Detox, then have some chocolate?

While you’re getting healthy you can enjoy a Portobello stacker with chipotle cashew cheese. Snappy Slaw with lime cilantro vinaigrette is part of the plan. Will coconut basil stir fry hit the spot?

So you’re eating healthy to stay healthy, but can you manage giving up sugar and coffee get clean?

Just flip through Melissa Costello’s idea of good eating and you’ll be sold. I already want to eat fresh, healthy foods all the time for flavor and health. Who needs junk in a box. “The Clean in 14 Detox” is “The 2-Week plan to melt fat, kick cravings and increse your natural energy.

It’s a better way to live, and easy-to-read info explains the “big, fat why” of it all.

Yes, you could get headaches, gas and even flu-like systems as you SAP, or sabotage addictive patterns. She explains how to deal with that and outlines the pros of making better choices.

I think I can live with red lentil curry stew and spaghetti squash Italiano in my life. Here’s just one amazing snack recipe from this helpful book. I’ll try soy in a whole new way:

Kickin’ Edamome

1 16-ounce package frozen, shelled edmame, cooked according to package directions

4 large garlic cloves, chopped

1 and one fourth teaspoon sea salt

One half teaspoon ground coriander

1 teaspoon ground cumin

One fourth teaspoon cayenne

One fourth cup fresh cilandro

4 to 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

One fourth cup freshly squeezed lime juice

Put all of the ingredients into a food processor except for the olive oil and lime  juice. Puree until combined.

Add the olive oil and lime juice an dpuree more, scraping the sides of the processor bowl frequently. If you like a smoother consistency, add purified water a tablespoon at a time while the processor is running, until the desired texture is achieved.

In Other Food News:

Should I offer some disclaimer from the above plea for healthy eating? I guarantee you I make way healthier food choices than I did a decade ago, and I feel better for it. But I don’t rule any foods out. So, with in the spirit of everything-in-moderation, here’s more culinary thrill seeking:

A girl walks into a room

And people offer her food. It has become my reputation and I’m fine with it. People give me food. Seems they’ve heard I LIKE eating. Surely it’s the column, and not that they were in line behind me at a buffet.

I just walked into The News and Merle Hebert asked me if I’ve tried the new Hershey’s spreads. She was not only willing to let me tried it, she said she’d been eating quite a bit of it and then retrieved the jar and released it to me. Think I was going to stop her? I had it on a clementine after lunch. Yes, it’s as good as the commercials make it look, though I haven’t tried it on celery like the commercial I saw.

At Rotary Taste of Gumbo, Etc., several people asked me which gumbos to try. I didn’t want to commit when a woman told me she’d just come from Weight Watchers and wanted to experience just two bowls. I sure didn’t want to be her deciding factor. And by the way, I had also just come from Weight Watchers. I had way more than two bowls, and enjoyed a nice long walk to balance it out.

Got to go. Someone’s knocking. It could be someone with more food.

It’s snowing!

It’s snowing at the new Donut Hole on Ninth Avenue and Patti Harrington says the juice is flowing. She’s been promoting the group through the Greater Port Arthur Chamber of Commerce and has been sharing donuts and boudain kolaches. She says their new cones have ice as soft as snow and come in flavors like Bananarama, Texas Tornado, Pink Lady and Strawberry Shortcake.

And so much juice, she says.

“They’re absolutely phenomenal,” Harrington said.

ddoiron@panews.com