Detox Crash

A short Detox Diary entry because I really, really, don't feel like doing it!

I've got a horrid headache that will not shift even with spearmint oil. I've also had to come away from the detox programme although I haven't broken it...in that I haven't eaten anything 'forbidden!'

I just had to have something warm and comforting so i made up a simple carrot, coriander and ginger soup...well I say soup but I felt so guilty about not sticking to the programme, I only cooked it for a couple of minutes.

I'm disappointed but it's not the end of the world and tomorrow I'll get back on track and hopefully have more energy to write an interesting entry about this low point of the detox.

Prendsletemps

Orange and Honey Salt Detox Scrub

Sunday was a great Detox Day.....








I took the day off...and what a difference that made!

I pampered myself and had time to prepare food and juices calmly.



If I could do this every day of the Detox it would be a walk in the park.


Here's a little Video I made showing you how quick and easy it is to make an Orange and Honey Detox Salt Scrub....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQPar1w-zik

It's so cheap, quick and easy ...great for you and the environment too and it makes your skin so silky smoothe and deeply moisturized you won't believe it...give it a go.


Prendsletemps.

The 'Taco' is an iceberg lettuce leaf - Detox Diary Day 3

For most of yesterday (Detox Day 2) I was 'HAVING A MOMENT' !

I was already BEYOND GRUMPY when I woke and simmered all morning, before turning the juicer on without the pulp collector attached. The kitchen devastation was the perfect visualisation of my internal 'rage'...I was ridiculously close to tears!

The constant finicky prep - peeling; grating; chopping; mincing and blending, was seriously beginning to irritate me, to the point where I had to: 'put. the. knife. down'.

I enjoy cooking - I normally find it relaxing - an indulgence - so why is this experience so different? I am really, really, struggling with the stench of garlic and apple cider vinegar that has clung to the walls of my kitchen - it is just not pleasant.

The eating plan is not a problem. Quite frankly, most of the food is so un-appetizing to me that I am finding it quite easy NOT to think about the next meal all the time!

Today's menu is:

Juice: Kale, Orange, Celery, Pineapple

Lunch: Gazpacho (yep..cold raw soup)

Dinner: Walnut, Sundried tomotoes, mushrooms mix (for the meat!), salsa (with vinegar obviously!) Cashew and Avocado 'Cream' (with vinegar obviously!).

The 'Taco' is an iceberg lettuce leaf.

BUT...Today I chose not to be grumpy

.

First thing - I put MANDARIN and ROSE oil in my bedroom burner - uplifting and calming at the same time.

Second thing - emergency burner to the kitchen filled with peppermint, lavander and Eucalptus to cut through that stench! I am taking the situation in hand.

Yesterday I failed. I wallowed in a wrangling of stress, tiredness and anger.
I had neglected the side of detox that I nag others not to forget...'taking care of emotions and wellbeing'!

As I type, I am wearing a thick nourishing calming face mask (Masque Doux Aromatique aux 3 Roses by NUXE - a great range but be careful a few of their products do contain parabens) and that is just the start.

Today will be a day all about pampering...mani, pedi, hot-oil hair treatment, full body exfoliation and latherings of DETOX oil.

(I will write about these home made treatments later today so you can do some home pampering too..)

In fact...today, Sunday, will be how I imagine a normal day of Detox Retreat would be if I were in India...Well....almost!

Prendsletemps.

Shopping Trolley Judgements - We all make them!

I bumped into clients in the supermarket yesterday...thankfully my basket was full of this!

(I'd been boring them with detox details just the day before!)

After AM. yoga I dealt with mails and calls - trying to get the Prendsletemps 'Spring Vitality Weekend Retreat' finalised and up on the website.

Lunch delayed me! not so much the prep..but THE CHEWING! Impossible to eat the Watercress, sprout, pumpkin seed with grated carrot quickly..which, i'm assuming is the point (chewing releasing enzymes to break down food to digest etc...) BUT too long chomping made me rushed for my afternoon client.

