3 Day Cleanse

A 3 day cleanse is great for giving the digestive system a rest and rebooting your health, especially after a period like Christmas when we all tend to overindulge. You can do this cleanse any time during the year. A change of season is a good time to do a cleanse or any time we feel we need to detox from toxins. Three days is a short period which is ideal for busy people and I would suggest starting on a Friday. If three days is too daunting for some 1 to 2 days is fine. If you have never done a cleanse before then I would recommend starting with one day.

Preparing to Cleanse

When embarking on any detox it is important to prepare at least one to two weeks before, especially if you have a diet high in meat, alcohol, caffeine and sugar. So you may want to cut down on these slowly.

For example, if you drink a lot of coffee cut it back to 1 cup per day in the two weeks leading up to the detox. The reason for this is that during a detox it is normal to experience withdrawal symptoms. You can experience headaches, nausea, lethargy, dizziness, skin outbreaks, constipation or diarrhoea (mainly diarrhoea as your intake of fibre increases), coated tongue and bad breath as the toxins are released into the bloodstream. This is perfectly normal. It means the detox is working.

The more toxic you are the more you are likely to suffer from the above symptoms. These symptoms normally last for about 24 – 72 hours. After this period you will start to feel better.

During the Cleanse

During the cleanse do not drink alcohol, coffee, or any fizzy drinks. Do not eat sugar, cakes, ready-made meals. No meat or animal products as these place a strain on the digestive system defeating the whole purpose of a cleanse.  If at any time you find yourself really struggling, have a piece of fruit or vegetable with some nuts.

Make sure you are drinking 1.5 – 2 litres of water throughout the day. Drink detox teas, peppermint tea and green tea. Peppermint tea is good after a meal as it aids digestion.

I would also suggest a relaxing bath before bedtime with Epsom salts. Make sure you skin brush your body before the bath to get the circulation going and it is great for the lymphatic system getting rid of toxins.

Make sure you are in a relaxed environment. Do not do a cleanse if you are working or in a stressed environment. Make sure you get plenty of rest.

3 Day Cleanse: Day 1

Morning

Warm water with lemon and turmeric. 20 minutes later a Cleansing Green Smoothie:

Cleansing Green Smoothie Ingredients

• 1 celery stalk chopped
• 1/4  of a cucumber peeled and chopped
• 1 apple peeled and cored
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1/4 of a piece of ginger
• 2 romaine leaves chopped
• 5 kale leaves chopped
• 1/2 a tablespoon of flax seeds
• Coconut water
• Bee pollen for the topping

Optional: 1 teaspoon of Neil’s Yard Super Greens Complex

Place all the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Add some ice to improve the taste.

Mid-morning

Beetroot, Apple and Carrot Juice:

• 2 small beetroots
• 2 carrots peeled

Remove the hard skin from the beetroots. If the apples are organic leave the skin on, cut into pieces and remove the seeds. Place all the ingredients into the juicer, serve and drink.

After the juice, take 15 drops of A Vogel milk thistle in a little water.

Lunch

Cleansing Salad:

• Handful of spinach
• Handful of rucola (rocket salad)
• Half a fennel sliced
• 1 carrot grated
• 2 tablespoons of pomegranate seeds

Place ingredients in a bowl and season with olive oil and apple cider vinegar.

Dinner

Cavolo Nero, Broccoli and Barlotti Bean Soup:

• 2-3 Tablespoons of extra virgin oil
• 100g of cavolo nero
• 100g of tender-stem broccoli
• 1/2 a can of barlotti beans
• 1/2 a white onion finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves finely chopped
• Small piece of ginger finely chopped
• cayenne pepper
• 1/2 tsp of turmeric
• 1/2 tsp of bouillon powder
• 3 cups of water

Start by placing the olive oil, onion, garlic, ginger, turmeric, and cayenne pepper in a saucepan and sauté’ adding a little water for 2 minutes, then add the chopped tender stem broccoli, cavolo nero and beans and sauté’ for 5 minutes adding a little more water if it has been absorbed. Then add 3 cups of water and bouillon powder. Bring to the boil for 15 minutes. Blend the soup with a hand blender and serve.

3 Day Cleanse: Day 2

Breakfast

Warm water with lemon and turmeric upon rising and 20 minutes later an avocado Smoothie:

Avocado Smoothie Ingredients

• A handful of kale
• 1 small avocado
• Juice of 1/2 a lemon
• 1/2 cup of coconut water ( you can add more to adjust the consistency)
• 1-2 red apples (depending on how sweet you like it)
• A handful of cashew nuts
• 1 teaspoon of chia seeds

Place all ingredients in a blender, add ice, blend until smooth and enjoy.

Mid-morning

• A handful of collard greens
• 2 apples
• 3 sprigs of coriander
• 3 sprigs of parsley
• Juice of 1/2 a lemon
• coconut water

Place the ingredients in the blender and blitz until lovely and smooth.

After the smoothie take 15 drops of milk thistle in a little water.

Lunch

Sweet Potato and carrot Soup:

• 1 sweet potato peeled and chopped
• 2 Carrots peeled and chopped
• 1 small onion finely chopped
• 1 garlic clove finely chopped
• 1 tsp of cumin
• Cayenne pepper
• 1.5 tsp of bouillon powder or vegetable broth
• Coriander
• 500ml of water
• Olive oil

Saute’ the garlic, onion, for a minute then add the sweet potatoes, carrots, cumin, coriander, 1/4 cup of water, bouillon powder and sauté’ for another 7 minutes then add 500ml of water and simmer for 40 minutes. Once the sweet potatoes are tender blend the soup with a hand blender.

Dinner

Steamed asparagus with olive oil and lemon.

3 Day Cleanse: Day 3

Breakfast

Warm water with lemon and turmeric, After 20 minutes Spinach, Kale and Mango Smoothie:

• A handful of Kale
• A handful of Spinach
• 1/2 a banana
• A handful of mango chunks

Just place all the ingredients in the blender and blend until lovely and smooth.

Mid-Morning

Berry Smoothie:

• 1 cup of blueberries
• 2 tablespoons of coyo coconut yoghurt
• 1 cup of coconut milk
• 1/2 a banana
• 1 tablespoons of linseeds, pumpkins and sunflower seeds.
• chia seeds to sprinkle on top.

Place all the ingredients in the blender except for the chia seeds and blend until smooth.

After the smoothie 15 drops of A Vogel milk thistle in a little water.

Lunch

Quinoa Salad:

• 1/2 cup of cooked quinoa
• A handful of rocket salad
• 1 small avocado
• 2 tablespoons of pomegranate seeds
• A handful of steamed baby asparagus
• Dressing: Olive oil and apple cider Vinegar.

Dinner

Zucchini Soup with Pine Kernels:

• 3 medium sized courgettes sliced
• 2-3 garlic cloves finely choppped
• cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp of bouillon powder or you can use vegetable broth
• A generous amount of olive oil
• Pine kernels

Saute’ the garlic with the courgettes, olive oil, cayenne pepper for 7 minutes with 1/4 water. Add 500ml of water and once cooked blend with a hand blender. Serve and sprinkle with pine kernels.

Cleansing & Coaching

I do online consultations so if you would like a bespoke nutritional plan please get in touch.