Good morning guys!! Today is day 4 of my 7-Day Cleanse. Yesterday, day 3, was a lot easier than day 2. No more headaches, but I definitely felt pretty tired. I had that delicious creamy green smoothie for breakfast and for lunch I heated up some of the leftover vegetable soup that I had made the night previously for dinner (see my Facebook page for a photo and description of the soup). I decided a curry for dinner sounded perfect. I need you to know that I fought off every single desire to serve this over brown rice, like I was craving. I wanted to keep the first 3-4 days of my cleanse totally grain free, since I am absolutely a carboholic!! Always have been. Honestly, I didn’t miss the rice one bit. Seriously.

This curry is full of flavor and has a very satisfying crunch and texture to it, and it is insanely simple and quick to make. There is so much going on with the different flavors and the creamy curry sauce is so delicious. And look at all of those beautiful colors! What a feast for your eyes and your tummy! I ended up sprinkling some shredded unsweetened coconut on top after I took photos, along with the fresh cilantro and garlic chives and it was amazing. Mark even liked this dish and it is hard to get him to eat anything that even slightly resembles Indian food (after last year’s food poisoning incident at an Indian restaurant in Austin).

FYI  – if you prefer to make your own curry spice blend, definitely go for it. I have a premixed blend that I bought at an Asian market and I really love it, so it makes this dish that much easier.

How are you feeling today on Day 4 if you are following along? What have you been eating? Hope you have all been following along on my Facebook page, where I have been sharing what I am eating for each meal.

[print_this]Broccoli and Chickpea Curry – Gluten-free + Vegan
serves 2

• 1/2 – 1 tablespoon olive oil (ghee or coconut oil would be great here too)
• 1 small organic onion, diced
• 1/2 large (or 1 small) organic red bell pepper
• 1-inch nub of ginger, peeled and grated
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1-2 tablespoon yellow curry powder (I prefer a lot and a lot of heat, so I use 2 TBS +)
• salt to taste
• 1 head organic broccoli, cut into florets
• 1 medium organic tomato, diced
• 1 cup organic chickpeas cooked, you can use canned (BPA free) or if you soak dried beans over night and cook them, those would be even better
• 2 tablespoons (up to 1/4 cup) full-fat organic coconut milk (you can certainly use more, I was just looking to go light)
• 1 lime
• bunch of cilantro
• Green onions or garlic chives
• shredded unsweetened coconut

In a large pan, heat oil. Add onion and bell pepper. Sautee for a couple of minutes until the onion is slightly translucent and both are beginning to get tender, add the ginger and garlic, stir around and cook for about a minute, until fragrant. Add the curry powder and salt to taste. Give everything a good stir to get it all covered in the spices.

Add in the broccoli, sautée/stir fry until tender to your liking. Add in the tomatoes, chickpeas and coconut milk, stir around and let it all simmer for a 5-10 minutes. Just before serving, squeeze in the juice from half the lime and a bunch of cilantro, stir around and taste. Adjust seasonings to your preference.

Serve as is (which is how I ate it) or over brown rice, topped with some fresh cilantro, green onions, a lime wedge and some shredded coconut if you wish (forgot to put it on for the picture, but it sure is good).

* I know it is repetitive on the “organic”, I truly believe it is always good to choose organic, but it is especially important to consume organic produce when cleansing!

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