It seems kinda odd for the first recipe I am sharing on this cleanse to be a snack, but with today being day 1 of my 7-day spring cleanse, I decided last night to come up with a healthy and cleansing savory snack that would give me the crunchy satisfaction that I often times crave throughout the day. This way I would be sure to stick with the plan and no get derailed by something crunchy and naughty in a moment of weakness. Sure there will be plenty of veggies, but since I will be eating most of them steamed, sautéed or roasted – I knew I would still be craving some of that crunch that I adore. 9 times out of 10, I find myself craving savory and crispy over anything sweet you could ever put in front of me! It doesn’t even have to be salty for me, there is just something so satisfying to me about a crunchy snack.

After I made that Maple Cinnamon Crunch Quinoa Granola a while back, it gave me the idea to tweak the recipe a tad and make something savory for this cleanse. Since I am allowing myself some select grains, sparingly, and quinoa is on that list, I thought it would be perfect. Plus – curry powder which is already one of my favorites, is loaded with so many great spices to aid in digestion, detoxification and cleansing, like cumin, turmeric, fenugreek, pepper, etc.

From Kulreet Chaudhary, M.D. regarding The Secrets of Ayurveda “Ayurveda recognizes 6 tastes—sweet, sour, salty, bitter, pungent and astringent. The American diet often has plenty of the first 3 – sweet, sour and salty – but is often missing the last three (which as you might recall are quite beneficial to a spring cleanse.) Because curry satisfies all 6 tastes, it helps you eat less at each meal.Each of the ingredients provides its own unique contribution to health and all the spices together are a powerful combination that counteracts disease and aging. Cumin and coriander in particular help with digestion. Conditions like irritable bowel syndrome, bloating, gas and abdominal cramps can be remedied with regular use of these two spices. The real ―superstar of curry powder is turmeric. It is a potent antioxidant, antiseptic and anti-inflammatory that has been studied in relation to several conditions including cancer, wound healing, arthritis and Alzheimer’s disease. You can use turmeric in curry powder or get it in tablet form to increase your consumption.”

Feel free to add any of your favorite nuts to this and as mentioned below, using more than a drizzle of sweetener would certainly make for a more clustery type snack, which is what I had intended, but I wanted to use little to no sweetener so I went very conservative.

I have been posting my meals and anything related to the cleanse on my Facebook page so far, and when I have a recipe to share, I will be posting it on here, so please stay tuned for more recipes and tips throughout the week.

[print_this]Curry Quinoa Crunch – Gluten-free + Vegan

• 3/4 cup uncooked organic quinoa, rinsed (I used tri-color)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil or coconut oil
• a scant drizzle of honey or maple syrup
• 1-2 teaspoons curry powder (salt free)
• a dash of salt
• a pinch or two of cayenne, if you like a little extra spice.
• Optional: unsweetened organic shredded coconut or coconut chips

Preheat the oven to 375º F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Make sure the quinoa is plenty dry after rinsing (I wish I had let mine drain a bit longer). Toss the quinoa with oil, curry powder and a drizzle of honey. The more honey you use, the more it will cluster, but since I am on a cleanse I wanted to limit the amount. Add a dash of salt. If you’d like you can add coconut and you can add it before you put this in the oven or after. I didn’t think of it until after so that is when it got added.

Toss the ingredients together very well and spread into a thin even layer on the parchment paper lined cookie tray.

Bake for 15-20 minutes until the quinoa begins browning. Remove from the oven and let fully cool. Break into pieces or clusters (again it will cluster more than what mine did, with more sweetener).

This is great on it’s own by the handful or it would be really nice on top of salads or steamed/sautéed veggies, etc.

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