Detox Smoothie

This recipe is delicious and energizing. After seeing it on wellangooodnyc.com (one of my favorite websites) I tried it and had to post. For those of you who want to have greens in your smoothie but don't want to taste them, this is the smoothie for you. It is also an amazing antioxidant punch to have before you indulge in all of those V-Day treats. It's packed with 11 grams of complete protein and omega 3s and maca is known to have numerous health benefits like tons of B vitmains for energy. Enjoy!

P.S. if you don't have a blender, I highly recommend the nutribullet. It's small and powerful.

(Photo: Jennifer Kass for Well+Good)

The Heart Chakra Smoothie

1 or 2 kale leaves

1 cup fresh organic strawberries

1 frozen banana

1 Tbsp maca

1 Tbsp hemp seeds (blend first with water to make homemade milk)

1 cup filtered water

Top with Goji berries and sweetened cacao nibs to taste

(Recipe from wellandgoodnyc.com)

Gluten Free Detox

As some of you may know, I embarked on a lofty lent journey by giving up gluten for the whole six weeks. I am a serious foodie and rarely does a day go by that I don't indulge in some form of a carb binge, so this was huge for me. And I didn't even cheat!

The first few days were tough learning what I could and couldn't eat (and I initially gave up dairy too which quickly ended when I realized how hard the two would be). In the end, I lost 8 pounds and felt great. What I realized, though, was that it wasn't necessarily the gluten that made me "lose weight." It was more about the restriction of carbs for six weeks that made a huge impact (and yes- no beer was allowed!). I could still eat things like rice and potatoes, which I would normally cut out if I was doing a low-carb or no-carb diet, and I think had I cut out all carbs I would have lost even more weight.

In terms of how my body felt, it felt how it does when I give up carbs -- not bloated. Some people with a gluten allergy or intolerance describe a number of ailments going away but I didn't experience this. I found a lot of great recipes from Paleo websites. Paleo is essentially a "cave man" diet where you don't have to restrict how much you eat but rather what you eat. Processed foods are a no go and dairy, grains, alcohol and starches are supposed to be limited.This is an awesome diet and healthy lifestyle choice and I would recommend it to anyone looking to lose weight, keep it off and improve overall health.

So what do I do now that I'm done? I plan on continuing to eat a limited amount of gluten/carbs and try to adhere to an 80/20 diet (80% of the time I'm good and 20% I can cheat). This way I don't feel deprived and I also don't gain back 8 pounds that I worked for six weeks to lose. You can find paleo recipes on pinterest, Paleo OMG, Nom Nom Paleo, and other websites.

I'm also a huge fan of the Dukan Diet, which is a diet plan split into 4 phases, the first is an all meat and non-fat dairy phase, the second adds in non-starchy vegetables and the third and fourth re-introduce whole grains, full-fat cheeses, fruits and indulgences. This diet has worked the best for me in the past and I was never hungry on it. Have you tried any successful diets recently or gone gluten free?

Glowing Green Smoothie

During the holidays, it's hard to stay healthy. With the abundance of finger foods on hand and glasses of champagne floating around, it's really difficult to count calories and stick with your diet. I (unsuccessfully) tried a soup cleanse the other week and I found it too restrictive. As I've said in the past, it's much easier for me to add things to my diet than subtract them. What can I say, I'm a real foodie! 

I've seen Hillary Duff post about a "glowing green smoothie" that she prepares and I decided to check out what it was all about. I'm  a big fan of Blue Print Cleanse's green drink but at 10 dollars a pop, it's not very economical. Hillary and other celebs are a fans of  Kimberly Snyder's "The Beauty Detox Solution." Snyder has easy to follow recipes and her philosophy on healthy eating is less about restricting yourself and more about clean, healthful eating and restoring the body's natural systems. Although I'm not a fan of omitting things from my diet, the green juice should be used as a meal replacement because it provides enough calories, carbs and nutrients for a meal. I'm dying for a vitamix so I can try her easy to follow recipe below. Apparently it totally resets your system and you feel healthier, more in balance and like your skin is glowing. 

Snyder also has other great recipes on her website and tons more in her book (I bought it on my iPad). She mostly prepares gluten free, dairy free and meat free recipes. She doesn't generally give a calorie count and focuses more on the vitamins and nutrients in each meal. Below is the recipe for the Glowing Green Smoothie.