Can you help me come up with some detox meal ideas please?

[SayItLoud]

I want to do a one-month detox, which along with upping my exercise will hopefully go a good way to reducing the bloating and flab I have acquired recently!

So my plan is to cut out wheat, alcohol, red meat and sugar completely (inc fruit as v. high in sugar), and reduce dairy and carbs by a significant amount too. I don't want to cut them out completely because I'm running round after two small children all day and exercising in the evening, so feel like I need the extra nutritional oomph! I'll aim for most carbs to come from rice rather than cereals and potatoes though.

So, any ideas so I'm not just eating grilled salmon and steamed veggies? Ideally food that the rest of the family will be happy to eat too so I don't have to cook twice.

And if any of you want to join me I'd be happy to keep the thread going to support each other?

If you go to places like Holland & Barrett you can get a vegetable pasta ( i.e made of spinach and corn) A small amount of that should be good. Keep your carbs for your lunch time meal and lighten it in the evening.

Soups would be great, make with peppers, courgettes, spinach and bulk up with chickpeas or sweet potato if you need to..

Be prepared for a headace and drink lots of water

I've got some gluten-free rice pasta, which is great and I give that to all of us. I guess curries are a good option to liven things up a bit? I just find it so dull with grilled fish and meat and steamed veg, and endless omelettes. Love stirfries so have added those to the list. Thanks Rubyx, soups are a great idea.

I live on a 'detox' diet and make delicious smoothies with ground almonds,linseeds and sometimes pumpkin seeds; apple. apricots, strawberries etc. (the sugar in fruit is good 'cos it brings up your blood sugar level slowly especially mixed with the nuts and seeds) I put apple juice and or water in for the liquid and it is nec. to liquidise (I use my hand held one) for quite a while to get a good creamy consistency.

I do the same with avocadoes, lettuce, cucumber, spring onions and garlic olive oil with lemon juice, water and chopped fresh lemon. If you marinate tofu in tamari sauce with lemon juice and then gently fry for 5 mins then serve with quinoa or whole rice and salad. Maybe serve with a tahini sauce which you make by mixing sesame butter with water, chopped garlic, lemon juice and tamari .It's delicious!

I live on a 'detox' diet and make delicious smoothies with ground almonds,linseeds and sometimes pumpkin seeds; apple. apricots, strawberries etc. (the sugar in fruit is good 'cos it brings up your blood sugar level slowly especially mixed with the nuts and seeds) I put apple juice and or water in for the liquid and it is nec. to liquidise (I use my hand held one) for quite a while to get a good creamy consistency.

I do the same with avocadoes, lettuce, cucumber, spring onions and garlic olive oil with lemon juice, water and chopped fresh lemon. If you marinate tofu in tamari sauce with lemon juice and then gently fry for 5 mins then serve with quinoa or whole rice and salad. Maybe serve with a tahini sauce which you make by mixing sesame butter with water, chopped garlic, lemon juice and tamari .It's delicious!

Mmm, great ideas there, marinated tofu is a good one, thank you. Are you on a vegan diet? And do you mind if I ask if you use the detox for health/weightloss or just because you prefer it tastewise?

Thanks Sayit. I'm a demi vegan ( i do eat some fish and org eggs also occasional organic chicken and turkey) 'cos i follow my Blood type diet for health. I'm on the paul mckenna for weight loss. BTW they both work!!

I know it sounds limited but i always make sure to use plenty of garlic and onions for flavour i can eat curry without chili so it's not as boring as some might think!!.

detox is a myth, the liver does this adequately and its never been proved to do anything obviously changing your diet to healthier will improve yr overall health but no need to drink anymore water as you get plenty from your veg/meat/fish and fruit.

You should never cut out anything from your diet and its un-necessary all you can do is get better quality or make from scratch like our grandparents who were much healthier than us. Why do this???? There are studies being done on pedigree old breeds of beef animals to see whether they carry better fats. IMO any pure breed animals carry better fats and nutrician. Chicken from old pure breeds carry less fat than the modern hybrid. Nothing wrong in cutting down diary as thats over consumed anyway.

As for bread, if made from quailty wholegrain and fermented correctly is a very healthy meal its only the modern methods that have made eating a fatty, stoggy and allergy stuff. There is nothing wrong with wheat if consumed in the correct amounts another celeb thing thats gone too far with so called energy busters etc. Studies have been done very recently to prove that all of this is in the mind.

If I was you I'd do no faddy diet thing just go out and source better ingredients (farmers markets, on-line stores, flour direct from mills, local markets, some organics), cook from scratch, portion control and have a varied diet. Doing these sorts of diets must send your body into shock and pointless stress and can be expensive too!

