The Healthy Green Diet: Week 1 (Saturday February 4-11)
As I blogged this past week, I am testing Jason Manheim’s “The Healthy Green Drink Diet” for the next two weeks. This diet replaces one meal each day with a drink made from such greenies as cucumber, celery, and spinach. This drink will generate better internal health, immune system strength and even weight loss. Since I weigh about 160 lbs, it’s not weight loss that I am most interested in but if this diet will make me feel better and stronger.
I begin by making a shopping list. With things such as collard greens, fresh spinach, cranberries, blueberries, blackberries, kale and honeydew melons to buy, I made a quick trip to Sunflower Market. My test began Monday, February 6th, by replacing my regular lunch meal with “The Healthy Green Drink.” I put some watercress, 1 green apple, 1 peeled lime, ¼ cucumber, 4 mint leaves, 1 banana, and several ice cubes in my blender and hit puree. The result was a green beverage that tasted much better than I had anticipated. I am on my way. Tomorrow, “Crazy Cran” with cranberries and collard greens.
Day two: The Crazy Cran which consisted of frozen cranberries, 2 leaves of collard greens, several mint leaves, a pear, coconut water, a juiced lemon, a banana, and a small bunch of mixed greens was my lunch. The cranberries provided bacteria blockers and made the drink rather tasty.
Day three: The pick today for lunch is the Anti-Toxi-Mint drink: 4 mint leaves, ½ cucumber, 2 larges leaves of collard greens, ½ c frozen acai berries, 1 kiwi, and I juiced lemon. I must be getting used to these juices since I actually enjoyed this one. It was tart, tangy, and a drink that promote better skin, cognitive brain function, and fights cancer. Not bad for a simple juice drink.
Day four: I love beets so today’s lunch was “Just Beet It,” 1 medium beet, skinned and chopped into chunks, 2 cups arugula, 1 red apple, 5 leaves of basil, and 1 banana. This drink has high levels of vitamin K and the potential bitter taste was countered by the apple and banana. Argula contains antiviral and antibacterial properties. This recipe required a little water so it could be processed in my blender.
Day five: The time has come to add some spice to this liquid diet. For lunch today (February I made the “Hit Pearade” which was a drink featuring radishes with tops, celery, spinach, a pear, a cup of pineapple, some mixed berries and (wait for it) some cayenne pepper. Even though it called for only a dash, I used several dashes. It produced a drink that had just a hint 0f sweetness but with an extra kick from the cayenne. I also weighed myself today and have dropped four pounds.

Day six: The “Ginger Snap” I chose for today was practically a liquid dessert. Anise is great for digestion and when paired with ginger, it was especially tasty. This recipe was 3-4 handfuls of spinach, 1 small anise bulb, ginger to taste, 3-4 dates, and 1 cup of cherries. I blended this with ice. An option is to add a scoop of sugar-free coconut ice cream for a refreshing float.

Day seven: I am half way through this experiment. I actually look forward to my noontime liquid “meal.” I have gotten past the green color of most of the beverages and actually like some of the flavors I’ve tested. I weigh 156 lbs, feel fairly good, and am looking forward to week two. My meal today will be “Lettuce Rock,” a simply drink of 1 cup lettuce greens, 1 cup rocket, a cup of mixed berries, 1 banana, and 1 juiced lime.

Fresh From the Farmstand: Recipes to Make the Most of Everyone’s Favorite Fruits & Veggies, from Apples to Zucchini, and Other Flavorful Ideas from the Farmers’ Market by the editors of Gooseberry Patch (Gooseberry Patch Books, $16.95)
The trend in recent years is to eat produce grown locally when possible. What could be more local than fruits and vegetables purchased at a farmers’ market?
This delightful collection features recipes that add more vegetables, fruit, and other healthy ingredients to our family meals. The collection is divided into six main sections: Freshly Gathered Breakfasts; Market-Basket Soups & Breads; Garden-Fresh Sides & Salads; Farmstand Feasts; Summer’s Best Appetizers; and Berry Best Desserts. As with the previous cookbooks in the Goodberry Patch series, the recipes have been submitted by family cooks from throughout the country. For example, the Fried Green Tomato BLT is the creation of Carol Hickman of Kingsport, Tennessee, the Spinach, Strawberry & Walnut Salad, from Cheryl Donnelly, Arvada, Colorado, and the Lucious Strawberry Pie from the kitchen of Marybeth Summers, Medford, Oregon.
These are fairly simple recipes and require few if any ingredients not found in the average pantry. The cookbook is also user-friendly in that it is spiral bound and remains flat on the kitchen counter. I tested three recipes, a tasty Georgia-inspired Sweet Onion Bread, Dilled Peas & Potatoes (a side dish I served with pork chops), and a jar of zesty Easy Mustard Pickles.
This is a fun collection. The recipes are regional and authentic. With fresh produce becoming more plentiful as we enter the spring season, this collection is a perfect choice for healthier family meals.
SWEET ONION BREAD
½ c sweet onion, chopped
2 T margarine
8-1/2 oz pkg corn muffin mix
½ c sour cream
½ c shredded sharp cheddar cheese
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In a skillet over medium heat, sauté onion in margarine for 5 to qo minutes, until tender. Prepare muffin mix batter as package directs; pour into greased 8×8 inch baking pan. Spoon onion mix over the batter. In a small bowl, mix sour cream and cheese; spoon over top. Bake at 400F for 25 minutes, or until brown. Let stand a few minutes before cutting into squares. Makes 8 to 10 servings.

