The official Two-Week Wellness Solution review thread (to be updated).
All reviews for Quintess' Two-Week Wellness Solution: The Fast Track to Permanent Weight Loss and Vitality! will be added here. Recipe page numbers are included.
Body Loving Breakfasts
Lemon Water pg. 84
Veggie Vitality Juice 85
Green Radiance 86
Immune Boosting Tornado Tonic 87
Frozen Bananas 88
Super Shake A Go Go 88
Beautiful Day Smoothie 89
Berry Good Morning Shake 90
Sunshine Smoothie 91
Holiday Waffles (or Pancakes) 92
Vegan Flax Yogurt Superfood Pancakes 94
Apple Pie Amaranth Oatmeal 95
This wasn't nearly as creamy as my typical morning oatmeal. However, with all the apple and chunky oats, I agree that I preferred this cold as a mid-morning snack, rather than hot from the stovetop. A nice variation for breakfast. (blinknoodle)
Yummy and I'd make it again. I omitted the maple syrup and didn't notice (but I also don't like sweet breakfasts). It's good both hot and cold. (eatmedelicious)
Indian Spiced Supergrain Cereal 96
Simple Sides
Double Garlic Quinoa 98
Oven Roasted Cauliflower with Rosemary and Garlic 99
This is a simple and tasty side dish. I used a few quirts of Bragg's instead of salt and added a few sprinkles of nutritional yeast before baking. (lotus)
Kid’s Choice Guacamole 100
I can make this by memory now. (stacydan)
Oven Glazed Tofu 101
This was really good. I used maple syrup and added some minced garlic and ginger for a little more flavor. I also topped with some sesame seeds. (lotus)
It didn't taste like much to me, though I only marinated the tofu for about 10-15 minutes so if you try out this recipe, marinate longer! (eatmedelicious)
Apricot Glazed Asparagus 102
This is delicious way to eat asparagus! I love that the asparagus is sauteed in water instead of oil. I used Bragg's instead of tamari, 3 cloves of garlic, and added a little more than 2 tbsp apricot preserves. I topped it with toasted almonds, as suggested. Delicious! (lotus)
Zen Rice with Seaweed Gomasio 103
Quick and Healthy Herbed Garlic Bread 104
Cilantro Lime Rice 105
Cranberry Lime Confetti Quinoa 106
yummy (stacydan)
This is a good stuff. I served it over spinach, topped with some frozen fresh cranberries. (lotus)
This was okay. I didn't find it super flavourful, but didn't have any reason to dislike it. I wouldn't make it again. (eatmedelicious)
Springtime Bruschetta 107
Really good, but I would reduce the garlic next time. (eatmedelicious)
Quinoa Treasures Bowl 108
This come together quickly and has a nice combination of flavors. (lotus)
My quinoa came out a bit on the wet side but I can't fault Tess for that. It didn't take away from the tastiness of this dish...the combo of citrus and other flavors like kalamata olives was pretty smart. I took her suggestion to add nuts, but used walnuts. I used it as a main course it was that hearty. (tweety)
Perfect Pinto Beans 109
Scrumptious Salads
Almost Raw Asian Kale 112
Loooove this. It has a great and unique flavour. One of my favourite recipes in the book. A great way to introduce someone to kale. (eatmedelicious)
Very good! I resisted the urge to use soy sauce instead of salt. I enjoyed the mix of sesame and citrus. I used only one teaspoon of agave instead of four. I was thinking of bringing this on a picnic with my potential new boyfriend, but decided that with all that raw garlic, this is a dish best eaten alone. LOL (tweety)
I modified this a bit but really enjoyed it! Decreased the agave, garlic, ginger (I know, sacrilegious!), upped the lime juice and omitted the orange juice. Added in edamame. I really liked the mix of flavours with the spicy zippy and the sweet. The edamame just made this a complete meal. (blinknoodle)
Mediterranean Chickpea Salad 113
DELISH also! I just love chickpeas! (stacydan)
This is a good, warm salad. We love artichokes and sun-dried tomatoes, so I'm sure I added extra. I think I would like to add some kalamata olives next time. I served this with spinach and Oven Roasted Cauliflower with Rosemary and Garlic. (lotus)
Really yummy and I'll be making it again. I subbed water for the vegetable broth (it's only 1/4 cup). (eatmedelicious)
