Spring into spring: Starting my physical and emotional detox

The end of winter can be a tough time mentally and emotionally. Sustained time inside with a lack of exposure to sunlight and moonlight can mess with our body clocks and emotions. That added to colds and bugs that come up throughout the winter can put organs like our liver out and our systems get worn.

Last month I was really feeling the wear and stress of life. I had several back to back colds and my diet was starting to slip back into old habits of more refined carbohydrates. On top of this I had a generally low mood which often happens to me at the end of winter so I was inspired to do a detox by my housemate who has gone unprocessed and vegan for a month.

I started last Sunday and so far I have felt amazing! So what is my detox looking like? I think a lot of people go on detoxes that I wouldn't be comfortable doing, its very serious to cut solids or whole food groups out of your diet without very strong and clear reasons. Often, it can do more harm than good so instead I am:

1) Fully cutting out sugar, high sodium foods and processed sauces

I am getting back to basics with flavoring my food and I feel like its brought forward more possibilities than hindered. I am falling in love with using herbs and spices in their raw form, tomatoes, hummus, sesame oil and fruit to add dynamics to food and its a fun process!

2) No Caffeine aside from Green Tea

Green tea is a great metabolism booster and its packed with anti-oxidants so its a real helper in the refreshment and detoxification of your body. At the moment I am loving Harvey and Sons organic green iced tea and Kerikeri's green darjeeling. These have been great for maintaining my energy over the last week and It will help boost my metabolism as my diet changes.

3) Lean Protein

I have reduced my meat intake and am sticking strictly to lean protein - tofu, tempeh, eggs, chicken breast and lean beef. I'm only doing two meat days a week so its great to focus on quality rather than quantity.

4) Little amounts of Carbs. Only Urefined.

I thought this would be much harder than it has been - I have removed all my g.f. bread, potatoes and noodles from my diet. Although these can be healthy in the right portion sizes I am giving them a rest for the next month (possibly more). Instead I am replacing them with small amounts of legumes, wild rice and buckwheat and large portions of fresh vegetables.

5) Cleansing Elexirs

I have started beginning every morning with a lemon, chilli tonic and following meals throughout the day with an aryuvedic detox tea and finishing the day with a liver cleanse tea.

That's just the surface of what I'll be doing for the next month but I'm looking forward to sharing more about what I am specifically eating and the non-diet related side of my detox.

Enjoy and Namaste.