detox day 1 – where to start!?

After 1 day of detoxing, I already have so much to tell you.

I have no idea where to start!  So far, I have documented my eats, as best as possible.  There is no way I’ll be documenting every bite I take, or I won’t get anything done all day.  I was eating almost every hour today!

For right now, I’m going to run you through my main meals and list out some of my snacks.  Tomorrow will be a more thorough discussion of how I was feeling during day 1 and recipes.  Get ready for a bunch of bland salt-free food!! 

My morning started sluggishly.  I blame this on a busy weekend, with not enough sleep, and quite a bit of snowboarding.  In the morning, I typically chug a room-temp 16-20oz glass of water, first thing.  I’ve been doing this for about 2 years now and heard it’s a great way to jump start your digestion.  Drinking water first thing, also makes it easier for me to drink more water throughout the day.  Not sure why that is.

Awhile back, I heard there were a lot of benefits from drinking 1/2 squeezed lemon to warm water in the morning.  It’s best to drink this first thing, 30min before eating.  Also, wait until after you’re done drinking the lemon water to brush your teeth.  The lemon can eat away at the enamel of your teeth after time.  Using a straw also helps with this.

I did some research on this craziness and found a slew of benefits.  Some of them are:

• helps digestive problems – nausea, heartburn, constipation, bloating [yay!], etc.
• digest food easier, because it causes your liver to produce more bile [yum]
• stimulates the kidneys
• cleans toxins from the body
• helps clear skin
• helps clean the urinary tract because it acts as a diuretic
• contains calcium, magnesium, + potassium

1.2.3. CHUG!  Definitely not something to be sipped.  You must chug + pucker your face + maybe gag a little!  Ack!  It’s not too terrible, especially in comparison to the detox tea I picked up….

Breakfast was just lovely and I didn’t miss any of the sweetened toppings that I sometimes use [maple nut butter, granola, etc.].

I didn’t make any oats this morning though.  There has been a box of quinoa flakes in the cupboard for far too long.  I only ate it once and wasn’t the biggest fan.  Quinoa just isn’t a morning taste that I enjoy too much.  However, it turned out quite delicious!

Detox Breakfast – Day 1 – Coconut Quinoa Flakes

• 1/3c [rounded] quinoa flakes
• 1/2c unsweetened coconut milk [carton, not can]
• 1T ground flax meal
• 1/2c water
• splash of vanilla
• 1t cinnamon
• 1/2 banana mixed in

topped with

• 1/2 banana
• 1-2T raw almond butter [unsalted, sugar-free]
• 1/2T raw coconut butter

1. Add milk, water, and sliced banana to a pot and bring to a boil.
2. Whisk in quinoa flakes, flax, vanilla + cinnamon
3. Cook for about 2-4min until thick.
4. Top!

It was nice to have such a quick cooking breakfast!  Coconut butter is just so amazing.  I’m a big fan of the raw almond butter as well.  I swear it almost tastes like cookie dough [or I’m just really warped] and the texture is awesome.

I only drink 1 small mug of coffee per day.  I plan on drinking it again, but for now, just want to clear the caffeine from my system.  I picked up some fair trade, organic, decaf and brewed a cup with some frothed almond milk.  It was too watery…oops!

I think Dakota needs to detox.  Maybe it would help her??

Even though this tastes terrible, I think it will be an important part of the process.

The main overpowering flavor is licorice root.  I haaaaate that flavor possibly more than anything else.  More than mustard for sure.

I’ll try to drink at least 1/2c each day.  I choked it down with dried, unsweetened, organic cinnamon apple chips.  Those were very tasty. :)

I bought a new flour the other day too!  I love experimenting with new flours.  I still have unopened bags of buckwheat + millet flour that I’ve forgotten about.  Below is chickpea flour, and I’ll be sharing a recipe with this tomorrow!

Lunch was spot on!  If you remember, I’m trying to go as salt + sugar free as possible this week.  While I don’t use a ton of either, I would like to decrease my use of them even more.  For the next few days, I’m trying not to touch them! 

I was really worried lunch would be bland.

But it ended up being amazing + delicious.

Recipe tomorrow!  Can you tell I’m obsessed with wrapping things in chard leaves??  They are just so crunchy.  Loving them!!

I brought back an old favorite too.  Low + slow sweet taters with coconut butter drizzled on top.

Natural sweetness is a beautiful thing!

I will admit, salt would have enhanced this meal even more, but I really did just fine without it!

Before dinner, I got in a nice workout.  I wasn’t totally in the mood, but it felt good once I got started on the walk.  Exercise is definitely an important part of the cleansing process.

• walked the dogs for about 1hr, through some snow + really cold temps!
• 30min hip opening yoga from yogadownload 
• dry brush + shower

Dinner compared to lunch, was pretty boring.  Even though I tried to spruce it up with a new [salt-free] version of my smoked paprika “cheese,” it was pretty bland.

I made broccolini for the first time, which we both really enjoyed!  It steamed for quite awhile to become tender.

I love avocado on salads and sandwiches and in soups, but just on top of rice, without salt, it’s pretty “meh.”  I scarfed down this bowl of food, but was really craving sweet + salty after eating.  The craving was really strong, so I ate a kiwi, but it really didn’t help!

Dinner bowl: 1/2 avocado + 1 rounded cup of brown rice + smoked paprika “cheeze” + broccolini

It was definitely very filling!

Some of my snacks throughout the day were:

• dried, unsulphured apricots
• apple + raw almond butter
• raisins
• kiwi
• brown rice, rice cakes
• chickpea bread/cake [recipe tomorrow]

Again, tomorrow afternoon, I’ll be posting more of how I felt during the day and how I dealt with cravings.  Before that happens, I wanted to talk a little more about why I’m doing this detox.

Like I mentioned the other day, my digestion has been off.  I know I have sensitivity to certain food and I really want to figure out what they are.  My thinking was to eliminate the most probably causes for at least one week, and then add them back slowly to see how my body reacts.  People have told me this is similar to an elimination diet.  Sometimes you can eliminate things 1 by 1 or take them all out, like I’m doing, and slowly add them back.

I am hoping by taking out soy/wheat/dairy all at once, my digestion will sort of reset.  The lemon water, nasty tea, and dry brushing should also help move things along and help rid my body of toxins.

I didn’t want to do anything too drastic, like fasting or all-juice detoxes.  Those just aren’t for me.  This is a very doable + temporary diet change.  Consumption wise, nothing will change.  I eat when hungry!

There is more reasoning to the detox than my digestion, which I will also get into more detail about soon.  Like I said, there is just so much I want to talk about, so expect some longer posts.

Night!

Ashley