It is almost time for round one my February Healthy Challenge 10 Day Cleanse to start and to get us ready it is important that we pre-cleanse. Pre-cleanse you say? Yes. We need to get our bodies prepared to cleanse so that we can be successful. So if you plan to participate in round 1 of this challenge pre-cleanse starts tomorrow. I apologize for the short notice things have been crazy around here lately.
Pre-Cleanse:
- Cut the coffee. Over the next 3 days it is important you start to reduce your caffeine intake. Caffeine can be nasty to come off of if you have become dependent on it. If you suddenly drop it you may start to feel withdrawal symptoms such as headaches, mood swings and fatigue. To help make the change go more smoothly tomorrow have a half caf, the next day 1/4 caf and the third day decaf or challenge yourself to try decaf or herbal tea.
- Go Veg. That’s right if you are an omnivore you will be going vegan for this challenge so to get yourself started go vegetarian for the three days prior to the cleanse because once the cleanse starts you will be dropping dairy and eggs as well. If you are already vegan that try and reduce the amount of soy products that you are eating as we will also be dropping soy for this cleanse.
- Clean Out The Pantry. It’s time to give your pantry and refrigerator a face lift. To be successful at this cleanse you need to set yourself up to be so and that means making sure you have healthy, cleanse approved options at your finger tips. So head to your pantry and clean out any products that contain high fructose corn syrup, monosodium glutamate (msg) and basically anything that has ingredients that are mile long and/or you can’t identify one of the ingredients in nature- if you can’t pronounce an ingredient it’s gone.
- Hydrate. Get yourself a water bottle that you will use. Make sure it is BPA free. Over the next 10 days you will be taking that bottle everywhere and so you’ll want to make sure you have one you really like and are ready to use. Once you have your ideal water bottle go fill it up with water and continue to do so all day long.
- Go Shopping! It’s time to fill your cupboards, refrigerator and shelves with cleanse worthy eats. This means getting yourself to the grocery store/farmers market/parents house and doing some major grocery shopping. I will have a complete sample meal plan later today (remember I am on PST time now so it may not be until closer to 10pm EST). Until then below are some cleanse approved foods you may want to stock up on.
Cleanse approved Foods:
Grains–> brown rice, buckwheat (kasha), gluten free oats, amaranth, cornmeal/grits, millet, quinoa, wild rice
Vegetables –> ANYTHING! Try to choose what is in season right now great options are beet greens chard, green cabbage, escarole, kale, broccoli, Brussels Sprouts, beets, carrots, parsnips, sweet potato, turnip, rutabaga, winter squash
Fruit –> ANYTHING! Try to choose what is in season right now such as citrus (there are so many options try something new!), pomegranate, pineapple and medjool dates. Also frozen (unsweetened) fruit is great for smoothies and dried (unsweetened) fruit is great for snacking.
Fats –> avocado, olive oil, coconut oil, seeds, nuts, nut and seed butters (warning not all nut and seed butters are created equal make sure you are choosing something that does not have added oils or sugars and if you can buy raw ones)
Other –> Coconut amnios (instead of soy sauce), fresh and dried herbs, gluten free Food For Life products such as their brown rice wraps and millet bread (found in freezer section), fermented veggies, Sunshine Burgers, chia seeds, flax meal, herbal teas, dried beans or Eden Organic canned beans, dried seaweed, (some) raw food bars, kale chips, raw granola, raw or flax crackers.
As I said above I will have a sample five day menu by the end of the today so that you can get your shopping on but if you can’t wait then take into account the items above and go shopping and remember this is supposed to be fun so enjoy yourself!
If want to participate you can still sign up for round one or you can sign up for one of the other three rounds starting February 8, 10 and 18th.