So very good!!! Loved it. I think I've found my picnic salad. Very extremely healthy. 1.5 cups of onions was too much and next time I'm going to cut back. But the 8 cloves of garlic was good. (tweety)
I really liked this! A perfect combination of stir-fried sun-dried tomatoes and artichokes with chickpeas overtop fresh spinach. I used more greens. Lovely Mediterranean salad. Make sure you do not cook away too much of the liquid part of the dish - this is to coat the spinach. I made this for a big dinner and he thought it was too dry because the sauce had settled to the bottom of the container and he did not get any. (blinknoodle)
Cucumber Dill Toss 114
I'm sorry to say but I really did not enjoy this salad. There were too many onions and too much dill for me. (eatmedelicious)
Five Minute Five Bean Salad 115
I couldn't find the mixed beans so I used kidney instead, so I guess technically this is Five Minute Three Bean Salad. (stacydan)
really liked it. Light and fresh with a touch of sweetness - perfect! (blinknoodle)
Good. It does indeed take only five minutes. I cut back to about 1/4th cup of green onions instead of 3/4th a cup, and thus cut back on the vinegar a tad. I also used only one tbls of agave instead of two, otherwise I stuck with the recipe and it was delish. (tweety)
Excellent bean salad to have on hand for weekday lunches. Just toss it up with some lettuce and off I go! The marinade for the beans is zippy and refreshing. (aggplanta)
Primavera Pasta Salad 116
I wasn't really a fan of this pasta salad. This was my first time using umeboshi plum vinegar and I'm not sure I like it - so if you do like this vinegar, then you may enjoy this salad more than I did. I also thought there was too much dill (and I like dill). (eatmedelicious)
Spinach Strawberry Salad 117
Raw Catalonian Kale 118
This is a great recipe that lends itself to experimentation. I love massaging the oil into the kale. It really does tenderize the greens. (lotus)
Genius.....delish! I've used her "massage the raw kale" technique that I learned from her several times and it really works to make raw kale palatable. This recipes has an ingenious combination of salty, tangy and sweet. It has kalamata olives, raisons, lemon juice and olive oil. It calls for garlic and to my dismay I'd used all my garlic but tried a shallot instead and that seemed very tasty. I incorporated the minced shallot in the massaging stage. What I find genius is that it's simple, has only a few ingredients, is quick to make, but rocks the taste buds. (tweety)
This is the salad that makes raw kale craveable. I thought the ingredients together might be weird together, but they complement each other so wonderfully. (aggplanta)
Spicy Sweet Ginger Cabbage 119
Okay, but the ginger was way too strong for me. (It calls for 1/4 cup of julienned ginger.) If you're a ginger lover though, then you might really like this. I would try it again with 1-2 tbsp of minced ginger instead. (eatmedelicious)
This is super spicy and feels revitalizing but I didn't care for the texture of my cabbage. It sort of squeaked between my teeth. What's up with that? I bet I'd love this on kale...or maybe red cabbage since red cabbage is the bomb. (aggplanta)
Indian Kuchumber Salad 120
I really enjoyed this. There might have been a bit too much onion, but if this is eaten alongside another dish then it'd be perfect. (eatmedelicious)
Very good! Very easy and quick to make. I'm a little confused because it doesn't resemble Indian food to me. Indians don't use much lime or olive oil in their recipes, and there's nothing like cumin, corriander seeds, or curryish stuff. (Although olive oil is now starting to show up in pickles because they think it's more healthy). They doe use cilantro though. Tastes more Southwestern to me. That said, it was very good and I gobbled it up. I used maybe 1/4th cup of red onion. The recipe called for 3/4th would is way too much for my tastes, but I don't like eating a lot of raw onions in my salads. (tweety)
Tess’s Happy Salad 121
good, next mine I probably won't put quite as much onion but I loved the artichoke in there! (stacydan)
