Spring Panzanella salad.......

A beautiful pairing for spring, a season in Vancouver where we have seen more rain than golden rays.... lusting for spring flavors yet still craving the heartiness of winter substance.

Panzanella salad created with toasted baguette and light fresh mozzarella, spring basil and a light red wine vinaigrette. The chilli is both hearty and warming with traditional indian flavors such as cumin and cinnamon with lemongrass and fresh coriander.

Panzanella salad

1 small multigrain baguette

2 medium ripe tomatoes

1/2 red onion thinly sliced

5 cloves garlic, diced

handful of basil leaves

5-10 pepperoncini peppers (chopped)

1 cup fresh mozzarella (I like the mini bonconchini's)

2 Tbsp red wine vinegar

sea salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 400*

Cut the baguette into cubes, toss with olive oil, 3 cloves of the diced garlic and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake for 5-10 minutes until golden and crisp. Remove from oven and cool.

Saute the red onion on medium heat with a touch of olive oil until soft and transparent. Remove and cool.

In a medium bowl toss diced tomatoes, boconchini, chopped basil leaves with cubed bread, red onion and peppers.

Drizzle with basic balsamic vinaigrette; olive oil, balsamic, 2 cloves garlic and wisk until emulsified.

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hummus cakes

These are lovely little protein packed delight for a vegetarian meal. I paired these crisp cakes with a cumin seed flecked brown rice, some fresh basil pesto and a light spring salad with warm goat cheese to top it off.

1-19oz can chickpeas

1 shallot, fine diced

1 clove garlic, fine diced

1 egg, wisked

cumin

garam masala

sea salt and fresh pepper

1/4 c breadcrumbs

2 green onions, chopped

coriander (fresh chopped)

In food processor, pulse together chickpeas, shallot, garlic, egg, seasoning, salt and pepper until smooth; transfer to bowl. Add bread crumbs, green onions and coriander; stir to combine. Using wet hands, shape into six 1/2-inch (1 cm) thick patties.

In large nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium heat; fry patties, turning once, until golden and crisp, about 10 minutes.

Who get's gallstones?

Who gets gallstones?

You're more likely to get gallstones if:

• You are a woman
• You are more than 60 years of age
• You are of American Indian or Mexican descent
• You have diabetes
• You have a family history of gallstones
• You are pregnant
• You are taking birth control pills
• You eat a diet high in cholesterol
• You are overweight or obese
• You are on a low-calorie diet and have recently lost weight very quickly

I was shocked to find I actually had stones, I do not fall into any of these factoring categories except for the first one, being a woman. These stone can cause serious health problems if left untreated. There is lot's of information on the web on this subject. Many of these sites recommend surgery, chemical drugs taken orally or an injection into the gallbladder to dissolve the stones (experimental).

Not surprisingly I couldn't find a medical site recommending this natural and easy way to pass stones before they become a problem for people.

Gall Stone Flush

Today was day four, last day of the cleanse. After three days of juicing with a small cheat at the end of day three for a couple of Guinness to enjoy with the Canucks game;) Yesterday was the prep for Gall Stone Flush as followed by the words of Paul Pitchford in his book Healing with Whole Foods.

A full day of eating apples, green apples are best but any apple will do. Eat at least 4 or 5 apples however feel free to eat as many as you like. You can also drink water, herbal tea and apple juice.

In the evening 2/3 of a cup of virgin olive oil should be warmed to body temperature, mix in 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice. Slowly sip this mixture immediately before going to bed. He recommends laying on your right side with the right leg drawn up. Stones should be softened by the morning and should pass in the stool.

*This flush should be done with the guidance of an experienced health practitioner*

He adds that gall bladder cleansing clears residues of excess from the liver..... something that can be good from all of us, stones or not, from time to time. I also went ahead with a salt water flush after my first bm this morning to be sure I was really flushing everything out.

