Clean diet – Collard Greens wraps
For the last several years I have been following Dr. Alejandro Junger’s Clean diet during the “transitional seasons” and it has been amazing. Every beginning of fall and spring I do a 21-day cleanse following his basic premises and it has been life changing. When I follow this Clean diet method my seasonal allergies drop dramatically becoming virtually inexistent (albeit for the occasional sneeze here and there)… really it is amazing to experience first person what our body is able to do for us once we take good care of it!
If you have never heard of Dr. Junger or the Clean diet I’m gonna try to break it down easily for you. The idea with this diet is to remove all foods that may be inflammation inducing so your body and immune system has time to recover and strengthen. You can do it for 7, 14 or 21 days but I have found that 21 days are easy enough and then you can even prolonge it longer term by eating solids again for breakfast and dinner. Dr. Junger has of course tried to make a few extra bucks from his popularity by selling some supplements, but I completely ignore it and do not use any supplements while on the diet. I find it perfectly well balanced (if followed properly) as it is.
The method involves having a liquid meal both for breakfast and dinner whilst eating regular solid foods during the rest of the day. The liquid dinner must be eaten 12 hours prior to your next liquid breakfast. The liquid dinner rule is what I find to be the hardest advice to follow, while everything else in the method I find manageable and pretty easy to accomplish for longer term.
The foods you should remove completely from your diet are (amongst others):
- Oranges, bananas, strawberries, grapefruit
- Night shades: eggplant, peppers, tomatoes, potatoes…
- Corn, soy, gluten, white rice, wheat, corn, barley, spelt, kamut, rye, triticale, oats (even gluten-free) And any products made with them (soy sauce, tofu, corn tortillas, pasta, etc)
- All packaged, canned, and processed foods and drinks.
- Dairy and eggs: all, including whey and butter substitutes; all butter and mayonnaise, including ghee
- Animal protein: pork (bacon), beef, veal, sausage, cold cuts, canned meats, frankfurters/hot dogs, shellfish, any raw meats and fish (you can eat wild caught fish excluding tuna, swordfish and other large fish which may contain high levels of metals)
- Nuts and seeds: peanuts and peanut butter
- Oils: shortening, processed oils, canola oil, most salad dressings and spreads
- Drinks: alcohol, fruit juice (unless fresh-pressed), caffeinated beverages including coffee and black tea, soft drinks / soda including low-calorie sodas, “natural” sodas, or energy drinks
- Sweeteners: white and brown refined sugars, honey, maple syrup, high-fructose corn syrup HFCS, agave, evaporated cane juice
- Condiments: regular chocolate (with dairy and sugar), ketchup, relish, chutney, most jams and jellies (made with sugar), barbecue sauce, teriyaki sauce, gum, breath mints
The idea behind this diet is that these products either cause inflammation which our immune system is constantly trying to subdue, or they likely have high levels of toxins, metals and acid forming substances in their composition.
I consider myself a 90% vegan with a 10% cheat allowance for the occasional cheese, fish and of course, as a good Spaniard, Jamón and chorizo ibérico de bellota… and for the last 18 years my regular everyday breakfast has been a green or fruit smoothie (I’m not a fan of juicing, I like to throw everything on the Vitamix in order to get the fiber with it)… so the Clean Diet has actually been pretty easy to follow. You may think all the food exclusions make it hard but, to be honest, once you open your senses at the farmers’ market and expand your horizons beyond the common food staples, you can find incredibly tasting and versatile greens, fruits and grains that would enrich your day and your body!
I will be posting regularly some recipes that fall under the Clean Diet method so you can appreciate how easy and manageable it is to maintain a detox program that deals with inflammation and improves wellbeing. This is not a diet to lose weight although I’ve found it to be somehow slightly slimming. Do not rely on this one to be your weight loss solution for the summer though… but try it for the goodness in it and the rejuvenating, allergy fighting benefits that it provides!
Collard Greens Wraps
These wraps are the perfect to-go solution for hectic mornings when you have to prepare lunch but don’t have much time in your hands. You can prep the collard greens in advance (it takes 10 minutes) and keep them in the fridge to be used whenever you want a quick lunch or snack within 5-7 days from preparation.
The first step is to buy brightly green, organic, large, without yellow spots or discoloration and unbroken collard greens in your local market. These greens are very resilient and they can be found pretty much everywhere and during most seasons (including fall and winter which is their peak season).
Once you get home, you should blanch them by submerging them in boiling water for five minutes and then rapidly transfer them to iced water to suddenly stop the cooking process.
After you blanch them, pat them dry with a towel and cut their middle stem by slicing it sideways.
You can then place each leave between two paper towels and stored them rolled inside a ziploc bag in the fridge for up to 7 days!
Whenever you are ready to use them, you can just take one of the leaves from the fridge and crear any wrap combination you may like! Today I made Veggie Burger wraps with hummus by spreading hummus on the leaf, and filling it with veggie burger, julienne carrots and sauerkraut (for gut health).
I took two to the office for lunch today and they were deliciously satisfying! We’ll try many more combinations and would love to hear your suggestions on vegan and Clean Diet fillings to use for these crunchy delicious collard greens wraps!
