My Plan for the Cleanse:

Weeks 1-3 (21 days): (I plan on doing this part for 4 weeks)

• Breakfast: Smoothie/Juice or Protein Shake
• Lunch: Clean meal made of detox friendly foods (see list below)
• Dinner: Smoothie/Juice/Soup/Blended Foods
• Snacks: anything from the approved list, but only snack when truly hungry, not just bored. (I can certainly relate to this!)
• Drink A LOT of water and/or herbal tea.
• Also ideally lunch should be the real food meal, but of course since this is an extended cleanse, if you need to switch lunch and dinner sometimes it is fine, BUT make sure you keep
  a 12 hour window between dinner and breakfast free of food for optimal digestion and detoxing. (This actually makes this so much easier to sustain for weeks at a time, knowing that you can still go out for dinner sometimes!)
• The shakes/smoothies/juices are meant to help decrease the amount of work your digestive system has to do so it can rest and  restore.

The general list of foods to remove for Elimination Diet includes: grains with gluten, anything processed (including all soy products), fatty nuts, nightshades (potatoes, tomatoes, peppers and eggplant), condiments, sugar and obviously no dairy, animal products, alcohol, caffeine or soda. Click here to see Elimination List. and here to see the Shopping List.

Weeks 4: Juice Cleanse

I love my juice cleanses! See this post for more details.

Weeks 5: Back to the Elimination Diet Cleanse detailed above

With all stages I will include lots of Yoga of course and some cardio exercises.

Here is my first week of the cleanse broken down meal by meal to make it super easy for you to cleanse! Of course adjust times and recipes for your life and preferences. Meals in Bold have recipes listed below. I will post a few more recipes next week to add more variety

DAY ONE

8am Upon Rising: room temperature lemon water &/or herbal tea
10am Breakfast(at least an hour after waking): Morning Green Smoothie
1:30pm (lunch): Romaine with Caesar Dressing and Capers
8pm (dinner): Apple and Butternut Squash Soup

DAY TWO

8am Upon Rising: room temperature lemon water &/or herbal tea
10am Breakfast(at least an hour after waking): Morning Green Smoothie
2:00pm (lunch): Kitchari from JivamukTea Cafe (they use brown rice instead of white basmati! perfect!)
4pm (snack): A handful of mixed seeds and nuts
7pm (dinner): Shake: 1 serving UltraClear and MetaFiber mixed with water

DAY THREE

8am Upon Rising: room temperature lemon water &/or herbal tea
10:30am Breakfast(at least an hour after waking): Morning Green Smoothie
2:00pm (lunch): Raw Sesame Nut-meat salad from Bonobos
7:30pm (dinner): Shake: 1 serving UltraClear and MetaFiber mixed with water

DAY FOUR

5 am Upon Rising: room temperature lemon water &/or herbal tea
7:30 am Breakfast(at least an hour after waking): Morning Green Smoothie
12:00pm (lunch): Kitchari and a kale side from JivamukTea Cafe
4pm (snack): A handful of mixed seeds and nuts
8:30 pm (dinner): Cucumber and Avocado Soup

DAY FIVE

8am Upon Rising: room temperature lemon water &/or herbal tea
10am Breakfast(at least an hour after waking): Shake: 1 serving UltraClear and MetaFiber mixed with water
1:30pm (lunch): Berry Protein Shake
4pm (snack): A handful of mixed seeds and nuts
7pm (dinner): Coconut/Avocado Raw soup & Lover’s Salad from Caravan of Dreams

DAY SIX

9am Upon Rising: room temperature lemon water &/or herbal tea
11am Breakfast(at least an hour after waking): Berry Protein Shake
1:30pm (lunch): Chocolate Protein UN-Milkshake
4pm (snack): A handful of mixed pumpkin and sunflower seeds
7pm (dinner): Soba Noodle Soup at Souen Ramen

DAY SEVEN

9am Upon Rising: room temperature lemon water &/or herbal tea
11am Breakfast(at least an hour after waking): Mango and Coconut Smoothie
2:30pm (lunch): Leftover Soba Noodle Soup & Small Salad  with Caesar Dressing
5pm (snack): A handful of mixed seeds and nuts
9pm (dinner): Leftover FROZEN Berry Protein Shake (so fun! I was able to eat it like a creamy sorbet instead of drinking it )

RECIPES

Morning Green Smoothie (2 servings)(We drink this most days as it is now )

1 cup frozen Blueberries or raspberries
1 cup frozen Mango or Pineapple
big handful of baby spinach or 3 stalks of kale or chard
2 heaping tablespoons Synergy Green Powder, Vitamineral Green or other green powder
1 tablespoon Maca
1 heaping teaspoon Crystal Manna Blue green algae or E3AFA2 heaping tablespoons Psyllium Whole Husks or MetaFiber1 serving of Vegan Protein (soy-free) powder; Vega, UltraClear, Life’s Basics
2 cups Almond, Hemp or Coconut milk
1/2 cup water or coconut water

optional: coconut (unsweetened) or avocado

Blend everything together and Enjoy! Feel free to play around with ingredients (adding or ommitting them) but pay attention to the elimination diet guide (ie no bananas for this smoothie)

Berry Protein Shake
Recipe adapted from Dr. Alejandro Junger

1 cup nut/rice/hempseed milk of your choice (either homemade with 1/2 cup nuts and 1 1/2-2 cups water, or unsweetened)
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
1 cup fresh or frozen raspberries
1/2 cup fresh or frozen blackberries (optional)
3 pitted dates
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 serving of Vegan Protein Powder
1 serving of Fiber powder, Psyllium Husks or 2 ounces aloe juice
Handful of Spinach or serving of green powder

1. Blend all ingredients until smooth.

Mango and Coconut Smoothie

• 1 cup frozen mango
• 1/2 frozen pineapple
• 1/2 cup dried unsweetened coconut
• 2 teaspoons agave
• 12 ounces almond, coconut milk or coconut water
• handful of baby spinach

Blend and Enjoy!

