PART 1: Spring Cleaning: Inside & Out

Springtime is finally upon us! Spring is a time for change, for growth and for rebirth. It is a time for mother-nature to cleanse itself as the snow melts and reveals all the dead earth beneath. All the plants and soil are almost ready to come alive again.As the weather warms, people too feel a need to cleanse their homes, purge items they no longer need, and make space for the new. If we listen close enough to our bodies, it too is calling for a good spring-cleaning! After a long, cold Winter of hibernation, reflection (and less face it, more snacks!) its time to clean ourselves out, get moving and get that spring energy flowing from within.

When is the best time to cleanse?

Each of us has a natural cleansing time where we want to eat less and feel lighter, drink more fluids and eliminate excess waste from our systems. The seasonal changes are key times for cleansing our systems, especially spring. A 1-3 week spring cleansing program is recommended, to help lighten the load on your gut, your liver, and your skin to get you glowing from the inside out.

What do you mean by ‘cleanse’?

It simply refers to a time where you focus on eating real, whole, living foods and drinking plenty of fluids. 7-21 days is a great length for a cleanse, as this time frame allows the body to enough time to eliminate excess waste, and do some much needed digestive repair. When your digestive system and your colon aren’t functioning at their best, old waste starts to recirculate throughout your system, causing inflammation. This is a time to give the entire digestive system a re-boot, getting everything back in working order (eating, digesting and most importantly – absorbing).

Why are smoothies so great?

You can add so many nutrient dense necessities into a smoothie and get a great big dose of goodness in one simple, delicious (Simplicious!) drink. They are easy to digest and assimilate because they are already blended, giving your gut a much-deserved break from having to breakdown large food particles.

BERRIES – when you put berries into your smoothie, you are loading it with some serious antioxidant fighting power. Antioxidants like Vitamins A, C, E and plant sterols found in berries actually fight off free-radicals and protect your cells from damage.

LEAFY GREENS – when you add leafy greens like Spinach or Kale into your smoothie, you are loading your system with a mix of B-vitamins which are crucial to your nervous system. You are helping to keep your mind sharp and helping you to combat stress. Chlorophyll found in leafy greens help to control hunger and cravings, encourages repair and growth, promotes cleansing and healthy Iron levels.

PLANT BASED PROTEIN POWDER – Adding Genuine Health Vegan+ Protein powder turns your smoothie into a perfectly rounded breakfast drink – Why do I recommend this one? First of all, because it tastes great! It is also great quality, with pure plant based protein that will supply you with all the Amino Acids you need. Amino acids are the building blocks of protein, and we need them for regeneration, repair, mental health, muscle building, and to age beautifully!

POWER SEEDS – Smoothies make adding seeds simple, you just throw in 1-2 tsp of ground flax, chia seeds or hemp hearts, and enjoy all the benefits of these colon friendly, heart helpers

Here are some simple cleansing tips to include over the next 1-3 weeks:

(Psst! Smoothies will blend the top 4 tips into one drink ;))

  • Include more fresh fruits (apples, berries, pears, pineapple, mango, kiwi, papaya)
  • Include more fresh vegetables and especially leafy greens, like spinach, arugula, kale
  • Drink more fluids! (herbal tea, coconut water, filtered lemon water, fresh-pressed juices and smoothies)
  • Use fresh herbs in your cooking – garlic, ginger, basil, sage, chives, parsley, cilantro
  • Enjoy plenty of homemade soups with homemade broth
  • Limit (or eliminate) refined sugar, caffeine
  • Eliminate packaged food and eat real, homemade, whole foods

Lighten Up! & Join the

21-Day Simplicious Smoothie Challenge

Lighten Up! Join us in a celebration of health and pay some homage to your own personal temple: your body. Over the next 3-weeks we will be sharing 21-days worth of Simplicious Smoothie recipes and cleansing tips. It is a simple way to add more good stuff into your life, to lighten your toxic load and leave you feeling energetic and refreshed.

DOWNLOAD WEEK 1 NOW

Here is a bonus smoothie so you can get started TODAY:

Happy St. Patty’s day!

Minty-Shamrock Smoothie

  • 1 cup of unsweetened almond or cashew milk
  • 1 frozen banana
  • 4 handfuls of organic spinach
  • 1 drop of doTerra peppermint essential oil (doTerra is food grade, others may not be)
  • OR 1 handful of fresh mint
  • 2 tsp of ground flax seeds
  • 1 scoop of GH vegan+ vanilla protein powder
  • 2 dates (optional, for sweetness)

Over the next 3 weeks we will be posting cleansing tips, to get you ready for this season to come.

Follow this blog for more spring-cleansing tips:

PART 2: Gut-Brain Connection: How your Gut Affects Mental-health

PART 3:  Lymphomaniac – Get your Lymphatic System Moving

Written By: Vanessa Fioretti, RHN

Resources:

  1. Jenn Pike, The Simplicity Project: A simple no-nonsense approach to losing weight and changing your body forever!, I C Publishing, 2013
  1. Elson M. Haas MD, Staying Healthy with Nutrition: A complete guide to diet and nutritional medicine, Random House, 2006
  1. Joseph Hooper, Your antidepressant goes remarkably well with blueberries, Prevention Magazine, March 2015

 

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