and honestly, I don’t even feel like we are cleansing. I feel like I am cheating compared to all the other fasts and detoxes I have done… I never felt hungry today! Our eating schedule looks a bit like this:

• 9:00am            Smoothie
• 11:15ish           Snack (nuts, seeds & raisins OR apple with almond/sunflower butter)
• 1:30-2pm         “Dinner” our solid meal of the day
• 4:00pm            Snack (carrots, radish & celery with homemade hummus)
• 7:00pm            Juices or pureed Soup

Pegs and I had a fruit smoothie for breakfast that was delicious, wild rice and chicken salad for our “Linner” (which is a recipe in our book), and a very green smoothie for dinner. If I keep feeling like this, these next three weeks are going to be a wheat-dairy-egg-sugar-free piece of cake!

Breakfast Smoothie

½ a peach

½ a pear (OR ½ -1 C blueberries)

10oz. coconut water

1 tbsp ground chia seeds

4 tbsp hemp protein (or suggested amount of another protein powder)

3 kale leaves

½ tsp cinnamon

 Wild Rice Chicken Salad

2 C red and curly leaf lettuce mixture

½ C wild rice

½ avocado

¼ C roasted chicken

¼ C sliced red onion

4 green beans

2 tbsp pepita seeds

2 tbsp dried currants

¼- 1/3 C peg’s house dressing

Peg’s House Dressing

2-3 cloves garlic

1 tbsp Dijon mustard

½ tsp Celtic sea salt

1 lemon juiced (Meyer lemon = the best!)

½ C olive oil

 Very Green Dinner Smoothie (2 servings)

10 mint leaves

4-5 kale leaves

4 stalks celery

2 carrots

1 cucumber

1 green apple

1 lemon juiced

1 handful of parsley

1 C purified water (after drinking it, I would recommend 3-4 cups)

**It looked nice; however, this smoothie came out of the Vitamix too thick for Pegs and me… But hey, we are learning! I would stick to juicing my greens.

Cooking Machines

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Pegs and I have been on a mission. Since arriving in Steamboat Monday evening, we have made and photographed fourteen recipes for the GrowingGreat Families cookbook with no stop in sight! (Ok, so we are going on a hike tomorrow… but its Saturday!!)

  **Breakfast Burrito with Potato Hash**

**Simple Green Rice**

**Vegetable Ribbons**

With the amount of food we are making, it is a good thing we are doing a detox. A few ladies and I started the Clean program this week. Clean is a fabulous lifestyle approach I am all about! Peg has had our family eating healthy for as long as I can remember. And back when we thought it couldn’t get any better, six years ago, our diet became even healthier (for our genetic composition) once we went gluten-free.

Every year around this time I do some sort of detox. This year it’s Clean. I am a strong believer in cleansing my insides after days, weeks, and especially months of food overload. Obesity is an epidemic in the United States for a reason—we eat waaaayyy too much food. I recently began to read Clean by the brilliant Dr. Alejandro Junger.  The genius behind his Clean program are the foolproof easy guidelines he has written. In the book, he meticulously maps out the cleanse from eliminating specific foods to grocery lists, recipes, times of day to eat, suggestions on what to eat when, detailed explanations of the amazing benefits each week has on your body, and more! I have done my fair share of cleanses-fasts-detoxes, but Clean appears to be most informative and seemingly easy to adhere to, but I will confirm this once I start following the mealtime schedule.

I am not even concerned about cooking recipes for our book while on this cleanse, because of how much we are allowed to eat. And just to show you what I mean here is a GrowingGreat Families recipe we made Clean! 

Spinach Patties or Balls

1 bunch of spinach washed, chopped
1-2 garlic cloves minced
2 green onions finely chopped
½ C finely chopped shitake mushrooms
2 tbsp ground chia seeds soaked in 3 tbsp water (can keep adding water until a thick paste)
½ Cup leftover cooked brown, white basmati, wild rice, or quinoa
¼ Cup toasted and ground sunflower seeds
1 tsp Italian Seasoning (Spice Hunter)
Salt and Pepper to taste
Coconut or olive oil
Other seasoning choices: Thyme, cumin, Pesto, Curry powder, whatever sounds good to you! 

Sauté mushrooms, minced garlic and scallions in 2 tsp.olive oil. Add spinach, and cover until wilted. Drain and press off excess liquid, a little is ok. Set aside to cool.  In a medium bowl, add the rest of the ingredients, and then add spinach mixture. Mix thoroughly.

In the same pan, heat 2 TBL coconut oil until hot.  Form spinach mixture into patties or into balls and sauté until browned on both sides, approx. 5 minutes per side.  Serve warm as a meal, or makes a great appetizer. Also can Bake 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until nicely browned.

 **our beloved taste-tester, Kathy**