This is another recipe from the cleansers and refreshers:
Dill Quinoa Salad Ingredients:
1 cup dry quinoa
1¾ cups water
½ teaspoon sea salt
½ cup carrots, chopped
1/3 cup parsley, minced
¼ cup sunflower seeds
Dressing:
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 tsp. fresh chopped dill
¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
1-2 tablespoons gluten-free tamari
salt to taste
Directions:
Rinse quinoa with water and drain. Place rinsed quinoa, salt, and water
in a 2-quart pot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover, and let
simmer 15-20 minutes, until all the water is absorbed.
Tip pan to the
side to make sure all the water has been absorbed. Let stand for 5-10
minutes then fluff with a fork.
Prepare vegetables and dressing. Place cooked quinoa in a large bowl.
Add carrots, seeds, and parsley to quinoa. Mix thoroughly. Combine
garlic, lemon juice, oil and tamari; pour over quinoa and toss well.
Serve at room temperature or chilled.
Preparation time: 15-20 minutes
Makes 4 to 6 servings
The people in the PEERtrainer Fresh Start Cleanse teams consistently come up with some of the best recipes. We are posting others elsewhere on the Recipe Blog (so poke around!) but this post will focus on something that I think most people love: CHOCOLATE!
We saw this comment in the team today: "my shakes have been the Chocolate Thorne with extra cocoa added and I swear that is one of the reasons I have been able to stick to it. As a chocoholic I have been able to satiate the need for chocolate and keep up with the cleanse protocol. If you add just the tiniest drop of vanilla the flavor really comes together. When I add my spinach I don't even taste it."
The first point in that sentence, extra cocoa and a tiny drop of vanilla. The second key point is that when you blend in greens you don't taste them.
This is HUGELY IMPORTANT, because 99% of people struggle with getting enough greens in their diet. If you have read your Dr. Fuhrman, you know that greens contain the highest amount of micronutrients. He has worked hard to point out to anyone who will listen, that as overall consumption of micronutrients goes up, disease tends to go down.
Micronutrients are things like vitamins and minerals- things that don't contain calories and are not normally measured, but science shows are essential for optimal health.
Anyway, what we have seen is that people are really taking to adding spinach, kale and other greens to their morning Chocolate smoothies. One member of the cleanse team posted that they put 4 whole cups of kale in their Chocolate shake!
People talk a lot about kale because it contains the highest levels of micronutrients of any fruit or vegetable. This is particularly important at breakfast, because the AVERAGE person consumes no greens at breakfast, and usually a lot of sugar and carbs, which as we know shuts down fat burning!
PEERtrainer Tip: Don't be average. Life is too short!
The other thing that is SUPER CRITICAL to note is that the Chocolate shake mix these people are using is a pea/rice blend from Thorne, who is a close partner of ours at PEERtrainer. We know the team who runs the company, we have visited their factory and hq.
PEERtrainer recommends the Thorne pea/rice shakes becuase they are plant-based and free of all sorts of junk that other protein powders have. If you have not yet made the switch, please do.
Pea/rice protein is absorbed by the body a lot more slowly than whey, and it is not reactive like soy can be for people. Not only do these shakes taste good, and are super healthy when blended with greens- but they also HELP PEOPLE FEEL REALLY FULL. That's a biggie.
The other thing this Chocolate Decadence Recipe "Framework" does is get people in the greens habit. We know from a lot of the surveys that we have been reading that a) some people don't like the taste of greens at all and b) for most people this is not s priority or focus.
So, this is the basic framework for the shake recipe. And we say "framework" because EVERYONE has their own take on things, ways of doing this. Some people like more fiber, some less. Some people add in ground flax seed.
1-4 Cups of Greens: Spinach, Kale- whatever you have, fresh or frozen
1 Teaspoon unsweetened Cocoa Powder.
1 Drop of Vanilla Extract
Mix ingredients on slow speed until the blended smooth. For the Vitamixer's out there, try and keep the speed to a slower speed to avoid foaming up the mix and keeping it smooth.
The Medibulk can really thicken up the smoothie- and some people like that and some don't. If you are new to extra fiber in your diet, you'll want to start small and work from there.
To get a shake and fiber combo kit go to the following pages in the PEERtrainer Shop.
**[Shake Coupon Code: For a limited time we are offering a 15% coupon code to get the high quality shakes that we mentioned above (try Chocolate Vegalite!!) at the best deal out there. FACEBOOK15 is the code, and can be applied on checkout at http://shop.peertrainer.com. Includes all items in the PEERtrainer Shop including the shakes and shake and fiber kits http://shop.peertrainer.com/shakes]**
New: The PEERtrainer Success Index measures how likely you are to lose weight on a more permanent basis. It measures a series of your habits, and assigns a score. A score above 80 is really really good. A score between 60 and 80 shows that you are making some great progress. Get your number here:
This is a variation of the PEERtrainer Energy Soup that we have been making for years. This variation takes less time, and I find it very easy to make in the morning, and it lasts 2 days usually. It also has a very different taste and color.
Ingredients
1 box (32 fl oz (1 quart) 946 ml of PACIFIC organic soup starter:
Chicken Pho Soup Base
3 large heads of organic fresh broccoli (only 1/2 the stems)
5 shakes of red pepper flakes (less or more depending on your taste.
Start with 2 and increase from there)
3 shakes of Sea Salt
A bit of freshly ground pepper.
(I add a bit of salad or spinach or whatever fresh greens I have in the
fridge, but this is optional if you don't have it. Additionally, the greens really alter the flavor of the soup. For a more greens based soup, definitely check out the PEERtrainer Energy Soup recipe.)
Directions
Place cauliflower, mushrooms and broccoli in large pot. Place coconut
milk and chicken pho soup base in pot. Turn on high, bring to boil.
Turn down to simmer for 20 minutes
Add red pepper flakes, salt and ground pepper.
Use your immersion blender to puree. Taste and add salt, pepper or red
pepper flakes as needed. Serve!
No cheats!
This recipe is designed to help people follow the PEERtrainer Cheat System. The System is free to download, and features other recipes to quickly help you get back on track:
PS: We have a new Cleanse starting January 2nd. Here is what superstar nutritionist Jason Boehm has to say about it:
"I know how frustrating it feels to think you're
doing everything right and still not lose weight. Calories are not the
whole picture, and numerous variables contribute to a person's ability
or inability to burn fat. PEERtrainer simply and effectively pulls
everything together to show you how to ditch those stubborn pounds that
won't go away."
Please join us, and for the "re-freshers" who get to do the program as many times after for free, make sure to get your kits or whatever combo you like to use. PEERtrainer Shop Link.
