The 2013 Food Lover's Cleanse Diary: Day 7
Sara Dickerman didn't just write the Food Lover's Cleanse--she's an active participant. Follow along with her every day as she reboots her diet. (No juice fasts allowed.)
Yesterday's breakfast was the first one that didn't tide me over for a long time. I liked the taste of the tropical fruits, and I had added the almond milk to give the morning some protein, but the meal just didn't have the staying power of whole grains or eggs. Lunch, with my extra salmon, was nice and solid, though, and I survived.
Dinner made me really happy--I love what red peppers can do when they're cooked: they stay so vibrant, but also get some lovely sweetness. Also, I'll eat pretty much anything with an egg on top. I hope some of you could get your hands on harissa--the North African condiment that combines hot-but-not-too-hot chile peppers with spices like caraway and cumin--mine even has some rose petals in it. It might seem overly exotic, but I love a condiment like this, which can be used in small amounts to wake up a dish.
I'm always trying to maximize flavor and condiments and other last-minute additions are a great, low-calorie way to keep simpler food--like all of our lean proteins and veggies--from getting too drab. But here's a list of some of my favorite showy toppings. You don't need all of them, of course, but I hope a few of them help to keep healthy ingredients interesting long after the cleanse. Marissa reminds me that a lot of hot sauces and pickles have quite a bit of salt, so you don't want to overdo it, but you usually don't need much to add a lot of flavor to a dish. Very generally, keep your personal doses of supersalty condiments to less than a teaspoon.
Hot sauces: You can't go wrong with the tart slap of Crystal hot sauce, and I know that some of you are already fans of Sriracha. Don't forget that Sichuan hot bean paste can punch up green veggies like no one's business.
Mustards: A little bit of good Dijon or a crunchy spoonful of whole grain mustard is a great accompaniment for chicken or pork. I also have a soft spot for picallily, which combines the tang of pickled veggies with bright yellow mustard.
Pickles: Speaking of pickles, chopped pickles can be a stealth source of texture and tang--try mixing them with salads or making an ersatz tartar sauce with herbs, Greek yogurt, mustard, and pickles. If you can, use fermented pickles instead of those packed in vinegar brine, since you'll get a funkier flavor and a healthy hit of live cultures at the same time.
Citrus zest: As we've seen, orange, lemon, and lime zest have incredible freshening power in a dish, especially if you add to a warm dish just before serving.
Capers: I love salt-packed capers--you need to soak them a bit before serving, but they're actually gentler to taste than the briny kind.
Fresh herbs: There's no salt to worry about with fresh tender herbs, and even the most pedestrian of them, parsley, wakes flat dishes up with a clean, sweet freshness. When spring comes, see if you can grow some herbs in your windowsill or garden to round out the herb bouquet with chives, tarragon, and my son's favorite, chervil.