Winter Cleanse 2013: Week One

So I know I’ve been talking about it for a while now, but I finally have the first week of this year’s winter cleanse menu ready to go. I struggle a lot with what to call this “cleanse” – I flip-flop between “cleanse,” “detox,” “diet,” and other typical health-food plan words. At it’s core, it’s really just a healthy eating plan focused on whole foods and vegetables. While I do tend to lose weight while doing it, not every recipe is low calorie, and some even include typical diet no-no’s like cheese, and chorizo. Still, the goal for me is to get a lot of the holiday junk out of my system and fill up on wholesome, nutrient-packed foods that will be kind to my body, so “cleanse” always ends up winning the word-choice battle.

Last year I was a little too ambitious with my cleanse “rules,” and I ended up having a really tough time sticking to them. This year, I’m being a bit more generous with myself in the plan, but stricter about sticking to it. Basically, I try to limit sugar, dairy, meat, and gluten (although I have some whole wheat foods), and replace those foods with lots and lots of vegetables, whole grains, and beans. I have to have a green salad every day, and drinks are mainly water and tea, with an occasional latte built-in as a snack/treat. No booze. It’s not a super strict plan, but I find having everything mapped out and the rules firmly in my mind really helps with my motivation – and so far I feel great (and have lost 4 pounds in as many days)!

Another difficult part for me last year was the sheer amount of cooking that doing this required. There were definitely nights when I just ran out of energy – in particular, the night I stopped at a cafe and wolfed down a cheesy sandwich because I was too exhausted to think about getting more groceries comes to mind. This year, I put a lot more time into planning and prep so that this wouldn’t be a problem. I got all the groceries for the whole week in one go, and I’ve attached a grocery list (enough for 1-2 people doing the cleanse) for you as well (as well as a menu print-out to hang on your fridge). I also identified all the activities that could easily be done on the first day, Sunday, or any other time that you have a little extra free time, so that making meals the rest of the week would be quicker. I didn’t do all of these in one day, but spread them out over my free time:

• Making the ginger-cassis dressing
• Making the Caesar dressing
• Making the tzatziki
• Soaking and cooking the chickpeas (if not using canned)
• Toasting and grinding breadcrumbs and croutons (if not using store-bought)
• Roasting the broccoli
• Roasting and peeling the chestnuts
• Roasting the sweet potato
• Washing, drying, and cutting the kale leaves
• Peeling and segmenting the grapefruit
• Prepping “snack bags” for the week
• Peeling and cutting onions, carrots, and garlic for various meals (store in snack bags in fridge)

A few last notes – the attached shopping list is written for one person to have enough to make all the meals in the first week, plus a little extra (you can’t buy half an onion!). For the most part, I scaled the ingredient amounts down to be enough to serve 2 – one serving for dinner, and one serving of leftovers for lunch the next day. There are some recipes, though, that just don’t scale as easily, and I did end up with a lot of leftovers. I froze all of the leftovers and encourage you to do the same, if you have them – it will just help you to continue eating healthily after the cleanse is over! You’ll notice that the weekends are structured a bit differently, with larger brunch and dinner meals and one substantial snack – this reflects the way I eat during the weekends, but feel free to bulk up these days with more healthy fruit and vegetable snacks (or leftovers from other meals). In general, mixing and matching recipes you like and don’t like is fine – I only have them in the order I do so that meals don’t overlap too much within a day (aka you don’t end up having eggs for breakfast, lunch, and dinner), and so that leftovers get used up. Last, if you miss a day or give in to something not on the plan, don’t beat yourself up over it – just start again with fresh focus the next day!

Menu Attachment
Grocery List Attachment

Disclaimer: I am not a dietitian, nutritionist, doctor, or medical professional of any sort.  I simply wanted to share my personal menu and goals for healthy eating, so please realize that I have tapered this plan to what I feel my own nutritional needs are, and carefully consider your own health needs/consult your doctor before following any diet, cleanse, or detox plan! 

Winter Cleanse Menu 2013 – Week One

Day One, Sunday:

• Brunch: Brussels Sprout and Sweet Potato Hash with a Fried Egg
• Snack: Avocado Tartine – 1 Piece Whole Wheat Toast with 1/2 an Avocado
• Dinner: Mushroom and Lentil Pot Pie, Kale and Roasted Broccoli Caesar Salad

Day Two, Monday:

• Breakfast: Mushroom and Roast Broccoli Scramble
• Snack: 2 Clementines
• Lunch: Grapefruit and Avocado Salad, Leftover Mushroom and Lentil Pot Pie
• Snack: Snack Bag – 1/4 c. Pecans, 1/4 c. Dried Fruit, 2 TBS Chocolate Chips
• Dinner: Baked Chickpea Burger with Tabbouleh and Tzatziki

Day Three, Tuesday:

• Breakfast: Leftover Brussels Sprouts and Sweet Potato Hash
• Snack: Small Latte
• Lunch: Leftover Chickpea Burger with Tabbouleh and Tzatziki
• Snack: Green Grapes
• Dinner: Chestnut and Potato Soup, Kale and Roasted Broccoli Caesar Salad

Day Four, Wednesday:

• Breakfast: Raspberry-Maple Breakfast Quinoa
• Snack: 2 Clementines
• Lunch: Leftover Chestnut and Potato Soup, Kale and Roasted Broccoli Caesar Salad
• Snack: Snack Bag – 1/4 c. Pecans, 1/4 c. Dried Fruit, 2 TBS Chocolate Chips
• Dinner: Vegetarian Chili with Brown Rice

Day Five, Thursday:

• Breakfast: 1 Piece Whole Wheat Toast with Peanut-Butter, Chocolate-Blueberry Smoothie
• Snack: Small Latte
• Lunch: Leftover Vegetarian Chili with Brown Rice
• Snack: Green Grapes
• Dinner: Fried Chickpeas with Yogurt Sauce, Grapefruit and Avocado Salad

Day Six, Friday:

• Breakfast: Raspberry-Maple Breakfast Quinoa
• Snack: 2 Clementines
• Lunch: Leftover Fried Chickpeas with Yogurt Sauce, Hard-Boiled Egg
• Snack: Snack Bag – 1/4 c. Pecans, 1/4 c. Dried Fruit, 2 TBS Chocolate Chips
• Dinner: Quinoa Puttanesca, Raw Kale and Pecorino Salad

Day Seven, Saturday:

• Brunch: Shakshuka (Eggs and Potatoes in Spicy Tomato Sauce)
• Snack: Apple Quinoa Cake
• Dinner: Bulghur with Butter-Roasted Almonds and Chicken, Salad with Ginger-Cassis Dressing

Update: Week Two Menu is now available!