I did not like this, but it has potential. I modified it slightly but I don't think that's what caused me not to like it. It was very harsh/acidic/peppery. I used marinated artichoke hearts, and decreased the oil in the marinade. I used lemon pepper instead of the pepper (1/4 tsp for one serving is too much!!) and omitted the salt. I thought 1/4 cup fresh onions was too much so I used 1 tbsp minced shallot. Next time, I would try to get the water-packed artichoke hearts (as in the recipe), decrease the pepper and onion. Possibly decrease the vinegar and garlic (2 raw cloves serving 1). (blinknoodle)
Delish.......I used water packed artichoke hearts, and cut back on the onions, added red bell pepper and lots of regular sized tomato to make up for a shortfall in the lettuce, but otherwise stuck with it. I liked the nooch in the dressing....I'm still discovering the glory of nooch in foods. (tweety)
Sexy Seasonings, Saucy Sauces, and Divine Dressings
Seaweed Gomasio 124
Chicky Baby Seasoning 124
This transformed my life. I hardly ever buy bouillon anymore. (lotus)
Makes a fantastic "chicken" noodle soup broth, or broth for anything. This is definitely something to keep stocked in the fridge. (aggplanta)
Indian Seed and Spice Blend 125
Thai Skinny Dipping Sauce 126
I thought I would love this as I usually love sauces with peanut butter and the ingredients all sound really good, but I didn't really like it. I'm not sure why. (eatmedelicious)
LOVED IT! I did add a little cayenne and a smidge of sricha and some seasoned salt to the sauce and when I poured it over the veggies, all the flavors melded nicely. (stacydan)
I thought this was going to be a mainstream coconut-peanut sauce, but I was wrong! It was Delicious! Cilantro and ginger are the dominant flavours with a backdrop from the basil. The coconut milk and peanut butter make it creamy. Make the full recipe, you won’t be sorry. You might end up eating half of it with crackers like I did! (blinknoodle)
Fat Free Maple Dijon Dressing 126
Mango Habanero Sauce 127
Light Balsamic Dressing 128
Light Ginger Miso Dressing 128
I recently did the 2 week cleanse so have made a ton of recipes from this book! Sadly I only took photos of a couple of them. Lots of yummy recipes in this book. :)
Apple Pie Amaranth Oatmeal
Yummy and I'd make it again. I omitted the maple syrup and didn't notice (but I also don't like sweet breakfasts). It's good both hot and cold.
Oven Glazed Tofu
It didn't taste like much to me, though I only marinated the tofu for about 10-15 minutes so if you try out this recipe, marinate longer!
Cranberry Lime Confetti Quinoa
This was okay. I didn't find it super flavourful, but didn't have any reason to dislike it. I wouldn't make it again.
Springtime Bruschetta
Really good, but I would reduce the garlic next time.
Almost Raw Asian Kale
Loooove this. It has a great and unique flavour. One of my favourite recipes in the book. A great way to introduce someone to kale.
Meditteranean Chickpea Salad
Really yummy and I'll be making it again. I subbed water for the vegetable broth (it's only 1/4 cup).
Cucumber Dill Toss
I'm sorry to say but I really did not enjoy this salad. There were too many onions and too much dill for me.
Primavera Pasta Salad
I wasn't really a fan of this pasta salad. This was my first time using umeboshi plum vinegar and I'm not sure I like it - so if you do like this vinegar, then you may enjoy this salad more than I did. I also thought there was too much dill (and I like dill).
Spicy-Sweet Ginger Cabbage
Okay, but the ginger was way too strong for me. (It calls for 1/4 cup of julienned ginger.) If you're a ginger lover though, then you might really like this. I would try it again with 1-2 tbsp of minced ginger instead.
Indian Kuchumber Salad
I really enjoyed this. There might have been a bit too much onion, but if this is eaten alongside another dish then it'd be perfect.
Thai Skinny Dipping Sauce
I thought I would love this as I usually love sauces with peanut butter and the ingredients all sound really good, but I didn't really like it. I'm not sure why.
