The 2012 Detoxing Cleanse

We lived it up during the 2011 Holiday Season which called for a severe reset when we turned the calendar to 2012. Andy and I both felt blah coming into the new year. The travel, holiday parties, work social functions, big meals, early cocktail hours were tasty and enjoyable while we were celebrating and indulging but left us both feeling sluggish and bloated.

So I did what I do best... surf the internet and compile info in an Excel spreadsheet.  I read about Gwyneth's detox and the Daily Green's Detox which lead me to Juliette Kellow's detox plan (basically what we did). I also read 100 Days Real Food (when I was pondering the detox, a friend recommended checking out this blog which is full of great ideas for eating "real" food). Then I devised a detox/cleanse that would work for us.

I kept going back and forth between calling it a detox (we certainly were removing toxins from our system) or a cleanse (also appropriate as we were not only cleansing our bodies but also our palates), so it became the Detoxing Cleanse.

The Detoxing Cleanse
10 Days to Rid Your Body of Toxins and Cleanse Your Palate After an Indulgent Season

The Don'ts

• No Caffeine
• No Alcohol
• No Added Salt (at the table or while preparing food)
• No Refined Sugar or Artificial Sweeteners
• No Red Meat
• No Dairy (except Greek yogurt)
• No Gluten
• No Preservatives
• No Processed Foods
• No Condiments

The Dos

• Beans
• Lentils
• Veggies
• Fruit
• White Fish / White Meat
• Potatoes
• Nuts (plain, unsalted)
• Honey
• Gluten Free Whole Grains (buckwheat, corn, millet, oats, quinoa, brown or wild rice)
• Greek Yogurt (yep, this one is kind of random but I decided we needed it.  Not only is it high in protein but also it is a good source of calcium)

Obvious but probably necessary disclaimer: Please keep in mind, I'm a tax accountant and not a nutritionist, doctor or anything of the sort. This is what we choose to do, but check with your doctor, make your own decisions.

The timing worked out well for us-- we returned from South Carolina for Weaver & Hugh's wedding on a Sunday, had Monday to prepare and Day One was Tuesday. Day 10 was the Thursday before we left for Miami. A good goal!

our produce bowl had never been this full... and this didn't even last 5 days

My Observations:

• Wow, we spent a lot of time in the kitchen. There are few convenience foods that fit the list of okays. We ran our dishwasher 2 to 3 times a day!
• I'm a salting fiend. I add salt to everything. So I was amazed that my palate really was cleansed, and I can now taste without overly salting everything.
• We both depuffed after about 3 days and over the course of the 10 days, lost a few lbs.
• We were never hungry. I will say by Day 9, I wasn't quite satisfied though.
• We went through a lot of citrus fruits. They definitely brighten up a dish's flavor instead of salt.
• Despite no caffeine, we both had lots of energy and no afternoon slump!

Here are some of the meals we tried and enjoyed.

Breakfasts

• Smoothies
• Oatmeal prepared with water and topped with cinnamon, raisins and honey
• Greek Yogurt with Fruit and/or Homemade Granola

Lunches

• Some variation of a Brown Rice and Bean Salad with a vinaigrette and chopped veggies
• Quinoa and Black Bean Salad from Gourmet via Epicurious - Detox Modification: Skip the salt.  Also, as a personal preference, I omitted the green bell pepper and used one red and one yellow bell pepper.
• Warm Butternut Squash and Chickpea Salad from Smitten Kitchen - Detox Modification: Skip the salt.
• Salads with Fruits, Nuts and Veggies

Simple Salad with Apples, Walnuts and Raisins topped with a Simple Vinaigrette

Quinoa and Black Bean Salad

Snacks

• Nuts & Raisins (at the beginning of the week, I portioned nuts and raisins into individual snack bags)
• Fruit
• Carrots and Homemade Hummus or Giada's White Bean Dip (remember no salt!)

Dinner

• Broiled Tilapia with Mustard-Chive Sauce from Giada with steamed veggies and brown rice - Detox Modification: Omit the prepared mustard and use a little dried mustard instead.
• Roast Chicken with Garbanzo Beans, Tomatoes and Paprika from Bon Appetit via Epicurious - Modification: I used two cans of garbanzo beans to bulk it up a bit.

Broiled Tilapia with Mustard Chive Sauce

Maintenance
Obviously we don't want to get into a yo-yo cycle of over-indulging, then severely detoxing, rinse and repeat. We learned some great things while doing this that we're definitely going to keep in our daily lives. Detox friendly breakfasts and snacks are easy and a must.  It's true what they say-- if you keep the healthy snacks around, you'll eat those instead of something else. We are also going to try to keep taking a detox friendly lunch to work when possible and cooking detox acceptable dinners when we don't have work/social plans.  We shall see!