Cleanse. How To Begin

 

According to Dr. Junger in his book, Clean, it is important to take a few days to get ready for the cleanse by eliminating the foods not allowed during the detox. This makes it easier to ease into the new way of eating for 21 days and tends to allow for more success. It also helps to relieve the possible withdrawal symptoms you may experience during the elimination and keep it separate from the rigors of the juice detox.

 

So now we're ready for Day 1 of the Detox.

 

This morning I took half a lemon and squeezed the juice into a glass of Spring water and drank it with my daily supplements. For starters I take a probiotic, a liver support (milk thistle), a One a Day, and an Omega 3. Dr. Junger has a regime of supplements he recommends in his book. Each person has to decide for themselves what is important and doable for their budget.

Because I'm used to sitting with a cup of coffee each morning, it is necessary for me to substitute a cup of herbal tea for this morning routine. I chose Smooth Move Tea by Traditional Medicinals since it helps to keep me regular, which is very important during the detox.

Last but not least, of course, is the juice itself. I use the Breville Juicer which Dr. Junger also recommends because it was more in my price range. There are better juicers to purchase if your budget so allows. My juice this morning is (for 2 servings) made up of organic vegetables and fruits:

10 carrots, scrubbed

1 large cucumber

1/2 lemon (with peel and rind)

1 green apple

1 Gala apple

3-4 stalks celery

1 small beet, with it's leaves

Because I use a Breville juicer (centrifugal $150-$200), I drink the juice within 30 minutes. I do not save this over for the evening meal. You can save it, however, if you purchase a masticating juicer ($350-$400) which keeps the nutrients intact longer.

Exercise and sweating is also very important during the detox to help get rid of toxins. However, it's important not to overdo. We have an elliptical which I use each morning. I go at a moderate pace for 40-50 minutes.

On the weekend, I was able to plan my meals and shop for ingredients. The more you plan and prepare the easier it is to follow through with your goals. One of the recipes I chose to make for my lunches called Quinoa Fennel Pomegranate Salad. It makes 4 servings which feeds both my husband and I for 2 days of lunches. I have adjusted some of the ingredients to make it "Clean" friendly.

Quinoa Fennel Pomegranate Salad

Adapted from Bon Appetit Magazine January 2012 issue

1/4 cup cold pressed olive oil

1 med fennel bulb, cut lengthwise into 1/4" slices

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

The juice of one fresh lemon

1 1/2 ground cumin (I didn't put this in since I don't care for the flavor)

1 cup quinoa, rinsed well

1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro or parsley

1/2 cup chopped fresh mint

1 Tbsp chopped fresh dill

Seeds from 1 small pomegranate

Bring quinoa and 3 cups of water or vegetable stock to a boil in a medium saucepan. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer until quinoa is cooked, about 15 minutes. Uncover and let sit 15 minutes before fluffing with a fork. Transfer to a large bowl.

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add fennel; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until fennel is just tender and lightly golden, 10 minutes. Stir in lemon juice and cumin. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

Cut the pomegranate in half and, using a large spoon over a deep bowl, whack the pomegranate numerous times to release the seeds.

Add fennel mixture, chopped herbs, and pomegranate seeds to the quinoa and toss gently to incorporate. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper if needed.

This can be eaten hot or cold. I eat it over a large bed of spinach which incorporates more of an 80%/20% ratio of alkaline to acidic ingredients.

Before eating my lunch, I take a digest pill which helps to push things through the digestive tract.

In the afternoon I get quite hungry so I plan for a few snacks. You may have an extra juice again of course; but if you're looking to chew on something, a few almonds, cashews, or walnuts are a great snack as well as pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds. It is best to eat your seeds and nuts raw, unroasted and unsalted since cooking them destroys the digestive enzymes, which you especially need during the detox. I also enjoy almond butter on celery or rice cakes. Another thing I do is to keep drinking lots of herbal tea without milk or sugar. This and drinking plenty of filtered water tends to ward off hunger pains as well.

I try not to have a soup every night since the body still has to digest it slightly, but it is good to substitute for the juice on occasion for variety. So for dinner tonight I made a pureed butternut squash soup. (Serves 6)

Butternut Squash Soup

2 pounds butternut chunks

1 large onion

2 carrots

2 celery stalks

3 cloves of garlic

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

32 ounces vegetable or chicken stock, preferably homemade (see an earlier post)

1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

2 green apples, chopped

Salt and pepper

Toss the first five ingredients with the oil, salt and pepper and roast in a 400 degree oven for an hour, or until all vegetables are soft.

Place stock, apples and spices in a blender and add roasted vegetables. Blend until very smooth. Adjust seasonings with salt and pepper, if needed.

This was nice and thick and very tasty. It made enough for my husband and I to have for 2 dinners (he eats a little more than one bowl).

