Thursday, September 11, 2014

Wendy comes to detox...

My buddy Wendy came to town yesterday so I invited her to hang out with me for a detox day!
Her son's flight wasn't arriving till 10pm, so we had about 11 hours together, and we made every one count!

I had three DVDs lined up for her to watch while we stitched...


...and she was inspired by every one so she took them home to show her husband and son. 

Between each documentary I gave her a sample of some of the foods I use in my perpetual detox lifestyle.
She was amazed that the Carrot Coconut Loaf was free of all grains, sugar, and sweeteners and told me she's making it herself today...


She loved the constant supply of detox tea, water and freshly made vegetable juices...



She was blown away by the  simplicity and taste of the roast vegetable salad at lunchtime...


...as well as the protein ball we had for dessert!


Throughout the afternoon we drank more fresh veggie juice, dandelion tea and water while we discussed the documentaries and stitched. Wendy looks happy, doesn't she?!


We had the best 'almost-a-sleepover' ever!

Both of us weren't very hungry for the rest of the day so easily satisfied with just an organic apple, but before she had to leave for the airport we did make room for some yummy coconut chia pudding with strawberries and passionfruit...


Wendy is dusting off her own juicer today and now I have my buddy to share recipes and ideas with!


I've had some requests to share where I'm getting my detox program from, so I'll answer that today.
I'm not following any program or book or diet.
Nutrition is something I have studied for 15 years, and whilst I have tried to live and eat using that knowledge it was always a struggle to 'carry' the family along with me as they didn't want to give up refined white products or sugar laden drinks and treats...so I'd rise to the challenge for a few months then give up feeling beaten.

The difference this time is that it's only Mr E and I at home, he is on board with me now (yay!!), and I'm 55...it's amazing how age and the desire to LIVE with renewed vigour, health, energy and adventure can tip you right out of the naughty food bowl and into the fresh and non-toxic salad bowl!

As I've shared before, eating healthy has always been the norm for me, but I also added a whole lot of unhealthy to my body, and even ate way too much of the healthy stuff! Over indulging  in healthy OR unhealthy food will add many kilos.

The key is to listen to your body.
Too often we eat everything on the plate because we don't want to waste it, but isn't it better to waste the excess into the trash than waste it into your one and only precious body??
I'm so excited to have broken that shackle from my mind!

Weight is falling off.
I've discovered that my body really doesn't like much red meat, but it LOVES fish and vegetables. It copes with a little chicken. It loves water. It loves dandelion tea. It loves apples. It loves salad. It adores freshly juiced veggies.

And guess what?
NO MIGRAINES.
That's the bonus of all bonuses for me.

So what else lives in my kitchen these days?

Coconut Milk yoghurt is incredible, and I'm going to have a shot at making some myself...


Mr E loves cereal with yoghurt for breakfast so I've made gluten free granola with flaxseeds, goji berries, pepitas and other nutrition packed ingredients...


We both love real butter, but it's rock hard because we live in the tropics and it always has to be stored in the fridge, so I was buying a spreadable butter and not bothering to read the label. Wow - it was full of chemicals I'd never heard of!
So I bought pure organic butter made from grass fed cow's milk, and I mixed it with cold pressed olive oil. It's delicious, spreads wonderfully, and is free from nasties. Win win.


We keep a large supply of in-season organic fruits...


...and apart from all the fresh veggies we use in juices and salads, I also roast a batch every couple of days. These make a heartier salad for days when we're a bit hungrier than usual (normally after an adventure or long walks)...


Mashed potato used to be one of my comfort foods, but I've changed to mashed sweet potato and pumpkin. I don't add any butter or milk - just the veg alone and it is delicious!


The other day I made my first jar of sugar-free strawberry jam.
All it took was a punnet of strawberries, 3 teaspoons chia seeds, 1 tablespoon of water, and 1 teaspoon of raw honey...yum.


These are some pantry essentials that we go through a lot of...


 ...and when I want a little snack, I have some Kale Krunch!
It's just dehydrated kale leaves with cashews and nutritional yeast to bind the leaves together.
A book I found at the library has a recipe for making my own so I'll get the dehydrator out of storage this weekend and have a go...


So there you have it, a little peek at my perpetual detox menu!
I call it perpetual because every day in this 21stC world we are bombarded with toxins, so eliminating them from our bodies is crucial and an ongoing process.

One thing I heard this week that really inspired me, and shocked me, was that 50 years ago households spent three times more of their income on groceries than they do now.
The introduction of things like cable tv, mobile phones, internet, fast foods, expensive shopping habits and sports cost, hair and nail treatments, bigger home and cars...well, it seems the grocery bill is the first one most people choose to reduce.
Isn't that sad?
Cable, gel nails, and a big house just won't extend your life or recharge your body.

You have one body. A God given beautiful thing.
Put the best you can into it.

hugs


12 comments:

Baa. xxx said...

Yummy post - made me hungry! hee..hee...

Anonymous said...

Looks and sounds great Jenny and Wendy looks very relaxed and settled, its good to have another close by following same journey. Most of us know the right thing to do and over eating is a huge part of our lifestyle plus being brought up to not leaving table til all is eaten off plate including what we didn't like, (millions of starving people in the world would give anything for that food was the regular catch cry) and it is difficult to lose that habit. Love the look of your food and recipes thank you and the results of such healthy eating as you say feeling satisfied, happy tummy and losing appetite for the unhealthy, as you have shown lots of ideas for yummy sweet treats, don't have to go without. Our body does tell us what it likes. Thanks for sharing Jenny, and the pics very appealing. Judithann:-)

Anonymous said...

Yes that is sad Jenny, re your comment on the grocery shopping not being a priority with some these days, seems some people want to spend as little as possible on groceries, no thought to the healthy aspect or that it is even important, different priorities, as you say all the other activities etc available today. Judithann :-)

Wendyb said...

about to cook some yumminess for the fam-bam! yaaay! xoxoxo had the BEST day! love ya :o) xoxoxox

cucki said...

Yup yummy post ;)
Love it x

Jacqueline said...

thanks for sharing part of the process. It does have to be a life choice doesn't it.

Nita said...

I fight the need to clean my plate. So I try to put less on it. And when I am full and my plate isn't empty, I tell myself "you are not a garbage can" and then I throw it away into the real garbage can.

JoJo said...

Yum...I wish I could have had you slice and pass me a piece of your Carrot Coconut Loaf. Did you make up the recipe or was it on one of the videos?

C Reeder PhxAz said...

Can you post that loaf recipe or tell us where to find it. Thanks!

Lin said...

Well Jenny, I do admire you and it does all sound delicious. We do eat mostly vegetables from our own garden but more meat than I would like but then my husband does not 'do' salad! The butter olive oil combo sounds brilliant - do you whisk them together? My kitchen can be almost as cold as the fridge in the winter so a spreadable 'butter' would be brilliant - I too hate anything with added chemicals and we do not buy processed foods. xx

Anonymous said...

wow jenny thankyou so much for this post,its exactly what i need to do as well,you are the best sharing this with us,hear's to a healthy us my friend.xx

Kim @ Him, Him Me said...

Jenny,
Love the look of your Yummy food. Would like to try the spreadable butter, what ratio of oil to butter do you use please?