7 Day Detox

In 3 days, I am starting a 7 day detox as prescribed by my holistic doctor.

I am nervous-- I want to do this- but I love food!  I figured if I blog about it each day my chances of success are greater.  So, follow along if you'd like.

I'll share with you a brief recap of how I got here--but please keep in mind I am a layperson and might not be explaining it all as articulately or accurately as my doc did.

After looking at bloodwork, saliva, urine, heart monitoring, body composition, visual exam, and talking for about 30 minutes, Dr. R took all that information, compiled a report and we met back a week later.  The results were this:  I have nutrients in my urine (which means I am not absorbing them), my adrenal glands are burned out, and this is affecting everything from my thyroid, to my cholesterol (281 on a  vegetarian diet) to my energy, libido, leaky gut, and ability to lose weight.

The solution?  Well, I avoided a traditional doctor's advice on this one, because they seem to treat all the symptoms.  I want to treat the actual cause.  And I really do not want to go on medications at 36 yrs old.  In that sense-- what does anyone have to lose by trying a natural way first?  For me-- nothing to lose and everything to gain-- so here we go.

The plan is to go on a 7 day detox challenge--- 

• Only fruits and vegetables for 7 days-- no nuts, no beans, no coffee-- nothing but fruits and vegetables-- no limit, eat as much as you want
• Dry skin brushing daily (I hadn't heard of this but apparently it is really a great aid in release of toxins)- I bought this, but there are much nicer ones
• Tongue scraping (also aids in detoxing instead of swallowing much of it back down)- I bought this one

The goal of the detox is to eliminate all animal products and processed foods for 7 days.  Dr. R. also gives a few other things to do to detox spiritually (breath work/yoga/unplugging technology/meditating, etc)-- and asks that you pick 1-2 of these to do each day as well.  He said the average person also loses 5-7 lbs and a lot of it is toxins that were stored in fat.

So... we shall begin Monday!

I'll post this weekend with all of my preparations if you'd like to follow along.

EDIT: Won't be starting yet... you have to go into the doc on day 3 and couldn't get a soon enough appt, so will be starting May 22. Stay tuned!  Two appointments come after this so you can see what comes next/at the end.

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Boy and Girls= People

My son, MINE-- gender stereotype-conscious ME--- MY son said to his father today, "Boys don't like pink, they like blue" and argued the point for over a minute. So... you know messaging is deeply ingrained in our society when this gender crap we actively reject with our family is somehow getting messaged to my son who is home with me full-time and has two big sisters he dresses up with all the time. I can't even. The other one he's said a few times: "Boys can't do that/ girls can't do that". These things aren't cute. Kids didn't used to "segregate" until at least 1st grade and now research shows it starts at 3 yrs old. Boys and girls need to be friends to grow up and have a healthy respect for each other and all the choices available.

"I don't know".

This is very important. The most educated people are able to say "I don't know" or "I didn't know that".  

People who are afraid they won't look smart tend to have an answer for everything.

"The man would commit fewer mistakes if he knew exactly what he did not know"- P. Syrus

Whole Foods in $30- Trip 5

Taco night! Again, I had the staples so just needed a few items.

Also making a huge pitcher of ginger, mint, cucumber, and lemon water.

Total= $15.80

Whole Foods in about $30- Trip 3

I'm making vegetarian matzo ball soup, and a big salad to last for lunches Monday- Friday.

My salad base is usually a bag of romaine hearts, one bunch kale, one head purple cabbage, sliced almonds and pumpkin seeds.  If I have room in my budget, I'll add: organic peppers, avocado, grape tomatoes, chickpeas, purple onion.  I always go for the rainbow.

I also bought 5 lbs potatoes for loaded potato night and rosemary roasted potatoes one night along with the salad.  I love to put pumpkin seeds and sliced almonds in my salads,my hey are so nutritious and add a nice crunch.  Hummus was on sale so I got these two huge tubs for $2.50 each.  The carrots are organic and the entire bunch was 80 cents.

Whole Foods Teip #3 totaled $36.30

Whole Foods in about $30- Staples to keep on hand

If you read my first post about keeping my Whole Foods shopping trips all around $30, this is the post to show you all the items I keep around as staples.  I try to buy these when they are on sale and stock up.  We built a little pantry in a nook of our kitchen just to be "The Staple Pantry"-- see pic below.  By keeping these things stocked (3-4 of each item) you save money by getting the lowest price (wait til it is on sale-- sales usually run every 2 months', so get 2 months' worth if you have the space) and you also don't ever have to do a full shop.  You shouldn't have to shop for staples more than 6-8 times a year maximum.

Baking shelf:
Flour
Yeast
Organic Cane Sugar (non-organic contains animal product)
Waffle mix
Organic Brown sugar (non-organic contains animal product)
Chocolate chips

Dry goods shelf:
Chickpeas- dried
Brown rice (poured into mason jar for better storage)
Kasha
Refried Black Beans
Black beans
Lentils- dried
Boullion cubes (Rapunzel brand, no salt)

Other:
Pasta
Oats
Jam/Preserves
Peanut butter
Taco shells

Whole Foods in about $30- Trip 2

This trip was for a few more snack items for lunches and to make Vegan Stuffed Peppers (which came out amazing).  We also baked pumpkin muffins.

Again, I had my staples already in hand (beans, corn, flour, cane sugar)...but did need to buy most of the ingredients.

Whole Foods Trip # 2 totaled $33.15