Any Guy's Food Blog

I decided to post one of my one-day cleanse menus on my fitness page (found here) and since it's food, I'm going to post it here as well.

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I'm using this blog post to organize my one-day cleanse the I will be doing later this week. Feel free to steal from it. No, I'm not a nutritionist and no, I'm not making any guarantees about any effects. It's just what I'm doing and I've been happy with the results. Many of my cleanses that I use also avoid caffeine, this one does not. Mainly this is because I have just been on a green tea kick lately and felt like including it for it's antioxidant and other health benefits.

It is important that you remember to have at least a snack every two hours at the very least. This will maintain your metabolism so that your body continues to work at peak efficiency while cleaning itself out. I eat more than that because of my regular activity. You should eat pretty much whenever you're hungry (but not just whenever you're bored). This isn't a weight-loss diet. It's about helping your body to remain clean and work its best. If your body is telling you that it's hungry, then eat more (essential fats, proteins and natural sugars) so that it has the energy to keep working. I also like to make sure that I consume at least 64 oz of fluids (that's about 2 liters) throughout the course of the day.

I would also like to note that I do not discontinue my regular supplement regime on cleanse days. I will still take all of my normal vitamins and other supplements so that my body has everything it needs. I've read some that some studies suggest that many cleanses also lead to quick, small weight loss, but I would like to repeat that this is not the point of a cleanse. So don't starve yourself.

Beverages

Sea Salt Water

Sea salt contains more minerals than regular table salt. Lemon juice also contains added cleansing value.

Ingredients:
1-2 pinches sea salt (to taste)
Lemon wedge
2 cups warm water
Red chili powder (cayenne, optional)

Warm the water. Squeeze in the juice from the lemon wedge. Add the salt and stir. I have read that some people like to add a small sprinkling of cayenne pepper to taste. I don't really care too much for it.

Green Tea

Just buy bagged green tea bags from the store and brew it fresh. Bottled or canned green tea is likely to contain extra crap in it that you are trying to clean out of your body right now.

Pomegranate Juice

Either buy fresh pomegranates and juice them yourself or make sure that you buy pure pomegranate juice with no preservatives, sweeteners or additives. Honestly, this is too pricy for me right now, so I'll be sticking with the tea and salt water.

Breakfast/Snack Options

Fruit Salad - Makes 2-3 Servings

Ingredients:
2 apples (cored, chopped)
2 peaches or nectarines (pitted, chopped)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 bananas
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds (shelled)

Toss all the ingredients in a bowl and eat.

Fruit and Nut Mix - Makes 6 servings

1 cup raisins
1 cup craisins
1/2 cup raw almonds
1/2 cup pecans

Lunch

Dark Green Salad

1 cup red leaf lettuce (chopped)
1 cup fresh spinach (chopped)
1/2 cup raw almonds
1/2 avocado (chopped)
sea salt (to taste)

Toss first 4 ingredients, then salt to taste. Serve.

Dinner

Asparagus and Walnuts

1 bundle asparagus spears
1 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic (chopped)
1/4 cup walnuts (chopped)
sea salt

On medium-high heat, brown chopped garlic in the olive oil in a sauce pan large enough to fit the asparagus. If the oil begins to smoke, lower the heat slightly. As soon as the garlic begins to soften and turn brown, reduce heat to medium and add chopped walnuts then asparagus. Cook on medium heat until the point when the asparagus just begins to soften. Remove from pan and serve. Salt to taste.

Tomato Salad

I totally take tomatoes for granted. I always forget that they are one of the best superfoods out there. They are full of iron and antioxidants and are freaking delicious.

2 chopped tomatoes (of your choosing, about 2" in diameter)
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
salt and black pepper (to taste)

I didn't actually make a turkey for Thanksgiving because I ate at my father's house. However, I was gifted a 22-lb. turkey that I smoked two days later. I was very happy with how it turned out, but had to eat the whole thing myself. I decided yesterday that I wanted to make a turkey gravy with some of the leftovers and eat it with mashed potatoes. I did just that.

I would like to point out that my first choice for a turkey gravy would actually use the turkey stock from the turkey itself. However, it was chaos in my house the day that I smoked the turkey and I was a little absent-minded about saving the turkey stock after I carved her up. So I used bacon fat (which I always have on hand). You could also substitute vegetable oil, lard or shortening. However, I say go big and always make sure you save a can of bacon drippings in your fridge because it's so much better than lard or shortening.

