Green is Clean

There comes a time in every Raw Foodist to take on a cleanse. There are all types, but I have decided to try a Green Cleanse. I have to admit I am a little nervous, will I be able to stick to it?, how will it make me feel?, will I be hungry all the time?, what do I have to do? Well, I am about to find out.

There are 2 major raw foodist who promote Green for Life. They are Victoria Boutenko - Rawfamily.com and Frederic Patenaude - fredericpatenaude.com. I have followed both of their suggestions and ideas and now I am ready to give it a try for a full 5 days.

What is the purpose of a green cleanse? I am doing it for a couple of reasons. I want to experience the full power of green smoothies and see if I will really notice a difference. In addition, I want to give my digestion a rest, detoxify, maybe release a pound or two, and experience even more energy. I am hoping it is also a way to give myself a good jump start and refresh my eating habits before all the craziness and temptations of the holidays begin.

I am going to start the cleanse starting tomorrow - Monday, November 13th - for the week. I am going to eat only green smoothies and fresh fruit. As a raw foodist, I now eat a combination of nuts, seeds, dehydrated treats I make like tortilla wraps, yummy granola, and crackers (all which are raw) in addition, nut pates, guacamole, fresh salads and smoothies. So to give my digestive track a nice break yet still eat foods packed with nutrition, I am going give this a try.

So to prepare, I went shopping yesterday. I cleaned out my fridge and stocked up on a bunch of fresh greens and fruits. I wanted to make sure I was organized so I have no excuses not to follow through with this. I have washed and prepared the greens and the fruit so I can make the smoothies quickly in the morning and throughout the day with ease. I already have a Vitamix (powerful blender) so I can make these yummy treats quickly. I will need to pack a couple of smoothies so I can bring them into work with me...like I said - no excuses.

To give you some ideas here is a list of the fruits and greens I bought to do the cleanse.

Romain lettuce
Baby greens
Kale, red and dino Kale
Parsley
Celery
Sunflower Sprouts
Bananas
Apples
Mangos
Blueberries
Strawberries
Pears
cucumbers
tomatoes
Peppers

But you can use your imagination. Just make sure what you use is organic.

Foods I am going to allow myself this week are all that are easy on the digestive tract. I am going to make green smoothies, basically any recipe I can come up with - I will supply a few in a minute.....
Fresh fruit (oranges, bananas, strawberries, etc)
Fresh veggies (tomatoes, lettuce, celery, etc)

Things I am going to take a break from are:
salt, seaweed,
any type of fat, (avocado, nuts, seeds, oils, etc)
Anything dried or dehydrated, dried fruits, crackers, tortilla
And of course, anything cooked, but that is not issue for me since I am raw.


Here are some smoothie ideas:

1. Green smoothie made of 2 bananas, 1 cup blueberries, 100 grams of some type of green (lettuce, kale, spinach... and so on)
2. Green smoothie of 2 mangos, 1 banana, 100 grams of greens
3. Green smoothie of 4 cups papaya, 150 grams of greens
4. Green smoothie of 2 bananas, 1 apple, 1 cup blueberries, 100 grams of green.

I will have these throughout the day. If I am still hungry I will add some fresh fruit and/maybe a salad (no salad dressing)

I will keep you posted on my progress and what I experience. Please feel free to join me during this cleanse. I would love to hear your comments and what you experience as well.

If you do want to try it, but aren't ready to give up all other foods during this time, how about trying to incorporate a green smoothie or 2 into your diet and see what it feels like.

Either way, I am excited and a little nervous too. But I will let you know how it goes, the good, the bad and the ugly. As I experiment on the recipes, I will post some of my favorites, because the main thing to me is that it has to taste good too.

Wish me luck and remember, green is clean.

Be Well,

Nanners