Meatless Mondays with Martha Stewart - Root Vegetable Mulligatawny

It’s week 2! I hope this finds all you detox-ers out there feeling like superheroes because, well, you are.  I am totally overwhelmed with the response from the last post to see just how many of you are actually participating in the cleanse right now, and the number who are planning to give it a go in the coming weeks!  It truly warms the cockles of my detoxed heart.

Now that we’re introducing lean proteins back into our meals, we will be able to fully indulge in this scrumptious Root Vegetable Mulligatawny. And if you’re a Seinfeld fan, you will be familiar with this dish from the infamous Soup Nazi – it’s admittedly the first time I heard about Mulligatawny. Who says we can’t learn anything valuable from pop culture? That episode successfully infused me with a deep curiosity for this rich, Anglo-Indian soup, and has inspired many a dinner since.

I love this soup because it is versatile (there really isn’t “one” defined recipe for it, so you can customize it to suit your tastes), it is incredibly filling, easy and inexpensive to make. My version uses seasonal root veggies and the traditional red lentils, all bobbing around in a golden coconut broth. It’s like eating a hug – which I figured you all deserve right about now. 

Good work on the cleanse, my friends! 

Now go make some soup. Recipe here.

Hugs, Sarah B

A New Year, A New You! Sarah B's Whole Living Detox Plan

Happy New Year everyone! It feels good to be back after a glorious holiday spent with family and friends, and of course lots of food. I really whooped it up over break continuing to experiment with the superb dishes that you submitted to the recipe challenge, and I hope that many of you took advantage of the free cookbook I put together with the best of the best. It really is a wonderful collection of delicious and healthy delights – a great way to start off 2012 in fact!

But if that doesn’t get you all revved up, I think I have something that will...

As many of you know, I am a monthly contributor to Whole Living online, where I write a Meatless Mondays column and recipe. Well, the editors at Whole Living Magazine asked me to head up their January Detox Program and I leapt at the chance, obviously. The 21-day plan has over 50 recipes and plenty of lifestyle tips and advice for completing a successful cleanse. If you have never embarked on such a journey before, this is a great opportunity to try a whole body and mind clean out! The plan is not about deprivation, but centers around a plant-based diet loaded with flavour, colour, and vibrant, seasonal foods.

I was in charge of the first week of the cleanse, which is the most challenging, but I promise delicious (does that food look anything but insanely luxurious? Exactly). Week 1's breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snack recipes include fruits, vegetables, and plant-based fats, nuts, seeds, and oils, and asks you to cut out processed food or beverages, added sugar, dairy, gluten, caffeine, and alcohol. Not an easy task, but good grief will you ever feel like a million bucks.
And if you can commit to the 21-day plan, which I highly recommend, you will undoubtedly feel more energized, sleep better, and likely shed some unwanted weight. What better way to enter this new year than with a new you – possibly your best self ever?
 

If you live in a country that does not sell Whole Living Magazine, you’re in luck! The entire plan is up online and comprehensively laid out for you to follow week by week. Start today. You can do this. No more excuses!

Let me know in the comments section if you’re committing to the plan, and feel free to give feedback throughout the month – after all, I made the program for you.

Good luck friends.
In love and support, always!
Sarah B.

p.s. - other fun stuff in case you've missed it:
My New Roots at the Huffington Post
Sarah B. on Sous Style


images courtesy of Whole Living

Everybody Loves the Sunshine Citrus Salad

Hello beautiful!
That is what my breakfast said this morning. No, I am not crazy, maybe just a little starved for some fresh-food attention.
I really had trouble coming up with a post this week because we are in such a time of change! Is it winter? Is it spring? The weather is constantly contradicting itself, and my palette is hungry for something new and juicy. Just when I really didn’t think I could make another dish with root vegetables, I got this email from a friend:
Have you given tribute to citrus this winter on your blog? It took me until this year to get how much mother earth loves us, such that she sends us little delicious sweet suns in the darkest hour of winter, filled with vitamin C and all the rest of it to strengthen our bodies, enliven us, zest us through these rainy days. What a world we live in. So blessed. 

