“I’m revving my RENO engine!” quote from a Cleanse participant.

 

We did it! We launched another new product, the Eat-Clean Diet® 4-Week Cleanse and it’s been as exhilarating as delivering a brand new baby – which it kind of is, since it took months to create and develop. We didn’t have a name picked out for our newest addition, until hours before having the final product in our hands. You now know what the end result is, and you even helped choose the cover look.

We have had our moments, too. It was high, it was fun and it was energetic. The team who worked so diligently on this experienced numerous sleepless nights, working their magic both in front of and behind the computer. We emailed, texted, hung out on Google, shared documents and pretty much lived in each other’s heads for weeks. We popped champagne for toasts with Eat-Clean Ambassadors and friends, Marilyn and Esther, and co-author and naturopathic doctor, Dr. Rachel, for the launch. Live Facebook events have come and gone and now, with thousands on board, we are deep into the heart of the matter.

We have noticed some nervousness among you, in higher volumes than what we have seen in the other Tosca Reno Challenges. Today’s blog is all about giving you that extra hit of confidence and making the nervous jitters go away.

I recognize that for many of you, this is your first cleanse experience so it is natural to have some qualms. However, it is essential that we remain grounded and trust in the experience Dr. Rachel and I have created for you. It will not help us to let the wildness prevail. Trust the beautiful program that is there to give you structure and guidance all the way. Let it speak for itself. Don’t try to outdo or overdo. Start the Cleanse when we suggest – on October 19th. There is no rush. This is a time to draw in, to luxuriate in looking after oneself, to calm down, to trust, to reflect and to stop. Stop the busy-ness of life. Stop. Breathe.

I want to encourage you all to start the Cleanse when we suggest. Let’s do this together. How can you Cleanse though Canadian Thanksgiving? I won’t be doing that. Let us carry you through on the specified date. If we keep going off all over the place we will miss the beauty of completing the journey together. There is a great richness in our community. Just look what happened with Strike Sugar and Fitness Commitment. Our community of energy and love was unbelievable.

Trust that what the Dr. Rachel and I have built is a program that normally would call for a cost of well over a hundred or more dollars. We have given you this to help yourselves and we gave you our souls. The program will be increasing in price because it isn’t right to cheapen its’ worth. We are collectively spending hours online assisting with questions and support. Many programs don’t offer that.

We also wanted to spend some time clarifying some issues that have come to our attention since the Cleanse launched. We have to admit that we are as disappointed as you that there are some edits that did not get cleared up before we launched. But, we are human, and we do make errors from time to time. Keep these for your reference.

BUILD YOUR OWN DINNERS AND LUNCHES:

These are opportunities to flex your newfound cleansing muscles. Generally we give you the guidelines of how to build your meal based on the Macronutrient Guidelines we have provided. You can select a protein, fat and complex carb from the list of acceptable cleanse foods and create your meal. It gives you the chance to show off and try out your own cooking skills. We await the results. Send pics. Post them. Shout out to your talent! See pages 218 & 219 for a refresher on macros, portion sizes and how to put your Eat-Clean meal together.

Also, you’ll notice there is a typo for Week 1 Tuesday, Meal 3. It should read “leftover PORTUGUESE KALE AND CELERY ROOT SOUP”.

THE WHY of the NO LIST:

When performing a cleanse the idea is to create less stress for the digestive and processing organs. Think of it like not loading your kitchen sink garburator with corn husks and avocado pits. If you do that you plug up the entire system. We are not doing that. We are serving up healthy foods that do not overly tax the system. When we ask you to avoid the foods on the NO list this is because they are the foods that tend to cause the most inflammation, or that people are often highly sensitive and/or allergic to them. Unfortunately, a lot of these foods are also the most heavily genetically modified and/or pesticide heavy. In short these are the most challenging foods for our body so let’s give them a pass for the moment.

