by Terry Walters
Author: Clean Food and Clean Start

Making a CLEAN START doesn’t have to be hard – especially with these easy and helpful tips. Clean is going to be different for each person. What’s important is not jumping from one extreme to the other, but making one healthy choice at a time and doing the best you can do. A slow transition is more likely to yield positive long-lasting changes to your health!

1. Keep it CLEAN –  “close to the source.” These foods are minimally processed, come in all the colors of the rainbow and all 5 tastes – sweet, sour, salty, bitter and pungent.
2. Try just one new clean food each week. A new vegetable or whole grain, some legumes, nuts or seeds… Even if you only like half of the foods you try, at the end of the year you’ll have 26 new clean foods in your diet! That’s a lot of improved nutrition and good health!

3. If you don’t know where to begin, start with something green! Dark leafy greens like kale, collards, watercress, broccoli, mustard greens, romaine lettuce…are nutritional powerhouses that are super-cleansing, healing, disease-fighting and a great source of vitamins and minerals.

4. Set yourself up for success. Fill your refrigerator and pantry with clean food choices and leave the indulgences behind. Make the hard choices just once at the grocery store, and not every time you open your cupboard.

5. Meditate. Make time to slow down, lock in intention, and experience healing stillness every day. You can’t always change the stress in your life, but through meditation you can change your body’s response to it and every system in your body will benefit.

Deep Dish Greens with Millet Amaranth Crust

INGREDIENTS, 
TOPPING

3⁄4 cup combined millet and amaranth
2 cups vegetable stock
1⁄4 teaspoon sea salt
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
Freshly ground black pepper
Extra virgin olive oil

FILLING

1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 tablespoon grapeseed oil
3 carrots, chopped
11⁄2 cups frozen peas
11⁄2 cups frozen corn
2 tablespoons mirin
1 bunch kale, chopped
1 bunch collard greens,chopped
1 cup water
2 tablespoons tamari
1 tablespoon arrowroot powder

PREPARATION

Place millet and amaranth in pot or rice cooker with vegetable stock and salt. Bring to boil, cover, reduce heat and simmer until all liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat and set aside.

In large Dutch oven over medium heat, sauté onion in oil 3 minutes or until soft. Add carrots, peas and corn and continue sautéing to heat through. Add mirin, fold in kale and collards, and sauté until tender and
bright green.

In small mixing bowl, whisk together water, tamari and arrowroot. Pour over vegetables, stir until sauce starts to thicken and remove from heat. Transfer to pie plate or casserole and set aside.

Turn on broiler.

When grains are done, fold in dried parsley and season to taste with salt and plenty of black pepper. Stir to combine and spread evenly over vegetables. Drizzle with olive oil and broil 5 minutes to yield a creamy
grain topping with a crisp crust. Remove from oven and serve hot.

SERVES 4

VARIATION

Substitute polenta for grains and 11⁄2 cups chopped tomatoes with their juices for 1 cup water and tamari.

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