It lasted until I was 27.

I am completing a liver cleanse while I write this. I haven’t eaten since 2pm yesterday, and I drank grapefruit juice and olive oil before bed. Why the torture? Because my friends, this crazy liver cleanse produces “results” that would knock your Rudolph socks off. But, you’re gonna have to learn about the “results” first hand. It’s not something that can be discussed in detail, except among fellow liver-cleansers. I’ve tried.

You see… I simply can’t lure you with a pretty picture of a chickpea salad, then slide right into an intense discussion of a highly unusual bathroom experience. I wouldn’t do that to you. But, what I will do, is introduce you to the book that discusses the liver cleanse in all it’s radiant detailed glory, The Liver and Gallbladder Miracle Cleanse, by Andreas Mortiz. The gist, sans gorey details, is a 24-hour cleanse with a little prep work of clean eating and drinking apple juice throughout the week prior. This whole cycle is performed 6-12 times, every 6-12 weeks or until the “results” don’t happen 2x in a row. I am on my 6th liver cleanse and trust me, no. 5 still produced “results,” and I am fully expecting “results” in about 2 hours. Delightful.

I am subjecting myself to this cleanse drama to help my liver out after years of sugar and soy abuse as an uneducated childhood vegetarian. At age 9, I was inspired by a funky vegetarian friend, Amy Byrd, who pronounced eggs as “gross” while sitting on her kitchen counter, watching me stir a boxed cake mix. (I guess she ate eggs in cake? That parts a little foggy.) Regardless, the very next day round my own kitchen table, I refused to eat Domino’s pizza with pepperoni. I simply stated to my meat and potatoes family that “I am a vegetarian.” My brother promptly replied, “Yeah, right.”

It lasted until I was 27.

Mine wasn’t really about saving animals, per say, but I certainly couldn’t stomach eating my beloved pigs. I collected a peculiar number of miniature statuettes at the time. I just couldn’t mentally get over the “chewing flesh” thing. I never, ever thought I would be anything different. I loved my soy burgers and carb diet, and I used to brag that “I never even crave meat.” Except maybe bacon, which by the way, I have heard is the #1 food that converts people back to the dark side.

But for me, it ultimately wasn’t the amazing aroma of sizzling, salty bacon, but had I accurately remembered the delicious-ness, it might have been. It was a book. At 26, my energy was really low. Random 1, the TV series I worked on with my husband before jetting to culinary school, demanded a lot, and I was running out of gas. I had learned at this point to question diet, and subsequently discovered a book called Eat Right For Your Type: 4 Blood Types, 4 Diets by Dr. Peter J. D’Adamo. According to Dr. D’Adamo, Type O’s (me!) are the carnivores of the blood world. They are the only blood type that actually require meat, at least a few times a week. They are the hunters of the hunter/gatherer era, and they don’t need a lot of carbs. Humm…

So one non-descript Monday night, much the same way I slid into vegetarianism, I asked John to take me to a good restaurant to eat an organic, well-treated (that’s the key) bird. Super excited, he took me to Ruth Chris’s Steakhouse? Not sure if they are known for chicken or free-range, poor John was likely craving steak, but what I do know is… that chicken was delicious and I have not looked back. My palms were sweating as it arrived, but John recalls me sucking the bones, so I guess I got over it.

With that said, the recipe below has nothing to do with meat. I figure after the “chewing flesh” comment, it’s the least I could do.

Before we get to the goods, a brief comment on dried herbs. We all know the bounty and superstar quality of fresh herbs, but I find the occasional dried herb recipe to not only be refreshingly easy, but also bring me right back to my vegetarian childhood. A time when fresh herbs took a sabbatical from the average American family. Something about the sharp bite of dried oregano makes me all warm, fuzzy and teen-aged inside.

Mom introduced me to this delicious salad when she was in town. Her neighbor Tracy, a nutritionist and wonderful mom, introduced it to her. Mom didn’t have an exact recipe, but passed on a technique. For all I know, Tracy uses fresh herbs in hers, because really, why wouldn’t you? But for this simple salad, I like dried. I can hardly wait to finish off the rest of my batch tonight, just as soon as I get over the haunting taste of grapefruit juice and olive oil.

Click HERE for the Tracy’s Chickpea Salad recipe…

xo – Organic Spark