My Favorite Ways To Detox

I'm not a fan of juice cleanses, or any cleanses which only consist of liquid food for that matter. It's not that I don't think they're good, but I personally don't have the discipline to live off liquids for a certain amount of days. I prefer to gently detox through my every day diet. 

1. Water

One of the most basic and easily accessible ways of detoxing is drinking water. Drink a good amount of water, anywhere around 2 litres are enough for an average adult (remember you also consume water through your food). Chucking it down like nothing else is not the way to go. You want to stay hydrated throughout the day, but don't overdo it. The first thing I drink in the morning is a tall cold glass of water. It wakes me up, flushes my system, gets my digestion going and rids my body of toxins that have accumulated overnight.

2. Lemon

Again, so easy and obvious, but lemon is one of my favorite things in the world. I add it to my water, but also to my dinners. A spritz of lemon over any dish makes it taste that much better and it not only gives you a hit of vitamin C, but is also a great detox. Some people drink a glass of warm water with lemon every morning. I don't think the water necessarly has to be warm, I prefer cold water, but whatever feels good to you and your body is the right way to go. 

3. Juice

I'm talking about the green variety here, not the fruit juice. I honestly don't think much of fruit juices nutritionally. Taking the fiber out of fruit means that the fruit sugars get into your system that much faster and you miss out on all the benfits that fiber contains. I'd rather eat a piece of fruit than drink a glass of juice any day, but green juices are a great way to get your greens in and to detox your body. When I buy or make a green juice, I aways make sure that 90% of the juice is green. That means I add spinach, kale, celery, leek, romaine, arugula, carrots, beets or any other vegetable I have available and usually add in some lemon and 1 other fruit. Could be an apple, a pear, an orange or a banana. Whatever I have lying around, but only one component will be fruit and that's basically to make it taste good.

4. Tea

Yes, tea is such a great way to detox. There are specific detox teas, but green tea does the job! I love the green tea with peppermint from teapigs but any green tea will do. Find one that you actually like and don't just drink because of its many benefits. 

These are all things you've probably heard and read before and they are so obvious, but I wanted to show you that you don't have to spend tons of money on special teas or pills or 3-day cleanses. They can work great, yes, but there are easy and gentle ways to support your body's natural detox system without breaking the bank.

What I Ate Today: vegan edition + recipe

Just as a foreword, I'm not a vegan, nor am I a vegetarian. I eat meat occasionally but very rarely, and I'm trying to decrease my intake of animals products more and more. My aim is to make as many of my meals vegan as I possibly can. Some substitutes are really easy to make, and I've never been a big fan of dairy or eggs anyway. Regularly, I try not only to eat one vegan meal a day, but to have a complete vegan food day. Eating vegan just makes me feel good mentally and physically. My energy levels are much higher, I don't get tired after a meal or bloated, and my headaches have become less. On top of that, it is so much easier to keep my weight in check and I find I can eat more vegan food and feel satisfied and full, than if I were to eat a regular meal. At this point I don't think I'll ever be 100% vegan, but my aim is to consume more clean, plant-based foods and make them a priority in my diet.

Breakfast: 1 spelt flour roll with hummus and veggies + 1 cup of peppermint green tea

I had a very simple breakfast today, consisting of a bread roll which I picked up from my local bakery. It was done with spelt flour (lower gluten level than wheat), carrots and sunflower seeds. I put some hummus spiced with ginger and curry on both halfs and topped one with red bell pepper (my favourite), and the other with cucumber and a little bit of black pepper. Delicious!! 

As a beverage, I had one cup of peppermint green tea by teapigs, which is quite rare for me as I don't tend to drink something hot in the morning. I also had a glass of water right after I got up today.

Lunch: Chocolate Chia Seed Pudding with coconut and almonds + 1 banana

Around 1:30 pm, I was hungry again and had lunch. I'd prepared a chia seed pudding the day before as I knew I'd be in the mood for something chocolat-y. I can't go a day without some kind of chocolate and this is one of the healthiest ways to have it. Around 30 minutes after, I also had 1 banana and 1 tall glass of water.

If you're interested in the chocolate chia pudding, here's how I made it:

2 tbs of chia seeds

3/4 tbs of cocoa powder or to taste (make sure it's the baking kind, no added sugar)

120 ml light soya milk (or your milk of choice)

1 tsp of flaxseed (optional)

sweetener to taste (I used stevia)

toppings (optional): 

4 almonds

shredded coconut

Mix your chia seeds, flaxseed, cocoa powder and sweetener together and add 120 ml of milk (you can use more or less than 120ml depending on how thick you want your pudding to be). Stir until the cocoa is disolved and the chia seeds evenly distributed. I added 2 drops of essential orange oil, but I've also done it with peppermint oil or cinnamon before. The possibilities are endless! Refrigerate overnight, or for at least 2 hours. 

