Happy Sunday :) Hope everyone is staying warm and safe in the snow this weekend!
I have been thinking a lot lately about the cleanse I did this past week and how it has affected me. As I am sitting and reflecting, I really wanted to share with you both the spiritual and physical effects this cleanse had on me.
Originally, I thought this post would be more about nutrition and cooking tips, but I am finding that I learned more about how to rely on God for comfort and strength rather than relying the "comfort food" in the pantry. Let's face it, it's winter--it's dull and dreary most of the time and we stay in--we get bored, so we turn the on the TV and what goes perfect with watching TV, a snack of course. I am not saying that snacking is bad at all--of course don't overdo it and eat a whole pint of Ben and Jerry's--but I am just wondering, does the snack you got up to get really satisfy you? Who knows, maybe at certain times it does but what about the times where it doesn't? Sticking to the meal plan for this cleanse allowed me to really evaluate and reflect on the food choices I make on a daily basis. If you are looking to kick start a healthier "diet" routine or are interested in reflecting on your daily food choices, I would say grab a few friends and try something like this for a week. You don't have to follow this exact meal plan or recipes, but I thought this would be a good opportunity to share what my friends and I did :)
This wasn't the type of cleanse where you eat basically nothing and fast; it was a cleanse where we focused on eating "real" food. I guess you could call it a "vegan cleanse" because we basically ate fruits, vegetables, and beans. Our main focus for this cleanse was to take a week to eat mainly natural sources of food and reflect on how it made us feel compared to eating things such as grains, meat, etc. We also made sure not to drink any caffeine during this cleanse; the only things we drank were herbal teas and water.
I really enjoyed this cleanse because it made me aware of what types of food I was putting into my body and how my body reacted to that food. It is really eye opening to see how different you feel when you change up your diet for a week. This week, I could tell that I had more energy during my workouts as well as more focus at work and on other things. I would recommend trying this out for a week and see how you feel--and you can choose to find different recipes if you'd like :) Just try to focus on vegetarian/vegan recipes and do not be afraid to try new things such as tofu for some protein. I was really scared to try it but I actually really like it and will probably begin to incorporate it into my diet more often.
Below is the meal plan that I followed everyday as well as recipes. You will have to set aside some time to prepare for the week. I spent probably four to five hours on Sunday cooking everything but it was well worth it; the food turned out awesome and I could use the rest of my week to do things I enjoy besides cooking.
Meal Plan:
Pre workout: Lara Bar
-If you haven't already, try a Lara Bar. They are delicious and contain only nuts, spices, and fruit. My favorite is Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough but they have a variety of flavors to choose from.
Breakfast: Green smoothie and Master Cleanse Water (12 oz.)
-You can make any variation of a green smoothie. We used 1/2 an avocado, 1 banana, and a handful of greens such as kale or spinach. I used about 8 oz. of water but you can use more or less depending on how thick you want your smoothie.
-For the Master Cleanse Water, I made it in bulk for the week. To make a batch for the week, I used 60 oz of water, 12 tablespoons of maple syrup, 12 tablespoons of lemon juice, and 1/2 a teaspoon of cayenne pepper. I would recommend using less cayenne pepper so it is not as spicy. If you want to learn more about the Master Cleanse, here is the website: http://themastercleanse.org/.
Lunch: Tofu & Vegetable Quinoa
-Here is the website for this recipe: http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-12083/tofu-vegetable-quinoa-over-spinach.html. This was a really good recipe to use because it made enough for the whole week and it was super yummy.
Snack: Homemade Hummus and carrots; or almonds
Dinner: Kale Soup
-Here is website for this recipe: http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-11540/a-kale-friendly-minestrone-to-warm-your-soul.html. This was fun to make and it turned out delicious. It also made enough for the week/weekend.
I hope that you will take the time to really listen to your body and properly nourish it. Sometimes life gets too busy and we forget to take care of ourselves but God gave us this body, so show God your love by taking care of it.
Song of Inspiration: Keep Making Me by Sidewalk Prophets
