- Beautiful red chard
One of the biggest issues facing my clients today is reducing and eliminating processed foods. This challenge affects working professionals, athletes, and entertainers alike because they’re focused on improving their health and managing their weight for different reasons. Often, it’s the main reason a professional athlete will retain my services. For entertainers and celebrities, their bodies define their brands and almost always dictates how successful they will become. Working professionals frequently have long work days and need to be sure they’ve got enough energy left for their families.
I’ve got a super easy and quick way to jump start your Indian summer shape up and help you make a transition from processed to whole foods. Although it’s best to use predominately organic ingredents, the menu works very well if that’s not possible. With only five days, easy to find ingredients and minimal shopping and cooking you can implement this plan. To ensure I’ve created a balanced menu, nutritionist, super mother of five, and Blissful Kitchen contributor Khristine Holterman reviewed it and said this:
No matter how hard we may try to eat a balanced, healthy diet we live in a world full of processed foods that are difficult to avoid.
While the body is highly efficient at detoxifying our system, the Blissful Kitchen 5 Day Detox Menu is a great way to kick-start a plan that includes only healthy, natural foods, in essence, retraining your taste buds and your psyche. The menu includes a mix of complex carbohydrates; healthy, essential fats; protein and a wide variety of vegetables and fruits noted for their especially high profile of antioxidants, phytonutrients, minerals and vitamins. It is also low in sodium and saturated fats. Most importantly, it is easy to follow and easy to prepare.
By the end of the five day program you should feel more energetic and ready to continue eliminating refined and processed food from your diet. What a great way to start some healthy habits!
Blissful Kitchen’s 5 Day Detox Menu will help you feel better and manage your weight by eliminating processed foods. The plan is adapted from Dr. Ann Louise Gittleman’s Fat Flush and Dr. Dean Ornish’s Spectrum diets along with my own experience, research and practical applications my clients have used over the past seven years.
The foods in the plan are nutritionally dense and combined to help you feel full and reduce bloating. Elimination of toxins is the goal so for the first few days you will see changes in that regard. Don’t be alarmed, just stay with it. If you’ve been following my Light and Healthy week recipes, you’re already prepared to begin a detoxifying menu. However, you might find easing into a detox plan is better for you so start with Light and Healthy Week and then transition to the Detox Menu. Let me know how you feel after five days, so let’s get started!
Getting started tips: Plan your menu in advance, create a shopping list, wash and precut vegetables, cook extra meats or fish to use during the plan, make your lunch the night before, and enjoy the experience!
Blissful Kitchen 5 Day Detox Menu
Copyright © 2011 Dorothy Whittenburg
All rights reserved
Every morning before breakfast:
Drink one cup room temperature water with the juice of half a lemon followed by one cup cranberry water (recipe below) with one teaspoon psyllium husk or powdered psyllium. Quickly mix the psyllium into the water and swallow the drink as it tends to expand fast in liquid.
Note: Medications should not be taken within two hours of taking psyllium.
Daily cranberry water: Mix twenty eight ounces of water with four ounces unsweetened cranberry juice. You’ll need 64 ounces of cranberry water per day. Reusing 33 ounce water bottles works well.
Breakfast:
Choose one from below in addition to one cup of nonfat milk, regular soy or almond milk:
One small container of nonfat fruit flavored yogurt and small banana or 2% plain Greek yogurt and small banana or substitute ½ cup fresh berries for the banana.
One or two whole eggs either hardboiled or made into a vegetable (see below for vegetable list) omelet.
Two egg whites and vegetable scramble with one slice plain live grain toast.
One cup cooked oatmeal (not instant) with one tablespoon chopped walnuts & 1/4 cup fresh berries.
Snacks: Choose one
Fresh vegetables: tomatoes, cucumbers, celery, carrots, radishes, broccoli, cauliflower, or any vegetables in any reasonable amount from the vegetable list below.
Fruit: One apple, two plums, one cup fresh berries
½ cup cubed plain or flavored tofu or tempeh
One serving raw flax crackers
Two tablespoons sunflower seeds
One serving toasted kale chips (check package or ½ cup of homemade chips)
One slice toasted live grain or fitness bread
Tofu smoothie: In a blender mix ½ cup silken tofu with ½ cup 100% apple juice and 1/3 cup fresh berries.
Lunch everyday: (This is a daily salad)
One cup thinly sliced kale, one cup baby spinach, grated carrots, tomatoes, radishes, red onion, cucumbers, 1/4 cup wild rice or ¼ cup kidney or black beans, two to three tablespoons salad dressing (recipe below).
Four to five ounces cooked lean chicken, low sodium turkey or salmon (no-salt canned or fresh) or canned (no or low salt) sardines in water.
Vegetarian option: Add ½ cup plain or flavored tofu or tempeh.
Salad dressing: Two tablespoons flaxseed oil, one teaspoon coarse grain mustard and one to two tablespoons apple cider vinegar. If you prefer a sweeter vinaigrette add up to one teaspoon agave syrup.
Fruit snack (choose one): One apple, two plums or one cup fresh berries
Dinner:
Four to five ounces cooked lean chicken or turkey or salmon, unlimited cooked or raw vegetables mixed with ½ cup brown rice or ¼ cup wild rice along with salad below.
Kale Salad: Same as Lunch salad with two tablespoons dressing but without protein, rice and beans.
Vegetarian option: Substitute ½ cup plain or flavored tofu or tempeh for protein.
Snack: any fruit from Fruit section with 23 almonds or a 100% frozen fruit juice bar with 23 almonds.
Bedtime: One teaspoon psyllium husk mixed into eight ounces of cranberry water.
Fats: Have three tablespoons of fat per day. Two tablespoons flaxseed oil and one tablespoon canola, not olive oil. Cook your vegetables in up to one tablespoon canola oil or use nonstick spray.
Vegetables: any green leafy vegetable, tomatoes, carrots, radishes, celery, cabbage, cucumbers, red onion, letucceses, arugula, zucchini, peppers, broccoli, cauliflower, snap peas, snow peas, bean sprouts, mushrooms, broccoli slaw and any non-starch vegetable.
Caffeine: Unless you feel you’re going to go mad, try to eliminate coffee but you can cheat with one cup of regular or decaffeinated coffee preferably without cream or sugar but since I’m not looking, have it your way! You can also try a blackberry black tea, green tea or any other antioxidant tea of your choosing.
Seasonings: Use any dried or fresh herbs or spices you like. Try to use a minimal amount of salt.
Do not eat: anything not indicated above. Remember, this is only for five days!
Chef’s Tip: Trader Joe’s brand unsweetened cranberry juice is the least expensive. They also sell sliced kale, broccoli slaw, apple cider vinegar, shredded carrots and most of the foods included in this menu.
Copyright © 2011 Dorothy Whittenburg
All rights reserved
