Pages

Sunday 3 February 2013

a mini-detox? going raw for one day (almost two)!

Green smoothies, green smoothies galore!

I've never been the dieting type. But when Simon's housemate, Georgina, bought Anya Ladra's book, Raw Food Detox, recently, and suggested we embark on a weekend of clean eating with its guidance, I thought it was a fabulous idea.

Raw Food Detox - a cookbook by Anya Ladra of Raw Fairies.

Let's face it, while I like to think I eat healthier than the average person, I know very well that I can do with more fruits and vegetables in my diet. And I realise the concept of a detox is not for everyone, but I thought it would be an interesting experience, and kind of exciting. After all, even if you don't buy into the concept of a cleansing diet, you can still see this as a not-too-extreme experiment that puts more fresh, wholesome food in your body, which surely is a good thing.

Going with a more relaxed approach, we did not truly follow any of the detox programs in the book, but we did try a few recipes, plus some wildcards of our own. Here's a time line of my adventure!

---

Friday night:

We have a naughty "last supper" of Sarawak laksa (so good!) and follow up with a very refreshing Melon and Banana smoothie with Parsley, made faithfully according to Anya's recipe to atone for our sins.

---

Saturday morning:

I somehow wake up earlier than everyone else in the morning. I have a spicy herbal tea, which is technically not raw, but seems to be embraced as a "good cheat" by many raw foodists, except for the strictest ones.

After everyone awakens, we all enjoy some detox lemonade together (similar to the one from the book, but with mint added). Awhile later, we create our own spinach melon cashew milk smoothie, which is nutty, fruity, and all-round amazing - recipe to come!

Spinach melon cashew smoothie.

Saturday afternoon:

Feeling peckish, I whiz up a Carrot and Lemon juice with Omega-3 oils (I used evening primrose), also from the book, then follow up with a few snacks - a peach, a slice of watermelon, a couple of medjool dates, and a handful of raw hazelnuts. I feel good.

Carrot juice with citrus and good oils.

Saturday evening:

I start to feel sleepy and hazy. Georgina makes us a delicious ceviche - a bit of a cheeky dish outside the realms of Anya's vegan detox book, but hey, at least it's still raw! After eating this, I feel totally rejuvenated - perhaps my previous tiredness was merely a sign of hunger, or a yearning for protein. Brimming with energy, we all go for a walk with the dogs.

Ceviche.

Upon returning from the walk, we threw a few things together to whip up a cacao hazelnut shake. The thoughts are mixed on this one but it is still mostly satisfying.

Later in the night, I graze on celery, then wrap up with more herbal tea, a soothing one this time, to induce a sweet slumber.

Cacao hazelnut shake

---

Sunday morning:

I don't plan on being as disciplined today, as I have to work, but I still want to try my best to continue with this health kick, particularly as I feel really bright and alert today (placebo effect or not, it's unusual for a Sunday morning in the office, trust me), which I take as a sign I have been doing something right. I brew myself some rosemary tea for breakfast, then tuck into lovely ceviche leftovers from last night.

Rosemary tea.

Sunday afternoon:

I snack on medjool dates, then quickly pop out to South Melbourne Market, get myself a dozen fresh oysters and a lime, duck back in to the office, and enjoy a scintillating seafood spread at my desk. Oh yeah. Probably shouldn't be eating all these ocean delights if this is to be a proper detox, but hey...

Fresh oysters.

Sunday evening:

After work, I go to Simon's place again, and concoct a green smoothie with watermelon, banana, lime and spinach. I also finally give in to cooked food, baking a comfortingly cheesy frittata for dinner - I will be sharing the recipe for this eventually, too. We also recharge ourselves with a carrot-lemon-celery juice.

Lime-spinach-banana-watermelon smoothie.

---

Conclusions:

This self-structured mini raw detox has been a really excellent experience for me. I would be keen to do this again, and I want to find a way to incorporate more raw, fresh produce, especially vegetables, in a practical manner to my everyday life.

---

Aftermath:

Inspired by my detox weekend, I've started blending fruit and vegetable juices/smoothies in the morning for breakfast, and I hope this shall become a habit. They really seem to wake me up and invigorate me for the day ahead, so that should be enough incentive to spur me on.

---

Have you ever gone on a "detox" or a similar challenge to eat and drink only clean / raw / wholesome / minimally or non-processed foods? I'd love to hear about it!

33 comments:

  1. Good on you for trying the raw diet and creating it yourself :) I don't think I could ever go raw...but I really should incorporate more fruit and veggies into my diet too and cut down a little on sugar hehe ~

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh, I couldn't do it permanently either. But this experiment has given me motivation to add more raw vegetables to my daily routine, in the form of juices/smoothies. :D

      Delete
  2. I've never tried anything remotely close to this. I suppose I'm hindered a bit by not having a blender, but I bet I could do nearly as well with a food processor if I made small batch smoothies/juices.

    I'm inspired! Though I might wait to try this until summer, given that nonstop outdoor exercise in cold weather makes me feel a need for gigantic suppers every night:)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm the opposite, I've always had a blender but not a food processor. I don't know how the results would differ but you can experiment, I suppose. And there are lots of raw goodies you can make with a food processor, like salads, energy balls, etc.

