What to Give Up:

• Animal Products – meat, fish, eggs, and dairy
• Gluten – wheat, barley, spelt, rye, bran, couscous, and tabbouli
• Processed food
• Sugar – refined white sugar, high fructose corn syrup, brown sugar, corn sweetener, dextrose, fructose, fruit juice concentrate, glucose, corn syrup, lactose, maltose, malt, malt syrup, raw sugar, and sucrose
• Caffeine – pop, coffee, and black tea
• Alcohol – wine, beer, champagne, and liquor

These highly acidic products are wreaking havoc on your body especially when consumed in mass amounts.  To see more on acidic foods and why they are so bad for you, go here: Alkaline/Acidic Food Lists.  To see more on how bad sugar is for you, go here: The Down-Low on Sugar.   As for gluten, it may be doing a number on your digestive system.  More and more people are become gluten intolerant and you might be one of them and not even know it!  So, how lovely would it feel to give your digestive system, liver, kidney, and gall bladder a break so that they can spend time healing your body from the inside out.  You will feel so great by the end of this cleanse you may just want to keep going!

So, what can you eat?

• Lots of Vegetables especially your Greens – carrots, squash, zucchini, celery, peppers, tomatoes, onions, asparagus, cucumbers, artichokes, mushrooms, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, green beans, broccoli, cauliflower, radishes, brussels sprouts, parsnips, cabbage, potatoes, spinach, kale, lettuce, sprouts, etc.
• Fruit – apples, bananas, oranges, cherries, raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, pears, grapes, lemon, lime, kiwi, pineapple, grapefruit, pomegranate, melons, mangoes, etc.
• Legumes – beans (black, pinto, navy, kidney, garbanzo, etc.), lentils, peas
• Gluten-free grains – millet, quinoa, buckwheat, rice, sorghum, teff, corn, and gluten-free oats
• Nuts – raw almonds, walnuts, cashews, pecans, etc.
• Seeds – raw sesame, sunflower, pumpkin, flax, chia, hemp, etc.
• Plant-based milks – coconut, hemp, almond, etc.
• Herbs and Spices
• Natural sweeteners – stevia, xylitol, yacon syrup, maple syrup, dates, palm sugar, honey, and molasses

What to Increase:

• Ginger
• Garlic
• Lemon
• Parsley
• Cilantro

All of these products are great for cleansing and detoxing the body.  Drink lemon water each day and make sure to include ginger, garlic, parsley, and cilantro in as many recipes as possible.  My favorite: homemade guacamole with garlic and lemon (and onions and cilantro and tomatoes and red peppers) in lettuce wraps!  You can also drink ginger or lemon herbal tea, yum!

Anything else?

Yes!  Drink as many fresh juices and smoothies as you can.  They will give your body a whole ton of nutrients and make you feel fabulous!  For smoothie and juice recipes, go here: Green Juice Recipe, Apple Juice and Orange Juice Recipe, Green Smoothie Recipe, Chocolate Banana Smoothie.

I hope you have an amazing cleanse, and be sure to let me know how it goes!