My Very First Smoothie

Do you like smoothies?

I love smoothies!!! Smoothies with mango are my favourite - the creamy sweetness makes my tastebuds sing!!

I have always wanted to make smoothies. Last year during my whole foods detox, I made a few smoothies with almond milk, banana and chia seeds. I tried one with baby spinach, but... let's just say that didn't turn out so well!

So now, a year later, I finally mustered up the courage to try again... and I had great success!!!

1/4 cup of milk, 2 tablespoons of natural greek yoghurt, 1 banana, 3 strawberries (plus the one in the picture for decorative purposes), 2 tablespoons of chia seeds, and 1/4 of an avocado all blended together gave me this:

Yummy goodness!!

I created the recipe myself, and it was pretty close to perfect.

What is your favourite flavoured smoothie? Do you ever make your own?

~Rachel

WF Detox (Why? and Guidelines) -Part 2-

To read Part 1 of my Detox journey, go here.

It has been almost 1 whole month of my detox. I have been wanting to journal the entire journey, but other things have been higher on the priority list.

Today, I want to share with you why I am doing this detox, and the "rules" of it.

Why? The Reader's Digest Version:
I have been wanting to improve my skin condition for some time now, and a friend told me about her sister who did a whole-foods-only detox over a period of 3-4 months, with results of lovely, glowing skin.

This inspired me, and after asking a bunch of questions and deliberating for WEEKS whether I should give this a try or not, I decided to give it a go. I figured that I wanted to try something natural for my skin and body - and I tell myself that even if the results for my skin aren't fantastic, at least I have been healthy ;-) (yes, I have a lot of faith. I know. Sad. :-/ )

Background information:
Over a year ago, my doctor prescribed some medication, basically designed to improve skin conditions such as my own. I took the medication faithfully for a few months (and my doctor even prescribed a stronger dose) with absolutely zero results. This is what made me hesitant to try other medications or even go to a dermatologist (plus, I can think of better things to spend my $$ on! - although I have not completely ruled out visiting a dermatologist one day, if needed).

I have also been reading a lot about how valuable nature is. God has created so many things that are good for us!!! We just need to learn to use it to its greatest potential! I believe that SO MANY of the foods we consume in today's society is just a waste of the goodness that God has already prepared. Sure, junk food is yummy. Sugary, carby, fatty foods taste good. But is it actually good for me?
I am beginning to believe that when I eat the simple, wonderful, flavoursome foods that God has given me, surely I will become more healthy for it!!


So here I am! Eating only whole foods, and eliminating some foods that can highly affect the skin or aren't highly nutritious.

Here are the guidelines of this detox. I want to stick to these rules as closely as I possibly can, and by writing it down and telling friends and family (aka, being accountable!), I will be able to abide by these more effectively.

Whole Foods Detox Guidelines

• No dairy
• No wheat
• Minimal sugar - honey and fruits are fine at the moment, although I want to look at which fruits I could / should eliminate, to get the best out of this detox
• "Whole Foods" = eating any food that has not been processed and does not contain additives, such as preservative, food acid, or anything else that is not completely natural

Everyone asks how I can do it. They ask me, "Isn't it boring?! What on EARTH can you eat?! I could never do that!"

And yes, it is hard. But, with time, it is getting easier.

In the beginning, I felt like I had to eat foods with no additional flavourings. Ack! How boring!! I love different flavours!
But as I began cooking more and searching for recipes, I have realized that I can eat any spices - just look at the ingredients list of practically any spice, and you'll see that it is all just ground leaves / seeds etc. Too easy to flavour meat dishes with spices! I can also have curries. And adding lemon juice, garlic, and even vinegar, to various foods can add an abundance of flavour.
There are so many wonderful flavours that I have seen in recipes and haven't tried yet; so many that I WANT to try...
And if I was not doing this whole-foods-only thing, I would still be stuck with a bunch of the so-called "essential" flavours that we all use on a day-to-day basis - but I am finding that these pure ingredients often taste and feel way better anyway!
So far overall, this has been a pretty cool journey. I have learned a fair bit so far, and am ready to learn MUCH more! Be prepared to hear more about my Whole Foods Detox :-)
~Rachel

WF Detox -Part 1-

On Thursday the 14th of Ocober, 2011, I began a whole-foods-only detox.

The view behind this is that the foods that enter our body can and does affect our overall health - and later, I will share with you why I started this crazy idea to eat only whole foods.
Today, most foods contain all kinds of preservatives, flavourings, thickeners, stabilisers, acids… and much more, that our bodies just do not need! Imagine a car, whose owner fills up the petrol tank with a mixture of water, various oils, and maybe even tar (yes, I realize those substances are completely random. This is my point). Now look at your own body and think about what you feed it every day. Do you feed it the foods that your body was originally designed to consume, or is it a bit overloaded at the moment with many foods that, really, when you think about it, probably aren’t doing your body much good at all?

I began this detox when my family was on holidays – perfect, so I could watch what I ate, and not worry about what everyone else was eating!! From Wednesday the 12th of October, I began to watch what I was eating, and, except for a few leftovers that needed to be eaten, ate only whole foods.

I continued eating my normal soaked oats with quinoa and dates for breakfast. For lunches, I made salads. One of these salads was a red kidney bean and corn salad, which I adapted – I used peas instead of the kidney beans, as we didn’t have any kidney beans in the pantry – and it was delicious! I loved the lemon and spice flavourings. I began eating only fruit, vegetables and nuts for my snacks, and had corn thins for one meal.

I began feeling quite nauseated on the Friday afternoon, after I ate only half of my plain salad sprinkled with pepper for lunch (no cheese, no meat, and practically no flavouring. I think this may have been what messed with my poor tummy). I couldn’t quite put my finger on the full reason of why I didn’t feel so good. By Saturday afternoon, it really was not good. I went to a party with a friend, and when the foods came out, they included a salad platter. Originally I thought, “Perfect! Soemthing I can eat!” But after a few moments, I realized just seeing the salad made me feel sick. I began to realize then, that I may have gone into this detox too quickly! It didn’t even enter my mind to ease into this different way of eating. To perhaps allow one or two food items a day, like bread or cheese or some other packaged food.

But, since I hadn’t done that, I had to suffer the consequences!! I felt ill for the next 3 days, and struggled to eat very much. I steered away from salads, and made Lamb & Spinach Koftas and Chicken Lentil Curry - I ate these over and over again for the following days.

Come back to read more of my WF Detox story!

~Rachel