Your Guide To The January Detox: Recipes & Must-Read Tips For Healthy Eating
To be honest, as soon as January hits – everyone goes crazy! Detoxing, cleansing, juicing, exercising. They throw all the chocolate in the bin or give it away to Aunt Elda! It’s like a mad frenzy… and then it falls flat on its butt! You’re lucky if your new regime lasts past the third week in January, then you give up, feel hopeless, and start eating doughnuts and gin at 11 am! Ok…so it’s maybe not quite that bad, but there are some important things to know to help guide you into a pleasant and easy detox in 2024.
The art of the January detox
The art of successfully detoxing the body, in my experience as a nutritionist (I have been working in clinical environments for over 15 years now) is taking things slowly. The more consistent you can be with your diet, and introduce small changes in the new year, the better results you will see, and the more sustainable it will be for you. Then the better you begin to feel, the more you are likely to continue.
Believe me, once you find your new energy and va-va-voom again, you will not want to stop. And that is what a detox should be. It should not be too brutal unless you are struggling with a serious disease, and that’s a whole different story. In that instance, it is a good idea to treat the body as if you are having an intense clearout, and if anyone would like more information on that please let me know. The main thing that I see with my clients when I scan their health on my device if the results show lots of toxicity – is that they have a very stagnant lymphatic system. This creates a back-log in the liver and can affect everything from hormonal imbalances, sleep disorders, skin issues, migraines, digestive complaints, and joint pain.
The association with what you eat and how you feel really is 100% real. What you put in your body is your fuel and your healing, and even if your mission is to lose weight, you still need to eat. Whenever I create diet plans for my clients, there is usually more food included than they would imagine. This is because your body needs the right nutrients in order to lose weight. Often, we snack on a biscuit or crisps and feel hungry 20 minutes later, because these foods cannot possibly satisfy our bodies, so it tells us to eat again. When we eat nutritionally rich foods, we feel full and satisfied. Our brainpower is good, and we feel energised.
Here are some really simple ideas to start your January detox:
Detox alkalising and anti-inflammatory water ideas – for all day long sipping! (Water should be slightly warm or room temperature.) This helps you stay super hydrated – helps push things through the lymphatic system and keeps the liver and kidneys happy!
Add all ingredients to 2 litres of water.
1 x teaspoon of apple cider vinegar – 3 inches of freshly grated ginger, the juice of one lemon.
Juice of 1 x lime, add slices of 2 x fresh oranges and 5 x slices of cucumber, plus a handful of mixed berries.
1 x Camomile and 1 x lime flower tea bags – Juice 1 x lemon – add tea bags into warm water and let diffuse. Drinking this will help hydrate and detox you and leave you feeling calm and in control.
Green tea and fresh lemon – help speed up the metabolism and is full of antioxidants. Letting one green tea bag diffuse in water and sip all day helps keep your body hydrated and stay squeaky clean.
January detox smoothies – I love green smoothies because if you make them right, they can give you a kick of nutrients like no other. I would suggest you make a pint of green smoothie and split it in half. Have one half in the morning and one in the afternoon. Add superfoods such as wheatgrass, spirulina and baobab into the mix and a tablespoon of chia seeds and flax seeds. They will help you to feel full plus add a considerable amount of good fibre, vitamins, minerals and omegas into the mix.
Green smoothie recipes
Blend with coconut water for an electrolyte burst!
Half a cucumber – 2 x apple – 1x lime – 1 x avocado – handful spinach.
2 stick celery – handful spinach – 1 banana – handful berries.
Handful berries – 1 peach – handful Kale – handful coriander
Quarter of a watermelon – 2 oranges – handful spinach
Food and health tips
Swap wheat bread for sourdough.
Eat sauerkraut – this helps produce good bacteria in the gut, which helps with good vibrant health.
Eat mainly plant-based – plants are anti-inflammatory and can reverse disease.
Make a rule – NO PROCESSED foods.
Eat Quinoa for lunch – with a truckload of vegetables instead of a sandwich.
Your evening meal should be very light. Soups are perfect.
Eat in an 8-10 hour window. Start at 10 am and don’t eat after 6 pm. (The health benefits to this are amazing!)
Add spice to your foods – taste is everything – if it tastes delicious you will love it and spices help you to detox, add considerable antioxidants and give many good health benefits including boosting your immune system.
Cut out dairy – use milk alternatives such as almond milk and oat milk. Making your own is easy and there are loads of recipe videos on my website for you to see.
Exercise every day for at least 30 minutes come rain or shine – your body will thank you for making it move!
Meditate – You only need to do 10 mins per day and Yes this helps you detox! Not only in your mind but also in making good clear choices in your every world
