Autumn Detox Salad with Creamy Ginger-Cilantro Dressing (vegan)

Sometimes when the weather cools it is easy to get into the habit of eating more dense, cooked foods. For some people this is just what they need. But for others, a balance between raw and cooked (or even predominantly raw) is best. We each are unique, and so should be our diets. This colorful and nutrient-dense salad provides some key ingredients to support healthy detoxification. The dressing is delicious and can be used as a dip for raw veggies or used to top your favorite salads! I've even used it to top steamed vegetables! 

What is detoxification? In functional medicine, detoxification is often considered "biotransformation" because our bodies will transform harmful substances into less harmful substance and then excrete them from the body. This process can vary in effectiveness in different people depending on the nutrients we ingest, our genetics, and what types of toxins we are exposed to. For example, if we are exposed to persistent organic pollutants, which are so complex that they recirculate over and over in our body's detoxification process, they can slow everything down, not allowing a person to properly detox the everyday exposures like mercury from dental fillings or alcohol. Persistent organic pollutants include things like dioxins, DDT, and PCBs. DDT is an insecticide that was banned from the US in 1972. My mom has told me many stories of how she and her friends and siblings used to run behind the trucks that were spraying DDT when she was growing up in the 60's because they all liked the smell of it! Unfortunately they just had no idea back then how toxic it was. DDT has a half life of 50 years, which means that she passed down this stuff to me in utero and through breastfeeding. As a result of this (and other factors), I always need to take extra care in supporting my detoxification pathways.

Toxins come in through our air, food, water, and skin. Once they are in our bodies we need to change their shape to make them less toxic and get them safely out of our systems. Toxins go though two phases of detox: Phase 1 and Phase 2. Phase 1 adds a chemical handle onto the toxin (usually a hydroxyl group). Phase 2 then grabs the handle and pulls the toxin out of the body (commonly this is glutathione that attaches to the hydroxyl group). Now the toxin needs to safely exit out of the body. This happens through the sweat, urine, and feces. However, if you are consuming a diet low in plant foods, while consuming a diet high in salt and acidifying foods like processed foods, meats, and dairy, then you will not be able to excrete the glutathione-bound toxins in the urine and therefore they will get reabsorbed back into the body! Same with the gut. Without enough soluble fiber from plant foods, the toxins will stick around and get reabsorbed back into the system. This is another reason why a plant-rich diet is so important.

Detox Benefits of this Salad

Easy Roasted Delicata Squash Recipe

This is a recipe that anyone can do. Yes you. You can make this. It's so simple and yet so delicious. Winter squash is an excellent, easily digested carbohydrate that's packed with antioxidant-rich carotenoids like beta-carotene, alpha-carotene, lutein, beta-cyrpto-xanthin, and zeaxanthin. 

I planted winter squash starts, including four delicata squash plants, in many of my garden beds last spring. Squash can be one of the easiest vegetables to grow, as long as it gets enough water early on in the growing season. Just plant organic starts or seeds in nutrient-rich soil that gets plenty of sun, water often, and watch them grow! We're pretty much out of the delicatas we grew but we still have a box of kabocha squash, carnival squash, sugar pie pumpkins, and spaghetti squash sitting in our house…..all from our garden! Winter squash is such a sustainable form of carbohydrates. Just think of the kind of agriculture it takes to grow grains compared to something like squash! I've come to rely on this food more and more for sustained, clean-burning energy. 

Serve this simple recipe as part of your Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner. Sprinkle it with fresh parsley and pomegranate arils after it comes out of the oven for a beautiful presentation! Roasted winter squash also essential to use during phases 2 and 3 of our Elimination Diet. You can vary the recipe and use ground cinnamon and nutmeg in place of the black pepper, and use coconut oil in place of the olive oil for a simple dessert. I also like to add a drizzle of pure maple syrup as well to this when making it for dessert. 

Snow Day Soup

Here in Bellingham, Washington the temperature has dropped and its snowing! In fact, the cold weather moved in last weekend and we had a little snow then and now its a beautiful winter wonderland!

I had to buy the babies some down buntings so they could go out and play in it. As soon as we set them on the front porch, all toasty warm in their new blue buntings, they crawled down off the porch and began crawling through the snow and eating it as their faces brushed up against high drifts (they both walk now but for some reason prefered to crawl in the snow). It was the funniest site to see, something the girls never did! They crawled all throughout the yard, making tracks in their wake.

What better than to relieve the cold chill in the air than a steaming bowl of hot soup! We have been enjoying the Winter Vegetable and White Bean Soup this week (recipe in the soup chapter of our book). It is chocked full of warming winter vegetables, such as, yams, delicata squash, potatoes, carrots, rutabaga, and cabbage. (We had a bumper crop of delicata squash this year in our garden so I have been making more squash recipes than usual this season.) The white beans (I used navy beans in this batch) add extra protein and fiber. The tomatoes add zing and balance the heavy flavors of the root vegetables. The large amounts of onions, shallots, and garlic add robust flavors and help keep your immune system functioning well. The herbs add a subtle complexity in flavor.

This soup is a favorite of most and we hope you enjoy it too! The recipe makes a large batch, which for our family only lasts 3 days. The root vegetables don't freeze too well so if you find you have extra, I 'll bet your friends would be happy to share it!

I have some new recipes to post, but this is the Holiday Season and we have been enjoying spending time with our children playing Christmas songs on our new piano, baking Christmas cookies, playing in the snow, or just cuddling up on the couch with a good book.

The boys will turn ONE YEAR this Friday! Hard to believe, it goes by so fast. I am going to create a recipe for a special first birthday cake, so stay tuned!

Happy Holidays!