Um, totally! That was exactly the high-vibe reminder I needed. And my heart leapt at the thought of a juicy-bright breakfast with a superfluity of sunshine colours. I was so inspired in fact, that my walk to the market to buy every type of citrus fruit in sight, also yielded another bright idea: a sweet sexy syrup to drizzle across the top of all those slices of light. How do you like them apples…err…oranges?

This syrup in fact, a Ginger-Bay-Lime Syrup, must have been a sun-drenched induced daydream because it sounds a little crazy, but tastes like eating the light in a clear summer sky. Bright and bursting with energy, the bay leaf offsets the sweetness of the maple syrup, while the ginger adds a surprise kick at the finish line. The lime leaves of course compliment the citrus flavours in the salad itself, plus add a warm familiar mellowness that I can’t quite describe. Oh I could seriously pour this stuff all over everything for the rest of my winter days and feel quite satisfied, I believe. Sigh.
What was I talking about? Right. Citrus.



Nutritious Citrus
All citrus fruits are veritable goldmines of nutrition goodness. Let me count the ways…
Well, we know about the vitamin C thing. Just one orange, for example, contains about 65 mg – the daily recommended intake for this important nutrient. But there are so many other wonderful benefits of citrus fruits! Did you also know that they are high in potassium and other minerals, as well as being a good source of the soluble fiber pectin?

The other groovy thing about citrus? It fights grease. Have you ever been out to one of those barbeque chicken or rib restaurants where they give you a little bowl of lemon water at the end of your meal to clean your sticky and grease-saturated fingers? (a distant memory, but yes, I recall…) Well, as it turns out citrus acts as a cleanser the very same way inside the body, aiding in the digestion and utilization of fat! How cool is that?!

Here are some more fun little tidbits about individual citrus fruits…
Grapefruits
– consuming them burns as many calories as they contain, therefore an excellent choice for those trying to lose weight.
– helps in digestion and utilization of foods.
– one grapefruit contains about 75 mg vitamin C
– high potassium content
– red grapefruit is a good source of lycopene; a phytonutrient with anti-tumor properties.

Oranges
– delicious enjoyed as juice, one glass contains about 125 mg of vitamin C
– high potassium content
– high calcium content
– out of all the citrus fruits, oranges contain the most vitamin A (as beta-carotene), which may help us fight infections by supporting the immune system.
– oranges contain a flavanoid called herperidin, which has been shown to lower high blood pressure as well as cholesterol in animal studies, and to have strong anti-inflammatory properties.

Lemons
– excellent detoxifier, cleanser, purifier, and rejuvenator; especially in the liver.
– lemon water stimulates gastric juices when drunk 20 – 30 minutes prior to eating.
– good source of calcium, magnesium and phosphorous
– contains a compound called limonoid, which has been shown to help fight cancers of the mouth, skin, lung, breast, stomach and colon.



Get yourself to the shops quick and pick up some of your fav fruits before they are out of season! And perhaps get into some of the lesser-known citrus that is sure to please. Ever tried a kumquat? How about a minneola, or pummelo? Meyer lemon? All kinds of yum, I tell ya. Especially bathed in this syrup-from-heaven.

Finish the whole salad off with a good couple grinds of cracked black pepper (no, I am not insane, trust me…), and a sprinkling of the nuts or seeds you have on hand. I used some pumpkin seeds, lightly toasted in a dry skillet to bring out their nutty-ness, which added a whole other awesome dimension of flavour to this dish. Almonds would be a nice fit too, or walnuts. Toasted sesame seeds? Sheesh, that’s a good idea. Guess I’ll have to try that tomorrow. Oh darn.
You could even push things further with some chopped fresh herbs. Mint is the obvious choice and would be delish, but since I am not so into obvious, I would go with something like tarragon or flat-leaf parsley. Does it ever stop?!



Everybody Loves the Sunshine Citrus Salad
Ingredients:
- a lovely selection of citrus fruits: navel oranges, blood oranges, tangerines, grapefruit, meyer lemons, mandarins, minneolas, pummelos, kumquats, clementines…
- Ginger-Bay-Lime Syrup (recipe to follow)
- freshly ground black pepper
- nuts or seeds for garnish

Directions:
1. Prepare syrup.
2. While the syrup is cooling down, slice up the citrus fruits – slice off the rind on the top and bottom, then slice down the sides. Slice the fruit horizontally to make “discs”. (This is just one way to slice citrus, of course. Do it however you like!)
3. Arrange sliced fruit on a platter, pour cooled syrup over top. Add freshly cracked black pepper and garnish with nuts or seeds.


