Detoxing Tips (and a Juice Recipe!)
So I finished my cleanse yesterday and am happy to report that my cold is a lot better. Yay. Goal achieved. Today I’m sticking to raw fruits and vegetables, soups, salads, and foods that are easy to digest. You have no idea how good an orange is after not eating real food for three days. When coming off a cleanse it’s vital that you take it slow with food. You shouldn’t eat anything heavy, processed, or eat too much at a time. Often with detoxing, your stomach will shrink a bit, so it’s important to just eat a little at a time.
I think one of the best detox plans would be to incorporate juices in your diet. Whether you pick one day to do a juice cleanse (Nadia has a great article on it) or maybe just replace one of your meals with a fresh juice, it’s a good idea to let your digestive system have a break once in a while.
I’ve done a lot of detoxes. I have tried eating just grapefruits for three days. I have drank just fresh juices. I’ve gone on a completely raw diet for two months. I’ve done water fasting. I’ve drank just green smoothies for a week. I’ve spent days just eating raw veggies and fruit. But mind you, I’m not sure I recommend these…those were the days where I was very finicky about everything I ate. It had to be healthy or I wouldn’t eat it. I was fastidious about having a toxic-free body. I don’t think it was healthy to have that as such a focus. All that aside, I believe it’s a great idea to do a detox once or twice a year.
Anyways, here are some tips and tricks that I’ve picked up with all the cleanses I’ve tried…
- If you have chosen to continue to eat meals with the family, involve yourself. Don’t just sit there and wish dinner was over. Talk about your day and focus on the people you’re with.
- Buy some detoxing herbal tea and sip on that. If you don’t want it hot, pour it over ice, or refrigerate it.
- Exercise lightly, nothing hard or strenuous, which helps with the cleansing process. I recommend a light Pilates workout, which is what I like.
- Get lots of rest at night-time, and have a nap in the afternoon if you feel the need for it.
- Bathe or shower each day. Use natural soaps and shampoos.
- If you have access to an infrared sauna or steam room, this is a wonderful way to help your body release toxins. Just don’t stay in too long, so that you don’t get too tired.
- Try to use a loofah or a dry brush every day, which is also stimulating and cleansing for the body.
- Get involved in some of your favourite activities, whether it’s a good book, swimming a lap around the pool, bowling with friends, shopping, jumping on a rebounder, taking a long walk, catching up with a friend, or playing an instrument.
- Avoid recipe books with beautiful pictures of food…glorious food. This does not make life easier. Trust me.
- Read articles on detoxing or fasting…this keeps the inspiration up and also familiarizes you with common detox symptoms and what you should expect.
For Juice or Lemonade Cleanses:
- Pack your lemonade/juice with you in a travel-friendly container or water bottle, so that you never get starved. Temptation is hardest to resist when you’re hungry.
- Take your blender and instead of making your lemonade the normal way, add ice and water, as well as your cayenne, peeled lemon (even the seeds), and maple syrup, and blend it into a frothy slushy.
- Freeze your lemonade in freezer-friendly (plastic) cup. When I was little I used to do this all the time with ice-tea. I would watch a movie or read a book, while hammering away at my frozen concoction. It took a while to eat and made things that much more fun.
- Don’t always drink your lemonade the same way. One of my favourite ways to drink it is nice and hot, and then cuddle up in a blanket with a good book while I sip away. Pour your lemonade over ice and stick a fun straw in it. Break up the monotony. Make it look tasty.
Here’s a juice I had for breakfast yesterday. I love this one because even though it has lots of greens, it doesn’t taste “green”. The flavours of the apple and pear really come through.
Green Detox Juice
- 5-6 leaves of kale
- 1 apple
- 1 pear
- 1 knob of ginger
- ½ lemon, juiced
Run all the ingredients except the lemon through the juicer. Juice the lemon in a squeezer and mix in. Add some ice and drink it right away. Enjoy!
Do you have any detox tips to share?
You might like these recipes:
Category: Drinks & Smoothies, Healthy Living, Recipes, Weight Loss | Tags: cleanse, detoxing tips, how to cleanse, how to make a detox bearable, how to make cleanses more fun, juice, juice detox tips, making a detox effective, Master Cleanse, master cleanse tips, tips for detoxing, tips for detoxing with juice, ways to make a detox or cleanse more effective, ways to make detoxing easier 10 comments »
Not in a million years would i have thought of putting kale in a juice but since there is also an apple and a pear, i think i might actually like this healthy drink :)
I love kale (have a bunch in my fridge right now), this looks so good. Especially with the apple and the pear pairing.
Hi Charissa,
Thanks for stopping by.What a lovely post on healthy living.Love the idea of puting kale in juice.And nobody will ever know because its with fruits.Quite innovative.
My detox tip is one one : Drinking warm water mixed with honey and fresh lemon juice first thing in the morning.Have been doing it for years.
Oh, I have to try this juice, looks yummy!
And great tips by the way! :)
Great tips! Ive actually never tried a cleanse or detox before so it was cool to learn about it.
How often should I drink it through out the day?
Shamika~ It’s however much you want…it’s a perfectly healthy drink for whenever and however much you desire! I think it’s great for about 30 minutes before breakfast or instead of breakfast. :)
hi i would like to know if i could you regular honey instead of the maple
‘thank you
i meant if i could use regular honey instead of the maple great ideas
Monika – I’d try it, there are a lot of health benefits to honey…but it isn’t supposed to be honey used on the official Master Cleanse.