Breakfast: Detox Smoothie
Fruits and veggies are high in fiber and packed with nutrients for your body. They help to detox by flushing out toxins and replacing them with vitamins and minerals. I found this detox smoothie recipe on Oh She Glows, and I love it because it gets your body back on track first thing in the morning. The beet will cleanse your liver and purify your blood while the avocado lowers your blood pressure and boosts your fiber intake. And as if that isn’t enough, it also has strawberries to aid digestion, lemon to detoxify and alkalize, and coconut oil to boost your metabolism. See why it’s called a detox smoothie? Here’s how to make it:
Ingredients
1 cup water or coconut water
½ medium avocado, pitted
2 celery stalks, roughly chopped
1 cup frozen strawberries
1 medium beet, ends trimmed and roughly chopped
1 lemon, juiced
1 tablespoon virgin coconut oil
4 large ice cubes
1 apple, cored and roughly chopped
Instructions
Steam beet if necessary before starting (If you have a heavy duty blender like a Vitamix that you know can handle raw beets, skip this step.)
Add all ingredients into a high-speed blender and blend on high until smooth. Adjust sweetness if desired, adding an apple to taste if needed.
You can also turn this smoothie into a fresh juice if you have a juicer. Simply leave out the ice cubes and coconut oil, and juice.
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Lunch: Alkalizing Spinach Salad
Spinach is reported to be the most alkalizing food there is, which means it balances the pH levels of your body and gives you more energy (WebMD). Spinach is a powerful antioxidant and full of some of the richest vitamins and nutrients you can put into your body. This salad full of colorful veggies will help your body to continue to detox throughout the day because it is free of processed foods and animal products. Taking a break from eating meat, dairy and other animal products speeds up digestion and allows our bodies to naturally detox. You can’t go wrong eating up as much of this detoxifying spinach salad at lunch. And the best part about it is that every single veggie in the ingredients made it on the list of top 10 alkalizing foods. Here’s how to make it:
Ingredients
2 cups raw spinach leaves
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
½ lemon, juiced
½ teaspoons cayenne pepper
2 cloves of raw garlic, minced
½ cup shredded carrots
½ cup raw red bell pepper, sliced
½ avocado
5 slices raw cucumber
Directions
In a medium sized bowl, add spinach, carrots, and red bell pepper.
In a small bowl, mix the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and cayenne pepper. Pour mixture over salad.
Top with avocado and cucumber slices.
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Dinner: Cleansing Veggie Soup
There’s no better way to end a day of detoxing than with a warm bowl of comforting soup—especially one that will continue to help your body eliminate toxins. Cabbage soup is known for its cleansing properties, and this recipe in particular will help to hydrate your body and flush it with fiber. It will also help remove heavy metals that build up in your body over time, according to Food Fanatic. This soup is low in calories and the apple cider vinegar will help alkalize your body’s pH, bringing it back into balance. Plus, it’s delicious! The recipe below makes a batch of about six servings, so you can eat for dinner while you’re detoxing all week long. Here’s how to make a cleansing veggie soup:
Ingredients
2 cups green cabbage
¼ cup apple cider vinegar
10 cups vegetable broth
½ yellow onion
6 celery stalks, chopped
6 baby carrots, chopped
sea salt, to taste
Cayenne pepper, to taste
1 lemon, juiced
5 cloves garlic, minced
¼ cup chopped cilantro
Directions
Pour vegetable broth into a large pot and bring to a boil.
Mince garlic gloves and add to the broth.
Bring to a medium boil after about 5 minutes, then add all vegetables.
Add apple cider vinegar, lemon juice, salt and Cayenne pepper.
Top with a pinch of chopped cilantro and serve hot.
As with everything, follow these suggestions with a realistic mindset. If you are training for a half marathon or running 10 miles a day, these detox meals might not be enough food for you. Listen to what your body needs and treat it right—it will return the favor.
