I Challenge You: Be Clean for 1 Week

Okay, so an obscene amount of you have been asking me what my diet consists of, how I lost all this weight, and how you too can get into better shape. I've become your very own personal nutritionist!!! "SHOW ME THE MOOONEY!!!" Kidding.

Nah, but seriously, it's a good thing because this allows me to get back to blogging, more importantly to get back to what I loved most about blogging: sharing health tips that have helped me turn that junk in my trunk around. Wow. Totally off topic.. i think i'm gonna share this tune with you right NOW:

Random, I know. Okay, back to the challenge.

With that being said, I've created a week's worth of our favorite smoothie recipe's for you to try during breakfast. Combine those with the following YES/NO foods and you'll feel a world of a difference. If you don't have time to make smoothies, you don't have to. Just eat fresh fruits in the AM (jump to bottom of page to see why).

YES Foods:

1. ALL legumes and green veggies: the greener, the better
2. Grains and starches: Amaranth, Quinoa, Buckwheat/kasha, Millet, Beans (all), Black-eyed peas, Brown or wild rice, Chickpeas; Gluten-free crackers and pastas, and other foods, Lentils, sweet potato, yams, squash (all)
   

NO Foods:

1. Dairy
2. Wheat, and wheat products
3. Processed and refined sugars and starches; white rice, barley and rye. 

*Eat more plant-based foods then animal protein. Keep animal protein lean (fish, chicken) and to a minimum (3x week max).


Smoothie Recipe Ideas:
(you can make your own fruit smoothies, this is just for the lazy folk)

Kale, Pineapple, and Chia

½ cup pinappele chunks

2 leaves kale

2 tsp soaked chia seeds

1 cup pure water

1-2tsp agave syrup

1.     Blend until smooth

Mango and Coconut Milk Smoothie

1 cup mango chunks

½ cup pinapple chunks

1 ½ cups coconut milk (can be replaced with coco water and ¼ avocado)

1.     Blend until smooth

Berries, Carob, and Almond Milk

1 cup berries

1 ½ cups almond milk

1-2 tsp agave

2 tsp raw cacao powder, carob powder, or cocoa*

1.     Blend together until smooth

·      Cacao is same as cocoa, but the raw form is usually called cacao and is packed with nutrients and antioxidants!!

Energy Smoothie with Almond Butter and Cardamom

¼ cup almond butter

2 cardamom pods or 1 tsp ground cardamom (not a full tsp, careful, very strong)

1 ½ cups pure water

1 cup frozen peaches

1-2 tsp agave

1.     Blend together until smooth

Berry Smoothie with Coco milk and cinnamon

2 cups mixed berries

2 cups coco milk with coco meat or ¼ avocado added to 1 ½ cups coco milk

1 tsp cinnamon

1-2 tsp agave

1. Blend together until smooth

I ask that you try this for ONE week, and I guarantee you'll see a difference. You're cravings, if any, will diminish throughout the days, and you'll feel more energetic. Plus, you'll get rid of some water weight, making you feel loads lighter.

I feel it is important to note that fruit should be consumed first thing in the morning, on an empty stomach, and not during the day.

The reason for this is that all the nutrients get immediately absorbed in the morning because your intestines are free from any 'clutter'. As your body absorbs these minerals the fiber will make it's way down your intestines and out the bum-bum. You'll not only regulate your washroom visits, you'll also maximize the amount of nutrients your body absorbs throughout the day.

It's also important to eat all your veggies first during any meal. Again, this is for absorption and digestion reasons. If you're body digests veggies first, chances are you'll feel fuller after your meals.

So good luck, and keep me posted on your progress!

xoxo
j.