The Sustainable Spot

Well, the holidays are over and I for one am very sad to see them go.  Not only will I miss the aroma of pine and cheery twinkle lights in my living room, but I will also miss eating whatever I want whenever.

I didn’t hold back this holiday season on indulging myself with brie, baguette, tasty meat delights, dark chocolate and decadent drinks any chance I got.  And as enjoyable as it was at the time, I am paying for it now.  My body actually hurts and aches as if I have been in an accident.  The accident being me binging at the month long holiday buffet.

So today is the day I am starting my cleanse and I am ready to rid myself of all of the toxins that I have allowed in.

I have never been successful at any of the extreme detox cleanses.  I once tried the infamous cabbage soup diet and didn’t even make it until the soup was finished cooking.  What I have found that has worked for me in the past is a system developed by Dr. Alejandro Junger, a detox specialist, called Clean.  I had forgotten about it until I picked up a magazine while getting my hair cut and Gwyneth Paltrow was talking about how much she loves this diet in an interview.  Perfect timing!

It starts with eliminating foods that are processed, include chemicals and cause irritation,  inflammation and acidity in the body.  After the elimination diet portion, the Clean program starts which is a three week long cleanse consisting of two liquid meals and one solid meal a day from the designated recipes.

Previously, I followed the elimination diet for two weeks and felt incredible.  I had more energy, slept well and my skin looked better than ever!  I started my day with an organic apple and almond butter and green tea with stevia.  For lunch I would have an organic chicken breast sauteed with olive oil, garlic and thyme, green beans stir fried with sliced almonds, garlic and olive oil and brown rice.  Dinner would be a salad with avocado, almond slices and an organic turkey cutlet with olive oil, sea salt and pepper.  It was delicious and I didn’t feel like I was starving, tired or grumpy like I had anticipated.

I never did complete the Clean program cleanse but I felt I had achieved what I needed just from the elimination diet portion.  And it was pretty easy to accomplish.

Basically it involved cutting out the usual suspects: alcohol, caffeine, sugar and dairy.  It also includes getting rid of wheat, soy products, butter and processed oils, peanuts and peanut products, acidic fruits and vegetables and a variety of meat products.  What is allowed are:

• whole fruits
• rice and nut milks like almond and coconut milk
• brown rice, quinoa and buckwheat
• cooked cold water fish, lean lamb, duck, turkey and chicken
• lentils, legumes
• olive oil
• green tea or herbal teas
• filtered, distilled, mineral or seltzer water
• natural spices and sweeteners like agave syrup, brown rice syrup and stevia
• organic is preferred for all of the above

It’s also recommended to drink LOTS of water, meditate, exercise and take two tablespoons of olive oil at night to help it all move through your system.

I am looking forward to getting creative with my cooking and feeling cleansed and renewed to take on 2013!

Here are some of the Clean recipes and a mini 3 day cleanse by Dr. Junger from Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop.