New Year, New Cleanse

Happy New Year! Wishing all of you a wonderfully prosperous 2011, filled with many tasty treats. :)

Once a year I usually do a sugar/alcohol cleanse, taking a break from two things that beat up my body but I adore. This year, being a nice transition into the year of the Rabbit, I figured I should base it around healing the body and mind. To start things off right, I devised a 21-day cleanse to fill much of January with. It is based upon the Clean Program by Dr. Alejandro Junger, obviously modified a bit for being a vegetarian.

So far I am on day 2 and in the throws of the initial detox period. One more day and I am over the initial hump. If I can hang a few more weeks, I'm sure my body will love me for it.

In the meantime, expect some smoothie and fresh juice recipes on here. A good one a friend turned me onto just today is from one of my favorite bloggers Joy the Baker. Just today she put up a recipe for a Kale Spinach and Pear Smoothie. Take out the honey and it is perfectly in line with the cleanse I am on!

Interested in just what my cleanse entails? Here is the gist:

Length: 21 days, or 14 days if desiring a lesser cleanse

Based Upon: The Clean Program (modified for vegetarians)

Recipes: The Clean Program recipes I didn't buy into the whole pre-made package deal (too expensive), and am doing all the juicing and smoothie making from organic ingredients. Also am making my own soup for lunches.

Logic: A basic pseudo fast-cleanse of processed foods, sugars, fats, and all the other junk we put in our bodies will benefit our overall health, specifically aiding digestion, allergies, skin color, 5-15 lbs weight loss (if followed correctly), illnesses, insomnia, etc. think of it as purging and resetting the body’s systems.

Breakfast: Freshly made fruit/veggie juice or non-dairy smoothie

Lunch: Salad, fresh fruits and veggies, chicken (I opt out), freshwater fish (I opt out), soup

Dinner: Freshly made fruit/veggie juice or non-dairy smoothie

Snacks: Nuts (although not peanuts), fresh fruit or veggies.

No-No Items:

• Dairy, cheese, milk, etc.
• Eggs
• Alcohol
• Wheat, corn, barley, spelt, kamut, rye, couscous, oats
• Soy or soybean products
• Meat, especially read meat
• Raw fish, pork, beef, veal, sausage, cold cuts, canned meats, hot dogs, shellfish
• Sugar, refined sugar, white or brown sugars, honey, maple syrup, high-fructose corn syrup, evaporated cane juice
• Salt, added salt
• Butter, margarine, shortening, processed oils, salad dressings, mayonnaise, spreads
• Coffee, caffeinated beverages, soda pop, soft drinks
• Chocolate
• Oranges, orange juice, grapefruit, strawberries, grapes, and bananas
• Corn, creamed vegetables, tomatoes, potatoes, eggplants, pepper

It sounds rough, but so far it hasn't been. This isn't a full fledged fast, so I am still ingesting low amounts of calories. In the meantime, a few dishes I made during the end of 2010 should tide you all over until my baking craze resumes in 19 days!