Detoxing vs. Tonifying

by cloversandkale // September 10, 2016 // No Comments

Lemon + Orange + Ginger infused water. A great fusion for tonification

So the word “detox” is thrown around a lot.

Detoxing is trendier than Kylie Jenner’s Instagram feed.

I just want to say that there is a difference between detoxing and tonifying. The easiest way to break it down is detoxification means removing toxins from the body to support it functioning.

In the west we tend to overeat wayyyy too much (and over-booze) so I think we are attracted to the idea of “removing the damage”…

Tonification on the other hand, involves “nourishing” or “feeding” our body systems so that they can function optimally.

ton·i·fy
impart tone to (the body or a part of it).
increase the available energy of (an organ, part, or system of the body).

I like the idea of tonificaiton because I believe our body has a natural ability to “detoxify” …that’s our liver’s job, our skins job, and our urinary systems job!

I am more concerned about feeding my body foods that make it function at its best vs. doing crazy cleanses—example: drinking teas that make you sh*t all day long, magic pills, strict cleanses that make you binge eat the day you finish and re-toxify your body with drive-thru french fries, a Bud Light and a huge piece of lasagna at Grandma’s house. Not that there is anything wrong with french fries and lasagna, occasionally.

And you know how much I love my $10 ’50 Shades of Green’ Juice from Kreation in Toluca Lake. But I like to drink it on days when I want my body to reap the benefits of greens, but I don’t feel like eating another damn salad. Because, we all have those days! If you have insane will power, I do think there are benefits to a day or few days of juicing, or drinking smoothies. And I understand there are spiritual benefits of fasting for some religions. But most of us DO NOT HAVE IT IN US TO DRINK JUICE FOR 3 DAYS STRAIGHT to “detox” or “re-set” or “lose weight”

My main point is, you DON’T need to DEPRIVE yourself to the point you’ll go off the deep end with naughty foods.

From my personal experience, and what I’ve seen friends and clients go through…cleanses (like fad extreme weight loss diets) are unrealistic and we end up re-toxing within days of ending the expensive/torturous cleanse. And if we lost a little weight during the cleanse, it’s all back on within a week or 2. Sometimes within 48 hours!

Here’s my alternative advice for those of you wanting to detox.

Instead, start incorporating NOURISHING, REAL, PLANT-BASED food into your every-day-eating. Have a smoothie with fruit & greens for breakfast. Don’t drink beer everyday after work! Instead, sip on a kombucha while you’re cooking dinner. If it’s the end of the day and you really haven’t eaten well–have a lean, clean and green dinner = protein + unlimited greens & veggies. Then, you won’t feel the need to detox!

Again, this is all my personal opinion and I’m not a doctor.

If you have any questions/comments feel free to email me at [email protected]

XO,

Siobain

Grilled Gypsy Peppers

by cloversandkale // September 5, 2016 // Comments off

Labor Day means I can look forward to Hatch chile peppers being on sale at Whole Foods and receiving “Gypsy Peppers” in my Farm Fresh to You delivery. It means summer is coming to an end and fall is near. Like other peppers–I normally just throw my gypsies into fajitas, or stir-fry, or stuff them with a quinoa melody…

Gypsies have a thin skin and thin walls compared to other peppers. This means they cook pretty fast. They fall into the category of sweet peppers.

This year, I found the perfect recipe printed on the flyer that comes with my Farm Fresh to You delivery! No joke. I don’t think I will ever cook gypsy peppers or other sweet peppers any other way. Thank you FFTY!!

I made some slight modifications, but here is the original recipe.

Depending on how many side dishes you are making, you will want at least 1 whole pepper per person. I’d say 2 whole peppers per person because these are SO. DARN. GOOD.

Ingredients

10 gypsy peppers, cored and halved
5 cloves garlic, minced
10 sprigs thyme (remove the leaves from the stem and finely chop leaves)
3 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground Black Pepper, to taste
1/4 cup Parmesan, freshly grated
1/2 Lemon

Instructions
Wash, halve and core peppers.

In a mixing bowl (or a gallon size ziplock bag) Toss peppers with olive oil, minced garlic, thyme, salt & pepper. Let sit until you are ready to grill.

Grill peppers over a low to medium flame.

Once peppers are cooked to your satisfaction, add a small spoonful of Parmesan to each half. Let sit on the grill another couple minutes until the cheese has melted.

For the finishing touch, squeeze juice from a lemon over the top of each pepper.

ENJOY!!

Rosemary Roasted Spiralized Spuds

by cloversandkale // February 10, 2016 // No Comments

This is such a simple side dish (or snacky snack). I roast potatoes about 1x a week, it’s just too easy and delish. I mix it up by the way I cut the potatoes: spiralizing, mandolining, cutting in circles, cutting like steak fries….whatever I feel like! My favorite part is, no matter what shape I cut them into, they are great leftovers. They make for a great breakfast “hash” the next morning, or I can easily reheat/brown them in a fry pan to serve in my buddha bowl lunch.