An important thing to keep in mind that Dr. Junger writes about, is to keep a 12 hour window between your last meal of the day and your first meal of the morning. The reason for this is to give your body a change to naturally detox the daily toxins. A typical meal takes 8 hours to digest. If there are 4 more hours before your next meal, it means your body now has a chance to get to work on finding and eliminating the toxins in the body which have built up during the day. Thus the 12 hour window.

I end my evening with another cup of Smooth Move Tea (my coffee substitute) but nothing else, in order to adhere to the 12 hour window rule.

Between the elimination portion of this program and the first day of detox, I am already seeing health and weight benefits. Hopefully you are seeing the same.

 

Is My Kitchen Toxin Free?

 

According to Dr. Alejandro Junger, the reason we're fatigued, sick, overweight, and have chronic pain is because toxins are trapped in our  bodies. In his book, Clean, he explains how they get there and how we can get rid of them. In a nutshell, toxins come from our environment, our homes, what we put on our bodies, and what we put in our bodies. He explains how we were created with a daily detoxification mechanism. He calls is a 12 hour window. In general, food takes about 8 hours to digest. Once the body is done with that job, it shifts to the job of detoxification; but only if we let it. Between dinner and breakfast there literally needs to be a period of 12 hours when we do not eat. This gives the body 8 hours to digest and another 4 hours to detoxify the toxins which have entered the body during the day. If we do not allow our bodies this daily detoxification then toxins accumulate, and over years inflammation and fat take over our system and we feel the affects of fatigue, sickness, being overweight, and chronic pain.

 

During the elimination portion of this program it is important that we educate ourselves as to where these toxins come from so we can eliminate them. What benefit would it be if we detoxify but we continue to allow the toxins entrance? Let's start with our kitchen food.

 

Dr. Junger explains that during this detoxification we must eat fresh whole foods. Nothing should come packaged in a box, jar, can, tube, bottle, or bag or have high fructose corn syrup, sugar, chemical sweeteners (like aspartame) or artificial colors in it. We should also eliminate any GMO (genetically modified organism) ingredients which are soy, canola, cottonseed oil, or corn. Also, gluten (wheat, barley, rye, bulgur, spelt, oats - except gluten free; dairy - including yogurt, cheese, ice cream, ricotta, milk; or the night shades (tomatoes, potatoes, sweet potatoes, peppers, or eggplant). All of these are toxic or have the potential of being toxic in the form of allergies of which we may not be aware.

 

In order to get ready for the 21 days of detoxification, we must clean out our cupboards and refrigerators, read labels, and start tossing.

 

What is left is fresh wholesome foods; vegetables, brown rice, quinoa, greens, fruits, antibiotic-free and hormone-free chicken and fish, etc.

 

Since doing this detox last year, I have taken a few shortcuts like buying vegetable or chicken stock in a box or jar. But for this fast I will once again make everything from scratch. So today, I will begin by making my own stock and freezing it for soup recipes and making quinoa during the cleanse.

 

      To make a chicken stock, you need a carcass of chicken bones, 2 onions-peeled and cut up, 4 carrots-peeled and cup up, 4 celery stalks cut up, 6 stalks of fresh parsley, and 1 Tbsp peppercorns. Put in a large pot and add one gallon of cold spring water. Bring to a boil then turn down heat to medium and simmer for 2 hours. Discard the carcass and the vegetables. DO NOT ADD SALT at this time since the stock will concentrate and could become too salty. Always salt just before you're ready to eat something.

 

      When cooking food starting from cold water, the flavor leeches out into the water, which is what we want here. When placing food in boiling water, the flavor stays in the vegetables. When making stock, we want all the flavor of the vegetables to find its way into the water. Then we toss the vegetables and start the soup with fresh ones.

 

Some may have concerns at how unseasonal it is to be drinking a cold juice for dinner when it's cold outside, so I've included a soup recipe which could easily be pureed with a blender and included as a "juice" for dinner.

Indian Dal Soup – Clean
Adapted from Dr. John McDougall recipes, by Veronica Patenaude

Serves 6
8 cups low sodium vegetable broth
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion, minced
6 large garlic cloves, minced
2 Tbsp minced fresh ginger
2 cups dried red lentils, rinsed and picked over
2 ½ tsp roasted ground cumin
2 ½ tsp roasted ground coriander
¾ tsp turmeric powder
½ tsp ground cardamom
¾ tsp ground cinnamon
¼ to ½ tsp cayenne pepper
¼ to ½ tsp smoked paprika (optional)
Sea salt to taste
Freshly ground pepper to taste

1. Place oil in a large soup pot. Add the onions, garlic and ginger and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes to bring out flavors, stirring occasionally.

2. Add the vegetable broth, lentils, and all the spices.

3. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20-25 minutes until the lentils are tender and falling apart. [At this point you could puree the soup with an immersion blender. If you don't have one, you should cool the soup slightly before pouring into a blender or Vitamix to prevent it from expanding and burning you during blending.]

4. Add water if a thinner soup is desired.

5. Check seasonings and add salt and pepper to taste.