As I mentioned the other day, I’ll be started a detox on Monday. I’ll explain more then and throughout the rest of the week, but here are some basic reasons/changes/etc.

I feel bloated 90% of the time
My sugar tolerance has gone up a bit
I can tell certain foods effect how my stomach feels, but am not sure which ones exactly
Will be eliminating

soy
dairy
wheat
coffee/alcohol
refined sugars

Will be reducing intake of

sugar
salt

I’m going to start by doing this for 7 days, but hope to continue with some of it for a few weeks. This is in no way a diet. I just feel like my digestion should be better than what it is! I won’t be doing any, ahem, “cleanses,” but will be practicing a few things like dry brushing, to help rid my body of toxins.

I will be exercising and eating just as I normally do. I know that a lot of people experience major body changes within the first few days because it can be a shock to eliminate the above food groups. My diet doesn’t rely on any of those things, so I’m hoping to not feel sluggish throughout the week. For the past few days, I’ve also been sort of “pre-toxing.” I made that up! :) I’ve been trying to eat a little more raw and a little less of the foods I’m going to cut out, to help ease into things.

Nut butters will still be a must, however, unsweetened + unsalted!

I absolutely love the plain, unsalted almond butter that you grind in the machine at Whole Foods. I tried to recreate that at home, the best I could.

I threw in some fresh ground flax meal as well.

Chunky Almond Butter

2c raw almonds
1/3c ground flax meal

Process almonds until somewhat powdery but still crunchy.
Take out about a 1/2c scoop of the processed almonds.
Add in 1/3c pre-ground flax meal.
Process until smooth. Scrape sides as necessary. This took a good 15min and it was very thick at the end, but it did smooth out.
Scrape into a bowl and stir in the 1/2c of processed almonds. This really thickens up the mixture, so it’s important that your AB is smooth before adding them in.

*This needs to be stored in the fridge, because ground flax will go rancid very easily.

*The 2c amount of nuts works perfectly in my 11c food processor. If yours is smaller, lower the amount.

Definitely not an extremely smooth nut butter, but still spreadable. If you’re having a hard time spreading it, just scoop some in a small bowl and microwave for 10-15sec. You could also add a splash of unsweetened almond milk, then microwave + stir.

{thick}

Since I’ll be cutting out sugar as much as possible, I still need to have something naturally sweet in my life!

Helloooo coconut butter!! If you’ve never experienced coconut butter, and you like coconut, it’s a must.

All you have to do is process, unsweetened, dried, shredded coconut and about 8min later, you have smooth + creamy coconut butter. It solidifies at room temp, but if you pop it in the micro or heat on the stove, it’s nice and smooth..