Shiitake-Basil Spring Rolls
My first time making spring rolls! I thought these were okay, but found the basil and cilantro way too strong. To make it again, I would use 1 cup of Romaine and 2-3 tbsp each of fresh basil and cilantro. Also, chop up the green onion otherwise you'll end up pulling out the whole thing when you take a bite. (Or maybe my green onions just don't break very easily.)
Get Skinny Soup
Good and I'd make it again. Healthy and easy.
Lickety Split Pea Soup
Good and chickeny tasting. I liked it but enjoyed the Get Skinny Soup more. My stepmom loved this soup.
Triathalon Tostadas
The book is worth buying for this recipe!! This is one of my new all time favourite recipes. I could eat these all the time. I cannot believe how delicious and completely perfect they are. The flavours are just right, and it's so satisfying. The first time I made these, I used the recommended carrot and cabbage. The second time I used all carrot because I was out of cabbage and it was still delicious.
Ful Mudhamas
Good flavour. This was my first time having fava beans, and I'm not sure if I liked them, but if you like fava beans then I think you'd really like this.
Garlic Veggie Noodle Bowl, Your Way
So simple, but really good. I highly recommend using soba noodles. I used 3 garlic cloves, omitted the chili sauce, and didn't add any extra raw garlic in at the end.
Sexy Saucy Noodles
As I mentioned, I wasn't a big fan of the Thai Skinny Dipping Sauce, so thought this noodle dish was just okay. I made it with whole wheat linguine, but I think this dish really needs soba noodles.
In A Hurry? Curry!
This was my husband's favourite. We both really enjoyed it. Very easy, satisfying and delicious. Will definitely make it again.
Ever So Nice Beans and Rice
Okay, but didn't really love it. Maybe it needs more spices? I would recommend tasting the beans before adding the lemon juice. I don't like sour foods so would omit the lemon next time.
Low-Fat Basil Garlic Linguine
Another favourite! It's really tasty and simple. I usually don't like red sauces, but I loved this one. I highly recommend making this one - I know I'll be making it again. When I took it to work, my coworkers kept commenting about how delicious it smelled.
Awesome reviews eatmed.....welcome to vegweb. How did you feel after the two weeks? Do you use cookbooks often, please post reviews if you do.
As I was looking up the Happy Salad, I noticed on the next page a cucumber salad...I tried this because I had some cukes I needed to use up.
Indian kuchumber sald - Very good! Very easy and quick to make. I'm a little confused because it doesn't resemble Indian food to me. Indians don't use much lime or olive oil in their recipes, and there's nothing like cumin, corriander seeds, or curryish stuff. (Although olive oil is now starting to show up in pickles because they think it's more healthy). They doe use cilantro though. Tastes more Southwestern to me. That said, it was very good and I gobbled it up. I used maybe 1/4th cup of red onion. The recipe called for 3/4th would is way too much for my tastes, but I don't like eating a lot of raw onions in my salads.
;)b
http://a8.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/247157_1840289005801_1197836956_31678709_5589691_n.jpg
Don, I got the idea for this salad from a local Indian/Nepalese restaurant. I've often had salads like this at other Indian buffets too...but yes, I totally know what you mean. It's not Indian-tasting in and of itself! And I personally love the strong onions, but I know they're a lot for many folks. The way the restaurant serves this is even heavier w/ the onions though. Even too much for me! :)
I guess it's the olive oil and lime that throws me, but nonetheless it's very good. I've had similar things in India as well, simple salad on the side with a couple of spices and cilantro for sure.
Tess’s Happy Salad Delish.......I used water packed artichoke hearts, and cut back on the onions, added red bell pepper and lots of regular sized tomato to make up for a shortfall in the lettuce, but otherwise stuck with it. I liked the nooch in the dressing....I'm still discovering the glory of nooch in foods.
http://a1.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/249402_1842443539663_1197836956_31681245_3094685_n.jpg
Thanks Tweety! I do use cookbooks often & will try to post reviews for them. Unfortunately I didn't really feel any different after doing the 2 week cleanse. It could be because I mostly try to eat a healthy whole grain vegan diet with lots of fruit and vegetables. I can also be pretty bad for eating junkfood though, so I thought I would feel different. So the main differences for me were not eating grains after 3 and just having fruit in the morning, and no junkfood. I'm still glad I did it though. It was really time consuming trying to come up with my own menu plan though so I would highly recommend following the one outlined by Tess in the book!