Ginger-Bay-Lime Syrup
Ingredients:
¼ cup maple syrup
¼ cup water
a few slices fresh ginger
3 kaffir lime leaves
1 bay leaf

Directions:
Put all ingredients in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and let simmer for 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat and let syrup steep and cool down. Store leftovers in a glass container in the fridge for up to seven days. Makes about 4 servings.

I hope you all enjoy this uncomplicated dish as much as I do. It’s amazing how something so simple can be so breathtakingly tasty. Oh how the succulence goes on and on…

The Great Juice Feast

I am taking a bit of a break this week…a break from food! I am juice feasting.

“Is that like juice fasting?”, you ask. Well, yes, they are essentially the same thing - a liquid diet of fresh pressed fruit and vegetable juices, except that with a juice feast, the idea is to consume a little more than you would on a juice fast to obtain a greater amount calories. It can also be referred to as a juice cleanse. Plus, fasting has such a sacrificial, deprived ring to it, and if I am not eating anything, I better be feasting on something!

This is a good time of year to go on a juice diet because the weather is warming up so our bodies can take more raw foods, fruits and veggies are coming into season, and as the seasons make their transition outside, it feels so right to make one inside.

There has been so much said about juice fasting/feasting/cleansing, so I don’t think that I will go into too much detail about it. For one, there are lots of amazing resources online that explain this process far better than I ever could. Secondly, everyone is different and your body’s reaction to a juice feast will certainly be different from mine. If I tell you what to expect, than inevitably, you will be disappointed if you don’t experience the same results.

Here a just a few resources to get you started:
Juicing Book
Juice Feasting
Living Foods
Vegetable Juice Recipes
The Best of Raw Food
The first link is wonderful because it is literally an entire juice book online (just please look past the rather, ahem, outdated graphics). The site offers oodles of information about the types of fruits and vegetables you can juice and what they are good for, in terms of nutrition, healing properties, and so many recipes, all for free! Me likey.

To give you an idea of what I am actually consuming, here some delicious combinations I really love. I usually go for 6-7 juices in total everyday, so I pick and choose from the following "menu" depending on the time of day.

Morning:
-2 grapefruits, 5 carrots, 1 piece fresh ginger
-2 pears, 4 kiwis, ½ lemon
-3 oranges, 2 apples, ½ lemon
-1 cup berries (any kind), pineapple, ½ lemon
-1 cup grapes, 3 pears, 4 kiwis
-1 whole watermelon (with rind if organic)

Afternoon:
-1 beetroot, 5 carrots, 1 apple, 1 handful fresh mint
-1 sweet potato, 4 stalks celery, 5 carrots, 1 apple, ½ lemon
-½ head Broccoli, 1 cucumber, 4 stalks celery
-2 leaves kale, 1 bunch mustard greens, 4 carrots

Evening:
-¼ head purple cabbage, 1 beetroot, 5 carrots, 2 tomatoes
-1 cup spinach, 4 carrots, 1 parsnip
-½ to 1 cup mung bean sprouts, 2 kale leaves, 1 parsnip, 3 carrots, 1 apple
-A handful of parsley, ¼ cucumber, 1 or 2 asparagus stalks, 4 carrots


Just in case you are curious (and I know you are!) here are the answers to the questions I am frequently asked about juice feasting.

1 - Are you insane?
No.

2- What’s the point?
A juice feast is basically a massive detoxification protocol. By consuming fresh juices that are loaded with nutrients, especially alkalizing minerals — and no fiber to slow digestion — you’re giving your body a chance to divert lots of energy from digestion to cleansing.

