Week 2 of the Detox

Now, that's a lot of green!

Detox Day 22

I've made it to day 22 of the Green Smoothie Girl Detox!  22 days of no sugar, no meat, no dairy and nothing processed.  Until now I don't think I've ever gone 22 days without chocolate and it's really not as bad as I thought it would be.
In this last phase we still drink a lot of green smoothie every day ( 2 to 2 1/2 quarts), but she is also adding in solid and cooked foods.  My favorites this week are guacamole and tortilla chips made from organic corn tortillas and a black bean, tomato, quinoa salad with dressing made of lime, olive oil and maple syrup.  I've also found a new breakfast of millet and blueberries flavored with fresh orange juice, coconut milk and sweetened with real maple syrup that I will eat again after the cleanse.
It's been nice to kind of reset.  The best part about it is that I feel great and I have NO GUILT about what I'm eating.  Before, I knew that I needed to be eating better, but I wasn't.  Now I know that I'm giving my body time to detoxify without having to work at cleaning out all the junk I was eating (sugar, salt, pesticides).  I have lots of energy and I've lost between 6-7 lbs and haven't had any sugar cravings.  About halfway through I was really craving Japanese or Mexican food and I really wanted something crunchy and salty, but that passed.
So, 4 more days and then I have to decide how much of this I want to keep up; what parts of it I want to incorporate into my life.  If you're looking to do a detox she is doing it again in January.  If you do it when she does, you can have access to a forum for questions, answers and motivation.  She also sends a daily email with a video on things like skin brushing, changing your fat set point, essential oils, supplements, etc.  Or you can just buy the manual and do it on your own.  I couldn't have done it on my own though.  It was really hard at first.  I had 3 family members and 2 friends doing it with me and it was essential to have someone to call or text when things got tough or just to know that someone else was doing it too.

Insuring Health vs. Health Insurance

Regardless of whether we are required to purchase medical insurance, know that we can only buy real health insurance in the produce section of the local supermarket.

Certainly, some aspects of medical insurance coverage are in need of reform.  But a much greater need exists – the need for Americans to reform their health by reforming their diets.   -Dr. Joel Fuhrman

I really believe this!   Type II Diabetes is a life-style disease.  Heart disease is preventable and reversible.  Cancer risk is also largely tied to lifestyle. The American Institute for Cancer Research estimates that about one-third of common cancers could be prevented by following a healthy diet, exercising, and maintaining a healthy weight.

Why don't more people do something about it?  Why are Americans so unhealthy?  Are people really so uninformed?

Is it that: 

A)  They think these diseases just happen and there's nothing they can do about it?

B)  They truly don't know what a healthy diet is?

C)  They've decided that it's just too hard to eat healthy food?

D)   All of the above. 

If your answer was A,  You might want to read The China Study by Dr. T. Colin Campbell for research on the connection between what we eat and disease.  I found it very interesting and I wondered as I read it why I'd never heard this stuff before!  Another one that's an easier read is the Culprit and the Cure by Steven Aldana.

If you answered B, you should read Dr. Joel Fuhrman's Eat For Health or Eat To Live.  His focus is on eating the most nutrient dense foods possible and he tells you which foods those are.  I also follow his blog diseaseproof.com

If you answered C, there are a bunch of people who blog about following a healthy diet and they have some great recipes.  Some that I follow: are Green Smoothie Girl, My Green Diet, Unconventional Kitchen, Super Healthy Kids, and WHOLEmade.  It's not hard to eat healthy.  It's kind of fun trying new recipes and using new ingredients.  It also makes it easier knowing you're not the only one.  Healthy eating means different things to different people.  I take what I want from these blogs and ignore the rest.  You do what's right for you, right?

If you're answer was D (like mine) you've got a lot of reading to do!

 

Trying something new - Jicama

I tried something new last week.  Jicama.  I had no idea what it would even look like when I went to find it in the produce section. It's not pretty, but in the right recipe, it wasn't bad at all.
I tried this recipe for Jicama Salad With Mango and Dried Blueberries from Section89.com.

picture & recipe from section89.com

 I also ordered Green Smoothie Girl's Twelve Steps to Whole Foods Manual.  I needed something to get me motivated again.  I've been wanting it for a while.  It's working.  I'm back to eating almost 100% good real food.  That 3 pound weight gain I mentioned a few months ago turned into 7 pounds.  But after a week of good eating it's back down to 3 pounds.  When I'm eating right my body naturally drops the weight, I have more energy and I feel so much better.

ps.  If you have any more jicama recipes, send them my way.