3 Steps to Start a Detox

It is really is important to prepare both physically (food shopping) and mentally (motivation) if you want to successfully complete a detox. These are my top 3 steps that will help you get started on your preparation!

1. Decide what kind of detox you want to do and make a time commitment. If this is your first detox I would recommend doing the unlimited fruit and veg fast. It just gives you more flexibility with foods that you probably aren't used to eating all the time. Plus you can eat them raw or cooked and don't need any kind of special equipment like a juicer. Raw juice is definitely optimal to include if you can! But not totally necessary.

As far as time, commit to what you know you can accomplish. I think 3 days is a good starting point for a first detox. Try to start the detox on a weekend or when you won't be too busy. That way if you do encounter headaches or "loose bowels" you will be able to put yourself first while your cells release toxins for that time period.

2. Plan your menu, shop, and prepare.  Come up with a list of all the fruits and vegetables you love, maybe research some recipes, or keep it simple and just have lots of fruit salad and chopped veggies ready to eat. Either way, buying enough fruit and veg and preparing it ahead of time is the most essential step! This way when you are hungry (which might be constantly all day) you will have an abundance/variety of food to choose from and be less tempted to grab something else. If you love bananas, don't buy just one bunch, buy 3 or 4 bunches! If you like apples, but prefer them sliced, slice them ahead of time! I know it sounds like such a simple thing but it can make all the difference. You want to avoid not having enough to eat and will be more successful if you are able to grab food easily and effortlessly and not think about what your next meal will be.

3. Stay motivated! This may be something you've never done before, but there are plenty of people who have! Research those people and see how they live healthy. I follow quite a few motivational/health pages on instagram and Facebook. They have a ton of good advice and experience and I love seeing those bits of motivation throughout the day when I scroll through social media. A couple of my my favorite websites (who also have Facebook pages) is Rebel Dietitian and Scooby's Workshop. Also on Facebook that I like is Engine2Diet, Hungry for Change, Forks Over Knives, Chris Beat Cancer, and Dr Bill Davison. On Instagram @eat_to_thrive, @ohsheglows, @thrivingonplants, @domthompson, @earthlingnutrition, @freeleethebananagirl, and @cfvgn_yolanda.

If you have kids like me it can be tricky (and tempting) to keep them fed. I usually prepare different food for them throughout the day but then have them eat whatever dinner I make (which is a cooked vegetable dish). Just make sure you eat enough food. This will help keep your cravings down, especially when preparing food for others. Here are some simple meal ideas of things I usually eat on a detox to get your imagination flowing. I haven't listed them as breakfast lunch or dinner because they are interchangeable and it just depends what you feel like at that time of day. You might want set meals or graze all day long, its totally up to you. Just make sure to eat eat eat!

4-6 bananas
Half a Watermelon
Raw or frozen berries

Fruit or vegetable juice (even store bought like Naked Juice or Just Juice, just make sure the label has no added sugar/colors/preservatives in the ingredients)

Smoothies

Fruit salad

Carrot/celery/cucumber sticks dipped in mashed avocado

Big SALAD
Sautéed snap peas, zucchini, and mushroom

Oil free baked potato wedges

Homemade Vegetable Soup
Homemade Vegetable Chili (no beans)

Remember to try and stay away from all grains, legumes, and nuts. Yes these are plants and are very good for you, but on a detox you are trying to flood your body with potent nutrients that are the most easy to digest. Having said that, when I've been on detox I have eaten peas (which are technically a bean) and corn (which is a grain). I would say those two are probably the only exceptions and should still be eaten moderately. For more detox inspo click on the 'detox' label to the right!

Fruit/Veg Detox

Hubby and I did a three day fruit and veg detox last week. Its been a while! But even just three days is a good way to reboot the old system. I was really good day 1 and took pictures of almost everything I ate. I made a goal this time to eat only raw foods until dinner time. 

