Sunday, February 5, 2012

The Cleanse

So some of you may know that Skot and I recently attempted a detox cleanse. Our great friends Brittany and Josiah loaned us this book that they used for their detox. It was supposed to be a 3 week program but Skot and I only did it for 2 weeks for embarrassing reasons I'm not going to go into details about on here (hint: it involves chocolate chip cookies, chick-fil-a sandwiches and Tupelo Honey Cafe)

Here's a picture at the start of the detox


However, even though we didn't make it the full time, we still learned a lot and saw great benefits of "clean" eating. I wanna share with you some of the products we discovered that are really healthy and good for you and also taste great!


  1. Avocados: So I'm guessing for most of you these aren't some new strange food, but have you ever put half of one in your morning smoothie or mixed it into your salad to make it more hearty and creamy? We went through about 10 Avocados in 10 days. They are a great source of protein that keeps you fuller longer. 
  2. Coconut Oil: We couldn't have vegetable oils on the cleanse so we tried a recipe that called for this weird oil… it's a solid oil in the jar and you melt it in the microwave before adding it into whatever you are using it for. We made some gluten-free biscuits with it and they turned out great!
  3. Buckwheat flour and rice flour: These are a healthier option to the very processed bleached flour that we used to use all the time. These do cost a little more … but they are definitely cleaner options to make those yummy treats we all love!
  4. Brown Rice: a Clean kitchen staple… I used to get the 90 sec, microwavable packets but this dry uncooked kind is much cheaper and also NO PRESERVATIVES! :-)
  5. Olive Oil: lots and lots of olive oil… we've always used it just in much smaller quantities, on the cleanse we went through so much of it! Its a much better choice than veg. or canola oil. I also made our salad dressings from it… I'll post my favorite one below!
  6. Agave Nectar: Can't say I had this before the detox… it's super yummy and a great, natural way to sweeten up your tea or smoothie. 
  7. Rice Noodles: Since we couldn't have wheat on the detox we tried out these noodles with our stir fry veggies… you can't even tell the difference
  8. Sunflower Seeds: we put about 1/4 cup of these into our morning smoothies and it gave it a salty crunch that was great. Also another great source of protein so you're not starving an hour after breakfast
All of these things are going to be new staples in our kitchen. Don't get me wrong, we tried a lot of food on the Cleanse that won't be making an appearance in the Montgomery house again… like ginger carrot liquid soup and kale smoothies… yuck… But overall we felt really good after a few days on the Cleanse and we learned how to be healthier. So i say it was a success! Here's summing up what we learned

  1. It should take time to prepare your food… if you're popping processed junk into the microwave and 2 min later you think you have a "clean" healthy meal… you're probably wrong
  2. If you can't pronounce half the ingredients on the label… it's probably not a food your body is going to be too happy about getting to figure out what to do with. Our bodies we're designed to break down and get energy from REAL FOOD not disodium guanylate (spell check doesn't even like those 2 words)
  3. When you feed your body healthy clean foods it will thank you and you will feel much better.
  4. Once you get used to not eating sweets three times a day, it gets much easier. It's like your taste buds reset
  5. Fruit and Veggies can be incorporated into so many meals that make them more satisfying.
I'm definitely not the perfect clean eater now (in fact I bet the author of CLEAN would cry at my snack I had earlier) but I would like to think that we are making smarter, healthier decisions in the Montgomery house that we will continue to carry out forever! It's not about some crazy detox diet and then you're cured forever, its about life changes that will positively effect you in the long run! I hope you will consider trying some of these things listed above, you have my word they all ease great!

 Below are my favorite clean recipes I tried on the Detox! Enjoy!

Dijon Mustard Dressing:
3 Tbs EVOO
1 Tbs + 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1/4 tsp dried thyme 
1/2 tsp dijon mustard
1 clove garlic pressed 
1/4 tsp salt
pepper to taste

- Whisk all ingredients together and enjoy over your salad, grilled chicken, brown rice… pretty much anything! (I have this little gadget from pampered chef that I LOVE!) 



Gluten Free Biscuits
2 cups rice flour plus more for dusting 1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon coarse sea salt plus more for sprinkling
1/3 cup coconut oil, plus more for brushing

3/4 cup hot water
1. Preheat oven to 375. In a medium bowl mix flour, baking powder, and salt.
2. Pour the melted oil and hot water into dry ingredients and mix until fully combined and it’s a well-formed dough.
3. If it’s dry, add more hot water until sticky.
4. Dust counter with flour.
5. Pat gently until the dough is 1 inch thick, using a cookie cutter (or even the rim of a jar or glass) cut biscuits and arrange

on baking sheet that’s been greased with coconut oil or lined with parchment paper.
6. Spread 1 inch apart so they can spread a bit. Brush with oil and sprinkle with salt (optional but so yummy!)
7. Bake on center rack for 8 minutes, rotate 180 degrees after 4 minutes. Finished biscuits will be golden and flaky on top.

8. Let stand on the sheet for 5 minutes, store in plastic wrap at room temperature for up to 2 days.

3 comments:

  1. Girl, ya'll still made it so much further than Joe and I would have... I'm proud of ya!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Jamie,

    Coconut Oil has recently become a favorite of mine! Not only do I love cooking with it, but it's a great moisturizer for for your skin & hair. PLUS, it makes an awesome make-up remover! Just rub it in your hands until it turns to liquid and watch how easily it will take your eye makeup off. It sounds weird to put oil on your face, but coconut oil has anti-bacterial properties that help remove dirt & bacteria from the skin. I love it!

    Cute blog!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thanks Emily!!!

    Jordan: Wow! I didn't know all of that! I will definitely try some of those ideas. Thanks for sharing them with me and for the compliment on the blog!!!

    ReplyDelete

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...