From Starving to Satisfied in a Hurry!

I'm recycling this post from our recent 1-week mini-cleanse during December. For any newbies, this will show you how easy it is to get healthy, tasty food on the table in a hurry. No processed foods required!

...Last night I got home from an 8-day trip to Chicago. And even though yesterday was a travel day, I was able to observe Day 1 of our cleanse by eating a couple of apples and munching on carrots, broccoli and celery throughout the day. But when I got home at 6:00 p.m. I was ravenous! So I dropped my luggage at the door, headed straight for the kitchen, and within a few minutes I was eating a delicious appetizer and dinner was in the oven. Here's how I went from starving to satisfied in a few minutes...

1.) I turned on the oven to 350F and pulled a couple of blocks of extra firm tofu from the fridge (always check the expiration date and buy the furthest one out), wrapped them in towels, and put a weight on them to drain the excess fluid.

2.) While the tofu was draining, I tossed a can of garbanzo beans, a handful of fresh spinach, some lemon juice, tahini, olive oil and a few cloves of garlic into my food processor and whirled up a fabulous spinach hummus.

3.) I pulled a container of Spicy Coconut and Black Bean Soup I'd made during the last cleanse from the freezer and thawed it in the microwave.

4.) I grabbed some carrots that I'd peeled and cut before my trip (they were still good because I stored them in water), some celery (stored the same way), and some Mary's Gone Crackers from the pantry and set them out with the hummus.

5.) I sliced the tofu into steaks, drizzled them with Bragg's Amino Acids, and popped them into the oven for 15 minutes a side (I like mine a little well-done but you can cook them for just 7-8 minutes a side if you wish).

While the tofu was baking I snacked on the veggies, crackers and hummus. When I flipped the tofu, I enjoyed a bowl of one my all-time favorite soups. And by the time I finished the soup, the tofu was ready. So dinner was ready in half an hour, I stayed true to the cleanse, and I felt great after eating a healthy meal. On top of that, now I have extra tofu steaks left over that I can eat today and tomorrow.

The lesson learned - always keep a few go-to items on hand for those panic moments when you're famished or don't have much time to spend in the kitchen. Keep fresh veggies prepped and ready to eat at all times so you can turn to them first whenever you feel a hunger pang. If you have certain items you whip up on a regular basis, buy extra ingredients to keep on hand (mine are garbanzos, tofu, jalapenos and ciltantro). And when you have some time in the kitchen, make double batches of your favorite dishes so you can freeze one to pull out in emergencies.

Simply being prepared goes a long way toward keeping a healthy diet on track and staying one step ahead of the hunger. Here's to staying ahead of the game!