Berry Pomegranate Smoothie
For whatever reason [okay so my burritos, burgers, and alcohol intake in SD might have inspired it…], I decided to tackle week one of the 2012 Whole Living Detox Plan. Sarah B at My New Roots wrote the first week, and tipped me off to the whole thing. It’s a whole slew of breakfast, lunch, and dinner ideas to let the body have a break and cleanse and repair itself. I’ve never actually tried a cleanse before, but have always been intrigued. This one has solid foods, even in the first week, so I knew it was worth trying [my hunger can be insatiable]. While I love juice/smoothies, I don’t know if I’m ready to commit to such a 24/7 feast of them.
I’m only following through with five days before going back to my regularly scheduled diet. Some [okay, most] of the recipes sound incredible, though, so I’ll definitely keep incorporating them. I do love my veggies. I’m at the end of day two, and I can definitely tell my body is working through some issues. It’s nothing intense, just a subtle reminder that it’s doing its job. The food has been delish thus far [hello avocado with bell pepper and tomatoes], and the only real issue is keeping myself from thinking that I’m starving when I know I’m really not.
The day starts with a warm glass of water with a healthy dash of lemon juice followed by a smoothie or juice. Since I don’t have a juicer [yet], I went with smoothies.
I’ve been eating the avocado salad for lunch. Dinner has been equally veggie laden except for the occasional bits of olive oil. I started to get a little bit of a headache yesterday, mid-afternoon. I’ve been killing it with water. I eat a lot of veggies regularly and drink lots of water, but clearly my body wants more. After dinner last night, I popped in on a Yin yoga class. I figured I would speed along the detox process even more. It was a good 90 minutes of long, challenging poses. I was treated to my first yoga nidra at the end of class. It’s essentially a meditation where your body is asleep but your mind is awake and alert. It was incredibly refreshing…until I got home. My body must have released a ton of toxins during the practice because I went from okay to massive headache and generally uncomfortable/exhausted within an hour. It was intense. Needless to say, I crawled into bed.
Today was much better. The headache is faint and lingers from time to time. I can usually drown it in water. I keep waiting for my stomach to act up [TMI?], but it hasn’t happened yet. I pretty much feel like every other day only slightly more hungry and with a little less energy. It’s pretty interesting.
Ingredients
- 1 cup frozen mixed berries
- 1/2 cup pomegranate juice [pressed if possible, not from concentrate]
- 1/2 cup water
Preparation
- Put ingredients in the blender.
- Blend.
- Add more/less water as you see fit. I don’t like my smoothies super cold and thick when I’m in a hurry in the morning.
I don’t think I’d do a cleanse, but WOW, definitely going to try some of the recipes, they look delicious! Broccoli and squash with tahini dressing? I’m in. And love that it’s not a liquid cleanse–I have no idea how anyone manages to do that. Had a coworker consume nothing but apple juice for a week. How insane would that be? Anyway, hope the rest of the cleanse goes well and those headaches calm down!
Right?! I’ve been eating the broccoli and squash salad for dinner the past two nights. It’s been so, so good. I had to sub in acorn for delicata, but it’s still awesome. I have the sweet potato and apple salad on deck. Hoping to make one of the soups, too!
How in the hell does someone drink apple juice for a week?! That can’t possibly be healthy. At least most juice cleanses suggest a myriad of vegetables and fruits so you’re not malnourished. I like eating way too much…
PS – I woke up this morning feeling the best yet! I was going to try and workout last night but it just wasn’t happening. I treated myself to an extra hour of sleep instead. That’s been the hardest part–not feeling guilty about not working out if I’m not feeling it.