Ingredients:

1 tbsp bacon fat
~1/2 lb. turkey meat (cut into bite-size pieces)
1 120z. bottle of pale ale
2 cups whole milk
2 tbsp flour (I used whole wheat)

Directions:

On medium-high heat, melt the bacon fat in a sauce pan. When the fat has melted down, add the turkey. Stir occasionally until the turkey meat begins to brown on outside.

Once the meat begins to get crispy brown marks, add the beer. Leave on medium-high heat until the beer is reduced to half, then reduce heat to medium.

In a separate bowl, thoroughly whisk flour into the milk. Add milk to the sauce pan and continue to cook, stirring frequently until gravy thickens. Stir in salt and pepper to taste.

Notes:

She isn't much to look at, but boy is she tasty. The photo up top shows the gravy on top of a bed of mashed potatoes that I made fresh. I was quite pleased with how it turned out. Personally, I feel that most gravy is WAY too salty, so I went light on the salt and a little heavier on the pepper.

When I got this item on the list from Brad, I clearly didn't see them as the same magnitude of a challenge as he did. I completely dismissed them. In fact, I almost didn't even need to consider them as I had a hard time coming across any. But then a mutual friend conveniently had a bunch of extras and I soon found myself in possession of some Thai chiles. I'll tell you right now that this recipe was evolved as it was being made. I took the first taste of what I thought would be a finished problem and immediately realized why Brad thought they would be more of a challenge. These things are just angry peppers and their flavor does not stand alone very well. But a couple quick fixes and we have a recipe of which I was quite fond.

Ingredients:

10 Thai chiles (destemmed, chopped)
2-3 roma tomatoes (chopped)
1/2 tbsp salt
1/2 tsp cumin
1 tbsp ancho chile powder (from the ethnic foods section)
1/4 cup white flour
1/2 cup white vinegar

Directions:

I first want to note that you may need to grind your own ancho powder. If you go to the Mexican foods aisle or a Mexican foods market, you should be able to buy packages of dried pasilla (ancho) chiles. Simply remove the stems and shake out any seeds and then grind in a coffee grinder.

For the salsa, first blend the Thai chiles, tomatoes, salt, cumin and chile powder until the salsa has a relatively smooth consistency. You will never completely blend all of the bits of Thai and tomato, but you want them mostly insignificant in size.

Add the salsa and vinegar to a pot and bring to a boil, stirring continuously. Carefully stir in the flour to avoid clumping. After the flour is mixed in thoroughly, lower the heat until the salsa just stops bubbling and continue to stir until the salsa thickens.

Notes:

I used the heck out of this salsa once it was finished. I'm a fan. I mean it. I put it on every burrito I made for weeks. And this salsa should keep for weeks between the vinegar and the Thai chiles. And yes, weeks of burritos for me is a LOT of burritos. I would also HIGHLY recommend this salsa for making enchiladas.

When I saw this on the list, I knew that I had to try it, but had no idea where I was going with it. Sometimes when I am working on a recipe idea, I'll just take the main ingredient, banana chips in this case, and wander through the grocery store searching for inspiration. Being a salsa challenge, I did a couple of laps around the gigantic produce section and finally settled on an idea.

Ingredients:

1 cup banana chips
~10 oz grape (or cherry) tomatoes (quartered)
1/2 bundle green onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
1 habanero (deveined, chopped)

Directions:

The beauty here, it turns out, is that the banana chips work in coordination with the habanero to be the only seasoning you need. Chop the banana chips in a food processor, coffee grinder or blender by pulsing a few times. You just want to make sure you don't have any whole chips left.

In a mixing bowl, mix the chopped banana chips and all of the remaining ingredients. Bam!

Notes:

This recipe really surprised me. The fresh, crisp celery acts as a middle-ground between the balanced sweet of the banana and acidity of the tomatoes. The habanero gives a little bite (you may even consider adding a second habanero or a serrano for MORE bite).

I went almost dessert-style on this, but wanted something that could sit on top of a hearty fish like ahi or halibut. This is what I came up with.

Ingredients:

~6 oz blackberries
~1 lb strawberries (tops chopped off and quartered, or smaller if large strawberries)
1/4 cup crema mexicana (from the refrigerated ethnic foods section)
1 habanero (deveined and chopped)
1 cup arugula (finely chopped)

Directions:

Mix the cream and the blackberries first, coarsely crushing the blackberries. Mix in the rest of the ingredients.

Notes:

Note exactly my cup of tea, but a solid salsa. It was liked by everyone who tried it, so that was a good sign. When the girlfriend found out there was some left she polished it off. Then she felt bad because she though I wanted some. Small victories. I would throw this on top of a hearty fish, like I said, or even an arrachera or some sort of grilled steak of that nature.