New Year's resolutions are not typically something I bother with but I rang out 2015 with a very nasty, food-induced cold. It was not fun - 3 full days of clogged sinuses and 7 straight days of laying on the couch, too tired and rundown to move - and all because of what I ate and drank for 5 days leading up to the cold! I don't seem to catch colds from other people but I do seem to manifest the sickness from either overexerting myself through exercise (like when I decided to follow the Insanity! program last spring) or from eating junk foods, nutrient-poor foods, and sugar, as well as drinking alcohol in excess.
It was during one of my couch-sprawling days that I decided the month of January may be best suited for a general detox diet to help clear my body of the utter crap I forced on it over the holidays. Instead of following some super-strict commercialized cleanse, I decided to focus on cleaning up my liver, colon and blood in a more natural way. To combat the poor nutritional choices, I created 4 weeks of meal plans heavy on fresh, organic fruits and vegetables, legumes, nuts and seeds. Adequate complete protein is important for immunity health so I also put the focus on grass-fed, antibiotic free sources such as eggs, poultry and wild salmon. The arachidonic acid found in red meat is pro-inflammatory and may cause skin outbreaks (something I suffer from regularly) so my plan included only 1 meal per week that contained red meat.
My diet this month entails the avoidance of wheat, sugar, dairy, alcohol and coffee; coffee toxins from farming of the beans and processing them into coffee are harmful to the liver. I am, however, still enjoying caffeine in the form of matcha or green tea because these teas contain compounds that are helpful in promoting skin health.
In the middle of week 3 of this cleansing diet and I do see positive improvements in my skins. Breakouts are at an all time low and my face looks way less dull and scaly. Problems that arose over the holidays have all but disappeared. I experienced some initial indications of liver detox through small breakouts and extreme fatigue during the first week, but most of this has cleared up.
During my adventure in detox, I decided to add a vegetable and fruit smoothie to my afternoons and have stumbled upon some great recipes. My favorite, so far, is one that I threw together my chance last weekend. It was so good that I had to try it again and write down the recipe so I wouldn't forget it!
Coconut Peach Green Smoothie
1 cup coconut water
2 cups fresh spinach leaves
1 scoop Vega vanilla protein powder (or 2 tsp vanilla extract)
1 1/2 cups frozen peaches
1 tsp maca powder
1/2 tsp turmeric (liver cleansing)
Mix all ingredients in a blender and enjoy! I find mixing the coconut water and spinach first before adding the rest allows the spinach to get properly blended in.
Happy New Year!