Rawberry Star Bars
Holy crap these are so freakin' good. That's I all I need to say. I used a mix of frozen raspberries and strawberries. Afreakingmazing.
That said, I'm going to jump down Tess's throat a bit...with kindness of course, because the bars are delish. Now I understand she says to make 20 servings (which makes for a very small cookie cutter, impossibly small for a man like me to eat...LOL...I wonder is the picture really one serving?.. but o.k.) so that said they aren't that bad. On the other hand just because it's raw doesn't mean it's healthy and "guilt free" which she uses in her description. It's a fat laden sweet calorie dense piece of junk food. Redeeming factors are that it's berries (no brainer superfood full of antioxidants and low cal), cashews (healthy fat but there's a whopping 1.5 cup here), coconut butter (there is some buzz, not all true that it's a good fat but it's better than steak fat...however she calls for 1/2 cup which at 18 gms of fat in 2 tbs is a lot of fat) and agave (pure fructose which is not unhealthy in fruit, but in it's concentrated form in the whopping amount she uses I question the "guilt free claim here as well).
I think "wellness" folks that promote junk food eating, or finding substitutes for junk food do a diservice. I think this recipe would have been better served in another cookbook rather than one which challenges someone to eat well. That said, I have to remind myself that she says 20 servings out of this batch...so moderation of even junk food made with healthier than usual ingredients isn't a bad thing. Because even healthy people want to eat good food, and this shows how good raw vegan food can be. Just don't call it "guilt free". Thanks for listening.
Sorry.
Tweety, I understand your point for sure.
Here's my take on it: Part of why I became obese was denying myself any allowance for treats. So, instead I would binge on vegan junk food. REAL junk food, not with redeeming ingredients like in the starbars. Instead, stuff with white flour, white sugar, etc...and too much of it in quantity as well.
So, I found (and many of my clients & testers have also found) that allowing relatively healthy treats in moderation makes them able to find balance with their eating. Plus, when you're getting a lot of nourishment from something, it's often easier to eat it in moderation... easier to eat one starbar vs. one piece of junky something, for example.
Of course I do understand that we are all different & there are a million different ways to lose weight, but my hope is for people to use a balanced approach so they can stop the cycle of deprivation & overeating. I am aiming at a long-term solution that people can live with and find balance with for the rest of their lives.
But if you like, we can still agree to disagree! :)
I see where you are coming from, Tess, although despite rave reviews, tweety's points are one reason why I haven't ventured to try them yet.
But the real question, Tess, is whether we will get a recipe list for your new book so we can have a thread for Radiance 4 Life? :)
Tweety, I understand your point for sure.
Here's my take on it: Part of why I became obese was denying myself any allowance for treats. So, instead I would binge on vegan junk food. REAL junk food, not with redeeming ingredients like in the starbars. Instead, stuff with white flour, white sugar, etc...and too much of it in quantity as well.
So, I found (and many of my clients & testers have also found) that allowing relatively healthy treats in moderation makes them able to find balance with their eating. Plus, when you're getting a lot of nourishment from something, it's often easier to eat it in moderation... easier to eat one starbar vs. one piece of junky something, for example.
Of course I do understand that we are all different & there are a million different ways to lose weight, but my hope is for people to use a balanced approach so they can stop the cycle of deprivation & overeating. I am aiming at a long-term solution that people can live with and find balance with for the rest of their lives.
