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Spring Herbal Detox

When our biological clocks start humming their springtime tunes, our natural desire to clean up our homes and get organized emerges. But the fact is, our bodies tend to get the short end of the stick, as we tend to ignore our own bodies’ need for a cleanse. A spring detoxification period, or body cleanse, allows our energy levels to resurge and our bodies to function better as the lullaby of spring’s warmth lengthens and sweetens our days.

Over the course of winter, we grow comfortable with our general immobility in a hibernating state of mind, eating and drinking to excess, our muscles frozen by the cold causes us to skimp more on exercise. As we move into spring, we need a spring board plan to launch the detoxification of our bodies and heighten our lives with enriching foods and activity.

The spring detox is a simple, 20-day plan that cleanses you internally, washing away any impurities and build-up, lightening you up from the inside! Fresh herbs make for an easy way to incorporate clean, straightforward eating for your detox mission. A fresh herbal approach to detox is a great way to relieve our bodies of harmful toxins, chemicals, and an overall “firm-up” after a result of winter stagnation.

Not only are fresh herbs high in vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, but their fresh flavors add immeasurable layers of taste pleasures to otherwise bland detox dishes. Here we have included a simple, herbal detox plan tiered to spring and a greatly “herbified” adaptation of the February edition of Whole Living magazine.

~Purify. Activate Practice. Fortify. Stabilize~

Purify

Week one, the concentration is on purifying your diet, by focusing on simplifying your food choices, utilizing fresh herbs to enhance flavor and health benefits,  and, as a result, releasing all of the cruddy build-up.  Using fresh herbs in your meals makes the entire plan easier to maintain and the experience more enjoyable and fruitful!

This stage requires 3 do’s of you:

1. Cut out all processed foods.
2. Cut out all allergens, wheat, dairy, caffeine, and alcohol.
3. Eat five to six small veggie and herb-packed meals a day.

Spring Greens & Herb Smoothie
Makes 2- 10 ounce smoothie

Ingredients

1 cup green kale leaves, chopped
1 cup fresh parsley leaves
1 cup fresh mint leaves
½ cup fresh cilantro leaves
1 banana, cubed
½ apple, peeled and cored, cut into chunks
½ pear, peeled and cored and cut into chunks
1 cup water
1 cup of ice
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon lime juice (optional)

Directions

Place all ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth. 

Dandelion Parsley Lime Kiwi Smoothie
Makes 2- 10 ounce smoothie

Ingredients

1 cup dandelion greens, chopped
1 cup fresh parsley leaves, chopped
½ cup fresh basil leaves, chopped
Juice of 1 lime
1 teaspoon lime zest
2 kiwis, peeled and chopped
1 cup water
1 cup ice
1 teaspoon salt.

Directions

Place all ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth. 

Herbal Berry Antioxidant Smoothie
Makes 2-10 ounce smoothie

Ingredients

¼ cup fresh or frozen blueberries
¼ cup fresh or frozen raspberries
¼ cup fresh or strawberries
¼ cup fresh or frozen blackberries
½ cup pomegranate juice
¼ cup lemon juice
¼ cup honey
1 cup fresh mint leaves
1 cup water
1 teaspoon salt

Directions

Place all ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth. 

Baby Bok Choy Mint Millet with Cilantro Ginger Miso
Serves 2

Ingredients

½ cup millet, cooked
¼ cup adzuki beans, cooked
¼ cup red cabbage, shredded
6-8 shitake mushrooms, sliced
3-4 green onions, sliced
1 carrot, sliced thin or shredded
¼ cup fresh mint, chopped
¼ cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh thai basil, chopped
1 teaspoon fresh ginger, chopped
Fresh garlic, chopped fine
1 teaspoon miso paste
½ teaspoon olive oil
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
Sesame seeds
2 small baby bok choy, steamed slightly and cut in half

Directions

In a large mixing bowl, combine, millet, beans, cabbage, mushrooms, green onions, carrots and fresh herbs, and toss together well. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together, fresh ginger, garlic, miso olive oil and rice vinegar.  Toss together over millet mixture and gently toss.  Serve with baby bok choy atop the millet mixture.

Activate Practice

When week two rolls around, you should feel a little lighter and are beginning to adjust to the new, cleaner herbal diet. This is what you must continue and embed further into your lifestyle- practice, consistency, and habit-forming. This means you cannot skip meals. You cannot skimp on recipes, and you must have the mental capacity to keep you moving toward your target. Herbs that taste great in your meals, again, assist in making week two more manageable.