3- Aren’t you hungry?
Duh. Obviously. But it comes and goes, and I find it manageable. Plus, before I do commit to a juice feast, I work my way in rather slowly by decreasing my caloric intake day by day so my system gets used to eating less. For me, being hungry is the biggest challenge for sure, but knowing the good I am doing for my body overpowers my rumbly tummy. I think it is a very positive thing to experience real hunger once in a while. I know that I don’t often feel it, especially for extended periods of time, and when I do finally get back to a regular, solid-food diet, it is probably the most euphoric feeling I can get without breaking the law.

4 – How long does it last for?
I usually aim for 4-6 days, depending on how I am feeling. However, there is still a period before and after that are very important, where I eat mostly raw, avoid all processed foods, and obviously abstain from drinking alcohol. This is a challenge for a lot of people too: the idea of not drinking for 3 weeks, but all the more reason to give it a go.
I would suggest doing just one day to start. Some people go 150 days or more.

5 - Do you still go to work?
Yeah, I do, which was a little torturous today in fact (I am a cook). If you have a job where you are sedentary for most of the day, you would probably be fine. If your job requires a lot of hard, physical labour, I would try to do the juice feast over a long weekend, and maybe take a day off. The most important thing is to be near your juicer. If you can’t bring it to work, make sure you juice enough before you leave the house to last you through the day so that you are not tempted by the coffee and donuts in the conference room. Yikes! And going to work is also good, as it gets your mind off of being hungry – distractions are key.

6 – Do you lose weight?
Again, duh. But this is mostly water weight. Once you go back to your regular eating habits, the pounds will return slowly (unless you are inspired to make a change!).

7 – How do you know when to start?
I am pretty in tune with my body at this point, and I just feel when a re-charge is in order. If I am feeling sluggish, bloated, foggy-headed, I know it’s time to juice for a few days to clean up the system. And even though I eat a whole foods diet, I am still exposed to environmental toxins, occasional stress, and if I can’t eat organic, I am sure I get a couple pesticides thrown into my salad from time to time!

VERY IMPORTANT:
Juice feasting/fasting/cleansing is a pretty major undertaking, and you should consult with a qualified health practitioner before throwing yourself into one. Do not use this post as your sole reference! Taking care of your body means doing it in a responsible way, being educated about the choices you are making, and taking small steps towards something greater.

Answers to readers' questions:
1. Do you have to make these juices using a juicer? would it be possible to use just a regular ol' blender?
GREAT question!
The answer to this was very briefly explained in the 2nd answer above, but I will elaborate. The whole idea behind using a real juicer for cleansing purposes is because it separates a fruit or vegetable's fiber and liquid. The separation of juice from fiber means that the body does not have to divert large amounts of energy to the process of digesting the juice, as there are no fibres to breakdown, meaning that it can focus on other tasks such as detoxification. It also means that the body can easily absorb the nutrients present in the juice extracted by the juicer as they have all been released from the fibers and are freely available.
You could try blending up your desired fruits and veggies in a blender and straining them, but you will not get the same results in the end. Plus, many hard vegetables like sweet potato, carrots, and parsnips would be very hard on your blender's motor!

2. Curious what juicer you use - as it seems it gets a workout!
I actually borrowed a juicer from a friend this time, as the one I own is still back in Canada (sniff). There are many types of juicers out there in a wide range of prices. Here's a link that explains the differences between juicer types, so you can find the one that suits your needs and budget.

Green Giant Cilantro Pesto

Needing an infusion of brightness as we head into the darkness of winter? Here’s your fix: Green Giant Cilantro Pesto. I call it giant because the flavour of this luscious sauce is so enormous it will knock your wintery woolen socks off. Promise.
And the bonus is that it’s totally versatile: I fold it into quinoa salad, add it to soups (it is especially good on my four corners lentil soup), spread it on top of hummus for an extra zing, pour it over hot whole grain pasta, slather it on beans and rice, use as a dip, or take it by the spoonful if my taste buds are bored. Ha. I might be joking.

Surprise! Cilantro is also very good for you!
Cilantro (sometimes called coriander or Chinese parsley) is the leaf of the herbaceous plant belonging to the carrot family. Corriander is actually the seed of the plant, which is also a popular seasoning in many international dishes.
But as commonly used as it is, cilantro is also a powerful and natural cleanser, shown to effectively help remove heavy metals and other toxic agents from the body.