But if you like, we can still agree to disagree! :)
Understood and thanks. I'm not into deprivation myself and don't do well with that kind of diet, so I include treats such as these as well. Balance and moderation in a diet work well. You know I'm a huge and fan and think you are amazing. I wasn't duped, I knew what the recipe entailed and enjoyed every bite. My issue is that you in your book, which is a wellness book, not an everyday cookbook, you said they were "guilt free" and they aren't...they are fat laden and full of glucose and calories. Might have been better if you said what you said above instead of "guilt free" . So we'll both agree and "agree to disagree".
http://a4.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/251714_1856884460677_1197836956_31699425_6012521_n.jpg
Gotcha, Tweety! I hear ya, brother! And thanks for the kind words! BUT....I still believe you should enjoy that treat w/o a smidge of guilt. What good did guilt ever do anyway? But I do know what ya mean. :)
And Blinknoodle...you have convinced me! I will send AllyChristine a cut & paste tonight of the new reicpes so she can post em! :) Thanks for all your reviews!
By my rave review you should know I thoroughly enjoyed the treat without a smidge of guilt. I know when I eat treats, it's well, a treat and I know what I'm eating.
I wasn't talking guilt, but truth. Denial can cause unhealthy behavior as easily as guilt can. We've seen that in the low fat and now the gluten free, low carb, or "natural" foods and now with the "vegan raw food" movement. "It must be good for me because it's raw!". Guilt can be a double edge sword as well, either motivating away from the guilt causing behavior, or showing restraint, or causing a "what the hell I might as well overeat" attitude as well. Information, encouraging moderation, and that it's o.k. to indulge so as not to deprive and that this indulgence is better than some others would have set better with me. That's it, I won't highjack the thread further.
Almost raw Asian kale - Very good! I resisted the urge to use soy sauce instead of salt. I enjoyed the mix of sesame and citrus. I used only one teaspoon of agave instead of four. I was thinking of bringing this on a picnic with my potential new boyfriend, but decided that with all that raw garlic, this is a dish best eaten alone. LOL
Almost raw Asian kale I was thinking of bringing this on a picnic with my potential new boyfriend, but decided that with all that raw garlic, this is a dish best eaten alone. LOL
You are too funny, Tweety! :) Tess has me going through garlic faster than I can buy it. ;)
After I had leftovers of the Smoky One Pot Beans and Rice for R4L. I thought it should have renamed Smoky and Garlicky Bulgur and Beans (my version at least!). So tasty though! And the quinoa kitchari, 8 cloves of garlic!! :)
Anyways, this salad has been on my hitlist for a while... so I will definitely try it next time I get some kale.
I've never had a dish with too much garlic. Onions on the other hand..........
Mediterranian Chickpea Salad - So very good!!! Loved it. I think I've found my picnic salad. Very extremely healthy. 1.5 cups of onions was too much and next time I'm going to cut back. But the 8 cloves of garlic was good.
Five minute bean salad - Good. It does indeed take only five minutes. I cut back to about 1/4th cup of green onions instead of 3/4th a cup, and thus cut back on the vinegar a tad. I also used only one tbls of agave instead of two, otherwise I stuck with the recipe and it was delish.
http://a1.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/261854_1871096815977_1197836956_31714701_61961_n.jpg
Apricot Glazed Asparagus
This is delicious way to eat asparagus! I love that the asparagus is sauteed in water instead of oil. I used Bragg's instead of tamari, 3 cloves of garlic, and added a little more than 2 tbsp apricot preserves. I topped it with toasted almonds, as suggested. Delicious!
http://i52.tinypic.com/axllee.jpg
When I needed a kale recipe to use up some kale I bought, I knew who to turn to and she didn't disappoint. :)>>>
Raw Catalopnian kale Genius.....delish! I've used her "massage the raw kale" technique that I learned from her several times and it really works to make raw kale palatable. This recipes has an ingenious combination of salty, tangy and sweet. It has kalamata olives, raisons, lemon juice and olive oil. It calls for garlic and to my dismay I'd used all my garlic but tried a shallot instead and that seemed very tasty. I incorporated the minced shallot in the massaging stage. What I find genius is that it's simple, has only a few ingredients, is quick to make, but rocks the taste buds.
http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/s720x720/317485_2122293935748_1197836956_31961652_1499239514_n.jpg
Triathlon Tostadas - Yummers! I made this as a kale wrap instead of the tortillas and it was delicious. Even with the avocado. Sadly mine wasn't ripe enough. I really liked the mashed black beans with the lime. I used more carrots and no cabbage for my veggies.
Pages