April 19, 2009
Happy Spring! Welcome to your April edition of Healthy and Loving It! This issue is full of tips, specials and new recipes for your Spring Detox. Enjoy all the goodies we have gathered for you and send us your success story for our next issue!
Healthy Blessings, Cindy and Jo
Volume I, Issue 1, April 2009
In this Edition
- Six Tips to Take your Detox OUT without Feeling Deprived!
- How to Sneak More Greens into your Detox
- Spring Rolls for Spring
- Guided Detox Programs for Extra Support
Traveling? Visiting Family? Parties? Six Tips to Take your Detox OUT without Feeling Deprived!
Are you trying to plan your detox around family outings and celebrations? How will you ever stay on your plan while you travel, go to work meetings, or attend birthday parties? We all have busy lives, juggling family, career, school, and whatever surprises life tosses our way. So creating a healthier diet for the short or long term can seem daunting.
Well, we are here to assure you that you do NOT have to feel deprived when you detox! The Whole Body Detox Diet provides loads of nourishing substitutes for your cravings and satisfying ways to treat yourself. And the long term rewards of a healthier, cleaner body – more energy, clearer thinking, brighter mood – are MUCH greater than the short term benefits of a sugar or caffeine buzz.
So here are 6 tricks and tips for a successful detox even in the midst of a busy or challenging schedule.
- Plan and commit! Use our Free Detox Planner to map out your detox plan and make the decision to follow it in the midst of your busy life. Devise a plan that is reasonable for success but challenges you to dip a little deeper into clean eating.
- Start your day on FULL. Breakfast, as you know, is the most important meal of the day! Don’t scrimp on your first meal – make it really count. Green smoothies are one of the best ways to fill up your body with nourishment and to curb your appetite for less healthy options. Make your smoothie or a healthy detox recipe first thing in the morning and eat it before your tummy wakes up. Don’t give your brain or tummy time to consider old comfort foods and before you know it you’ll be satisfied and feeling energized for a successful detox day!
- Don’t let lunch sneak up on you. Whether you are going to work, traveling, or just puttering at home, make or plan your lunch ahead of time. It’s hard to make a healthy lunch decision when you’re hungry and/or out in the world of unhealthy options. There’s no need to put yourself in that position. Pack a healthy lunch and bring it with you whether you’re going to work, running errands, or heading to the airport.
- Choose to celebrate life! We all have celebrations or events to attend with lots of tempting food that’s not on our plan. Choosing to feel deprived is just that – a choice! We can feel deprived or we can feel empowered! The celebration is not really about the food, is it? When we choose to feel grateful for the chance to gather with friends, connect, and celebrate, we don’t need the junk food to feel good! Celebrate life by treating your body with respect and honoring it with healthy, nourishing choices.
- Bring life to the party! When you go to a party, meeting or family gathering bring along a special healthy dessert or dish to share with everyone. Raw chocolate fudge, sugar-free vegan cookies, or healthy pies (coming soon!) are great celebratory snacks. People are always happy to receive and enjoy delicious food. This is a great way to stay on your detox while sharing nourishing food with your friends and family. You’ll be surprised how curious everyone is about the exotic, delicious, whole foods you’ve brought. And chances are, when they see how great you look and how good the food tastes, they’ll be asking how to start their own detox!
- Eat before you go. When you’re at an event with unhealthy food, sometimes focusing on something other than the food is easier said than done. This is especially true if you’re hungry, in withdrawal and experiencing cravings. Plan ahead by eating something healthy or drinking extra smoothie, before you leave the house. If you’re going to a restaurant, fill up a bit before you go and then order something light and fresh. That way you can enjoy the company instead of stressing out about the food. Avoid eating the bread served at the beginning of the meal and ask the server what fresh vegetables and grains they can prepare for you. Be explicit about what you want left out. Often you will end up with a meal so yummy and fresh looking others at your table will envy it!
Remember that YOU are worth it. Your detox is not about depriving yourself. It’s about adding in food choices and activities that truly nurture and fulfill you. Food is not the enemy OR the main point of life – it is a glorious celebration and a life-giving force!
Honor your body with the most nourishing and life-sustaining food choices possible. Create new habits and forgive yourself when you slip back into the old. Gently remind yourself that every step brings you closer to radiant health. Lovingly guide yourself back onto the path. You are truly worth it!
Special Detox Tip: How Green is Green enough?
Your detox diet can never be TOO green. Greens are nature’s best detoxifiers and the most potent form of life force found in foods. From spinach, kale and chard to wheat grass, spirulina and dulse flakes – greens are super cleansing and super full of nutrients. They strip toxins and mucous from your body, build healthy bones, heal your liver, alkalize your blood, energize your cells, and provide a wide array of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. They satisfy what your body is craving even when you don’t yet realize it.
Learning to eat enough greens is tricky, especially if you’re coming from a standard western diet. Most of the challenge is a matter of perspective. What do you think of when you think greens? Do you think of the obligatory wilting green salad on a restaurant plate or overcooked frozen spinach? These are not greens at their finest. Typically, greens are thought of as a supporting character in our menu productions rather than the leading superstar that they should be. To truly eat green you must make them your main dish, include them in every meal, and blend them into your smoothies!
Read up on our newest Green Chef Salad and Green Smoothie recipes for critical information on making greens your starring character. Start thinking of parsley and cilantro “by the bunch” rather than “by the sprig” and add them accordingly to your guacamole, pesto, salads or other dishes. Add an entire bunch of kale, chard, collards to your main cooked dish – remembering that they shrink down significantly. Or eat a whole bowl of cooked greens with a little lemon, balsamic vinegar or nama shoyu (unpasteurized soy sauce). And see below for our newest green recipe - Spring Rolls - just in time for Spring!
Featured Recipe: Spring Rolls for Spring!
Fresh homemade Spring Rolls are a great way to eat raw vegetables. Roll up your fresh vegetables inside a rice wrap with noodles and peanut sauce, to turn them into an exotic lunch or healthy appetizers to serve guests.
They are even great for bringing on a picnic! Try them with our Thai Peanut Sauce, one of the yummiest sauces and it’s easy to make.
Click here for our Spring Rolls and Peanut Sauce recipes!
Guided Detox Programs with Jo delAmor, Holistic Health Counselor
Our Detox Diet Startup Kit walks you through the process of designing your own customized detox diet plan. But if that sounds like a daunting task, you’re too busy, or you have special concerns and questions, don’t worry! Jo’s here to help!
Jo has a background in health counseling and a passion for clearing out the toxins with love. She recognizes the need for professional, personalized detox support and has developed these special programs specifically for you.
Choose from a one-time consultation, 10-day guided detox, 28-day guided detox, or detox lifestyle coaching.
Click here for more details and registration information.
“If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant; if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome.” ~Anne Bradstreet