Day 1

1. Raw Carrot Apple Orange Kale juice

2. Two bananas with 1 cup frozen raspberries

3. Carrots, cucumber, and grape tomatoes dipped in avocado

4. 6 raw dates

5. Bowl of watermelon

6. Dinner was spaghetti squash and a good quality organic pasta sauce w/sautéed veggies in it, and a side of lettuce. I had a second large plate of the spaghetti squash and sauce (not pictured)

7. Night time snack (not pictured): 3-4 cups Homemade Popcorn (kernels popped in coconut oil and sprinkled with pink Himalayan salt)

 Day 2

Headache day lol. Both me and the hubs had headaches all day, which is common when your body is trying to flush out those stubborn toxins. I didn't keep track of every single thing, but did manage to take a picture of dinner which was oil free fries seasoned with herbs, salt, and pepper and a big salad on the side. I had a big second plate of the fries too.

 Night time snack we opted for these smoothies. Banana, frozen strawberry, frozen raspberry, a little coconut water and thats it!

 Day 3

Headaches were gone and we were feeling great! Didn't document everything but got a few photos from that day. Made another juice that morning... I think this one was celery, carrot, kale, cucumber, apple, and orange.

 Three bananas with frozen raspberries. I actually eat this a lot, even when I'm not detoxing. 

 Didn't eat raw till dinner time that day as I decided to have these leftover fries for lunch. 

Dinner I made a huge pot of vegetable soup with a side salad which really hit the spot! I had two huge bowls. And that was the last day! A detox is so much easier than you might think. For one, you get to eat unlimited. Whatever you like just eat that! I think on day two I had 6 bananas for a meal. It was filling and totally acceptable for this kind of detox! Just make sure you plan ahead and buy enough volume and variety of fruit/veg so when you are hungry there is plenty to eat. I would love to hear from anyone who has tried this or is maybe planning on doing one soon!

First Detox of the Year

Last week I finished my first detox as I have a goal to do at least 3 over the entire year. Since coming home from our Australia vacation in January, I haven't been eating the best or exercising! Its been hard trying to motivate myself and get back into that whole routine. I did find a workout routine that I've been pretty consisted with for about a month, now I just need to get my diet back on track. So for this detox I decided to do 2 days juice detox and 2 days fruit and veg fast. In the past I have been really good about being strict while on a detox, however this time I was a little more relaxed. So the first 2 days I actually drank raw fresh juice the entire day and then at night allowed myself to have dinner with the family which was still a really healthy dinner of chicken and vegetables. Same thing on the second day as well. Then the third and fourth day during the fruit and veg fast I also ate a healthy dinner those nights (with meat) and on one of the days even had a peanut butter sandwich at lunch time. So like I said, it wasn't the most super strict detox but was still above and beyond how I had been eating before! It really helped me to refocus my eating pattern and reprogram my impulse to grab fruit and vegetables before other unhealthy snacks. Detoxing doesn't have to be a strict vegetable juice only diet for 7 days straight! Even incorporating vegetables into one meal a day can start a good habit that will build over time. I highly recommend a fruit and vegetable fast for anyone thinking about doing a detox because you can have unlimited amounts and can prepare it anyway you want so you end up feeling pretty satisfied throughout the day. Any of the 5 people who read this blog interested in doing a detox? I'm thinking about starting up a support group for the next one I do so we can all do it together!

Juice Cleanse - last day

I did it! Now that its over it felt quick, but I do remember Monday and Tuesday feeling like they would never end. This cleanse was definitely more difficult that the fruit and veg fast where I could eat the whole food. The difference between that and juicing is you are able to get a higher concentrated dose of nutrients. The millions of cells in our body are constantly regenerating and building new ones with the materials that we feed them... FOOD. So a cleanse or detox allows the body to flush out the toxic cells and replace them with healthy cells that are built with nutrients. In addition to the benefits on a cellular level, here are a few other benefits I noticed over the last few days...

• Remembering what hunger feels like. Most days I eat/snack whenever I want without feeling any hunger (aka necessity). Food tastes amazing and is more satisfying when you physically need it! 

• Re-focusing my mind on nutrition and breaking away from some habits I have started to notice worming their way into my diet (like snacking late at night when I really don't need to and and having treat foods everyday). My palate is also more easily satisfied with healthy food since cutting it off from those rich roods.

• I feel much lighter and notice my stomach is definitely flatter and less bloated.

