Side dish: What? QUINOA (Keen-wah)

Love rice?? Meeeee toooo! Especially since I LOVE LOVE Sushi. Did I mention LOVE? Well, there are those rare special occasions that I have a lunch or dinner date with a girlfriend at a local Japanese restaurant, but most of the time I replace rice or any side dish with quinoa. What is it? Quinoa is cooked like a grain, such as rice, but it is actually a seed. Many consider this a super food because it is a complete source of protein. A food is considered a complete source of protein if it provides all the amino acids necessary for nutrition. Not to mention, quinoa is gluten-free and high in iron and calcium, and is a good source of manganese, magnesium and copper, as well as fiber. You can find varieties of quinoa at any regular grocery store, but the healthier the selection of food offered at that store, the wider the variety of flavors and brands you'll get.

Snack time: Baked Kale Chips

For detoxifying- Dandelion root and dandelion root tea!!

Okay...so I have to admit, this wasn't my favorite thing at first. Dandelion roots and the tea are a little more bitter than other plants and teas out there. However, it isn't terrible and the benefits they have on your body are pretty amazing. I personally drink the tea every night, and I've grown to love it. Some cut up the leaves and put it in salads. Dandelion roots are great for your liver and with digestion. Basically it helps your body get rid of all that icky stuff! Not only that, but it is known to help with many ailments and it helps get your body to become more alkaline, rather than acidic. Dandelion roots are high in iron, magnesium, protein, phosphorus, aluminum and much more! If you are going to drink the tea, I would suggest drinking it at night because even though it's caffeine-free, some reviews I've read states that it makes people feel sleepy after a cup or so. I've found this tea at Sprouts, Whole Foods, Safeway and King Soopers/ Kroger chains.

If you must use oil, cook with COCONUT OIL

I know what you may be thinking..."OIL??". And the answer is YES...oil :-).I wouldn't recommend using it often, but sometimes recipes just call for it. I personally use coconut oil for a multitude of things. Sometimes, I put it in my hair and as a hands and feet moisturizer at night. I choose to cook with it over any other oils out there. Even olive oil! Here's why: Coconut Oil; Promotes your heart health, promotes weight loss when and if you need it, supports your immune system health, supports a healthy metabolism, providing you with an immediate energy source, helps to keep your skin healthy and youthful looking, and supports the proper functioning of your thyroid gland/health Coconut oil is saturated (Yikes!), but don't worry. The reputation of saturated fats have been slightly misconstrued over the years. In reality, we all want to avoid hydrogenated vegetable oils and TRANS FAT. Although it IS a fat, about 40-50% of it is made up of lauric acid. Lauric acid converts into monolaurin in our bodies. Monolaurin is claimed to fight off various lipid coated viruses and bacteria. Not to mention...coconuts are YUMMY! I'm sure many of you are wondering where you can find this! You can find it at any health and natural food store, but I recently ran into it at a couple grocery stores in town. A friend of mine even saw it at (gasp...) Wally World. Try it :-)