The art of stir-fry brings almost any old boring vegetable to life. I’m always surprised at how easily this dish can be made with just about anything you have in your fridge, and the results are always quite tasty!

• 1 cup of nuts, recommendation: cashews or water chestnuts
• 1 cup of carrots, diced
• 2 bok choy, chopped
• 2 cups of snow peas or sugar snaps, cut in half
• 1 small red onion, sliced
• 1 garlic clove, chopped
• 1 tablespoon of freshly grated ginger
• 2 tablespoons of sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon of red wine vinegar
• 2 teaspoons of soy sauce
• 2 cups of cooked bulgur or quinoa

Make sure everything is chopped & grated & ready to go. The best part of this recipe is that the vegetables I used are purely a recommendation based on what I had at home. You can pretty much adapt this recipe to whatever veggies you have in your own fridge! The sauce, in the end, is the binding ingredient. In a small jar or bowl, mix together the ginger, red wine vinegar, soy sauce, & 1 tablespoon of sesame oil, then set aside.

Heat a large wok, or saute pan and add the other 1 tablespoon of sesame oil. Once the oil is hot, add the onion, carrots, & nuts and cook, stirring frequently for 5-8 minutes. Add the snow peas & the bok choy, continuing to mix until the bok choy is wilted. At this point, it’s optional whether you want to stir in the quinoa or bulgur, or serve separately. Add the sauce and continue to toss until everything is well combined. Serve & enjoy!

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These past few weeks I pulled through and finally got to accomplishing my routine detox cleanse. The term can be interpreted in many different ways, so I find myself explaining to people that my detox cleanse isn’t the more popular detox diet that promises to help you lose 20 pounds in two weeks. I like to think of it more of a true cleaning, a strategy that actually helps your body rid itself of toxins. We’re exposed to harmful substances all the time, in our diet and in our environment – luckily our body is an amazing machine that is continuosly breaking down these toxins in order to flush them out. Our machine however fit & young, like all machines, sometimes needs some routine fine tuning.

My favorite part of this cleanse is not only the physical effect that my body obviously feels, but on a deeper level, the spiritual aspect that comes with your body feeling that way is also a bit eye opening. Not only do you acknowledge all the gross food that enters your body, but also your habits & how unkind you can be to your body. I try to do this once a year, but Dr. Oz actually recommends a 48-hour detox that can be repeated three or four times a year, or whenever you are feeling bloated or sluggish – it will rejuvenate you, from the inside out!

I now have a vast collection of recipes for my detox month that I enjoyed: 3 meals a day which include a loaded breakfast smoothie every morning, with enough variety not only to keep me entertained, but also to include my non-detoxing family in the meal plan. Although they ate most of the foods I prepared for myself, I usually added rice or noodles to many of the meals in order to make them more substantial for their growing appetites. I also like my meal plan a lot, it forces me to buy food I wouldn’t normally pick up at the supermarket on a day by the day basis, which actually helps me save a bit!

One of those new food inluded bok choy, for instance! How well do you know this cabbage sort, more commonly called Chinese cabbage or Chinese chard? Interestingly enough it’s 95% water, 2% carbohydrates, 1% protein and less than 1% fat, but bok choy is truly a powerhouse of vitamins, minerals, and nutrients. It’s loaded with vitamins A, C & K and contains antioxidants which protect the eyes, a significant amount of calcium & magnesium for strong bones…it kind of provides the same health benefits as its cousins cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower and Brussel sprouts for cardiovascular health and fighting cancer. And to top things off, it’s really easy to prepare and a quick stir-fry makes the leaves tender but crisp. It’s that same crispiness you would expect from a vegetable from the cabbage family. So don”t hesitate to add it to your shopping list this week!