A Dash of Ginger :: A Week of Detox Does the Body Good

Sugary treats are among my most favorite thing to eat. It had come to the point where I was addicted to sugar...Like bad. Every single night I had to have something sweet. It started off not so bad with a spoonful of Nutella, for example. But then, the magical snowball effect when into play. A spoonful of Nutella turned into crackers dipped in Nutella, to a serving of cookie dough, to a pint of ice cream, to cookies, to brownies, and the list goes on and on.

I was still eating pretty healthy with my other meals, so I thought it was no big deal. But then the sugar cravings expanded into carb cravings (not sure if this is a direct result, but basically it got me on the wrong eating path). I started eating two pieces of toast for breakfast (all gluten free, but still), then toast or some sort of bread for lunch and dinner. Carbs and sugar are my demise. And with all the bad eating came the tighter fitting clothes. The bloat. The HEADACHES. For me, the headaches are the worst part. The tighter fitting clothes weren't exactly welcome either with bathing suit season among us.

I knew I needed to do something. Usually I would commit myself to a 3-day juice cleanse, but this time I thought I would try something different. I decided to try Gwyneth Paltrow's detox in her book, It's All Good. I love her cookbook, and have tried many of her recipes all with delicious success, so I thought why not do her week meal plan? I spoke to my doctor about it before I committed myself to the diet (not because I needed her approval, but because I wanted to ask her for additional suggestions). She said the plan sounded great, and that it could help cleanse out the build up of yeast as well. Our bodies accumulate so much yeast over time, that it can contribute to bloat, headaches and more. (Probiotics also help with this issue.) So with her approval, I created my week meal plan with optimism.

Sweaty after my morning workout drinking my green juice

Wes went to the store with me to help me pick everything out, and then the following morning my week long journey began. The general meal plan is as follows: morning green juice to jumpstart your body (in lieu of coffee), a small mid-morning snack, a decent lunch, an afternoon smoothie or juice, and a healthy dinner. The detox eliminates: sugar, breads/grains, yeast, dairy, & red meat. So think lot of fruits, veggies, fish and chicken. All whole foods.

I really enjoyed my week of cooking healthy and trying new things. I generally liked all of her recipes, but the ones that stood out to me the most are the morning green juice (recipe below), thai chicken patty with homemade slaw, the butternut squash arugula salad, & various grilled fish recipes.

As the week progressed, I started morphing the recipes a bit to fit my taste buds. For example, I love spicy food, so adding warm flavors is a must. Same thing with the butternut squash salad. I added kale to the greens, and dried cranberries in place of beets. It was SO good!

The first two days on the cleanse were a little bit hard because I was definitely detoxing. I was lethargic, tired and had a headache. But I powered through because I knew my body was working hard to cleanse my system. By day 3 I was amped and ready to take on whatever. I had SO, let me repeat SO much energy I felt like I could conquer anything. I even worked extra hard during my workouts.

Thai chicken patty with slaw

By the time the weekend rolled around, I mainly stuck to the plan, but I did have fun outings planned, so I allowed myself a cheat meal and a few adult beverages. During the course of the week I lost 6 pounds! Which means I had a lot of bloat and yuck in my system.

I plan to stay on a modified version of my plan moving forward, which includes low-carb, limited to no sugar, limited to no yeast and limited to no dairy. I kick started this week off with my green juice for breakfast and a healthy low-carb homemade pot of chili. I look forward to continuing to feel great! I hope you will also think about doing your body a favor and trying a cleanse. Although challenging at times, it is well worth the effort! I promise. :)

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As mentioned above, I want to quickly share Gwen's delicious green juice recipe. It tastes delicious and gives me so much energy, I hope you will try it too!

The Best Green Juice 

5 large leaves of kale (I even started adding extra to give myself a little more goodness)
1 lemon, zest removed
1 large apple, roughly chopped
A 1-inch piece of ginger
1 sprig of fresh mint

Add it all to your juicer and enjoy. Drink immediately :)


Juicer Tip: In order to get the most juice out of your greens, I find it helpful to add the ingredients in the following order: 

Lemon, ginger & mint, half of the cut up apples, kale, the remainder of the apples