Cleaning out the pipes

Earlier this year I picked up Dr. Joey Shulman's book The Natural Makeover Diet. In it, she recommends starting a weight loss plan with a 5-day cleanse. After I read the book I knew that I was going to be going to Mexico to pig out and drink for week, so I thought it would be best to do the cleanse right after the trip. And so today it began! And it's not so bad.

The rules are pretty simple:

1. No grains (bread, pasta, rice, couscous, etc)
2. No red meat
3. No dairy
4. No refined or white sugar
5. I have to increase my intake of phytonutrient-rich foods (simply put, bright and colourful veggies, especially the green ones)
6. I have to take probiotic pills (I take it in powder form) 3 times a day with my meals.
7. I have to eat one tablespoon of ground flax seed per day, although I'm trying to have two, one in the morning and one in the evening.
8. I have to drink at least 8 cups of water or herbal tea per day. I try to do this already everyday anyway. The only thing I have to watch is during the cleanse I'm only allowed one cup of green tea per day.

So it seems like a lot, but it's not really. I'm sure you wondering what on earth I ate today. Well, here's my food diary. I will note that the book gives you lots of ideas for meals, so I'm using that as a guide as well.

Breakfast:
Protein shake (protein powder, soy milk, fresh squeezed orange juice, flax seed oil, frozen strawberries, frozen banana bits, ground flax seed)

Lunch:
Split pea soup. I've made this before and it was easy to adapt to the cleanse. All I had to do was swith out the potatoes for some parsnips. I whipped it up quickly last night and it made several servings that I can use throughout the week. The ingredient list included: onions, celery, carrots, garlic, vegetable broth, yellow and green split peas, parsnips, salt and pepper. Easy-peasy!

Snack:
Carrots with homemade hummus. I've recently realized how easy it is to make hummus. With a food processor it literally takes two minutes. And YUM!

Dinner:
Stir-fried chicken (3 oz) with lots of zucchini, red peppers, mushrooms and onions and a little teriyaki sauce. For something sweet following dinner, I wanted to incorporate another tablespoon of flax seeds. So I mixed the ground flax with some almond butter and had it with a couple of frozen banana bits (slightly softened). Frozen banana, slightly softened (microwave for just a few seconds), tastes oh so creamy, kind of like ice cream. Yum!

I'm also drinking a detox tea each morning and before bed. This isn't in the book but something I added following a recommendation from a friend who has done numerous cleanses.

See, not so bad, right? Four more days of this. I can do it!!

Here's to a healthy and happy digestive system!