My perfect Saturday morning in New Smyrna Beach

New Smyrna Beach is known for it's beautiful, clean, white sand beaches but there are other things to do on a beautiful Saturday morning before you head to the beach. We like to start by biking over the North Causeway Bridge (stopping at the SunTrust ATM on the way) to the Farmer's Market held each Saturday morning in downtown NSB. We bring our reusable coffee cups to KrazyCat Coffee for an iced coffee (for me) and a hot coffee (for Ryan)...we also buy our organic coffee beans from them... and then go to the tent next to them for a bagel, cinnamon bun, or whatever pastry they have available that day.

Sitting in the park next to the Farmer's Market while we eat our breakfast is an awesomely peaceful way to start the weekend. We usually make a few friends (4 legged and human) before moving on to the farmer's tents like Green Flamingo Organics and the Barefoot Farmer.

With all of the new businesses opening in downtown NSB, the morning is not yet over! Today we checked out the UCC Thrift Store on Washington, the new olive oil store The Galley, and the brand spanking new NSB Surfing Museum. You can taste the olive oils and balsamic vinegars at The Galley - I highly recommend the Tuscan Herb olive oil! On the way home we also stopped at the CorMeth Boutique Thrift Store and picked up some sweet cloth napkins and old fashioned champagne glasses for $8!

We noticed that Maloney's is now Yellow Dog Eats (they have a restaurant in Windermere too), there is a new beer place coming and the NSB Brewery is still going strong. With these new businesses downtown and all of the great new places on Flagler Ave, it is a great time to live in and visit NSB. We feel really lucky that we arrived just in time to participate in the sort of Renaissance period of NSB :)

5 Days of Whole Foods

Note: You'll notice a lot of repetition....it's just easier and creates less waste than something different every day.

Day 1

30 Clove Garlic Soup

Breakfast: Smoothie made from 1 cup unsweetened Almond Breeze almond milk, 1/2 cup frozen mixed organic berries, 1 frozen banana, 1 tbsp unsweetened peanut butter

Lunch: Arroz con pollo (1 cup cooked chicken, 2 cups rice, 1/2 cup lentils, onion, green onion, tomato, bell pepper and 4 cups of homemade chicken broth cooked together in a pan until liquid absorbed) topped with tomato, tomatillo, bell pepper and cubed avocado.

Snacks: Banana bread (made without dairy) with peanut butter, peach detox tea and an apple

Dinner: 30 Clove Garlic Soup, very yummy but the next time we eat this alone for dinner we'll probably add more potato

Day 2

Breakfast: Same smoothie as Day 1, added handful of spring mix lettuce

Lunch: Arroz con pollo

Snacks: Banana bread with peanut butter, apple, tea, fresh strawberries

Dinner: Cucumber Dill Soup

Day 3

Breakfast: Same as yesterday

Lunch: Same as yesterday

Snacks: Same as yesterday

Dinner: 30 Clove Garlic Soup

Day 4

Breakfast: Smoothie made with 1 cup unsweetened almond milk, 1 cup frozen mixed berries, 2 handfuls spring mix lettuce, handful walnuts and a 1/2 teaspoon of honey 

Lunch: Same as yesterday! But, it's the last of it today so tomorrow will be something different, thank goodness

Snacks: Same as yesterday

Dinner: 30 Clove Garlic Soup...realized tonight that this soup may not be the best meal to eat 3 times during a 6 day healthy eating challenge! The garlic is super good for you and the potatoes aren't exactly bad for you but....it's essentially watered down garlic mashed potatoes :/ Live and learn!

Day 5

Breakfast: Smoothie made with 1 cup unsweetened almond milk, large handful of spring mix lettuce, 1 cup frozen mixed berries and a handful of walnuts

Lunch: Salad made with spring mix lettuce, roasted chicken, avocado, cucumber, tomato, and carrots

Snacks: Apple, banana bread and peach detox tea

Dinner: Edamame soup (pureed soybeans and spinach with almond milk and garlic)


We originally started this with the idea that we'd go for 7 days....the weekend is just too short to not enjoy a muffin and coffee in the park (see next post) so 5 days it is :) Still going to continue to buy healthy whole foods at the grocery store this week so it's not a total loss!