Today we Spiralize Spuds.

With my Paderno 4 Blade Spiralizer doing most of the work, they look so fancy! (psssst, fancy doesn’t always have to mean hours of work!)

Look how easy this is.

Please excuse my shoddy cell phone pics…

Easy breezy!

Ingredients:

Potatoes (I used these cute gold potatoes from TJ’s! but any kind will do)
Fresh Rosemary
Avocado Oil (or whatever kind of Oil you like—or be oil-free if that’s your preference)
Salt & Pepper, to taste

A new twist on “golden delicious”

Instructions:

Preheat Oven to 425º F
Spread Potatoes on Parchment lined baking sheet.
Drizzle with Oil.
Tuck Rosemary sprigs in-between the spirals.***
Salt & Pepper your spuds.
Cover with Foil (to steam bath the beautiful flavor out of the rosemary)
Roast in oven for 30 mins, then, remove the foil, flip the potatoes with tongs and continue to roast uncovered for an additional 15-30 minutes. I like mine chewy and crispy! So that means they are typically in the oven for 1 hour.

Serve with a yummy protein and a green salad or vegetable and you are GOLDEN. Pun intended.

XOXO,

Siobain

***NOTE

Sometimes I’m lazy and it’s too much work stripping the rosemary leaves off their stem. Also, sometimes Rosemary gets “burnt” or at least “overcooked” and it’s gross (in my opinion). It can be tedious picking out individual leaves from the cooked potatoes if they get burnt. That’s why I started leaving it on the stem. So much faster, and the “steaming” with the tin foil TOTALLY works and infuses the spuds with the flavor of rosemary. Hope that makes sense!

Herb Roasted Parsnips & Carrots

by cloversandkale // December 1, 2015 // No Comments

This dish was my Thanksgiving contribution. Everyone from my 1 year old cousin to my 90 year old grandfather LOVED this dish. It will be playing on repeat all winter in our house. So simple. So Yum.

Parsnips: contain a wide variety of vitamins, minerals & nutrients, including dietary fiber, folate, potassium and vitamin C. read more here

Ingredients:

1 pound of Parsnips
1 pound of Carrots (I used Rainbow Carrots)
Fresh Herbs: Thyme, Rosemary, Sage (I used all 3!)
Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper (optional)

Serves 6

First we are starting with our Herb infused Olive Oil. I used fresh Thyme, Rosemary and Sage. Wash your herbs well. Take the leaves off the stems and place in a small bowl.

Pour your favorite Olive Oil over the fresh herbs and let it marinate. I let mine sit for 6 hours before pouring over my root veggies. Ideally, I’d let it sit for 24 hours (and mix it, muddle the herbs a few times to extract more flavor into the oil).

Scrub or peel your parsnips & cut them into sticks, or rounds. I cut mine into sticks.

Set your parsnips aside in a large mixing bowl.

Wash, scrub or peel your carrots. Cut into rounds or sticks. I cut mine into sticks to match the parsnips.

Place your carrots in the bowl with the Parsnips.

Time to pull out your herby Olive Oil! Pour it over your raw carrots and parsnips.

Such cheerful colors! Healthy and Delicious!

Spread Parsnips and Carrots on a baking sheet.

Season with Salt & Pepper (optional).

Bake in Pre-heated oven 425° for 30-40 mins. Stir/flip veggies halfway through roasting.

Best served warm. Great dish because it can be made in advance and re-heated right before serving.

Enjoy this recipe. Sometimes, the simpler…the better.

XOXO,

Siobain

Konjac Sponge

by cloversandkale // November 7, 2015 // No Comments

You guys. This rock / pumice / avocado shaped / styrofoam / looking thing is my new favorite beauty product. And of course, it’s au natural!

What is a Konjac Sponge?

It’s a highly renewable perennial root plant (perennial = it lives longer than 1 season, or 1 year). It’s comprised of mostly starch (like a potato). Konjac grows in warm subtropical to tropical climates (think Japan, Korea, China & Indonesia). Konjac has been known in Japan since the sixth century as a medicinal food, and it has been eaten for 1500 years! My favorite fact is that it can be used as a vegan substitute for gelatin!!

How to use it:

Easy-breezy…

Wet the sponge completely. This takes a minute…Don’t just get it partially wet, get it soaked!
Massage face with sponge in a circular motion. If I haven’t worn any makeup, I just use the sponge only to clean my face. Otherwise, I’ll put a bit of my facial cleanser on the sponge after it’s soaked with water.
When you’re done, simply rinse the sponge with water and lay it flat to air dry. Replace sponge every 1-2 months.