The chemical compounds in cilantro actually bind to the heavy metals, loosening them from the tissues, blood and organs. Cilantro's chemical compounds then aid to transport these harmful substances out of the body through elimination.

There is also a large amount of literature suggesting that cilantro could be one of nature's best chelation agents, particularly for individuals who have been exposed to heightened levels of mercury. Mercury excess is a common problem that may be the result of metallic teeth fillings or over-consumption of predatory fish. Many people suffering from excess mercury report that the feeling of disorientation resulting from the poisoning can be greatly reduced through consuming large and regular amounts of cilantro over an extended period.
So, got some silver fillings in your chompers? Run and make this sauce to combat the
mercury!

Green Giant Cilantro Pesto
Ingredients:
4 bunches fresh cilantro
1 peeled medium sweet onion
Juice of 3 lemons
¼ cup toasted pine nuts (optional)
¼ tsp. ground chipotle pepper (or cayenne)
2-3 Tbsp. olive oil
1 Tbsp. agave nectar or honey
Salt to taste

Directions:
1. Trim ends off cilantro bunches and place them in a large bowl of fresh water, dunking them several times. Drain water and repeat once more to be sure that all of the dirt has been removed.
2. In a blender, puree onion in lemon juice.
3. Add cilantro (both leaves and stems), and remaining ingredients to blender and blend until mix is uniformly green.
Salt to taste.

If a thinner sauce is desired, add olive oil. If a thicker sauce is what you're after, add pine nuts (or macadamia or walnuts). Blend until sauce is desired consistency.

This stuff is good with everything! If there was a ever a condiment that really gets my fired up, it's this one. It wakes up just about anything you can throw at it, and breathes new life into those dishes you've made a million times. Invite the green giant over for a bite!

info source: http://www.globalhealingcenter.com/cilantro.html

One Hot Night

Oh my. Last night was quite a wild one.
I decided that I should just keep truckin’ along with my detox mission, and pull one more cleansing trick from my sleeve. While I was researching this month, I stumbled across a “ginger detox bath”, and recalled my herbal medicine teacher mentioning this one time back in class.
The idea is to immerse yourself in a hot bath filled with ginger (fresh or powdered) and some Epsom salts. The ginger makes the bath “hotter” as it comes into contact with your skin. This allows your pores to open, your skin to sweat, providing a clear path for toxins to get out. Simple and effective!

I thought I would give it a shot.

And let me tell you…I haven’t felt that hot in a very long time.

After about 10 minutes my scalp started dripping and my heartbeat got so strong, I could feel the pulse in my teeth! It was totally wild. I brought a book into the bathroom with me in case I got bored, but all I could do was stare at the ceiling and try to focus on not melting. It was INCREDIBLE!

Here are the full instructions so you can try it yourself:
1. Measure out 1/8 cup ginger, fresh or powdered (powdered goes deeper), and mix with 1 cup Epsom salts.
2. Run a hot bath (as hot as you can handle) and pour the ginger/salt mixture into the tub.
3. While the bath is running, take a dry skin brush (or vegetable brush if you must!) and brush all parts of the body in a circular motion toward the heart. (Skin brushing can be very beneficial because the skin is a primary avenue for detoxification) See full instructions here.
4. Sit in the bath for 20-30 minutes, making sure that you have a very good sweat on (if you don’t, the water isn’t hot enough). I recommend rubbing all areas of your body in clockwise circular motions for a count of 20 in each area while soaking. Rub each breast (great way to ward against cancer) your stomach area, etc. You'll find that you will get quite uncomfortably "hot and sweaty" so it helps to have some bottle water handy to help flush the toxins out. Do not remain in the tub for more than 30 minutes.
5. When you get out of the bath, go straight to bed and wrap yourself up in blankets, with towels against your skin (DO NOT apply lotions, potions or serums to your skin as you might normally before bed, as this will clog your pores and defeat the purpose of cleansing). You will continue to sweat for about an hour, but you’ll probably pass out before then. Keep water next to the bed in case you wake up in the night thirsty.
6. Upon waking, you may feel slightly “flu-y”, but this is a good sign – it means you are really releasing toxins from your body! Continue to drink lots of water the next day, especially if you are feeling tired or sick. This didn’t happen to me, but I sure was thirsty!