Chocolate Protein UN-Milkshake

This was out of control deelish! It was so creamy and chocolatey! I would not have it everyday, but for a treat, especially when cleansing, it was amazing!

4 ounces of water
8 ounces of almond milk (unsweetened)
1/2 of an avocado
2 teaspoons organic almond butter
a pinch of sea salt
1 serving Chocolate Protein Powder – Vega Chocolate is Great!
1 serving MetaFiber
1 tablespoon Agave
1 heaping tablespoon raw cacao powder

1. Blend all ingredients until smooth.

Apple and Butternut Squash Soup
Recipe from Clean Book; Dr. Alejandro Junger

2 cups Butternut Squash, peeled and chopped
2 stalk celery
2 green apples, peeled
1/4 cup pine nuts
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 cup fresh tarragon, chopped
4-5 cups water

1. Blend all ingredients except tarragon in a high speed blender.
2. Check Seasoning
3. Add the tarragon and blend again for 10 seconds, just enough to be mixed in.
4. Serve in a bowl or mug slightly warm or at room temperature.

Cucumber and Avocado Soup
Recipe from Dr. Alejandro Junger
1 serving

zest of 1/2 lime
juice of an entire lime
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cucumber, peeled and seeded, roughly chopped
1/2 avocado, peeled and roughly chopped

Blend everything together until totally creamy and smooth.

Here you can download a free 16 page booklet on chia seeds, chia seeds benefits and recipes. You can also check out these recipes: Oats and Chia, Mango Chia Goodness, Chia Seed Pudding, Sweet Double Coconut Chia Pudding, Holiday Chia Pudding, Superfood Smoothie and Banana Date Chia Pudding. (wow, I totally love Chia!!)

You have 3 ways to enter:

1. Follow my blog and leave a comment on this page letting me know why you want to win some chia seeds!

2. Post a link to this giveaway on your own blog, facebook, twitter, etc.

3. Comment or email me with your favorite chia seed recipes.

Plus they match the wood

Butterscotch Smoothie

4 large ripe bananas (I used some frozen and some ripe)
1 ½ cups water
4-6 dates
1 tablespoons of agave nectar
2 heaping tablespoons mesquite powder

Also the best thing about this smoothie, is you just put everything in the blender and blend away! You can add more mesquite or sweetener to taste.

Superfood Smoothie
3/4 cup Blueberries
4 ounces Acai puree
1/2 cup Cherries
3/4 cup Mango
3 stalks of rainbow chard, with the stems removed
2 heaping tablespoons Synergy Green Powder
1 teaspoon Maca
3/4 teaspoon Crystal Manna Blue green algae
1 tablespoon Lucuma powder
1 tablespoon Mesquite powder
1/4 cup Chia pudding
1 cup Coconut milk
1/2 cup water

]]> http://marisashealthykitchen.com/2009/07/13/superfood-smoothie/feed/ 5 marisashealthykitchen superfood smoothie http://marisashealthykitchen.com/2009/07/01/superfood-chia-seeds/ http://marisashealthykitchen.com/2009/07/01/superfood-chia-seeds/#comments Wed, 01 Jul 2009 18:28:03 +0000 marisashealthykitchen http://marisaskitchen.wordpress.com/?p=1039 ]]>

What are Chia Seeds?
Chia seed is an ancient superfood that was used for centuries prior to the Chia Pet. They were once a staple of the Incan, Mayan and Aztec cultures, as well as the Native Americans of the southwest.  Chia Seeds were used as an energy food and they were called “Indian Running Food” as the messengers would carry a pouch of them and only need a tablespoon to sustain them for 24 hours. 

Nutritional Profile:

• 2 x more protein than any other seed or grain
• 5 x the calcium of milk and also contains the mineral boron, which acts as catalyst for the absorption and utilization of the calcium by the body. 
• 2 x the potassium as bananas
• 3 x more iron than spinach 
• A wonderful ration of omega 3 and omega 6 essential fatty acids
• Complete source of Protein and provide all the essential amino acids
• They become gelatinous when mixed with liquid due to the soluble fiber in the Chia. They can hold 9-12 times their weight in water and they absorb it very rapidly – in under 10 minutes.
• High antioxidant content 
• The ‘Dieter’s Dream Food’ – it can be used as a Food Extender/Calorie Displacer. You can easily bulk up your normal recipes with Chia and only eat half the calories while getting so much more nutritious benefits.

Other benefits: 

• Extra energy, strength, endurance “Indian Running Food”  
• Balances blood sugar
• Weight loss
• Intestinal regularity
• Slows the conversion of carbohydrates into sugar which helps the energy from food be released steadily into the body, diminishing the highs and lows and resulting in more endurance.
• Water retention and hydration – this regulates the body’s absorption of nutrients more efficiently which keeps the level of electrolytes balanced. 
• Muscle and tissue builder
• Easy to Digest
• Inexpensive
• Fast and Versatile

How to use Chia:
To make the basic gel add 1/3 cup of seeds to 2 cups of water. Whisk the mixture well, to avoid clumping, and then leave it in your fridge, in a sealed container. After 10 minutes you can begin to eat the gel but more of the nutrients will be easily accessible after a few hours. It will stay good for about three weeks. Having the gel in the fridge makes it easy to add to your recipes; smoothies, salad dressings, puddings, etc. Chia seeds will absorb any kind of liquid so you can use nut milks or fruit juices to vary the taste. You can also use whole seeds by putting them on top of your salads or in granola or by grinding them to add to almost anything.

My Wonderful Husband requested this picture