Sara Foster’s Southern Kitchen: Soulful, Traditional, Seasonal with a foreword by Lee Smith (Random House, $35)
Sara Foster’s love of Southern cooking began when she was a child and observed her grandmother in her Tennessee kitchen. The combination of down-home comfort, fresh-from-the-farm ingredients, and attention to preparation made her a convert. The result of that affection is a cookbook that features more than 200 contemporary interpretations of classic, regional dishes, from “Slow-Roasted Pulled Pork Butt” to a decadent “Molasses-Bourbon Pecan Pie,” and almost everything in between.
Foster is the owner of Foster’s Market, a gourmet take-out store and cafes in Durham and Chapel Hill, North Carolina and has written several cookbooks including “The Foster’s Market Cookbook,” winner of the Best Cookbook Award from the Southeast Booksellers Association. This collection also features the photography of Peter Frank Edwards which is the next best thing to actually being in a Southern kitchen. Foster is assisted in this project by Tema Larter, also from Durham and a freelance food writer.
As Foster explains in her introduction, her goal was to focus on the foods she enjoyed in her grandmother’s kitchen so she began work on her new cookbook by returning to Tennessee since — as she explains — “Southern cooking is and always has been firmly rooted in place, a potent stew of culinary traditions arising from a region that is both geographical and cultural.” She adds that once you have it in your bones, it doesn’t matter where you are in that sense. I understand completely since I, too, learned to cook and appreciate regional foods in my grandmother’s kitchen, a Southerner and quite a cook. In fact, my grandmother never owned a measuring cup and simply used ingredients until the portions looked right to her.
This cookbook is grouped into twelve main chapters: Come on In – Hors D’Oeuvres and Cocktails; Soups, Stews, and Gumbo; Biscuits, Cornbread, and Rolls; Hearty Breakfasts; Birds; Pig – A Food Group All Its Own; Steaks, Burgers, and Roasts; Grits and Rice; Farm-Stand Vegetables, Casseroles, and Salads; Dressings, Pickles, and Condiments; and Stay Awhile Longer – Sweets. In addition to the recipes, there is a list of must-have equipment, pantry essentials, and sources to help in the search for such things as South Carolina-grown grits and rice, chicory coffee, and authentic country hams.
I loved this cookbook. Generally it takes me about a week to test two or three recipes but this cookbook remained in my kitchen for the better part of a month. I bounced from one delicious recipe to another and over a period of several weeks I tested about seven dishes. Even though all were excellent, three were standouts. Sara’s Hummingbird Cake is a traditional cake that has been a favorite at church socials and special occasions for years. It is a moist cake that is a delightful blend of pecans, crushed apples, pecans and spices. I have tested other “Hummingbird Cake” recipes but this one is as close to my grandmother’s recipe as I am apt to get.
Marshmallow-topped sweet potatoes are fairly basic but Foster’s recipe serves up a crunchy, buttery streusel topping with an extra zing provided by orange zest and cayenne peppers. This was a great new twist on an old favorite.
Finally, what could be more Southern than a down-home supper of meatloaf. Foster takes this classic to a new level by adding jalapeno peppers, Dijon mustard and topping it with a fried egg.
This is a terrific cookbook and one that I highly recommend. Foster proves that Southern cuisine doesn’t have to be sugary, high calorie dishes afloat in butter.

PICKED JAPAPENO MEATLOAF
Serves 6 to 8
Ingredients:
1 c chopped fresh basil
1 small onion, diced
3 large eggs, slightly beaten
¼ c diced picked jalapeno peppers, plus six slices for garnish
3 Tbs Dijon mustard, plus more for serving
3 garlic cloves, smashed and minced
1 Tbs dried basil, marjoram, or oregano (I used Mexican oregano for extra flavor)
2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 c ketchup, plus more for serving
3 Tbs Worcestershire sauce
2 lbs lean ground beef
1 lb ground pork
1 ½ cups cornbread or other fresh bread crumbs
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Preheat oven to 375F.
Combine the fresh basil, onion, eggs, diced jalapeno, mustard, garlic, dried basil, salt, and black pepper in a large bowl and mix well. Combine the ketchup and Worcestershire sauce in a small bowl and stir to mix. Add the beef, pork, bread crumbs and half the ketchup mixture to the egg mixture and gently mix just until thoroughly combined. Do not over mix or the mixture will become too mushy.
Place the beef mixture on a rimmed baking sheet and mold into a loaf shape, about 4 x 10 inches. Brush the remaining ketchup mixture on top of the loaf and place the jalapeno slices in a row down the center.
Bake the meatloaf for about 1 hour, until the juices run clear when the loaf is pierced with a small knife and an internal thermometer inserted in the center reads 145F and 150F. Remove from the oven and let rest, loosely covered, for about 10 minutes before slicing. Serve warm with extra ketchup or spicy mustard on the side.