When you wet the sponge and put it to your face, it feels like it has gel on it!! So bizarre.

Ditch the washcloth & harsh facial scrub! Spend $6-$20 and get yourself a Konjac. My face gets a deeper clean and feels so smooth and refreshed after using my Konjac. It’s so gentle, I can use it morning and night. I really appreciate this because my regular cleanser isn’t quite enough and using a wash cloth is just a bit too rough to use daily. I have an awesome (expensive) exfoliating facial scrub that I use 1-2x a week, but it’s not something that should be used daily. This sponge is the greatest!!

There are Konjac’s for sensitive skin. They are normally white/tan colored. Mine is gray because it has bamboo charcoal, which contains activated carbon, minerals, and antioxidants that fight blemish causing bacteria.

Also, I recommend getting a larger one for your body too!!

You can find these sponges at the RiteAid, Target, Ulta, Sephora, and of course, on Amazon

Have a beautiful weekend babes!

XOXO,

Siobain

Raw Corn + Arugula Salad

by cloversandkale // September 1, 2015 // No Comments

This recipe is inspired by Whole Food’s Market “Corn and Arugula Salad” I love it so much I don’t mind paying $7.99 per pound. BUT. It’s so easy to make…let’s not get too lazy. Perfect salad on pizza night, or for a BBQ side dish, even as part of your Thanksgiving or Easter Feast. I like my version a little better than WF’s because I add extra arugula!

Ingredients (Serves 4-6):

6 Corn on cob, (I recommend using sweet corn)
1/2 Medium Red Onion, sliced thin (use more if you’d like)
5-10 oz Fresh Baby Arugula (all based on how hungry you are!)
6 sprigs of thyme leaves, finely chopped

Dressing:

1/2 Cup Olive Oil
1/2 Cup White Wine Vinegar
Salt and Pepper, to taste

Instructions:

Mix all dressing ingredients together and set aside.
Wash and spin dry your Baby Arugula.

3. Cut the corn from the cob (Leave it raw!) and place in bowl with Arugula.

4. Thinly slice your onion and add it to Arugula and corn.

5. Remove Thyme leaves from stems, chop them up, and add to salad.

6. Drizzle dressing over salad right before serving. Mix well.

Enjoy! I could eat this every day, all summer long!

XOXO,
Siobain

Herbal Coconut Water

by cloversandkale // July 20, 2015 // No Comments

It is so important to drink plenty of water. Sometimes people get bored of “plain” water. Instead of turning to sugary juice or artificial powders to sweeten or flavor your water, consider using fresh herbs! So beautiful, with tons of health benefits.

I used mint, lemongrass, dill, and rosemary to flavor coconut water! Think of it as fancy gatorade (sans the nasty crap actually in gatorade)!

Mint: a natural stimulant, good relaxant, relieves congestion, cools and soothes throat, aids in nausea, soothes stomach indigestion, increases alertness, and activates the salivary glands in our mouth as well as glands which secrete digestive enzymes which facilitates digestion.

Lemongrass: used for treating digestive tract spasms, stomachache, high blood pressure, pain, vomiting, cough, achy joints (rheumatism), fever, the common cold, and tiredness.

Dill: high in calcium, protects against free radicals and carcinogens, anti-bacterial.

Rosemary: powerful antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, strengthens immune system, increases circulation, aids digestion, boosts concentration & memory, mild diuretic, bye-bye bloat!

Rinse your herbs before you use them.

Fill your pitcher with your desired herbal beverage starter. I used coconut water. Other ideas are water, sparkling water, tea, lemonade, etc..

Using your paws (aka hands), crush the herbs to help release their natural flavors. Then put them in your pitcher. Stir vigorously.

Place pitcher in the fridge to chill out. I left mine overnight to really marinate. For the love of pretty, I garnished mine with fresh marigolds.

For a different flavor profile, add fresh berries, cucumber slices, citrus – get creative!

You can keep your beverage in the refrigerator up to one week. When mine was almost gone, I added more coconut water. It wasn’t as strong as the first round (obviously), but it was still lovely.

XOXO,

Siobain

Super Refreshing ‘Watermelon Chia Fresca’

by cloversandkale // July 18, 2015 // No Comments

Nothing says summer like Watermelon! This is the most refreshing drink I’ve had in a long time. I went to the Original Farmers Market in Los Angeles on Tuesday evening and tasted delicious watermelon juice that had chia seeds in it. I knew it was something I could easily make at home with the mini watermelon I had in my refridgerator. So here’s my go at it! I must say, it is incredible! I drank it all and I want more! Hope you enjoy!

Ingredients:
1 mini organic watermelon
3 sprigs of mint leaves
juice from 1 lime
3-4 tablespoons of organic chia seeds

Instructions:

Slice the watermelon in half and remove the “meat” from it. I used a big spoon.