Except for extreme cases where people are treating disease (like cancer and obesity) I don't think a long term juice-only diet is necessary or even that effective. Our bodies were designed to digest the whole food and there is definitely a role that plays in digestion and health. Three days seems to be perfect for what I wanted to accomplish. Gave my body a little rest and recovery, I appreciate food more, and am once again motivated to keep myself on a healthy track. Just in time for Thanksgiving!:/

Juice Cleanse - Day 2

Well I'm at the end of day 2 and have to admit this cleanse is both mentaly and physically harder than I thought it would be! Firstly, juice is just not filling. No matter how much I drink it doesn't seem to quench my hunger! And on top of that I've been fighting the urge to give up. My mind puts up a pretty good fight too with thoughts like "one day is still a great accomplishment" and questions like "is it really worth all the effort?" Another very difficult thing about this cleanse has been continuing to provide food for the rest of my family. I still have to prepare 3 meals a day plus snacks, all of which I cannot eat! To help me stay on track I have been taking advantage of 1 vegetable meal a day as outlined in the Joe Cross cleanse. I really felt like I needed to incorporate this to help me keep going and it has worked. I look forward to that meal and it helps satisfy my hunger a little better so I can sleep at night. Here's what I've had today...

Morning juice - 4 carrots, 2 apples, 1 slice ginger

2 glasses Gazpacho Juice (made the night before, recipe HERE)

2 glasses green juice (kale, cucumber, orange)

Dinner - roasted onion, beets and butternut squash

Juice Cleanse - Day 1

Over the last 6 weeks I have been training really hard for the Desert Grande Triathlon and finally got to compete last saturday. It was a fantastic experience but I am still stiff and sore from competing! I've been on a pretty good exercise streak this entire year so I knew after that event I was going to give myself a little rest. With a break from exercise already on my mind I thought it would be the perfect time to dust off the old juicer for a 3-day raw juice cleanse. This will be a first for me! I decided on three days because I know it is an amount of time I can actually accomplish and then maybe next time I will try extending it to a week or longer. In searching for some juice recipes I came upon the Joe Cross 3-Day Weekend Juice Cleanse. Joe Cross is famous for his documentary Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead which follows him on a 60 day juice cleanse in an effort to turn around his health. If you have not already seen this documentary it is a must-watch! Very informative and motivating about this subject and I like how it documents ordinary people who take charge of their health using food as medicine. Anyway the weekend juice cleanse looks perfect for what I want to do the next three days. It outlines a meal plan with juice recipes, shopping list, and I also like how it allows you one meal for dinner (consisting of fruit and veg of course). I plan on drinking as much juice as I want and I may or may not do the 1 meal a day, but I really like the idea of having that as an option in case I am dying to sink my teeth into something! Since this cleanse was kind of a spur-of-the-moment decision, I wasn't all that prepared with loads of veggies. So last night I just used what I had on hand so I would have something to drink today until I went shopping.

1lb of carrots, 5 celery stalks, 2 apples and 1 pear...

 Turned into this!

Three days is not that long, I can do this!

Fruit/Veg Fast - Day 8

Last Day!....

Juice - beet, carrot, spinach
Leftover vegetable soup
2 Bananas
1 peach
2 packages dried Mango
Spaghetti squash with vegetable marinara sauce
Popcorn

I feel really good about accomplishing this and I am so proud of Ethan who really was my rock over the last 8 days. I was amazed at his focus and determination to do it and it really paid off for him because he was able to break away from soda. Of course he would still love to drink it, but at least now he has energy without NEEDING to drink it. I accomplished my goal to support the hubs and to detox while overloading with nutrients in fruit and vegetables.  I do notice that my stomach seems more lean. The skin seems flatter now where as 8 days ago it seemed like it was more bloated on the surface. Now we are onto a 12 week metabolic diet with the main focus being a restriction on sugar. More on this later!

Fruit/Veg Fast - Day 7

Juice - kale, carrot, cucumber, apple
Snap pea, mushroom, and spinach sautéed in coconut oil
Smoothie - flesh and juice from a young coconut, frozen banana, pineapple, and cherries
2 bananas
Dried Mangos
Vegetable Soup (onion, garlic, celery, cabbage, potato, sweet potato, corn, pureed tomatoes, organic vegetable stock, herbs and spices)
Popcorn
Strawberries

I'm over it. So ready to eat meat again!!

