March Cleanse

Cleansing is a healthy way to make your body work at optimum power.   We are exposed to toxins daily like pesticides, microbes, and mercury to name a few.  Cleansing by eating a mainly vegan diet (no meat, dairy, sugar or processed foods) and taking supplements can eliminate toxin build up in the kidneys, lungs, colon, and the liver.  

I broke down and bought a "Total Body Cleanse" kit at the organic store.  The kit contains two supplements:  one to be taken in the morning and one to be taken in the evening.  The supplements contain all natural ingredients like flax seed, dandelion root, ginger root, cayenne, etc.  



Here's the cleanse I'm following this week:  Two Day Wonder Cleanse       Four years ago I did a 20 day cleanse, lost 8 pounds, and felt like I had enough energy to conquer the world.  But, I eat healthier now, so I'm just following the cleanse off and on throughout the month of March.   I'm going to winter camp tomorrow and to a St. Patty's day party next week, so I'd be cheating if I tried to commit for the month.

For breakfast, I've been eating quinoa and prunes made in the crockpot.  Trust me, this is super delicious, very healthy and fills you right up!




Crockpot Quinoa

CROCKPOT QUINOA FOR BREAKFAST

1 cup of quinoa
3 cups of water
1/2 cup of milk (I use soy milk)
1/2 cup of prunes

Add to a crockpot and cook in low for 8 hours.  Add cinnamon and milk for a GREAT breakfast.


Here's a sample of yesterdays lunch that had me feeling like I was in a super powerful zone all day:

Power Lunch, Kale Smoothie, Kale Salad and Spirulina Kombucha

The Kale, Apple, Walnut salad I purchased at the Rice Lake co-op and I plan on making it this summer (wow, yummser!).   The Kale Pineapple Smoothie looks gross but was actually super good and an easy way to pack in 4 cups of Kale (yes, that's 4 cups of kale blended).

Super Power Kale Smoothie

4 cups of kale leaves
1/2 cup of pineapple
2 artichokes (canned or from a jar)
Blend and add water if needed. 

Trust me, after this smoothie, the salad and the kombucha I was golden. Proof to me that what you eat directly affects performance whether at work. exercising, or playing. 

As part of my cleansing, I also have been eating some delicious cabbage soup.  Trust me, this is yummy!
Here's the recipe:  Cabbage Cleansing Soup

Cabbage Soup

And last but not least, Kerry Rothgeb gave me her mom's wonderful brussels sprouts recipe:

Pomegranate Brussels Sprouts

Brussels sprouts
Olive Oil
Salt
4 cups pomegranate juice (I used sugar free)
1/2 cup sugar (I used 1 tablespoon of steevia)
Juice from 1/2 a lemon

Roast the brussels sprouts in a 350 degree oven (salt, pepper, olive oil) for about 35-40 min turning every once in awhile until caramelized.  Mix 4 cups Pom juice, 1/2 cup sugar, 1 TBSP lemon juice and add over med heat. Still occasionally until dissolved. Reduce heat to low to med until mixture is reduced to 1 1/2 cups, about 1 hour. Store in jar in fridge.

I used sugar-free juice and steevia in place of the sugar to stay true to my cleanse.   My sprouts did not make it into the jar, because they were so good we ate them right up.  Yum!!   Thanks to Kerry's mom for the recipe!

Pomegranate Brussels Sprouts

As part of my March cleanse, I'm also drinking GT's mult-green kombucha (with spirulina) which is the healthiest drink on the planet (trust me, I did my research).  But more on that soon because I'm making my own!

Also as part of my cleanse I had a massage - can't think of a better way to improve circulation and remove the toxins.  After my massage I took a detox bath which is Epsom salt, baking soda and some essential oils (I used peppermint).  The skin is one large organ not to be ignored, and my skin feels fantastic!!

Next up, I'm taking a detox yoga class on 3/22.  Detox yoga is a technique to flush out all remaining toxins to the point where you actually smell the toxins in your urine.  That's a powerful yoga class!

Here's a little video of Gus' snow tunnel:

Happy detoxification month!  And, thanks for reading!

Kristin