Happy Soup

I have been meaning to post this soup for ages and I keep forgetting! There is a soup out there...unlike any other soup you've ever tasted...I like to call it.....HAPPY SOUP. The reason? It makes me immensely happy and it's the perfect medicine for the odd cold or sore throat (according to Brandy, MD). Ryan made it for me one day when I was miserable and while I insisted that we only eat it when we're sick (so we don't get sick of it)...it's too damn good. Make this for anyone, sick or healthy, and they will be happy and love you forever. The flavors don't seem like they should taste delicious together but believe me when I say that they certainly do.

Recipe adapted from this one:

Happy Soup

Ingredients

1 bone-in chicken breast (about 1 1/2 pounds)
2 medium carrots, sliced diagonally into 2-inch pieces
1 bay leaf Kosher salt
7 cups vegetable better than bouillon broth
2 tablespoons olive oil  or butter
1 large onion, very thinly sliced
1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder
1/2 cup jasmine or basmati rice
3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh mint
3 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
1 diced tomato
1 lemon, cut into wedges


Directions

Combine the chicken, carrots, bay leaf and a pinch of salt in a medium saucepan. 

Add 3 cups broth and bring to a boil; immediately reduce the heat to low, cover and cook until the 

chicken is just firm, about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the butter in another saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the onion and cook 

until soft, 5 minutes. Add the curry powder and cook for 1 minute. Add the rice and the remaining 

4 cups broth. Increase the heat to medium, cover and simmer until the rice falls apart, 15 to 20 minutes.

Remove the chicken from its broth; discard the skin and shred the meat into pieces. Return the shredded chicken to the same broth.

Puree the rice mixture with an immersion blender until smooth (or use a regular blender, then return to the pan). 

Pour in the shredded chicken and broth, stirring gently to combine; bring to a simmer. Toss in the 

chopped herbs and tomato and serve the soup with lemon wedges.

Finding Balance: I'm a failure, and you can be too!

Tomatoes for everyone!

Remember when I said that Ryan and I would do a 7 day cleanse every 3 months so that we could end our last cleanse early? Yeah.....that didn't happen. We kept meaning to do it but I think subconsciously (ok and now consciously) we really hate the Clean Program. Here's our compromise: 7 days of whole, healthy foods....and, like the Clean Program, we're going to do liquid lunch and dinner (well...I might have some homemade flatbread with my liquid dinner...we'll see how much I can sneak by Ryan, the enforcer) with the 12 hour digestion period overnight. We're going to do no dairy, alcohol and limited gluten but as for yummy tomatoes, strawberries and oranges? Bring em on!

For someone doing the Clean Program for the first time, I agree that eliminating certain foods can be helpful in determining which foods your body doesn't agree with...but for us old pros, there is simply no point! My opinion is that the health benefits of these fruits and vegetables far outweigh any minor problems. We aren't going to have coffee this week but only because I can't drink coffee without nondairy delicious flavored creamer or half and half and Ryan wants to take a break and drink tea for the week. We are going to have maple syrup and honey instead of sugar but won't go crazy with either. 

Our hope is that the positive parts of the Clean Program (such as hitting "reset" and eating real food instead of frozen pizza and takeout every other day!) will still come through for us. Also, we're super simple creatures and doing 7 days of healthy eating seems a lot less daunting than forever and ever (what, no ice cream?!). Maybe, just maybe, the 7 days will turn into a lifetime of healthy eating choices but I'm not above the occasional greasy french fry or chocolate malt...that is just not realistic for me forever. In the end, we all have to make the choices that are best for us.

To start, I am currently cooking a whole (humane certified) chicken in a stock pot full of filtered water with some freshly ground pepper, sea salt and a few veggies I had lying around (thanks to our good friends TJ and Jen in Asheville, NC who graciously shared their garden's bounty with us when we visited last week) and a few I picked up today: parsley, zucchini, tomato, banana pepper, green pepper, onion, green onion, garlic, celery, and carrots. I'm going to use the meat and the broth for several of our meals this week and none of them are going to be made with processed food! 

So, here we go again! This time around for our "cleanse" we won't be hungry or cranky! I think this will be a whole lot more helpful to us than 21 days of deprivation and being hangry. I am hopeful that the lasting effects will be better too :)

What are your thoughts on the Clean Program and cleanses? How do you find balance for your health?