So yummy, I was tempted to ‘forget the juice’ and just eat this all up.

Juice the watermelon and place in a pitcher. Save the beautiful pulp from the juicer and freeze in ice cube trays for smoothies later in the week. (If you don’t own a juicer, you can freeze the watermelon, and make more of a smoothie than a juice, by blending the ingredients in your blender.)

Chop the mint and add it the the pitcher of watermelon juice.

Squeeze the lime into the pitcher.

Stir in the chia seeds.

Most of you know by now that Chia Seeds are one of my favorite additions to smoothies, juices, yogurt, salads, almost anything! They are a nutrient powerhouse! 2 Tablespoons provide 8 grams of dietary fiber and 4 grams of Omega-3 fatty acid (ALA) 15% Daily Value of Calcium and 10% Daily Value of Iron. So happy that Trader Joe’s started carrying USDA Certified Organic Chia Seed!

So pretty!

It’s tempting to want to drink it all right away! But it gets better when the mint and lime sit for a bit.

Stir Mixture Well and allow to marinate and chill in the fridge for a few hours (I left it overnight).

Cheers!

XO,

Siobain

Nutritional Yeast = Bomb dot com

by cloversandkale // July 16, 2015 // No Comments

Last night I posted a pic of my dinner (sprinkled with Nutritional Yeast) on Instagram.

I promised a blog post on why I heart NY.

Here it is.

I’ve been a vegetarian for about 18 years! (and my Dad thought it was a “high school phase”) I have only recently discovered the magic that is Nutritional Yeast (aka, magical flakes that vegans adore). The first time I heard about it I was thinking, “ew, sounds nasty” Sprinkling yeast over food?! Who does that?! Sounds beyond unappetizing. Then I ate the popcorn my friend handed me that was covered in Nutritional Yeast, and when I got home, I did a bit more research.

What the heck is Nutritional Yeast?

Nutritional yeast is a “seasoning” that looks like yellow flakes, to be honest…I think it looks like fish food! You can find in natural food markets like Sprouts, Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods (I’ve also seen it on the shelves at Ralphs/Kroger grocery store). These yellow flakes are a pure strain of yeast called Saccharomyces cerevisiae. In the same family as edible mushrooms, yeast has been used in food and beverage production for more than 5,000 years.

Each batch of nutritional yeast is grown on a mixture of cane and beet molasses for a period of seven days. B-vitamins are added during the process to provide the yeast with the nutrients it needs to grow. When harvested, the yeast is washed, pasteurized, and dried on roller drum dryers before it is ready for market. It is then used by food manufacturers in food products, added to boost the nutrient levels in pet foods, and simply packaged for sale in natural foods stores.

Is Nutritional Yeast “alive” like in baking yeast?

No. Nutritional Yeast is an inactive yeast. It does not have fermenting power (like yeast for brewing beer or baking bread).

What Does Nutritional Yeast taste like?

It comes in both powdered and flaked forms, and tastes nutty, slightly cheesy and kind of creamy. Many vegans use it as a cheese flavoring substitute, adding it to gravies, sauces, and mac n’ cheese style dishes.

What are health benefits of eating Nutritional Yeast?

It is a good source of protein, dietary fiber, vitamins and minerals. Vitamin B-12 is ESSENTIAL for construction and regeneration of red blood cells, food metabolism, and maintaining a healthy nervous system. Many of us Vegetarians and Vegans do not get enough B-12 in our diets because it’s not found naturally in plant foods (only animal foods). Just one Tablespoon of NY provides 40% of the Daily Value (DV) for Vitamin B-12. Additionally, it’s good source of B-Complex vitamins Thiamin (B1) (180% DV per serving), Riboflavin (B2) (160% DV per serving), Niacin (B3) (70% DV per serving), Pyridoxine (B6) (140% DV per serving), Folic Acid (40% DV per serving) and Pantothenic Acid (30% DV per serving). It is also a source for of zinc and selenium. Nutritional yeast is a complete protein! That means that out of the 18 amino acids, it contains the 9 essential amino acids that our bodies cannot produce.

Love this article about Nutritional Yeast with links to a few yummy recipes from The Huffington Post

What is your fave way to use NY? I’d LOVE to know.

XO,

Siobain

Pasta Night! Summer Vegetable Fusilli

by cloversandkale // June 10, 2015 // No Comments

Sometimes you just need a good ol’ pasta night! I don’t know how Paleo’s do without it! (I’m certain they eat it when we’re not looking). Loving this gluten free fusilli from Trader Joe’s! Seriously, couldn’t even taste that it’s gluten free. Even though it’s pasta night, think more vegetables, less pasta. 1 part pasta, 3 parts veggies to keep it lean, clean and green! Wink wink.