I had a great experience with this ginger bath and I would highly recommend it to anyone who loves saunas or steam rooms, but can’t get to the spa every week! This is certainly something I will add to my cleansing repertoire, and maybe even just for kicks when the temperature drops below -15 degrees (more often than I care to experience these days).

I hope you’ve taken some of my advice this month, and are welcoming February feeling renewed, refreshed and squeaky clean inside!

The Ultimate Detox Tea

Whew! I am currently on day six of the one week cleanse. I am feeling good. A little on the slow side today, but that is a natural side effect of the body doing so much janitorial work on the inside. I have been strictly following the brown rice and steamed vegetable diet – no fat, minimal protein, not even salt or pepper. On one hand, this diet makes cooking a snap: you don’t have to agonize over what to have at your next meal, but one soon realizes that the pleasures associated with cooking – experimenting with foods and flavours, discovering new herbs and spices, trying new methods of preparation, fall by the wayside.

However, the pros seem to outweigh the cons: I am extremely clear-headed, calm, grounded, and have a surprising amount of energy for someone who is consuming less than 500 calories a day. Not to say that it is at all a sustainable way of living. It would be impossible to obtain all of the nutrients that the body requires in so few calories, but once in a while the body does miraculous things when it gets a break from digesting the regular amount of food we consume everyday.
I thought in addition to my simple diet, I would throw a few herbs in to compliment and assist my organs in clearing out the sludgy cobwebs. And since I have never really talked about herbs and herbal medicine, I thought that this would be a perfect opportunity!


There are a wide variety of herbs that have a stimulating, and therefore beneficial effect on our major detoxification organs: the liver and the gastrointestinal tract. The liver plays a key role in detoxification because it neutralizes chemicals from the external environment, filters the blood, manufactures bile, and goes through a variety of enzymatic processes to both break down, and create, compounds necessary for human life -- cholesterol (the "good" kind), glutathione, and various hormones. The digestive system, to a large extent, controls what is absorbed from the food we eat and what is excreted once our food has been broken down and utilized, respectively. Keeping our digestive system happy and functioning as it should, improves our ability to push the garbage out of our systems – critical at all times to our health, but especially when cleansing!

These herbs can be purchased at your local health food store for less than the cost of those “detox kits” in fancy boxes, and lasts twice as long. If you cannot find everything on this list, simply use the ones available to you, keeping them in the amounts prescribed below. (Ensure that the herbs you are using are certified organic – you don’t want to be adding pesticides and chemical fertilizers into your super clean bod!)

You may find it helpful to bring a measuring spoon with you to the store so that all you have to do when you get home is dump all the bags into a container and mix. Simply combine all herbs in proportions listed. Store tightly covered in a glass jar(s) in a cool, dry place away from direct light.


4 Tbs dandelion leaf (kidneys)
3 Tbs dandelion root (liver, gallbladder)
2 Tbs burdock root (blood, liver, gallbladder)
3 Tbs milkthistle seed, crushed (liver, gallbladder)
3 Tbs cleavers (lymph, kidneys)
4 Tbs lemon balm (digestive tonic, nervine)
4 Tbs pau d'arco (blood, parasites)
4 Tbs horsetail (kidneys, skin)
5 Tbs red clover (blood)
2 Tbs chickweed (lymph, colon)
2 Tbs angelica root (liver, digestive tonic)
3 Tbs yarrow herb (liver, gallbladder, blood, gen. tonic)
5 Tbs nettle leaf (kidneys, blood, general tonic, nutritive)
4 Tbs plantain (skin, lungs, gastric system, internal healer, antiseptic)

To make tea: bring one and a half cups spring or distilled water to light simmer on stove (water should be moving but not bubbling). Use a non-metal pot if possible. Add two teaspoons of mixture and let simmer for about 10 minutes, keeping lid on pot. Strain into cup.
Whatever formula you use, the tea should be taken between meals. Drink one cup of detox tea per day for 3 days, then 2 cups per day for one week, then 2 -3 cups per day until mixture is finished.