I was definitely 'scatty' yesterday. I rocked up to give a 'facial' when my client was expecting a 'detox algae body wrap'. (She was just lovely, enjoyed the facial and will be having a free wrap next time!) That is not the point.....I was mortified to be that unprofessional and felt embarrassed that I'd let my detox affect my work. Maybe that's a reason you have to 'go away' to detox...maybe it's just not possible to function 100% and work whilst detoxing.

So far...sticking to the eating plan ...not a problem.

For everything else...I wish I was in India!

To be fair, Tanya does recommend doing this programme in a quiet week. For most, i'm assuming that means taking leave from work and with most people having precious limited holiday allowance that's going to be a deterrent.

Next..a DIARY FAIL! Somehow, I managed to clash Detox Day 1 with hosting a loud, boozy quiz night for 29 people in my friends restaurant. A test too far? I'll let you know later

Prendsletemps

It's D.DAY !

For reasons beyone my control (ie. LIFE - see last night's blog entry) I am WAY BEHIND on my Detox prep....


HOWEVER...a good night's sleep rights pretty much anything in my book - so I'm up-and-at-em and raring to catch up on my prep.


The larder and fridge are EMPTIED of temptation. (Not a huge job..I can not abide waste so was obliged to consume, over the past few days, all foodstuffs henceforth 'interdit')


Sauerkraut is fermenting. Sprouts are sprouting. Now I need to do the 'Mental Preparation'!!! Actually, I did give myself a run-up week and although it's not been 'Totally Zen', just the process of blogging this 'challenge' has forced me to focus on the job in hand.

This first week of Detox I am following Tanya Alekseeva's 7 Day Raw Programme. http://www.betterraw.com and she puts Great Emphasis on having an 'Affirmation: a declaration that something is true, a positive statement'.

To be perfectly honest my instinctive reaction is to 're-coil' - it all sounds a bit LA LA LAND for me....but as I read on through Tanya's advice (and strip out the core messages) I'm starting to think maybe I'M being TOO BRITISH about the whole thing!

Do I want to 'analyze my mental and emotional state' (rather not go there) and my ability to commit? What is my true motivation to Detox and how will I stay motivated? Do I want to be 'looking within myself' to answer deep introspective questions regarding my attitude to my body and how that affects my personal relationships? NOT REALLY - is the honest answer!

I basically want to look and feel vital and energized. Simple.

Tanya is insistant that we sum it all up in one: 'simple, present tense, affirmative statement' that we repeat to ourselves at every given opportunity. I have commited to this programme and, on this occasion, my 'attitude to commitment' is that I will not be publicly felled at the first fence. So, pen and paper at the ready, i'm off to contemplate my navel..Sorry...Affirmation.

Prendsletemps

Mostly Ce Soir I will be ....making Sauerkraut!

To return to the beginning...RIGHT NOW I should be on retreat in India.

If I were, I would probably have had a lovely Pre-Detox-Day of yoga, massage and meditation ...perhaps a river stroll and i'd probably now be sipping on some delicious fortifying Pre-Detox-Broth.

MY REALITY began at 6.30am when I soft-padded into the bathroom and was suddenly 'paddling'. The toilet had flooded overnight. We won't dwell on it (this is afterall kind of a food blog). My first hours of the day were spent mopping, not stretching..Yoga was a no go.

Tired and stressed before 9am, my morning mails requested: high-res images ASAP - essential for potential press; several client diary changes; urgent product requests; several detox queries and a disgruntled Aunt who can not, apparently, open the latest images I attached of the puppy.

My nearest post office DOES NOT SELL ENVELOPES..which meant a detour to the 'tabac' (only in France!!). I got very lost en route rushing to new clients. I got home to an 'admin' emergency. I'd forgotten to deliver a clothes rail to friends....I popped it over to them and gratefully polished off a beer and some curry they had ready (they are chefs!).

At 9.15pm I realised the day was done and I still had a weeks worth of Sauerkraut to prepare.

Returning, again, to the beginning...'This is a project to see if it really is possible to Detox in the real world we live in ...or do we have to (quite literally) reatreat to the other side of the world.'

