Post-Cleanse

For the past 3 days I've been on the Organic Avenue "Love Fast" cleanse.  I'll write a more in depth post/review on it, but it was awesome!  Today is my first post-cleanse day.    It feels good to know I can eat solids again, but I always find myself a little hesistant and unsure of how best to break cleanses.  The best part about cleansing is it completely resets my body and refocuses my outlook on food.  Going 3 days with mostly juice really makes you think twice about what you are putting into your body and how much food you really need. 

I try my best to slowly re-introduce solids and heavier food after a cleanse.  It can really mess with my system, so for me, it's very important to eat small amounts and to keep it raw for the first day or two after a cleanse.

Ironically, I actually love to go food shopping and cook while cleansing.  It's fun to buy really fresh ingredients and make food to eat after my cleanse. So last night I prepped a  big raw salad for my lunch today.

Kale,  peppers, carrots, and tomatoes:

The tough thing about salads (especially after a cleanse) is the dressing, so I thought I would try to make my own!  I had a TON of fresh basil in my apartment and didn't want to let it go to waste. I love basil and figured there had to be a way to make a basil salad dressing.  After compiling some google research this is what I came up with:

1.5 cups basil
2 tbsp Olive Oil
1 tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
1/2 clove garlic
1 tbsp chopped red pepper (I had these so figured I'd just throw them in)
Lime juice and pepper to taste

I threw it all in my food processor and Voilà!

It's light, tangy, and very basil-y. Mine is a little chunky, but a good food processor would make this the perfect smooth consistency. You could even make it a little thicker and add as a garnish to a Caprese Salad or on meat or fish.  I love basil on anything!  Counting down the minutes until Lunch. Happy Thursday!