So I've just finished off a two week detox. All raw, plant-based, whole foods for two weeks. This is the third time I've done this type of cleanse, and it is by far my favourite way to detox. I'm not one for liquid cleanses. I love my food! You can see how I fared with a juice fast on my post here.
Eating raw means you are getting all those beautiful enzymes that make you feel vibrant and give you oodles of energy. Cooking foods changes their chemical structure and kills valuable enzymes in the process. That being said, I do think cooked food has a place in a healthy diet. I do think that raw foods are very beneficial for vitality, but that doesn't mean you need to necessarily eat raw 100%. Some people argue that, and that's cool. This is just me speaking from my own experience!
In the beginning, by far the hardest part was giving up my morning coffee. Don't get me wrong, I still had some tea, and I wasn't limiting my caffeine (I had green or mate tea occasionally). Coffee is just something else. I always felt like I was never quite the same without my morning coffee. I can't even count how many times a week I say "I NEED a coffee before this class, workout, etc". After a few days, I actually started waking up feeling so energetic. I looked fresh and felt fresh. Even working out first thing in the morning without coffee I felt fantastic. I never noticed how I was really getting dependent on that caffeine.
And speaking of workouts, I noticed I was recovering quicker from tough gym sessions, and pushing even harder in my training. That could be that my training is advancing, and it is, but I attribute that success hugely to eating these bioavailable foods. :)
I planned to do all this elaborate "un-cooking". Raw food prep, if you will. I knew one thing: I cannot be stuck starving and eat a whole bag of cashews. It happened on one of my cleanses practically, and my tummy really hurt! Fail to plan, plan to fail couldn't apply more. Although I did adequately prep ingredients and meals, they certainly weren't fancy like I planned. I ate a lot of salads and collard wraps, as well as raw breakfast bowls. These were different each time, but certainly not too fancy. Hey, I'm a full time student and I work weekends. What did I expect?
What I did ensure was that I always had sprouts and my Sun Warrior raw protein. I did track my macros to make sure I wasn't eating insane carbs and fat, which I know doesn't make me feel good at all, and I didn't want to lose muscle. I know people who do that 80/10/10, but I know that's not for me. That could be a whole other post in itself...
Here are some tidbits from my cleanse.
Raw falafel in a salad with a tahini dressing
Banana ice cream bowl with a raw brownie on top
A wrap with raw hummus, sprouted chickpeas, and a very sloppily sliced pepper!
Zucchini pasta with raw tomato sauce
This is from Live, a wicked raw food restaurant. :)
I made these several times. Only 3 ingredients! Check out my IG for the recipe.
Tomorrow morning will be the official end of my cleanse. I actually made brownies for tomorrow (Valentine's Day. And I figured I need to test out some recipes for the Bake Off I'm entering!), which I did taste tonight. Can't lie. They are effing good!! I'll share the recipe after the Vegan Bake Off is done.
To conclude, I felt awesome and I would recommend this type of cleanse to anyone. All I can say is please try and ensure your calories are adequate. Drink lots of water. Don't make your diet all fat or sweet fruits! Get your protein from leafy greens, sprouts and I recommend a raw protein powder like Sun Warrior.
Peace out for now, amigos. I'm gonna go make a green juice!
xo Tij
