Planning and preparing for an after-holiday cleanse involves a little bit of prep work in the meal planning arena but most of the work is in our New Year’s mindset.
For many of us, after the holidays, we feel bloated and sluggish, largely because of all the sugar and carbs that we ingested over the lengthy holiday season. An after-holiday cleanse is a great way to ‘clean the slate’ and re-calibrate our health for the New Year!
Let’s start with Breakfast… There are multiple fantastic ways to start the day, and as growing research has shown, the first meal of the day is super important to provide us with ample fuel for all of the tasks that we need to accomplish through the day. Here are the basic bullets to check off when planning your breakfast:
- Cleanse specifics: avoid gluten, dairy, refined sugar, grain, legumes, and processed food. Eat fresh and organic! Drink lots of water!
- 1 serving of Protein: organic eggs, grass-fed beef, pasture-raised/natural pork, organic poultry, wild fish.
- Always remember the veggies! Vegetables are essential for a healthy start to the day, but these foods are commonly forgotten in a typical Western breakfast. Here are some options: avocado, cherry tomatoes, sliced cucumber, sauteed kale, raw arugula…
- Healthy Fats: extra virgin olive oil, extra virgin coconut oil, nuts, seeds, avocado, nut butter, tahini or other seed butters…
Here are some breakfast pairing ideas:
- Morning Protein Shake: Good quality protein powder (made from grass-fed beef or organic pea protein or other paleo clean protein source), 1 cup veggies (like greens or celery or cucumber), 1 cup fruit (like frozen berries), some good fats (1 tbs extra virgin olive oil or coconut oil, 1/2 avocado, 1 tbs nut or seed butter), and some liquid (1/2 -1 cup water or coconut milk or nut milk).
- Over easy egg paired with sauteed spinach or kale and 1/2 sliced avocado drizzled/sprinkled with sea salt, cracked pepper, paprika, fresh squeezed lemon juice, and extra virgin olive oil.
- Homemade turkey sausage with side salad of sliced cherry tomatoes, sliced cucumber, fresh parsley and basil, and drizzled/sprinkled with sea salt, cracked pepper, and extra virgin olive oil.
- Open-faced sandwich on homemade multi-seed cauliflower bread (see recipe on blog) with smoke salmon (lox) on bed of raw arugula and honey mustard, with drizzle of extra virgin olive oil over top.
- Spinach & sun-dried tomato fritatta muffins.
- Tigernut flour pancakes– delicious & nutritious!
Give these breakfasts a try and you’re well on your way to a great start to the day!
Contact me at AyeletConnell@gmail.com if you are interested in a good quality protein powder recommendation!