Fruit/Veg Fast - Day 6

Finished day 6, only 2 more days! Cannot wait to eat some kind of grain, any grain, I don't care what kind it is! Today I had...

Strawberries

Snap Peas, mushrooms, spinach and garlic sautéed in coconut oil

Dried Mangos

Fruit Salad - Strawberry, Kiwi, Orange, Banana,

Watermelon

Spaghetti Squash with homemade marinara sauce...again!

Popcorn - homemade using coconut oil and salt

The spaghetti squash with veggie marinara sauce is so satisfying, here is the recipe!

Vegetable Marinara Sauce

1 onion
1 bell pepper
6-8 cloves garlic
2 celery stalks
3 carrots
2 Tbs Italian Herbs
15-20 roma tomatos, cut in quarters
1 Cup organic vegetable stock

Put all ingredients except the tomato in a food processor and pulse until everything is chopped finely. Heat a little olive oil in a large pot and sauté until tender, about 5-8 minutes. While the other veggies are  cooking, blend tomatoes in the food processor until liquid and pour into the pot then mix in italian herbs. Bring everything to a boil on high heat then turn down to med/low so it continues to gently boil. I cooked it covered for about 2 hours and then uncovered for another hour. You could probably cook it even longer on low if you wanted, I think the longer the better you just have to watch and make sure it doesn't dry out. I cooked another batch in the crock pot today on high for 7 hours and it turned out good too. If you have a hand blender you could also blend the sauce even more once it has cooked so that the texture is more smooth, but we didn't mind it a little coarse. Serve over spaghetti squash with a big side of something green!

Fruit/Veg Fast - Day 5

Today was pretty average. Ethan was back to work after having 3 days off and me and the kids did the usual. Went to Costco and was disappointed to find that all their dried mango and coconut I had wanted to buy was full added sugar. But I was still able to load up on strawberries, oranges, kiwis, dried apples, frozen pineapple, spinach and sugar snap peas. The highlight of my day was Ethan's reaction to having spaghetti squash and a homemade marinara sauce for dinner...he LOVED it! He said he felt satisfied for the first time in 4 days and liked it so much he would eat this instead of pasta anytime. Hallelujah! This detox was worth doing just to find out he likes spaghetti squash!

Here's what else I had today...

Juice - beets, carrot, apple, spinach - my favorite so far! (left out the ginger this time:)

raisins

banana

avocado

Portobello Veggie Burger (mushroom, lettuce, tomato, caramelized onions & peppers)

Dried Apples

Strawberries

orange

kiwis

Spaghetti squash with homemade marinara sauce 

So excited we are past the half way mark already!

Fruit/Veg Fast - Day 4

Memorial Day barbecue is not the greatest time to be smack in the middle of a fruit/veg fast. And to top it off I had offered to make a cake for my sister Lucy's birthday, it was a coconut cake I have been dying to make ever since I saw it on Pinterest. I've been going back and forth over the last few days trying to decide if I should just eat a piece of cake and be happy that it was my only cheat the whole 8 days, or if I should stay strong and restrain myself. I am proud to say I did not eat any cake! I did however save myself a piece in the freezer and will eat it after the detox is over, but boy was it hard watching everyone else enjoy the beautiful cake I had worked so hard on!

Here's what I had today instead of burgers, hotdogs, pasta salad, coleslaw and CAKE...

Smoothie (young coconut water and flesh, frozen banana, pineapple)

2 corn on the cob

baked potato fries

watermelon

3 bananas

red thai vegetable curry (potato, zucchini, carrot, onion, red bell pepper, thai spices, coconut milk)

grape tomatoes

avocado

No juice today, my morning was too busy getting ready for the barbecue, but I did miss getting in all those nutrients first thing in the morning. I am excited to juice tomorrow because I scored a ton of fresh beets from my sister Lucy's garden!

Fruit/Veg Fast - Day 3

Todays' food...

