Sentiment & Stitches: Morning Smoothie

Four years ago I randomly picked up a book while browsing at Barnes and Noble. I love to buy books. I like walking aimlessly through a book store hoping that a great book will catch my eye. I always have at least 3-4 books that I am reading at once. Probably not the most efficient way to get through my pile, but as my husband would say, "it is what it is."

Anyway, I picked up the book Clean by Alejandro Junger. I wasn't exactly sure what it was about when I took it home but the idea of feeling better physically and having more energy sounded appealing! I had heard of cleanses where you only drink grapefruit juice for a week or tea but those just never sounded healthy and not really that good for you. They sounded more like a drastic weight loss system rather than a formula to for getting healthy and your body back on track.

The Clean Program is a 21 day cleanse that helps to restore your bodies ability to heal itself. Although it can be a challenge if you don't already like healthy food, it is so worth it. By the end of the 21 days you feel energetic, have more clarity of mind and actually clean from the inside out. The basic meal plan is a smoothie for breakfast, a solid meal for lunch from the elimination diet and then a smoothie or soup for dinner. Basically you are giving your digestive system a break from working so hard. I rarely feel hungry while doing it.

This is my 4th year of doing this cleanse. I love it so much that I have shared it with many many people. I'm sure I have given away at least 20+ books to people who were interested in it.

I think the best way to be successful at this cleanse and have good results has a lot to do with your mental attitude. The first few years I would tell myself, "I can do anything for 21 days!" If you think it will be hard, it will be hard. If you go into it with excitement for how great you are going to feel, then you will notice how great you feel. So, pull up your boot straps, put a smile on your face and jump in! Give it your all. You won't regret it.

Last year, Tom decided to give it a try with me. He isn't a big healthy food eater, so I wasn't sure if he would really stick to it. Well, he decided ahead of time it was going to be great and he loved it. We are doing it together again this year. One of the things he likes best about this cleanse is the smoothies we have in the morning. They are really good and we have them for breakfast long after the 21 days.

We always have some sort of combination of these ingredients:

Kale

spinach

carrots

apples, mango or pineapple (whatever is fresh and in season)

coconut meat and water

almond milk

protein powder (I prefer the vanilla flavor)

chia seeds and flaxseed

frozen blueberries. blackberries, peaches

Use as many organic ingredients as you can find

I like to have fresh coconut. So I purchase the young coconuts, drain them and then take them out back and chop them in half with an ax. (Tom thinks this is hilarious!) I scoup out the meat and add it to the coconut water and keep it in a jar in the fridge. I am not sure how long it stays fresh because we eat it up too quickly.