I second Bacon! It sounds like you're trying to cut out almost all food, which if I'm dieting, inevitably leads to enormous chocolate brownies on day two, followed by remorse.

Cut out snacks, stop picking at the kids crusts / biscuits (my vice) and eat lots of fresh veg and healthy protein.

If you're increasing your exercise you do need to eat something!

Good luck though. I always find I do better if i'm not too drastic. Takes longer, but is more sustainable.

Sayitloud sorry to hijack your thread.bacon i agree that the industrial modern farming methods are not good. IMO our ancestors were not nec. healthier than us there was a lot of adulteration of food going on, the average life expectancy was very low and the ones that lived were as ill as this generation esp. if rich they were obese as well, look at Queen Victoria or Henry V111.Also they only cooked from scratch during the 2nd W.W. 'cos the convenience foods disappeared!
I lost 2 stone on the Paul Mckenna plan it re educates your attitude to food and you would approve of it bacon 'cos it says eat anything you want but slowly and consciously.

I can't eat wheat (even the best organic sourdough) because it stops my digestion. (is that in my mind Bacon?) But I do eat rye and spelt or kamut bread and crackers.It also makes DH a fat exhausted grump!!

Dermot@ activia how much of your product do you reckon would have to be consumed to increase the good bacteria in a person's gut appreciably? Surely taking an acidophilus supplement would be more beneficial?

And how many spoonfuls of sugar are in each product....

Just eat natural live yogurt.

Ben Goldacre is intersting on bacterial products / drinks.

Bacon, you make lots of assumptions in your post. You have no idea what my diet is like now, so don't know what I may or may not need to cut out/reduce/increase - I def need to cut out cake, and I def need to reduce my juice intake and up my water intake!

I don't think cutting out alcohol, refined sugars, wheat/refined carbs and alcohol will send my body into any kind of shock, more the opposite - when I did it before, I had loads more energy, clearer skin, healthier bathroom habits (so to speak), and lost weight quickly down to a weight I consider to be ideal, then levelled out at that weight - it seemed like my body breathed a sigh of relief!

I always cook from scratch, all our meat comes from our excellent local butcher, and have a very varied diet, just one that currently includes too much of stuff that I feel I should eat less of.

I don't know about the blood group diet that Ppeatfruit mentions, but I know that this way of eating feels far healthier to me, although of course wouldn't be for everyone - maybe that's related to blood group perhaps?

So I'd like some nice meal suggestions please!

yes sayit O types are good with most meats plenty of veg. and fruit but only some carbs, whole rice and rye bread is good. But A types can eat a little poultry plus fish. Sorry for posting twice i just noticed!!

ok, so maybe I wasn't all that helpful either! Sorry.

I find the Refresh cook book really good when I'm feeling unhealthy. It has lots of lovely vegan recipes (I'm not vegan, but there's no disputing these meals' healthiness and yumminess). Most of it focusses around rice bowls with greens and proteins on top. My fave has brown rice, grilled courgettes and tomatoes and tofu topped with miso gravy. It sounds a bit macrobiotic / gwyneth paltrow ish, but is really lovely.

I'm doing a diet this month too as I feel much bigger when I wear summer clothes! I'm trying to eat mainly vegetables with less meat than usual. Breakfast is porridge and lunch would be raw salad & veg with risotto rice of some sort or beans and rice. Dinner will be similar. I'm keeping my portions smaller than usual so hopefully eating about 500 less calories a day than usual. I'm still allowing a bit of chocolate each day and wine once a week so I don't go crazy.

Forgot meal suggestions: Omelettes, Mushroom Risotto, Fish Pie, Veg or Pork/Chicken Stir Fry, Chickpea curry.

if you use the right spices in curry you can make a delicious one that is good for you. i made one yesterday I used a heavy pan and put plenty of ground org. turmeric (which is the new superfood!) and cumin, ginger, coriander etc( to your own tastes) in dry and cook on low until you smell them. Then add olive oil to make a paste. Put in chopped onions, carrots, celery etc. add some water and cover tightly cook on v. low till softened stirring once or twice.

Then add chopped courgettes and garlic or whatever soft veg or chickpeas haricot beans etc. you've got and tamari and more water. Cover and cook on minimum heat till soft. Turn it off and leave on heat till cold (it tastes even better when reheated).

I also make a lot and freeze it in small containers( not for too long though) Rice freezes really well.

serve with whole rice, quinoa yoghurt raita or plain( I use tofu yoghurt).