• Morning Juice - Kale, beet, cucumber, apple, ginger - worst juice yet, I think I added way to much ginger, it was a tad spicy and kinda burned going down?!
• Celery, carrots, and red bell pepper dipped in homemade guacamole (avocado, green onion, tomato, lime, cilantro)
• watermelon
• bananas
• baked potato wedges
• 6oz container raspberries
• dried mangos (soooo good!)
• Portobello Mushroom Burger

Gotta say day 3 has been the hardest yet. This whole fruit and veg thing is getting old, but is definitely still doable, just gotta start getting creative now! As I was wandering the grocery store loading up the usual carrots, apples, cucumber, etc, these giant mushrooms caught my eye. I've never eaten them before but I've heard of cooking with portobellos this way and word on the street is they are "meaty". Best. decision. EVER. Fried one up just like you would a burger, piled high with caramelized onions and peppers, with tomato and a lettuce bun. My hunger feels satisfied for the first time in 3 days!

Portobello Mushroom Burger

1/2 Red onion, sliced

1/2 Red Bell Pepper, sliced

1 Portobello Mushroom

Steak Seasoning (one made of natural herbs/spices)

1 roma tomato

2-4 lettuce leaves

Start by frying the onions and bell peppers on med/high heat with a little olive oil and seasoned with salt and pepper. This will probably take about 10 minutes (depending on how cooked you like them) stirring occasionally. While the onion/peppers are caramelizing, heat another skillet with olive oil to med/high heat and place the mushroom top side down on the pan. Sprinkle with seasoning and cover with a lid. Turn after about 3 minutes and cook on the other side for 3 minutes. Layer burger with lettuce, tomato, mushroom, onion and peppers and top with more lettuce. 

I will definitely be having this every night for the next 5 days!

Fruit/Veg Fast - Day 2

Today I've eaten...

Green juice (kale, cucumber, carrot, apple)

watermelon

raisins

pineapple

strawberries
6oz container of raspberries

3 bananas

2 ears of corn

about 3 potatoes and 1 yam (baked into wedges)
Smoothie (frozen banana, pineapple, cherries, and juice from a young coconut)

I feel stuffed, yet unsatisfied.

I was really tempted to take a bite of the kids pb&j sandwiches at lunch, and their popcorn while we watched a movie, and the eggs I made them for dinner smelled SO GOOD! But I resisted!

BRING ON DAY 3.

Fruit/Veg Fast - Day 1

After YEARS of avoiding water consumption at any cost and despising all vegetables besides peas, corn and potato, my husband is embarking on a lifestyle change... starting with an 8 day fruit and veg fast and I've decided to join him. Yes, that means we will only be eating fruit, vegetables, and vegetable juice for the next week! The goal of this detox is to reboot the system and give the body a jump start to a healthy diet. Out with the old and in with the new. I've always wanted to do some kind of detox just to see if I could be that strict for a whole week, so this is the perfect opportunity for me to scratch it off my list and support the hubs at the same time. Ironically this was all his idea! It's actually been fun so far, I loved waking up and juicing together, and yes I realize we are still in the honeymoon stage of this detox, and a few days from now I'm sure we will be pulling out our hair and biting our nails down just itching to get our hands on a sandwich.

My favorite part about this detox is that it is unlimited fruit and veg! After counting calories and logging in every single food to My Fitness Pal over the last 7 months, this is a huge perk for me! I might still log everything in just to see what I've eaten and to keep a record of this experience, but it is so nice to not care about the calories. I ate 2 avocados today, have you ever heard of anything so absurd! That's about 500 calories and over 100g of good fat, and I'm totally allowed to for the next week. I mixed it with fresh cilantro, lime and garlic to dip my veggies in

Dinner was a hearty italian style vegetable soup made with zucchini, carrots, celery, onion, garlic, corn, cabbage, fresh pureed tomatoes, italian seasoning, and some organic vegetable stock. We did kinda long for some dipping bread, but it was still yummy:)

I've also had bananas, raisins, strawberries, watermelon, pineapple, baked potato wedges and am looking forward to some kind of frozen fruit smoothie later tonight. Weird to think I've only eaten fruit and vegetables all day?!