If there’s ever a time when we could use some detoxification, it’s after the holiday season. Between sugary desserts and heavy meals and glasses of new year’s champagne, your system can easily get thrown off kilter.
But detox diets don’t need to be long and painful. In fact there are many ways to shrink your gut, rebalance your metabolism, and get back to feeling great, while still enjoying tasty food.
Take breakfast, for instance. Instead of having a sugary cinnamon roll, you can try a hearty, filling oatmeal recipe that will help cleanse your system and keep you feeling full.
Liz Moody at MindBodyGreen writes about a ridiculously nutritional oatmeal dish that you can make in 10 minutes. Here’s what she says about it:
Initially, this savory breakfast may seem “too new” or too different. Believe me when I tell you, we felt the same way. But then we tried it. Wow, does it grow on you! The nutritional yeast creates a wonderful creaminess. On a cold day, this warms you through and through. And you have the benefit of getting your greens at breakfast. Once I accidentally used farro instead of oats (our grain cupboard is crowded!), and it was fantastic!
Of course, detoxifying foods can be squeezed in any time of day. Soup is a favorite winter dish that can be easy to make and serve to guests.
Angela at the Oh She Glows blog, which has all kinds of creative plant-based recipes, describes a delicious cabbage that is full of immune-boosting vitamins. Plus the color will fit with the holiday theme.
Here’s her background story about this recipe:
You may suspect we’re living off of soup these days due to how many soup recipes I’ve shared over the past few months, and you might be right! Soup has been our go-to solution during the hectic postpartum season because I can make a big batch and the leftovers only get better as the days go by.
My aunt recently had us over for lunch, and she made this incredible borscht-inspired soup that I immediately knew I had to try to make at home. I couldn’t believe how few ingredients she used for a soup that blew us all away. Her secret? A jar of marinara sauce forms the soup’s base. My jaw dropped! I recreated the soup at home the very next day, and my jaw dropped again when Adriana ate 3 bowls of it in a row. She was covered in beet stains by the end, but it was worth it because I never thought she’d eat this kind of soup. Heck, I never thought I would enjoy beets in soup either, but it’s our new obsession. So if you’re worried about a beet and cabbage soup being a bit too earthy-tasting, I encourage you to give this one a try. It’s surprisingly sweet, and really satisfying. I’m also convinced the healthy ingredients helped me fight off a cold that was going through our household, too. It’s bursting with Vitamin C, iron, and B vitamins, making it a great immune-booster this time of the year!
Sticking with the theme of recipes that use Christmas colors, here’s another powerful detox smoothie that makes a great post-holiday treat. It was originally shared on the website GreenBlender, and has both anti-inflammatory and immune-boosting ingredients.
Full of fiber and even a little protein, pomegranates are known for being a favorite holiday flavor, as well as for their antioxidant power. They’re also fantastic at treating inflammation in the body. Cashews are a low fat nut, and the fat that do contain is directly responsible for helping our body process energy in the most efficient way. Oats will help you feel satisfied and grounded with their heart-healthy fiber, and grapes and pear add a sweet (but not too sweet) base. After a long, stressful day, this might be just the thing to renew your senses!
As you can see, detoxifying is easy to do. It just requires swapping in some healthy recipes for less-than-healthy meals.
In some cases you might want a longer duration detox diet. Though these can be a little more arduous, the results can be life-changing. We recommend a smoothie-based detox that uses “superfoods” like maca root.
Whether you prefer occasional detox meals or a full detox diet, making sure you nourish your body is as important as ever during the holiday season.