Now I know what you’re thinking: this stuff must taste like the bottom of a lake. But I would choose to compare it to hay. It is certainly “earthy”, but by no means unpalatable. I kind of like, actually.
You can drink this concoction during a cleanse like the one I mentioned in my last post, or while you are eating a “normal diet”, but it is advisable to limit or avoid sugar, dairy, processed foods, fatty foods, flour and caffeine. Eat lots of fresh vegetables and fruit, lean protein foods (beans, lentils, fish, organic chicken, nuts), whole grains and healthy oils (flax, olive, hemp or a combination). Remember to drink plenty of water everyday to help flush your system of the toxins you are liberating from every cell.
Which reminds me…it’s time for another cup!

Tea Recipe by: Peter Quenter, herbalist and homeopath.

Simple Detox for All

Whew! What a long blog break that was. The holidays were a beautiful bustle of family and friends and I feel refreshed and excited to welcome the New Year!
Now back to cultivating My New Roots…

This time of year I get so many questions about detox programs and cleansing. I suppose that after the holidays everyone is dying for a quick fix that will help shed their holiday weight gain and give them an excuse to abstain from drinking alcohol for a week. However, detoxifying the body is a serious undertaking and not something to rush into, especially if your diet has been…ahem…less than perfect lately.
Firstly, going to extremes is not the answer. Fasting, or giving up food entirely, is an inappropriate path to take this time of year, since our bodies need food to keep us warm and nourished for the cold winter months ahead. (The spring and summer months are more suitable for fasting since the weather is warmer and we don’t need as many calories to regulate our body temperature. Makes sense, doesn’t it?) And I bet it’s good news for you, since that water fast you were planning can now be put off until June. Whoopee.

Yes, now is the time to be gentle and make small changes to your diet for a week or so. You will certainly notice a difference and maybe even feel compelled to continue your clean nutritional regime, bringing your body back into balance, improving your concentration, sleep, digestion and energy! Big Whoopee.

We can also support the process of detoxification through other routines such as yoga, using saunas, and massage. All of these physical practices help to move toxins through the lymphatic system by sweating, or specific movements that twist and “ring out” internal organs.

Here are some general cleansing tips that almost everyone can follow after the holidays.

Dietary Suggestions:
1. Start everyday with a cup of warm water and fresh lemon juice. This serves to flush the digestive system, stimulate the liver and kidneys and alkalinize the whole body. (This is one of the best things you can do for yourself! Especially if you can squeeze it in before your morning coffee or tea. Start now and do it everyday for the rest of your life…watch miracles happen.)
2. For one week, meals should consist mainly of brown rice, steamed vegetables, miso broth and seaweed (all organically grown!). Ginger and cayenne may be added to flavour soups to stimulate circulation.
3. Drink plenty of water! At least 2 litres of purified or filtered water a day to stimulate your kidneys, liver and digestive system’s (primary detox organs) functions. It will also boost your metabolism, which in turn accelerates toxin and fat elimination.
Things to avoid: drugs, sugar, fried foods, meats, dairy, anything in a box, bag or bottle!

Lifestyle suggestions:
1. Head to a yoga class, book a massage, or find a sauna to hop in!
2. Practice dry skin brushing. See instructions here.
3. If you want to exercise, keep the intensity low…your body is resting.
4. Be gentle with yourself. Choose a week where you have time to relax and reflect, get some extra sleep (8 or more hours a night), and the mental space for the challenge of change.

What? Disappointed that I didn’t tell you to starve yourself? You wanted some drastic deprivation and torture? The truth is, most of us struggle giving up booze for a week, so if you can handle the suggestions above, you have my blessing to move on to more convoluted procedures. Good luck with that.

When you come out of a gentle cleanse such as this one, try to continue eating a balanced, whole foods diet, exercise regularly and get plenty of sleep. As we treat our bodies with the physical and emotional respect they deserve, our need to detoxify becomes less and less and the better we will feel everyday.

I wish everyone the best for 2009. Thanks for continuing to discover the beauty of becoming the healthiest, most vibrant self through My New Roots!

source: Haas, Elson M. Staying Healthy with Nutrition. Berkley, CA: Wiley, 2006.