Add 2 tsp sea salt(not iodized table salt) to 1 litre of warm water and drink as quickly as possible. You should hear your stomach start to rumble, don't be too quick to run to the bathroom, let it brew;) This is where I really saw the green stones pass; some the size of a green pea and a few that were two or three times this size. The salt water is being passed so you get a clear picture.

I feel lighter and more energized after this cleanse. What comes out in the morning is equally as vile as drinking warm olive oil..... get through that and you somehow shift your relationship with food(even if just a little), an urge to eat clean unprocessed foods, purified in the body, more energized and ready to leap into all spring has to offer in the markets after the heavier foods of winter...... hibernation is over;)

cleansing the curry out;)

Day two of my cleanse..... woke up feeling hungry at about 6am, however I ignored it and gave into sleep for another hour. After planning to do the Master Cleanse for three days I got a new Breville juicer and decided to buy up the produce department at Thrifty's grocery store and juice away for three days.

My days start with a glass of room temperature water with lemon.

8am: greens- apple, celery, cucumber, kale and spinach

10am: mood booster- orange, grapefruit, lemon and St. John's wart

12pm: best face forward- apple, celery, spinach, kale and aloe vera

3pm: quick quench-watermelon, lemon, pineapple, aloe vera

6pm: ginger zinger-apple, carrot, beet and ginger

8pm: sweet dreams-rice milk, banana, almond butter, coconut water and cinnamon

Lots of water all day is essential.

I have to admit while making the juices for the following day on evening 1 I spooned a few spoonfuls of the almond butter into my mouth instead of the blender;) I also chewed a few pieces of gum throughout the day and popped a couple of peppermint candies in my mouth..... all in all there were few hunger pangs throughout that first day and only minor headaches screaming WHERE IS MY COFFEE!!! :)

Today may be a bit more of a challenge as I am working today and for the rest of the cleanse..... in a restaurant.

Vegetables: Beans (dried), beets, cabbage (green & red), cucumbers, garlic (dried), kale, onions (red & yellow), parsnips, greenhouse peppers, potatoes, radishes, rhubarb (field), rutabagas, salad greens, shallots, spinach, squash (winter), greenhouse tomatoes, turnips (white)

Fruit: Rhubarb (field)

Meat & Dairy: Dairy Products, eggs, beef, buffalo, chicken, duck, goat, lamb, pheasant, pork, rabbit, turkey

Seafood: Clams, cod (Pacific), crab, Dungeness crab, flounder/sole (Pacific), halibut (Pacific), herring, lingcod, mussels, oysters (Pacific), prawns (jumbo), sablefish (black cod), scallops, shrimp (side stripe, west coast), Spring dogfish

Herbs: Bay leaves, chervil, chives, cilantro, dill leaf, fennel leaf, garlic chives, oregano, parsley, rosemary, sage, savory (winter), sorrel, tarragon, thyme

Etc: Honey, mushrooms, nuts

Spring Cleansing

Three weeks of my trip in India were spent cleansing Ayurvedic style. Every morning I walked over to the clinic for a variety of treatments such as full-body lymph massage, vaman (drinking a warm brown liquid on an empty stomach and then emptying the stomach), shirodhara (laying on the back with a steady stream of warm oil pouring onto the forehead), steam baths and both water and oil enema's. All of this was amazing however without clean food and water I had a few stomach issues throughout my time in India, both before and after my cleansing. After three separate rounds of antibiotics I came home feeling the need for a cleanse.

The plan is to eat clean, whole foods then move into a three day master cleanse as well as a gall bladder flush the following day. If you are feeling the need for a cleanse that is quick and effective follow along. The Gallbladder Flush is from Paul Pitchford's Healing with Whole Foods book.

The flush I will be doing is a one-day ritual, after my short master cleanse. In the book Healing with Whole Foods Pitchford also gives guidelines for a Gallbladder Cleanse for those whom may have large stones that cannot be flushed through the bile duct in which case the gradual (21 day) method is more appropriate.