Tarragon Beet Salad
Serves 2

Ingredients

1 cup mixed baby lettuces
2 medium beets,cooked, trimmed and slices
1 red grapefruit, pithed and segmented
1 navel or cara orange, pithed and segmented
1 small shallot, chopped fine
¼  cup champagne vinegar
¼  cup chopped fresh tarragon
1 tablespoon fresh mint, chopped
3 tablespoons almond oil
Juice of 1 medium orange
Pinch of sugar, salt and fresh cracked pepper
1 teaspoon orange zest

Directions

On a flat large serving dish, spread the greens out all around the plate.  Next place the beets down and then the citrus, arranging them evenly over the plate.  In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the shallot, vinegar, herbs, oil, orange juice, sugar, salt and pepper and the orange zest, until the mixture is emulsified well.  Drizzle the dressing over the plate of beets and citrus.

Mango Mint Smoothie
Makes 2-10 ounce smoothies

Ingredients

2 ripe mangoes, peeled, seed removed, and chopped
½ cup fresh mint leaves
½ cup water
½ cup ice
Juice of one lime
3 tablespoons honey

Directions

Place all ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth. 

Fresh Fruit with Coconut & Herbal Honey
Serves 2

Ingredients

½ cup fresh strawberries, sliced
½ cup fresh blackberries
1 red grapefruit, depithed and segmented
1 orange, depithed and segmented
½ cup toasted coconut, shavings
Herbal infused honey (recipe follows)

Directions

Place all the fruit in a mixing bowl, and gently toss together with coconut shavings.  Place in two bowls.  On the stove heat ¼ cup honey with 1 tablespoon of each of the following herbs :  mint, basil, lemon thyme.  Allow honey to infuse for about 4-5 minutes on a low simmer.  Take out herbs and discard.  Drizzle honey on fresh fruit.

Fortify

Week three is when your consistently healthy choices have become habits. As habits form, your mood becomes lighter and less stressed over the detox process. As you begin to introduce more foods in this phase, learn to make healthier choices and “good swaps”- brown rice for white rice, whole grains rather than processed, and, of course, more and more fresh herbs and less and less dry spices sitting in storage. Choose your salts wisely, same for butters and oils.

Whole Wheat Linguini with Parsley Lemon Almond Pesto & Roasted Almonds
Serves 2

Ingredients

¼ pound whole-wheat linguini, cooked
2 cups fresh parsley leaves
2 cloves garlic
¼ cup almonds, raw
1 tablespoon lemon zest
¼ cup lemon juice
¼ cup olive oil
Salt
½ cup almonds, whole and roasted

Directions

Cook the pasta as per pasta directions.  In a blender place parsley, garlic, almonds, lemon zest, lemon juice and olive oil, and blend until smooth.  Season with salt and toss with pasta. Garnish with toasted almonds.

Zucchini & Chili Mint Salad
Serves 2

Ingredients

2 zucchinis, cut into ribbons (using a mandolin)
½ cup fresh mint leaves, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon fresh chili, deseeded and chopped superfine
Salt

Directions

In a mixing bowl mix together the zucchini and mint.  Drizzle olive oil over it and sprinkle with chilies and salt and mix well.

Stabilize

The fourth week is when habits have formed into a way of life. Choices have become measurably better and, at this point, moving forward with healthy eating is easiest. Your body has now experienced a full cleanse, and the choice is yours to incorporate important, new ideals to your long-term, everyday diet.

Some hot tips for continuing down this cleaner, healthier path:
-Eat 2 cups of dark, leafy greens a day.
-Eat 1 cup fresh fruit daily.
-Have 2 servings of oily fish per week, being mindful of its sustainable seafood status.
-Use fresh herbs in every meal.
-Make your portions smaller but more frequent.
-Eliminate any artificial sweeteners and colors.
-Eliminate high fructose corn syrup.
-Eliminate any GMOs from your diet.
-Eliminate all factory-farmed meats and dairy.
-Eat as much organic as possible.
-Incorporate herbal detox shots into your week.

Here are a few herbal detox shots to help cleanse the body and allow it to flourish while you move forward through your detoxification process, use a juicer to juice the shots:

Beet Basil Shot – ½ cup fresh beets, 1 cup fresh basil leaves, ¼ cup orange juice
Grapefruit Parsley & Lemon-Thyme – ¼ cup  grapefruit juice, ½ cup fresh parsley leaves, ½ cup fresh lemon-thyme leaves
Lemon Ginger Mint— ¼ cup lemon juice, ½ inch chunk fresh ginger, ½ cup mint
Cucumber Parsley Mint— ½ cucumber, ½ cup fresh parsley, ½ cup fresh mint
Tomato Oregano Parsley – ½ tomato, ¼ cup fresh oregano, 1 cup fresh parley