Healthy Cooking

My Fave Kale Salad: Lessons from Ani Phyo, Raw Mystic

You know I’m the Queen of Kale. It’s a superfood. It has more iron per gram than redmeat. But I know how icky kale is to most people. My husband give me that withering look whenever “dinner” and “kale” are in the same sentence. But even my husband, who is in recovery from a meat-and-potatoes (plus overcooked brocolli) food plan from childhood, loves this salad.

Behold the most amazing marinade over raw kale: Ani Phyo’s Sunflower Thyme Marinade. Ani’s marinade softens the kale and is so flavorful, you’ll forget how good it is for you. Thank you to my dear friend from high school who made this for me recently!

 

 

Ani Phyo’s Sunflower Thyme Marinade

2 T thyme
1 clove garlic
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup sunflower seeds soaked an hour or more and then drained
1 T apple cider vinegar
1 t sea salt
(2 T lemon juice–my friend’s addition)

Blend all ingredients until smooth. Marinade will keep for 3-4 days and makes enough for a few salads.

From her life-altering book, Ani’s Raw Food Kitchen. I mean it about the life-altering part – I love her raw, soaked oat groats for breakfast.

Please share any other marinades you think are awesome over kale in the comments section!

 

Get Your Alkaline Broth Right Here

When I lead my Cleanse twice/year, alkaline broth is front and center. Why bother? What could it possibly do for you?

We tend to love acidifying and mucus-producing foods. You know the culprits: sugar, dairy, meat, coffee, processed foods.

Getting Things Back in Proportion

As in most things, we seek proportion in the body in order to keep natural intelligence at its best. We want a balance between acid and alkaline. We want a balance with your hormones – not too much thryoid, not too little. Not too must estrogen, not too little. The right amount of estrogen in proportion to progesterone. Not too much stress hormone, or cortisol, and not too little.

What Acidifying Foods Do to You

Over time, excess acidifying food affects the bones and releases the naturally alkaline bone minerals, calcium and phosphorus, to buffer the acidity in the blood. If this happens persistently, you can end up with weakened bones, which is an epidemic in our culture.

Alternatively, we can eat alkalinizing foods, such as this lovely alkaline broth. Eat the simmered vegetables. Drink the broth when you need to be perked up in the afternoon. Your kitchen will smell heavenly as your broth simmers.

Alkaline Broth

Choose a combo of the following vegetables: celery, fennel, green beans, zucchini, spinach or other greens (kale, sorrel, chard), carrots, onion, garlic, cabbage. I love to use purple cabbage because the color of the broth is gorgeous. I chop 1-2 cups of 3 of these veggies. Commonly, I choose purple cabbage, carrots and fennel.

Add fresh or dry spice. I love cumin and turmeric.

Place vegetables and spice in a large soup pot and cover with filtered water.

Bring to a boil, and simmer on low for 45 minutes.

Strain the vegetables and drink the broth. Use the vegetables in a meal if you wish or blend for a delicious soup.

The broth will keep in the refrigerator for 3 days. Do not freeze.

 

What I Eat: From Kale to Forbidden Black Rice

Given all the ways that food serves as medicine, as sacred substance, as a boost to divine vitality, I often get asked by my patients, yoga students and tribe what I eat. Not vague generalizations and broad categories, but nitty-gritty specifics.

I happen to do well with nitty-gritty specifics. I learned at the ripe age of 40 that I’m a bit of a compulsive overeater. And, to compensate and fit into my skinny jeans, a compulsive overexerciser.

It was not welcome information. I spent way too much of my brain power with complex calculations of caloric input and output. I spent way too much money on finding the right diet for me, and the right amount of the right exercise.

I’m a stress eater. I eat and drink wine to celebrate life’s great moments. I eat when I need to calm down. It’s not a good habit. I realized I need to right size the role of food in my life. I need to find more peace and serenity around food.

Here’s the food plan that gives me peace and serenity, weighed and measured and gloriously free of debate.

Breakfast:

2oz oats (weighed dry, then cooked) + 2oz nuts + 6oz fruit

(note: when initially losing weight, I started at 1 oz of dry oatmeal)

Lunch:

6oz cooked vegetables + 6oz tofu/tempeh/beans (or 4 oz meat) + 6oz fruit + 2oz whole grain

(note: when losing weight, I skipped grain at lunch)

Dinner:

6oz cooked vegetables + 6oz tofu/tempeh/beans (or 4 oz meat) + 8oz salad with 2T dressing

What vegetables?

The non-starchy types such as organic kale from my bag yard (6 oz of kale is a big ol’ pile!) or chopped baby bok choy with garlic and spray coconut oil. Yummers.

Grain?

Chinese Forbidden Black Rice or Red Quinoa. Crazy good. Massa’s brown rice. Yes yes OH YES!

That’s it. I love it. Food is neutral. Not overly romanticized, not used to cope with emotional turbulence. This is an optimal food plan for balancing your hormones. Tell me what you think and let me know if you’ve ever struggled similarly.

 

Let Kale Salads Rock Your World

You know I’m the Queen of Greens. I eat greens every day: chard, kale, spinach, arugula, mache, chard, collards. Gram per gram, kale provides more iron than red meat, and we don’t eat red meat while on the Gottfried Cleanse. Kale is nutrient dense in other aspects as well: one cup provides 1327% of the daily value of Vitamin K, 192% of daily value of Vitamin A, and 88% of Vitamin C.

Let’s leave out the bread crumbs and cheese while your cleansing. Click here for another favorite recipe for marinated raw kale.

This traditional Tuscan salad is made with strips of Italian black kale, fresh lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil, crushed garlic, red pepper flakes, grated pecorino Tuscano cheese and bread crumbs. These bright, refreshing flavors combine to bring the sunny taste of Italy to your table.

Ingredients

4-6 cups kale, loosely packed, sliced leaves of Italian black (Lacinato, “dinosaur,” cavolo nero) midribs removed

juice of 1 lemon

3-4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 cloves garlic, mashed

salt & pepper, to taste

hot red pepper flakes, to taste

2/3 cup grated Pecorino Toscano cheese (Rosselino variety if you can find it) or other flavorful grating cheese such as Asiago or Parmesan

1/2 cup freshly made bread crumbs from lightly toasted bread

Instructions

Whisk together lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper, and a generous pinch (or more to taste) of hot red pepper flakes.

Pour over kale in serving bowl and toss well.

Add 2/3 of the cheese and toss again.

Let kale sit for at least 5 minutes. Add bread crumbs, toss again, and top with remaining cheese.

Check out the video right here.