At the end of July, I began a journey to improve my overall health and to eat "clean." You may be wondering what I mean by "clean."
Clean eaters choose foods that are whole, natural, organic, and not modified by any additives, preservatives, or fillers. Eating clean also involves reducing the addiction to sugars, fats, and highly processed foods that are so prevalent in our diets today and which are responsible for the increase in obesity and the health issues that come along with being overweight. Which I am.
At my unhealthiest, I weighed 225 pounds. I've tried every diet, eating plan, and program known to man. They've all left me feeling sad, angry, hungry, frustrated, and dissatisfied. And, if I lost anything at all, I gained it all back, and then some because the plan wasn't aligned with my lifestyle, and therefore, was unsustainable.
This go-around, my friend, Mindy Smith, got the ball rolling. A week after I returned from a vacation to the Grand Canyon (where I huffed and puffed as I hiked along the rim), she sent out a Facebook message saying, "Hey, want to participate in a Five-Day Clean Eating and exercise program?" At the time, I was thoroughly disgusted with myself for being unable to hike even basic staircases and pathways in Arizona. I wanted to blame it on the altitude and the summer heat, but the truth is that I am 70 pounds overweight and I've no one to blame but myself.
So now, I am all in.
And, I'm sharing my first recipe with you, which is a little...different.
In my quest to continue eating clean, I went to Sprouts and lo and behold, I found artichokes in the produce section. They were a lovely green and only .99 cents each. I'd had one a long time ago at a fancy restaurant, with drawn butter and it was delicious.
I had no idea how to prepare them (I bought two), so I consulted Martha Stewart, who always seems to have suggestions about off-the-beaten-path eats. Here's a snapshot of the page from "Martha Stewart's Cooking School:"
Before I explain how I prepared them, I must tell you that artichokes have these tiny thorns on the outer leaves and they are sharp! Watch out and don't let them snag your clothing or hurt your hand when you reach out to grab them. It's probably a wise idea to go at them from the stem area, if at all possible.
Get out a cutting board and a serrated knife. Cut off the top quarter of the artichoke. This will require some sawing action. Then, chop off the stem at the base so that the artichoke sits up nicely. Next, take kitchen shears and clip off the tops of the outer leaves to rid yourself of those thorns I was talking about.
Next, get out a double boiler pan with a steamer insert. Fill the pan with about two inches of water and salt it. Place the artichokes into the steamer insert. Cut a lemon and squeeze a half lemon over each artichoke. Don't worry about the seeds...you can pick them out later, or you can use your hand as a colander to catch the seeds. Put the lid on the double boiler and turn the heat up to medium-high. Steam for about 45-50 minutes.
The artichoke will look like this when it's done:
Pull the leaves off and scrape your teeth down the length of them to get the meat off the leaf. Trust me...you won't need the butter. These taste good all on their own.
Once you've scraped all the meat off of the leaves, you will be left with the choke and heart. The choke is the fuzzy stuff left after you've taken off all of the leaves. Remove the choke part and you'll be left with the heart, which is at the base of the artichoke. Eat it, because it's lovely.
And now, you've had a delicious, healthy, clean snack...or you can serve this as a side dish.
Stay tuned for more recipes and some "cleaning up" of some more traditional foods, casseroles, and other comfort stand-bys.
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