It's time folks. It is time to get our acts together and properly ring in the new year by swearing off last year's bad habits and getting ourselves ready for 2013. I wanted to share with you my totally doable 2 day detox. I am not a person who can survive for a week of juices and "detox drinks" and I prefer to simplify the food I eat for a couple of days to help cleanse the body and feel better.
Here are a couple of guidelines to get started along with your grocery list and recipes!
It's pretty simple. 2 days. Lots of fruits and veggies. No starches, meats, dairy, sugar, caffeine or artificial space-food. And no juicing. One aim is to get lots of fiber the real way! I also recommend exercising each day to help sweat the toxins out. Yoga, running, walking, whatever.The recipes are here to help guide you, but as long as you stick to the basics you can adapt the salads or dinners to your taste. Just remember, no cooking with oil, butter, or fat.
I also recommend, as always, to drink at least 80 oz of water each day.
Start each morning with hot lemon water. Simply heat up a mug of water with half of a lemon. Squeeze the juice first, then add the peel and all and sip away. This is a great way to get your digestive track moving. I normally do 1 or 2 of these every day, but it's especially essential to the detox.
So here's the food plan for each day:
Day 1:
Breakfast: Blueberry & Almond breakfast Quinoa (recipe below)
Snack: 1 grapefruit
Lunch: Salad made with fresh kale, cucumbers, carrots, tomatoes, bell peppers with fresh basil. Dress with lemon juice and 1/2 teaspoon of olive oil. Add sunflower seeds or nuts if you'd like.
Snack: 1 cup of diced watermelon
Dinner: 1 baked sweet potato and side of brussel sprouts. Nuke the baked sweet potato and season with fresh garlic, pepper, chili powder and crushed red pepper. Can also drizzle 1/2 teaspoon of olive oil on top for a good fat serving. For the brussel sprouts, wash and halve sprouts and bake at 400 for 7-9 minutes on each side. Season with fresh garlic and pepper.
Day 2:
Breakfast: Apple & Cinnamon breakfast quinoa (recipe below)
Snack: 1 grapefruit
Lunch: Salad made with fresh spinach, strawberries, shredded carrots, cucumber, and chopped honeydew. Toss with 1/2 teaspoon of olive oil and lemon juice. Can add almonds as well.
Snack: Sliced bell peppers and celery or carrots
Dinner: Fajita-style lettuce wraps: Saute chopped onion and bell pepper (you can add some water to the pan to help cook). Season with lime juice, fresh garlic and pepper. Use large lettuce leaves as wraps and top with fresh jalapeno, cilantro, and tomato.
See? Easy enough with plenty of food. I always say raw, green veggies are freebies so if you feel like your starving, grab celery, carrots, etc! And don't skip the olive oil on your salads. Many of the vitamins and nutrients in your veggies are fat-soluble!
And here's the recipe for the breakfast quinoa. It is much easier to cook both servings the night before you start to save time and dishes. You can also pre-slice your fruits and veggies for the next two days if you know you'll be busy.
Breakfast Quinoa (makes 2 cups)
2 cups of unsweetened almond milk
1 cup of quinoa, rinsed
Bring almond milk to a boil, add quinoa and return to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for about 15 minutes or until most of the milk is absorbed. Then spoon 1 cup each into tupperware. Then, the next morning you can pop in the microwave for a minute or two, then add blueberries, raw almonds, cinnamon and a pinch of nutmeg. The second morning, add chopped apples, walnuts, and cinnamon. Easy-peasy!
And I'd also like to share the grocery list with you guys to make life a little bit easier!
Grocery List
Quinoa (1 cup)
Sunflower seeds (unsalted)
Almonds
Walnuts
Olive oil
Unsweetened almond milk
2 grapefruits
1/2 cup of blueberries
1/2 cup strawberries
1 apple
1/2 cup honeydew
1 cup watermelon
4 lemons
1 lime
1 sweet potato
1/2 lb of brussel sprouts
1 bunch of kale
1 bunch of spinach
2 bell peppers
1 onion
2 cloves of garlic
1 cucumber
1 bag of shredded carrots
1 bunch of cilantro
1 bunch of green leaf lettuce
1 or 2 jalapenos- depending on taste
1 bunch of celery
1 or 2 tomatoes
If you decide to give this a go, let me know how it went!
Happy Monday!
-Jessalyn
