Detox Day 6: Time to Start Thinking About Day 8

January 14, 2012 Leave a Comment

Mmm! A half-plate of veggies

Happy Day 6! What’s the latest? Still feeling good? Sleeping well and feeling energized? Now is a perfect time to start thinking about what happens the day after tomorrow. Will you go back to your pre-Detox eating? A modified version? Take today and tomorrow and make a plan for what you’d like to do long-term. Here are some popular, healthy, and realistic post-Detox modifications to consider:

1. Go back to drinking the morning cup of coffee you missed, but with vanilla almond milk instead of cream and sugar. Try this creamy, dairy-free concoction. Or, enjoy green, white, or black tea as your morning caffeinated beverage.

2. Continue eating the level of fruits and veggies with a giant heaping of cooked veggies at either lunch or dinner, and a giant serving of raw veggies at the other meal. Shoot for HALF your plate being veggies (either raw or cooked) at mealtime.

3. Continue with shakes or smoothies in the morning, but add a protein powder such as this hemp seed one from Trader Joe’s. High in protein, fiber, and essential amino acids, and makes your morning drink more filling.

4. Add a more substantial morning meal such as gluten-free oatmeal (Trader Joe’s has amazing gluten-free oats that seem exactly like traditional rolled oats) with a handful of dried cranberries for sweetness, raw cashews, cinnamon, and cooled down with a dash of unsweetened non-dairy milk. Or heat up a cup of cooked quinoa from the previous night’s dinner with dried fruit, nuts, cinnamon, and non-dairy milk.

5. Enjoy a raw food bar in the afternoon to satisfy your sweet tooth–they’re easy to keep on hand, easily survive life in the bottom of bags, and can be stepped on without changing shape. Examples: Larabar, Pure Energy, and KIND. These can all be found in any old grocery store, TJ’s, or Whole Foods.

6. Continue with the Detox as your constant (developing your own menus using the guidelines), and veer from the Detox for special weekend days, when you go out to eat (trying your best to keep with the guidelines, but allowing yourself those treats you may have been missing), have potlucks, or attend parties.

7. Do the Detox 1-2 days per week or 7 days a month, and a modified version on the other days.

What else will you do to carry on the healthy changes you made once the Detox is done? Hopefully you’ll all continue drinking all those energizing fluids!

Enjoy this day and the new, healthy you! XOXO

Filed under Detox, Energy, Getting More Veggies, Healthy Eating is Tasty, Inflammation, Meal Planning, Skinny Dish, Water, Weight Control

Detox Day 3: Fluids and Raw Foods IN, 10 Times More Pee OUT

January 11, 2012 4 Comments

Gavins Point Dam Release, Photo by: Omaha USACE

Pee Angels!

I’ve seen you in my crystal ball, and you are doing some SERIOUS peeing! Do you love it or hate it? Well, it’s good. REALLY good. Here’s why: You’ve been dehydrated. When that happens, your body holds back water like a Dam. It thinks you’re in a drought situation, so it clings onto as many ounces as it can as a means of survival. This translates into a slower metabolism (body panic mode), inefficient kidneys, bloating, water retention, and a really bad holistic poker hand.

SO, by scarfing down tons of raw foods rich in H2O and drinking herbal tea and water all day long, every cell of your body celebrates. The Dam is lifted and away goes the bloating, body sadness, and the toxins that are purging themselves for your person while you detox. Guess I shoulda put toilet paper on the Detox shopping list!? You’ll also note that your pee is very light in color. Another reeeally good sign. You’re hanging on to the good nutrients and flushing your system of the bad. Hurray!

For more hydration excitement, check out one of my most popular posts from 2011: The Water Solution: Younger Skin, More Energy, and Less Flab.

Now for Day 3: If you’re following the Detox meal plans exactly, know that this morning’s Shamrock Smoothie is one of my absolute favorites. It’s green, it’s better than great, and you can freeze leftovers in popsicle molds or rinsed-out yogurt containers with popsicle sticks or chopsticks (strategically placed in the middle) for scrumptious frozen treats later on. Who said no dessert on the Detox? :)

You’re almost halfway there–Keep up the fabulous treatment you’re giving your precious body, and keep sharing your experiences! XOXO

Filed under Detox, Energy, Healthy Eating is Easy, Skinny Dish, Water, Weight Control

The Bitchin’ Best of 2011

December 31, 2011 Leave a Comment

Healthy Eating is Fun!