      I agree that summer would probably be the best time for trying this! You can really appreciate the refreshing beverages then, not to mention all those lovely summer fruits and vegetables which are so perfect for juices and smoothies and general snacking. :D

      Delete
  3. Very impressed with your discipline!! Wish I could do the same. The closest I've gotten is the raw sauce for my Pasta alla Trapanese, but of course I served it with great heaps of pasta. Not quite as healthful :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well, it's only a day or two. I chose a weekend where I didn't have other plans so it wasn't too difficult. :)

      Delete
  4. I wish I could follow a detox routine without cheating, but I'm not that determined :-(
    I vaguely recall trying the one with maple syrup, lemon and cayenne. That crazy idea lasted for about half a day...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You can see that what I did wasn't really a strict detox, I still ate well. It was just a lot cleaner and unprocessed compared to a regular day! So it should be easier to follow than the crazy ones. :)

      Delete
  5. Yum :) well, no other diet has worked for me. Perhaps a raw detox would be a good one to try. I love the smoothies. I would miss my tea terribly if I wasn't allowed it! The rosemary tea does look good though. I might brew one up today :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I guess you have to choose something that is sustainable for you, that you can fit into your routine. I wouldn't apply 100% raw to my everyday life, and this experiment isn't meant to be a quick fix, but it's been good for refreshing my eating habits. This was two weeks ago and ever since then I've been making fruit+vegetable juices/smoothies every morning to kick-start my day. :D

      Delete
  6. Aaaaand now I miss my poor lonely Vitamix waiting for me in a box in my wardrobe (space issues) at my parents house in Australia. Booooo!

    Love the sound of rosemary tea, by the by.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Awww! Would you consider getting a small blender to tide you over, perchance? And rosemary tea is indeed lovely.

      Delete
  7. The freshness and flavours of raw food are wonderful - especially at this time of year. However, I'd struggle to get overly enthused about a cold meal on a wet and wintry evening when steaming comfort food is all I'd crave.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I totally get it. It's summer here in Australia which makes this much easier for me. :)

      Delete
  8. what a wonderful person you are! i would really need to start chewing with so many liquids...
    i'd like to think i ate very little processed food anyway, and cooked with wholefoods. but i have snacks every now and then of crunchy salty potato chips, or crackers and cheese! overall though i would like to think i'm a healthy eater. and it's so easy in the summertime!
    thanks for making me ponder my eating /cooking habits!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You're too kind! I also have little snacks, and I enjoy noodles and such. I think they're mostly fine in moderation, though. Still, it was cool to be able to achieve a super-healthy weekend like this, and as a result I've developed a love for veggie-licious juices and smoothies, which is an excellent outcome! :D

      Delete
  9. I'm very tempted to try this too leaf_can't wait for the recipes ((-:

    ReplyDelete
  10. I love that you weren't super strict and that you allowed some leeway and compromise, within reason of course! A dozen oysters for lunch? Put me on that detox anyday! ;D

    Looking forward to your smoothie with cashews! I'm a bit of a traditionalist with my smoothies (yoghurt, banana, fruits) but have always been keen to try something different. Just not very brave. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hah yes, I think I really went overboard on the seafood on Sunday, but Saturday is the official day of the mini-detox anyway, anything after that is just a bonus. Though we did still have ceviche on Saturday which as I said is a bit cheeky. ;)

      Smoothies with cashews are actually really nice. It would probably be even better if you have a super-powerful blender. We didn't, so it didn't all blitz up but it was still quite creamy and lovely. :)

      Delete
  11. Good on you for undertaking this challenge! I dont think I could go without underwater delights, especially in a detox. I love the way you called them "underwater delights"!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hehe, actually I said "ocean delights" but "underwater" might be even better because it includes the freshwater critters! :D

      Delete
  12. i only attempted a detox diet once, for a week. i found it BRU-TAL. and it wasn't even a liquid detox! my hat is off to you.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mine was probably only 60% liquid, as well. As long as it's all wholesome stuff, I don't really mind mixing it up a bit. ;)

      Delete
  13. My only experience with detox has been to actively try and eat healthy and have no coffee, alcohol or processed food. I don't know if I could do vegan and raw :0 I always feel good when I make the effort though.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I rarely have coffee and alcohol in my everyday life (and have easily gone weeks without those). But I definitely have processed food often enough that skipping them entirely is difficult. You can see I wasn't all strictly vegan and raw though. :)

      Delete
  14. I've read a number of detox posts of late but i love your bite-sized, weekend length approach - which sounds much more do-able to me (never done a detox in my life). Great diary blog, too. Nice work!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks! Bite-sized is a good way to delve into it, I think. ;)

      Delete
  15. I've never been the dieting type either but I like giving my body a "break" from time to time as I describe it. Love the combinations you've created here. Great inspiration.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Kelly! It was quite an inspiring weekend for me. :)

      Delete
  16. Hey, I'm with you, anything that includes more raw veggies and fruits sounds like a pretty good plan. Loving the sound of some of these combos!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Good one, I really love reading these kinds of blogs. Keep updating and write something on Detox Juice Melbourne and other things also.

    ReplyDelete

Related Posts with Thumbnails