Sunday, March 27, 2011

This is how I Detox

Last week was a seedy one for me - way too much food, alcohol too frequently and a serious lack of exercise. By Saturday I was feeling really slow and, after having friends over for a 3 course meal Saturday night, I felt properly sick on Sunday.

We all have these weeks/months/seasons, so I want to share with you how I eat to eradicate this feeling. I'm not big on the word 'detox', I just find that, today, it's the one most people will understand when I am trying to describe what I'm doing (stopping putting crap in my body, basically). I'm usually a healthy eater anyway, but the difference between me 'detoxing' and my normal eating habits is a big cut back on sugar, salt, packaged foods and an increase in exercise. I also put more work into my food so it doesn't need rubbish to flavour it up.

A week eating like this usually gets my body back to happy, but I prefer a few weeks, (which isn't scheduled, I just usually feel like a nice glass of wine by then!), as after a few weeks my body starts to feel more energised, lighter and happier. I think it's really important not to try and schedule your eating or force yourself to be healthier, eating shouldn't be a chore on any level and your body will tell you when it needs a change (ever felt like 'just a salad' for dinner in Summer? Yeah, like that).

I'm breaking down this post into 2 or 3 parts, as large bodies of diary-like text make blogs boring.


Here's Day 1 & 2:


Sunday
(lazy day at home)
(45 minute slow walk)

Breakfast
Glass of water with a big squeeze of lemon
1 piece Rye toast with honey & tahini
Mug of green tea



Lunch
1 mashed sweet potato with Greek yogurt, flaked almonds and pepitas
1 fresh fig


Afternoon Snack
1 piece Rye Mountain Bread with hommus

Dinner
Minestrone soup with beans & wholemeal pasta



Monday
(exhausted and no interest in going to work)
(did 45 minutes of cardio & 15 minutes of free weights)



Breakfast
Bircher muesli made with milk, stewed apples (no added anything), Greek yogurt, sultanas and Cinnamon all warmed up.



Morning Snack
6 pretzels (offered by a colleague) and a cup of coffee (decaf, no sugar, low fat milk)


Lunch
Big bowl of vegetable minestrone with wholemeal penne
1 plum


Afternoon Snack
10 plain Sakata rice crackers with 2 tablespoons hommus




Dinner
Home made vegie burger with sauteed vegetables & 1 piece Rye Mountain Bread
Fruit Salad of fresh pineapple & strawberries with a sprinkle of coconut
(I need sweet after dinner, always).


What do you do after way too much seediness?

Stay well,
Nat x

8 comments:

  1. I totally agree with you! I wouldn't say I've had an 'unhealthy week' but I've been having more coffee with friends and eating more rich foods like risotto, homemade biscuits etc! Plus with Uni (and the rain!) I haven't been exercising at all...

    So this week (well today!) I've actually been making a conscious effort to eat more vegetables and eat when I'm actually hungry. I pretty much had the same breakfast as you: warm water and lemon juice, bowl of muesli, toast with tahini/honey (you inspired me with the tahini...can't stop eating it!!).

    I think I'm going to start drinking more herbal teas too. And also, that mashed sweet potato looks delicious as does that vege burger!!!

    Goodluck with the rest of your week...I'm jumping on the bandwagon too :)

    Hannah x

    ReplyDelete
  2. I despise the word 'detox'.

    The sweet potato smash look awesome, I'm going to give this a go! It would be great for a different work meal.

    ReplyDelete
  3. The sweet smashed potato looks amazing, as does the vege burger!
    Your food always looks so healthy and delicious! Might have to steal some of these ideas following the binge I've just been on...

    ReplyDelete
  4. I'm inspired by your sweet potato lunch - looks really appetising but also healthy. where do you get your ideas from?

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hannah - so glad you discovered tahini! Eating when your hungry makes a world of difference to feeling bloated & yuck. Working at a desk I was in a bad habit of eating out of boredom.

    Merowyn - me too!

    Michaela - go ahead, made me smile that you think they're good =)

    Heavenly - I read a lot of food magazines and health books, but I attribute it to the way my brain works as a whole. I used to do a lot of work in graphics, art, design etc and don't anymore, but the creativity seems to have transferred to my cooking & diet.

    x

    ReplyDelete
  6. definitely very detoxing food and workout regime, need those after crazy weekends..

    ReplyDelete
  7. How did you go after your healthier week? Feeling better and stronger? Well done you! the food looked amazing.

    I'm becoming obsessed with vegetarian cooking websites and blogs (even though I do love meat sometimes).

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hey Smitten - I've actually come down with some sort of nasty, (not a result of the weekend, but stressful work I think!), and am off to the Docs tomorrow. Not the most desirable outcome! I will try to write about it soon x

    ReplyDelete