I'm not ready, I'm stressed, I've got a headache...and I'd rather be in India.

I will, however, be getting up to my first juice which is: Kiwi, Spinach, Mango and Celery.

Make mine a large one!

Prendsletemps.

OK then....NOT a great response to my blog entry yesterday...but today is a new day...so we are moving forward regardless!!

SO..here is a very, very long list of things you CAN eat on your detox. This particular list comes from Tanya who has put together the 7 day cleanse I will be beginning on Friday.


There is still time to download her ebook if you want to follow the same programme as me visit

http://www.betterraw.com/


GREENS/FRESH HERBS

Spinach

Basil

Watercress

Lettuce

kale

parsley

ginger

coriander

collards

Spring Onion


VEGETABLES

Sprouts

Celery

Beetroot

Tomatoe

Avocado

Red Pepper

Red Onion

Chestnut Mushrooms

Cucumber

Courgette

Cauliflower

Butternut Squash

Red Cabbage

White Cabbage


FRUITS

Strawberries

Blueberries

Kiwis

Lemons

Watermelon

Orange

Banana

Mango

Pineapple


DRIED GOODS

Desiccated Coconut

Dates

Raisins

Quinoa

Sun dried Tomatoes

Sunflower Seeds

Walnuts

Pumpkin Seeds

Flaxseeds

Walnuts

Cashews

Almonds

DRIED SPICES

Paprika

Oregano

Basil

Cumin

Cinnamon

Tumeric

Cayenne

Coriander

Garlic Powder

CONDIMENTS

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Cider Vinegar

Tamari

Aminos

Tahini

Nutritional Yeast

Cacoa Powder

and that doesn't include her Energy Balls which are emergency crave quenchers and sound pretty yummy.

I deliberately started with this particular programme as there is no fasting and I for one really don't think we're going to be hungry eating all this!

Hope that's cheered you all up !

I'm sure you'll let me know!

Prendsletemps

DETOX PREP: Fail to plan..Plan to Fail.

As D. Day approaches.. (my Detox starts 'proper' on Friday) I'm getting lots of messages from Twitter, Facebook and 'real people' ! who want to follow and join in the Detox Blog but are worried about sticking to an exact programme.

I've given links to the programmes I am following, but I'd love you to get involved even if you're following a different or altered programme.

It's all about 'shared experience'..the highs when your skin has a glow or you fit into jeans and, of course, the 'Fail days'..when we cave to temptation.

I live alone and am the first to accept that in lots of ways this makes my Detox easier...I don't have the aromas of temptation around me. One young mum has commented she fears even her toddlers porridge will look tempting 3 days in!

Another reluctant participant (to be fair she is a mum and has her own Beauty Salon to run...she knows who she is but i'm observing client confidentiality here!!) has asked if it's possible to stick to the rules ...but using Pret a Manger to supply her salads and soups! Great. Brilliant. Go for it. This experience, after all, is:

to see if it actually is possible to Detox effectively in our real world's - without retreating (literally) to far flung corners of the earth.

Do your best.That is all you can do.
Follow whatever programme you are most likely to stick to..the basic ground rules are the same. So...in the hope that i'm catching you all still 'stuffed' with Christmas excesses - let's just do it in one quick 'ripping off the plaster' moment...below is a list of what MUST NOT PASS YOUR LIPS ON A DETOX:

Caffeine + alcohol - including black tea

Nicotene and any other recreational drugs.

All Wheat products- including bread

Complex Carbohydrates - including pasta and rice

All complex protein - including meat products and eggs

All dairy produce including milk

Salt and harsh spices

Hydrogenated fats

Artificial sweeteners including commercial chocolate and biscuits

Food additives and preservatives

Fried Foods

Ready Meals and Microwave Meals

Fizzy drinks, cordials and non-fresh juices.

Ouch! Wasn't too bad was it?

Please follow the blog and comment ...let me know if you're trying different programmes ..or the same..and how you are planning.

Remember it's only 7 days...surely our 'insides' deserve an Annual Holiday too!

Prendsletemps.