About 20 years ago I felt sluggish; my tummy was bloated and my skin was blotchy – so it was time to do something about it. I thought I’d give a strict detox programme a go and, after a month, I felt like a different person. In fact, my firstreal Detoxchanged my life – more specifically my future lifestyle and my approach to food, eating and living.

Despite feeling so amazing that first time, I haven’t been able to do the full 30 day programme ever since. I’ve just found it impossible to find a whole month of not consuming any meat, fish, dairy, gluten or sugar and not drinking any caffeine or alcohol.  My life has been full-on and my will-power is quite flimsy when it comes to yummy temptations. So instead I’ve created some seasonal, 7-14 day detox plans, which I’ve found much more doable – not just because they’re shorter but because I’ve adapted the original “free-from-everything” programme to suitme. So I do include (oily) fish, eggs and healthy dairy (kefir, Feta and so on) –  with a couple of vegan &/or fasting days in the middle. So doing it this way, I find detoxing more achievable, effective and even enjoyable – most importantly, I always feel great at the end of it!

This year, for various reasons, I decided to do the 30 day DETOX programme again. Just like all those years ago, I don’t feel well in my skin; I don’t sleep well; and I have flabby bits around my waistline. But this time round I’m not going to restrict everything in one go, instead I’m taking a more gentle (or sensible) approach to it.  Anyway, as usual, the experts have changed their minds about certain foods during the last 15 years – some that were considered good, now arebad (such as fructose & grains);  yet other foods that were labelled unhealthy are nowcelebratedfor their amazing health benefits (such as coconut, prawns, avocado & eggs). Crucially, I have learned how properly to listen to my own body, its signals, likes and dislikes. This is because, over the years, I have observed – and can now recognise – the effects of certain foods on my body-shape, skin, mood and general well-being. So I take nutritional studies and expert advice with a pinch of salt (not literally!) – and neither do I care much about such temporary trends as “clean eating” and current weird, faddish diets.

So based on 15 years of regular, seasonal detoxing I’ve developed a Spring CleanDiet plan which I’m going to describe in detail and share here at CookTogether as a journal.

What is theSpring Clean Diet?

It’s basically a body cleansing & renewal plan through food. It’s not vegan, not low-carb or law-cal; there is no calorie counting, portion-restrictions or carb-ban. Having said that, the programme is mainly plant-based – so lot’s of fruits, veggies and whole grains are consumed. Most detox programmes don’t allow fish, dairy and eggs.  I think seafood and eggs are so beneficial to our health that I included these in the plan too. Also, the occasional organic dairy products not only help dishes taste better but have lots of qualities & properties that are very good for the guts (such as Kefir or live yogurt). Read the full explanation in how theSpring Clean Dietworks>>

Spring Renewal

Most of us attempt a diet in January as a penance after the festive period of self-indulgence and over-consumption. Then again, at the beginning of Summer, some of us panic and go on a crush diet to try to look more presentable on the beach. Well, I prefer a more relaxed approach that follows Nature – so, as Spring is the season of rejuvenation, I think it’s much easier to cleanse and renew our body and soul in a synchronous way. During the winter I feel like eating lots of comfort food, such as hearty stews, soups and one-pot dishes; usually accompanied with a large glass or so of red wine to survive the long, gloomy evenings. Summer for me is about BBQ parties andal frescodining with plenty of Aperol Spritz & Pimms. So, I can only manage a week or two of light detoxing during these seasons. But at Springtime I’m naturally attracted to wholesome soups & salads, full of new, fresh vegetables. The days grow longer, the air smells fragrant and fresher – so it just becomes much more bearable to restrict certain foods for a whole month (to be honest, most of them I no longer crave anyway). I think it’s worth noting thatfastingis an integral part of most of the world’s great religions and it is Spring that sees, for example, the cleansing observances of Passover, Lent and Ramadan –  just as I believe Nature also encourages us to do.

Preparing for theSpring Clean Diet

Over the years I’ve learnt that in order to complete my cleansing diet plan, I have to prepare for it properly. So the next part is about Preparing for the Spring Clean Diet>>

Related Articles

• Harmonious Food Combining
• Spring Clean Diet Journal
• Spring Clean Diet Plan
• Spring Clean Diet Recipes