Getting Ready for a 12-day cleanse

On Monday (Nov 30), I'll be starting my 4th cleanse with Wild Rose Herbal D-Tox. In this blog, I'll be offering some of my food suggestions and favourite recipes, as well as tracking my personal experience of going through the cleanse.

I like this cleanse because it is not a brutal "eat nothing but spinach for two weeks" regime. It serves two purposes: first, with the herbal cleansing agents and food regime, to flush the body of toxins that your body has stored through consumption of unhealthy food and chemicals used in food production, and second, to train you to develop better eating habits. The diet is sustainable in the long-term, from a health perspective, although I'd find it too challenging for social, convenience and food-prep time reasons.

I was planning to start this cleanse in late October but I was so busy for 5 weeks, I didn't have time to even THINK about planning my menu. Because of the food restrictions, you really do need to do some advance preparation. I'm an lacto-vegetarian (plus I'll eat eggs occasionally when they are in baked foods). On this cleanse, I become vegan. Before I begin, I ensure I have my staples for the diet on hand: millet, almonds, almond butter, rice crackers and rice cakes, plus the foods I'll make: hummous, lentil spread, salsa and salad dressing, all without vinegar. This weekend, I'm using up foods I won't be eating on the diet, like cheese, tropical fruit and wheat products.

Today I started working on a menu for the next two weeks. Between running Windhorse yoga studio, teaching classes, working on a management consulting contract two days a week, and being a parent, my cooking time is limited. I need to ensure I prepare food ahead of time on evenings when I'm teaching a class or taking my daughter to her evening activities. I need to ensure I have portable lunch items prepared for the two days a week when I work downtown. I'm also determining how to manage the two social events that are on my calendar in this 12 day period.

I know the first few days of the cleanse will be challenging, but I'm looking forward to getting on with this cleanse and reaping the benefits of feeling better and regaining a healthier diet.