(Recommended: After 1 hour, I usually give it a stir as the chia seeds like to seperate from the liquid sometimes.)

Top with your favorite toppings. Today I used shredded coconut and almonds, but any type of nut works here. I often make this as a breakfast option as I can put everything together the night before and it's ready to eat in the morning. For breakfast, I make a larger portion and use more liquid, so it's runnier and top it with fresh fruit.

Snack: 1 serving on LantChips Original

As a snack between lunch and dinner I had one serving (25g) of Lant chips. I like the original kind which is lightly salted. These chips are organic and only have 3 ingredients: potatoes, sunflower seed oil and salt. You can actually taste the potatoe and they are slightly thicker than regular chips from the supermarket. I get these from my local organic grocery store, but I've heard they are also available from IKEA.

Dinner: Falafel with salad

I wasn't too hungry because the chia seed pudding was very filling, so I fried up 5 falafel in some coconut oil and made a salad to go along with it. The salad consisted of carrots, bell pepper, cucumber, mushrooms, greens including cabbage and a dressing of lemon and olive oil.

I hope you enjoyed my first 'What I Ate Today' post. If you want more of these, let me know.

 

My Top Five Uses For Coconut Oil

I use coconut oil for pretty much everything. There are other amazing oils out there that are worth checking out, but coconut oil tops them all for me and here's the reason why: it smells good. I know, sounds stupid, but the biggest problem I have with other oils, like olive or avocado, is that I don't like the smell of them. I still use them for cooking, but coconut oil is so special for me because I use it universally for pretty much everything.

Coconut oil from my local german drugstore (Alnatura)

1. cooking/baking

I love using coconut oil in my cooking. It has a high smoking point, so won't burn on you as quickly as other oils do. It's also great in certain recipes, as it solidifies when the temperature drops. That means it can sometimes act as a binding agent. There are so many amazing recipes with coconut oil that I will share with you soon, the list is never ending.

2. hair mask

I often use coconut oil as a hair mask. On days when I don't have to be anywhere, I'll smooth the oil on the lower 2/3 of my hair, put it in a bun or braid and leave it until the next day. Simply letting the oil soak in overnight or for a few hours will already help. Other than as an overnight mask, you could also heat some coconut oil, mash some avocado in for added moisture, and smooth it onto your ends. Wrap you hair in a towel and leave for 30 min to one hour, then shampoo out. Sometimes, when I need an extra kick and my hair looks dull, I will use the oil as a serum after washing my hair. Caution: a little goes a very long way!

3. body lotion

The skin on my body is quite sensitive and very dry. Regular body lotions usually don't do anything for me. After taking a shower, I will smooth a little bit of the oil between my hands and work it into my skin. It has a subtle scent but nothing overpowering, so any perfume you want to use will not be compromised. I find that coconut oil sinks in really quickly and doesn't leave a residue on my skin, so I can get dressed almost immediately without greasing up my clothes. I also smooth it down my hands and my cuticles for a mini mani.

It does wonders for my skin after shaving as well. I'm very prone to gettin razor burn and the coconut oil calms everything down in seconds.

4. deodorant

Other than being very moisturizing, coconut oil also has anti-bacterial qualities. I use it in conjunction with bicarb and essential oils as a deodorant. It doesn't stop the sweat but definitely the smell!

5. face mask

I have combination to oily skin but, especially in the winter months, I tend to get dry patches around my mouth, nose and on my forehead. Whenever that happens, or if my skin is irritated for any reason, I'll use about a teaspoon of coconut oil as a face mask. Again, you can add in other components to make your mask even more potent (avocado, egg yolks etc.), but the coconut oil on its own is more than enough for me. I will smooth it onto dry, cleansed skin, leave it on for 10-20 minutes and take it off with a warm face cloth. If you have normal or dry skin, you can also leave it on overnight for an extra boost of moisture. Simply apply it instead of your nightcream. Some of my friends use coconut oil as a face moisturizer regularly, which would be too much for my skin, but it might work for you.

So there you have my top 5 uses for coconut oil. I often use it as a make-up remover as well, it's pretty much a universal product that can be used in any way. I love working with oils in general. They are gentle and non-irritating and you can be sure that you've done yourself and the environment a favour. One last thing: make sure your oil is cold pressed and not refined!!

Which oils do you use? Do you have a favourite?