Green Lemonade

Low sugar breakfast smoothie

Sure, you could stick to what you know and try only fruit based smoothies with orange juice, bananas and mango for instance, but before you give the cold shoulder to idea of having a GREEN smoothie for breakfast, check out these 5 benefits. Despite the fact that it’s green, you only taste the sweet fruit anyway. AND you get the benefits of the enzyme rich greens! Green veggie based juices (and green smoothies) are packed with chlorophyll (which is “sunshine” in a green form that is purifying and healing to our bodies), antioxidants, and good-for-your-blood nutrients for superior health and energy!

This is the smoothie I recommend to all my friends who are skeptical about drinking anything GREEN.

Get your glow on!

Bowl of sliced fruit

Keep your breakfasts light and simple to let your body continue its cleansing work for as long as possible. Whole fruit, fresh pressed juices and low sugar smoothies are ideal. ”The body’s ability to flush trapped fluid and toxins and metabolize stored fat peaks between 6am and noon.” – Stanford University School of Medicine

Sliced avocado half and banana

I can hear you…so stop right now with that fear of this healthy fat. Avocados are super good for you, and if you’re not bingeing on red wine, vodka sodas and bagels you’ve got room for these “calories” in your diet. But deep down you know it’s not about counting calories, right? It’s about giving your body easily recognizable food it knows what to do with, as opposed to those artificial 100 calorie snack packs that end up just sitting on your thighs. Excess waste in that bod of yours = excess weight. This is a great cleansing breakfast for the days when you need something a little more creamy.

Fresh juice until lunch or dinner

For those of you that are looking for a few days of deeper cleansing and rejuvenating eating, a short juice fast is always an option. A few days of juicing until lunch or dinner is also a great form of a mini-juice fast that is loved by detox veterans. Check out more about it here.

Vegetable Salads

A salad is an obvious “clean eating” choice but you can make it savory and satisfying with a delicious dressing. An olive oil, lemon juice, and dijon mustard dressing is super easy to mix together and its delicious and light. Sprinkle your salad with a little grated Parmesan and then really turn the satisfaction level up with a scoop of salsa, pico de gallo or even guacamole on top! Think outside the box. Even a scoop of quinoa or wheat berry salad on top would be different. If you’re still hungry, hummus would be delicious with some sliced celery and baby carrots.

These are my two favorite I’m-ready-for-warmer-weather-salads at the moment.

1. Spring Wheat Berry Salad
2. Herb Salad (I am using asparagus instead of the corn here at the moment)

Avocado and sliced vegetable sandwich

This is a clean, easy lunch. Simply take your favorite vegetables and place them in a buttery lettuce leaf, and top with a scoop of guacamole. Sometimes when I am craving something especially warm and savory I mix half of the uncooked vegetables with roasted ones.

Citrus water

Often times we think we’re hungry when actually our body just wants some water! I love to leave a pitcher of water with orange slices in my fridge for just such an occasion. A carafe with lemon slices and mint sprigs is nice too. And if you’re worried about the mint going to waste, don’t be. Buy a bunch, chop it up and put it in ice cube trays with water and save it for some iced tea later on!

Lara Bars

Organic, raw, unprocessed meal replacement bars with no artificial additives or preservatives. Skip the Luna and Clif Bars and try these instead.

Sprouted grain toast with butter and honey

Sweet tooth anyone? This snack provides a healthy dose of satisfaction.

Sprouted grain breads are a better, healthier alternative to regular store shelf breads. The grains are kept in a form which makes their nutrients and vitamins more readily assimilated by the body. Additionally, these breads do not contain chemical preservatives nor additives. Well toasted with a tablespoon of organic butter (or even organic almond butter occasionally), sprouted grain breads are super satisfying. And don’t forget the honey, honey.

Kale Chips

These chips often sound scary to anyone not used to eating green things, but honestly they are melt-in-your-mouth delicious. And they are SUPER easy to make.

Kids, friends and significant others will love them. I love them to nibble on before dinner is ready. Actually, who I am kidding, I like them all the time! Try out this easy, simple kale chip recipe.

Salad, salad, salad

The benefits of a few days of clean, mostly uncooked, unprocessed meals and smoothies begins with leafy greens. It’s always best to start with a small salad before any meal. Leafy greens as you know are full of life supporting enzymes and are light, water dense, purifying and healing meals.

Veggie-centric meals

Try veggie stir fries, or roasted veggie stuffed peppers as a way to increase the amount of vegetables in your day. If you are looking to try and eat more raw foods, make half of your vegetables raw and the other half cooked!

Vegetable pizza

Brown rice tortillas from Food for Life are terrific toasted and topped with a little marinara sauce (try and get one with <6g of sugar), baby spinach, vegetables and Parmesan cheese. These brown rice tortillas, which contain fewer preservatives and less processed ingredients than the mainstream flour wraps, can be found in the freezer section in your grocery store. Some days, I keep half of the veggies raw, and the other half cooked. Both ways taste delicious to me, and my husband loves them!

If you’re really adventurous, skip the brown rice tortilla and buy some collard greens and make mini pizza wraps.

Roasted veggie wraps

Depending on your background and how many raw food meals you are eating, these roasted veggie wraps are also delicious for either lunch or dinner.

Lean proteins

Generally depending on where you would like to orient yourself in the “cleansing” spectrum, the goal is to try and eat smaller portions of meat and dairy and ramp up your vegetables and salads. Nothing is as alkalinizing or more supportive to a more energetic, healthy you as living, whole, natural foods. Hormone-free lean meats and organic dairy are fine in moderation – just think of these foods more as garnish Vs the main feature in your meals.

Skip the white pastas

Be adventurous. Be different. Try whole wheat pastas, or even better try spelt or quinoa grain pastas which are generally less processed. A big round, yellow spaghetti squash is also a surprisingly nice alternative to wheat and grain pasta noodles. Zucchini and beet pasta is also great for the more adventurous of you out there. Don’t knock it until you try it!