Topic: Some Important Points and Reminders - Part One
Dear Friend,
How are you doing so far? We’ve thrown a lot of information at you over the past few days, and we know that that can feel overwhelming. The next couple days will be “review” days. We want to emphasize some of the points made in earlier emails so you’ll know what to concentrate on both now and as we go through the Eat-to-Nourish Winter Detox together.
Most importantly, please feel free to reach out at any time – whether to report a success or to request help with a challenge or frustration. The Facebook group is intended to be a supportive, welcoming, no-judgment zone for everyone to use to enhance the experience and multiply the benefits of this detox. You can also communicate with me directly via email or phone.
Also most importantly, don’t be a slave to the meal plan and the recipes; they are suggestions, not regulations.
Pre-Detox Questionnaire
If you haven’t already, please complete your pre-detox questionnaire. This form is important because it documents your starting point so you can reasonably evaluate your ending point. Often we make changes that we don’t see until they are pointed out to us. The questionnaire will help. We encourage you to share your questionnaire, or parts of it, either with me individually via email or with the group via Facebook.
The Success Kit and Intentions
Please don’t lose track of the Success Kit in all the flurry of preparing and grocery shopping and cooking. Doing the exercise in the Success Kit will, in fact, vastly increase your chances of success in this program. In particular, setting your intentions and clarifying your ‘why’ is critical to your success. And by ‘success’ I don’t mean adhering to the detox for a week or losing a few pounds. ‘Success’ in this detox is measured in longer-term results. New habits, new foods, new awareness of what you’re eating – and why – are the results we count as successes.
Probiotics
We stressed, in an earlier email, the importance of taking a probiotic on a daily basis. We want to reiterate that point here because, if you want to try taking probiotics and you haven’t already purchased them, now would be the time. As we mentioned earlier, we use Garden of Life’s Primal Defense Ultra Ultimate Probiotics Formula. Amazon has a good price for this product
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000GWG8FS?tag=infheawel-20&camp=14573&creative=327641&linkCode=as1&creativeASIN=B000GWG8FS&adid=01N19E9D6HBKR0MHSJM6&&ref-refURL=http%3A%2F%2Fyourinfinitewellness.com%2Ffavorite-things%2F
The Food
The food is key. As mentioned earlier, this detox is based on an elimination diet, which means that we exclude foods, such as eggs, dairy, gluten, that are known allergens. These foods are not “bad” foods; it’s just that many people can’t tolerate them but don’t realize that because they’ve never experienced their bodies without these foods. An elimination diet also eschews (I love to use that word!) all processed foods because of the preservatives and additives and also because the processing itself often destroys the nutritional value of the product.
Except for the foods we are trying to eliminate, you can eat whatever you want! All vegetables, all fruits, chicken (preferably free-range), fish, herbs and spices, etc. are excellent foods that you should consume with virtual abandon. So don’t be afraid to stray from the menu ideas and recipes in the detox materials.
On the other hand, we encourage you to try some of the specific recipes, especially when they include something that you love but never prepared quite that way or that you’ve never tried before. We hope you’ll increase stretch your palate to include new foods and preparations.
Because it’s impossible to list all the foods you can eat during the detox, let’s look at what we want to avoid:
Foods to Avoid
Begin reducing and eliminating these foods during your pre-detox phase. None of these foods are allowed during the 7-day detox.
- Caffeine – Caffeine withdrawal, often manifesting as headaches, is a common side effect of detoxing. If you drink caffeinated beverages, slowly reduce your consumption by 1⁄4 cup every day. If you want to continue to drink coffee during the detox phase, keep it down to one cup of organic coffee each morning.
- You may also want to try switching to a coffee replacement such as a dandelion herbal beverage (Dandy Blend https://www.dandyblend.com) or to a decaffeinated green tea.
The foods you’ll want to avoid at this point in the program are:
- Sugar – eliminate white sugar and replace with stevia or raw honey
- Alcohol
- Gluten
- Grains, unless you opt for this not to be a grain-free detox
- Dairy products
- Nuts, except almond milk, which is easy to digest
- Soy products (except miso paste and wheat-free tamari)
- Corn
- Beans (you may consume mung, lentils and adzuki beans during the detox phase as they are easier to digest). (Please note this detox is bean free but these are the three allowed beans if you are vegetarian and need more protein).
Eggs are allowed during the pre-detox phase but are not allowed in the detox phase.
Please note that beans are included in the program for those who are vegan or vegetarian. I recommend soaking beans overnight in water with 2 tablespoons of raw apple cider vinegar to make them easier to digest. After soaking, rinse the beans with water 3 to 4 times then cook as directed.
Keep this list in mind when you prepare to go grocery shopping. And try to concentrate on what you can eat rather than what you “can’t.”
~The Recipes~
Feel free to play with the recipes. Some have more ingredients and therefore more steps than others, and there will be days you just won’t have time to do any complicated cooking. But all the recipes can be modified; in particular, some of the herbs and other seasonings can be eliminated. Here’s an example of a reworked recipe:
GREEN SMOOTHIE MADNESS
1 cup water or almond, hemp, or coconut milk
1 banana, fresh or frozen
1 cup kale or baby spinach
2 tablespoons ground flax or chia seeds
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Stevia to taste (optional)
3 to 4 ice cubes
blend all ingredients
ROASTED WINTER VEGETABLES
2 large parsnips, peeled and chopped
2 small beets, peeled and chopped
2 large carrots, chopped
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
sea salt and black pepper to taste
Preheat the oven to 425°F
Roast your vegetables. Place your parsnips, beets, and carrots into a roasting pan. Add extra virgin olive oil, sea salt, and black pepper. Roast for 40 to 45 minutes. When the vegetables are tender, remove from the oven and let it cool for
5 minutes.
So you see, this detox shouldn’t be at all intimidating or overwhelming. Concentrate on the points we’ve stressed here and those we’ll get into tomorrow, and the whole thing will just fall into place.
See you on Facebook!
Kat
|
