The 21 Day Cleanse

Sometimes life just gets hectic and even those of us with the best intentions end up sitting in the drive-thru window more often than we like. The Other Williams and I had reach that point where drive-thru hopping was becoming the norm.

But as Spring rolled around early this year, both The Other Williams and I felt the need for Spring Cleaning. After being inspired by several of our friends we decided that we needed to turn the Spring cleaning inward and embarked on our very first cleanse.

Being lovers of all things meat, pasta and (for me) chocolate, the thought of going meat-free, diary-free, sugar-free, and gluten-free for 21 days was a little more than scary. But now on day 12, with 9 more days to go, I have a whole new outlook on food. The structure and experience of what a meal is supposed to be has been altered, hopefully for good. And....

I feel great!

In their Feb issue, Whole Living Magazine, one I've been a subscriber to for a while now, released their 2012 - 21 Day Cleanse (they added a bonus week to the online version). The challenge has step-by-step instructions complete with recipes. Follow the link above to get all the details, but the short version was broken down like this:

What's Off Limits During the Plan: processed food or beverages, added sugar, dairy, gluten, caffeine, and alcohol.
What You're Eating During Week 1: fruits, vegetables, and plant-based fats, including nuts, seeds, and oils
What You're Adding Back in Week 2: seafood, beans and lentils, and organic soy
What You’re Adding Back in Week 3: gluten-free grains and eggs

*We did make some variations by adding tofu to two dinners and 1 egg to one dinner in week 1. 

 In addition to following the cleanse we added supplements to support our bodies and help the detoxing process along.

*Insert disclaimer that I am not a doctor and you should seek medical advice before starting a cleanse or using supplements, especially if you take prescription medication. Also these are my opinions and experience, I was not paid to promote any product.*

Here are the supplements we took (purchased from Whole Foods Market):

• Good, plant-based multivitamin ( I like Rainbow Light)
• ReNew Life's CleanseSMART Kit
• ReNew Life's Organic Triple Fiber Powder

I'm not a fan of extreme dieting or taking a food group or type of food out of your normal diet. For us, the goal was not weight loss but a reboot. When my computer gets to acting sluggish, I reboot it. We needed to flush out the cravings and toxins and start clean again. Our bodies needed a break from the damage we had been doing to it and we needed to learn to eat better again.

This has been hard, I won't lie. But so far the benefits of how we feel and the new habits we are making far out weigh the first 3-4 days of discomfort. We haven't been hungry once and our bodies are thriving now on all the nutrients they've been given.

In the next couple of post's you'll see some of the recipes we've used on the cleanse. In coming weeks you'll see new recipes that support our renewed goal of eating a clean, whole-foods based diet. We'll be adding more vegetarian and gluten-free recipes to our collection here. But don't fret, we'll still be dishing out delicious meat, pasta, bread and dessert recipes also! It's all about balance.

Check out all the recipes and posts from our 21-day cleanse!