In case you missed these top posts in 2011, there’s still time to catch up before next year. Happy healthy eating!

Most Viewed Post: Back to School: Bag Lunches for a Dietitian’s Kindergartner 

Top Video Post: SuperBowl Sunday: Chips, Dips, and No Fat Pants!

Top Weight Loss Tips Post: 5 Mindless Ways to Drop Calories

Top Health Post: The Water Solution: Younger Skin, More Energy, and Less Flab

Most Viewed Recipe Post: You’ll Never Believe What’s in These Brownies!

Favorite Recipe: Donut Pop-Ems for Hot Bodies

And a HUGE 2011 THANK YOU! Thanks to you and Cooking with Trader Joe’s, my book, Cooking with Trader Joe’s Cookbook: SKINNY DISH!, which released in October has sold over 10,000 copies and remains in the Top 100 on Amazon.

What’s in store for 2012? Cauliflower Chocolate Chip Cookies, 10 Ways to Drop Your Cholesterol in 30 Days, and… another book? You tell me!

Have a happy, fun, healthy, and blessed New Year! XOXO

Filed under Recipes, Videos, Water, Weight Control

The Water Solution: Younger Skin, More Energy, and Less Flab

July 11, 2011 3 Comments

Photo credit: Greg Riegler Photography

Most people (90% of the US population) are dehydrated. While you might not be exhibiting serious signs like vomiting at random and walking around as grog central, your body is still not operating at optimal capacity, your energy level is much lousier than it could be, and you’re storing fat and making wrinkles at mach speed. Health Unicorns, let’s get this under control. No more excuses. Here’s why you need water, how much, and tricks for getting it:

WHY WATER

  • Your skin needs constant hydration. Raisins are dehydrated grapes. Do you like the way raisins look?
  • Discourage chunkiness. Without enough H2O, your kidneys stink at their crucial jobs and your liver picks up the slack… and your liver can no longer do it’s main job of breaking down fat, which encourages fat storage and cellulite on your rumpus.
  • Better sleep, faster metabolism, more energy. Your body is more at peace when it gets enough agua. Without it, you’re restless, slowed down, and strung out. And people notice.
  • Detoxification Nation. Toxins (anything from pollutants, food additives, and heavy metals) can’t white water raft the river out if there’s no river.

CALCULATING HOW MUCH YOU NEED

  • Method 1: Half your body weight in ounces. If you weigh 162 lbs, you need 81 oz of water per day (~2.5 liters).
  • Method 2: The Replacement Method. You lose 1.5 liters in urine, and 1 liter through breathing, sweating, and BMs each day. Your super healthy diet is ~20% water, so get at least 2 liters per day.
  • Method 3: The Man/Woman Approach. Men: 3 liters per day. Women: 2 liters per day (pregnant or breastfeeding women: 3 liters per day).

HOW TO DO IT

  • Drink 8 oz at the start of each meal or snack. Make sure it’s filtered.
  • Get the coolest looking refillable bottle at the most posh store. Keep it at your desk and refill it every time you come back from the loo.
  • Drink water while you’re waiting for your coffee to brew, pasta water to boil, and child to stop asking for a second dessert.
  • Seltzer it or add cucumber slices, or lemon, lime, or orange wedges for a new spin. Add a dash of cayenne pepper to increase it’s detoxifying power.
  • Herbal teas count, and some give you better digestion (ginger, peppermint), better sleep (chamomile), and whiter teeth (I’m sure there’s one).
  • Avoid diet sodas and artificial sweeteners to meet fluid needs. They leave your body wondering why it didn’t get any sugar out of the sweet-tasting beverage, causing you to eventually crave and scavenge for sugary treats.
  • Caffeinated beverages actually aren’t “negative fluid” if you’re a regular user. You get 80-90% of that fluid. But nothing is as good as straight-up filtered H2O. Did you read recently about how too much caffeine can make you hear voices, specifically Bing Crosby singing White Christmas?
  • Take more showers and get it through osmosis. Ha! Don’t you wish?!
  • If none of these tricks work, just bite the bullet and chug. You might like how you feel after a few days!
Other secrets to staying hydrated? And did you know hot water weighs less than cold?

Filed under Detox, Energy, Water, Weight Control

Skinny Dish! Available Now!

Twitter Updates

Categories

Archives

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 167 other followers