THE RECIPES

Our trusty Eat-Clean Ambassador and friend, Esther, did me a huge favour and re-tested some of the recipes that seemed to be giving folks a bit of trouble. I was in Halifax for my daughter Chelsea’s, graduation and could not stand in front of a stove to do it myself. Props to Esther. Here are her findings:

The Pots – Quinoa, Ginger Sesame Chicken Noodle, Miso Kelp Noodle, Curried Kelp Noodle

 

These little gems are easy to make and pack a delicious punch. Esther agreed that after I posted on Facebook about putting the pots in 4 cup Mason jars and adding enough boiling hot water to fill, that most of the confusion dissipated. I’m so glad because they are super easy to make and take with you on the road or to work. Fill the jars up, absolutely stuff them with Eat Clean, Cleanse approved ingredients. If you want more flavour don’t be shy to hit them up with citrus juice, especially lime, and USS – unrefined sea salt. Even fresh herbs from the Cleanse food list are fabulous in these pots.

Pumpkin Walnut Scones

 

These are delicious little goodies made better with the abundance of pumpkin in the fall. I’m contented knowing I can eat pumpkin on this Cleanse. But Dr. Rachel did help us adjust this recipe as did Esther and we have a slight modification that should improve the texture problems some of you reported. Dr. Rachel suggested increasing both flour quantities to 3 cups each. So there will be 3 cups brown rice flour and 3 cups almond flour or meal. Baking time can be increased to 30 minutes as well if you find you need more time.

Pumpkin Almond Pancakes

 

Esther tested the pancakes for us and found there was a bit of adjusting necessary. So much so that we just reworked the entire thing. When originally testing it worked out just fine, but for some reason it’s not happening anymore. What we’d like you to keep in mind is that pumpkin and flax eggs can be finicky. Since we don’t want to remove the pumpkin (that’s the whole point of the recipe), we decided to remove the flax eggs instead. Pumpkin can make these pancakes seem like they are not cooked through, so be wary of that. There will also be a difference between using canned pumpkin puree and homemade pumpkin puree. Phew! Okay.

Prep Time: 30 minutes to roast pumpkin if using home made pumpkin puree + 15 minutes to assemble including rest time

Cook Time: 3 minutes per side or until cooked through

Yield: makes about 6 – 8 pancakes

Servings: 2, 3 – 4 pancake servings

Ingredients:

3/4 – 1 cup nut milk of your choice

1 Tbsp ACV

1/2 cup pumpkin puree

1 Tbsp coconut or olive oil

1 tsp vanilla extract

Pinch USS

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1/4 tsp grated nutmeg

1 Tbsp maple syrup

1 tsp baking powder (without aluminum)

1/2 tsp baking soda (without aluminum)

1 scoop protein powder of your choice

1/2 cup oat flour

1/2 cup almond meal

Method:

  1. Combine nut milk with ACV. Set aside until milk curdles, about 5 minutes.
  2. Combine wet ingredients in one bowl.
  3. Combine dry ingredients in another.
  4. Combine wet and dry and mix until just combined. Let batter rest about 5 minutes.
  5. Add more milk if too thick. Add more flour if too wet.
  6. Heat griddle to medium high or high temp.
  7. Ladle out batter using a 1/8 cup measure.
  8. Let pancakes cook until bubbles form.
  9. Flip and repeat.

Zucchini Walnut Bread

 

This is a great recipe made all the better with the walnuts, which, we regret, we forgot to include in the recipe itself. It’s actually quite amazing how often this happens in recipe reaction. Somehow one key little ingredient escapes! Please add 1 cup raw, unsalted walnuts if desired. Walnuts are wonderful for the libido, so maybe that will prompt you to put them in the batter. Smile! I’m thinking of how to make your life better everywhere even in the bedroom.

The yield on the Zucchini Walnut Bread is one loaf or twelve slices. You can bake your loaf, slice and freeze so that you will have plenty on hand when needed.