Green Lemonade

This holiday season I have found myself on a variety of plane, train and automobile adventures. To avoid eating a string of unhealthy meals while on the road, I’ve been embracing a series of mini-cleanses. While it sounds a little extreme, it comes down to this: you can detox easily and effectively while you continue to eat as long as you are cutting out the foods and other substances that interfere with your bod’s detoxification process. Here’s how to do it:

1 Day Body Cleanse

• Drink a lot of water with lemon

  Water keeps you hydrated and helps flush crud from your bod.

• Eat a piece of water rich fruit for breakfast

  By having a light breakfast, you give your body fuel and then allow it to quickly return to its powerful overnight detoxification and slimming work – the peak of which takes place overnight and into the early morning hours. I find oranges, grapefruit and apples travel especially well.

• Skip the dense nuts, packaged cookies, pretzels and sugary sodas

  These goodies interefere with your bod’s natural restorative and rejuvenation work. Also, what your body cannot effectively metabolize turns into excess weight. Waste = weight.

• Eat a nutritious, raw salad for lunch

  Leafy green salads packed with chopped veggies are full of fiber. Fiber helps waste and crud leave your body. Healthy bowels, with good eliminations, are a corner stone of good health. Use some of these salad ideas for inspiration and enjoy them on their own or with a lean protein of your choice.

• Snack on crunchy veggie sticks

  If you’re craving a snack, turn to sliced pepers, carrots, celery and snap peas topped with a generous scoop of salsa and hummus. Learn more here.

• Keep a few good pieces of chocolate on hand

  Even detox divas keep a nibble of a good dark chocolate on hand to enjoy. Learn more about why here.

• Eat a vegetarian dinner

  For dinner, embrace a veggie-rich dinner made with 50% raw and 50% cooked ingredients. Heavy to digest foods, like steak and hamburgers, require more energy and limit the amount of time your bod spends on its housecleaning work. These are some of my favorite meatless recipes.