NOURISH | Detox Your World – Part 2

In a previous article we shared the preliminary steps for detoxing your world, courtesy of raw food lifestyle authority Shazzie. Here are some additional tips for going green, detoxing your home, clearing your mind and body, and choosing the best detox meals. For additional information and recipes, check out Detox Your World.

Go Green

Now it gets interesting! Maybe you’ve taken six months or six days to get to this point—it doesn’t matter so long as you feel comfort­able with your pace. Check back in your journal at how you felt be­fore you started, and record how you feel now. Now you’re going to make a green juice, smoothie, soup, or salad every day. In the­ory it might seem like a big change, but check out these examples:

• Juice two apples and eight handfuls of greens (to choose greens see the greens section in chapter 4, p. 172).

• Finely chop four handfuls of greens, make guacamole from one avocado, and mix together. Have this snack before your evening meal.

• Take the leaves off one head of romaine, spread Sunflower Pâté (p. 368) on a leaf, sprinkle on generous helpings of your favorite fresh herbs, roll it up, and eat it like a sandwich. Do this until you’re full.

• Blend two bananas with half an avocado, half a liter of water (or freshly squeezed orange juice), a pinch of lemon peel, and one to four teaspoons of green superfood or one teaspoon of E3Live. If you think that’s a lot, try half the quantity and work up.

• Blend your choice of greens with carrots and almond milk for a quick and satisfying soup.

• Mash an avocado with alfalfa sprouts, green superfood or E3Live, and chopped garlic for a supercharged guacamole, to use in sandwiches, in burritos, with crudités, or stuffed into tomatoes. Add spices and olives to really get your taste buds zinging.

• Take the stalks off a head of celery, make a pâté or dip from the recipes (chapter 8), and add lots of fresh herbs such as basil or cilantro. Spread onto the celery.

As you can see, even this small list has endless possibilities and notice I didn’t mention the word “salad” once! Salads are the best meals in the world, but not everyone’s ready to think of them as enough of a replacement for their normal diet. If you love salads, your world of greens is as open as your mind. Remember to experi­ment, make full use of my recipes, and know you’re giving yourself the best food choices in the world.

Take your time with this one, let it happen over weeks, and per­severe. It’s a big change for most people, and will produce great results. If you don’t like dark greens (yet!), then start with light lettuces and small amounts of green superfood or E3Live. When you become more alkaline and clean, you will grow to love the taste and will naturally want more.

Read the sections on organic food, minerals, and greens again, especially if you’re in any doubt as to what greens will do for you.

Detox Your Home

Think back to when you had your first drink or cigarette—maybe you choked or were sick? This happens because your pure body recognizes it as a toxin and wants it out. However, after a while of continuing to use these drugs, your body stops fighting and ends up storing the toxins that it can’t process.

On a more subtle level, you have also become used to the tox­ins in your home, so when you detox, you will notice they aren’t so pleasant to live with anymore. Detoxing your home will contribute greatly to your health; welcome it with open arms.

You need to detox your home simultaneously with your body because you are becoming more porous and will be more sensitive to the toxins that you once tolerated. This is perfectly normal and in fact desirable; it indicates your body is starting to respond to poisons as it did when you were younger and cleaner. I’m sure you don’t want to be this pure thing floating around your home with toxins lurking in every cupboard, so make your home fit to live in.

When you have a spare few hours, go through all your cup­boards. If you pick a day where the moon is waxing or full, you’ll have consistent energy to complete the process. Buy nontoxic ver­sions of household cleaning products. Remember that solutions our grannies used (think vinegar, baking soda, and lemon juice) are often much better for the environment than anything you canbuy as a specific product.

From now on, every time you do anything, whether big or small, to your house, car, or other place that you spend time in, consider which chemicals are used and how you can substitute less harmful ones. For example:

• Next time you redecorate, use low-toxin paints.

• If you need to do any restoration work, check out the environmentally friendly options, as well as ecoconscious workers.

• If you are laying new flooring, look at natural fibers, natural linoleum (not vinyl), or wood

• When you redesign a room, remember to add plenty of plants into the plan.

Detox Your Wardrobe

Don’t throw all your clothes away—but from now on, keep a look­out for pure clothing. It’s next to your skin all day and sometimes all night long, so let it at least be natural (cotton, bamboo, hemp, ramie, linen, etc.) and if possible let it be organic.

Your skin is a massive organ that plays a part in detoxification. Its functions are inhibited by clothing. When possible, don’t wear underpants. This sometimes isn’t practical, but try to do it some­times. Remember that the concept of this book is that the more natural your lifestyle is, the less toxic you will be, and the healthier and happier you’ll become. Clothes aren’t natural, so do what you can to either minimize the wearing of them or minimize the sti­fling effects they can have on your body. Tights, shoes, bras, ties, shirts—argh! Enjoy at least one day a week without them! Sleep naked with organic bedding.

Make Your House a Living Home

Now that your house isn’t polluted with harmful chemicals, get as many houseplants in your home as possible. Houseplants ab­sorb harmful chemicals, deliver oxygen to you, are often the heal­ing color green, and look beautiful. Having living plants in your home changes the vibration of the place, and you will feel calmer with them around you. Consider putting an air purifier or ionizer in your bedroom and living room.

On to Your Body

Now you’ve made permanent changes to your diet and water in­take, and your home is much less toxic, let’s get the body pushing more rubbish out …

If you aren’t already exercising regularly, now is the time to start. If I tell you to “exercise twenty minutes a day,” it’s unlikely that you’ll do it for more than three days, so I’m not even going to go there! Look for some physical activity that you will grow to love, that is fun, challenging, possible, and fulfilling. It took me forty-two years to find an exercise that I truly love. I’ve been into yoga for a long time and I always work out, but one day I discovered boxing and that was that. I was literally hooked. Now, for the first time in my life I look forward to getting fitter for the sheer thrill of it instead of for the end result.

Detox Your Mind

The best way to detox your mind is to fill it only with informa­tion that will serve you. This one is so easy—all you have to do is just allow new information to push out old information. Now is the time to start reading more, going to health lectures and work­shops, listening to inspiring podcasts and audio files, and opening your eyes to different perspectives. Your life is already spiraling upward, and at this point you’ll be feeling like you want more. You may be thinking of a career change, or you might have a burning desire to rekindle your passion for that hobby you long ago laid to rest.

As your new self emerges, many new doors of opportunity will open up. This is the law of attraction in action (read or watch The Secret for more information on this). Get involved in any alterna­tive healing, ancient practices, or esoteric activities that appeal to you. If none of those appeal to you, make a list of what does (such as sport or charity work), search for information on that subject, and take action!

REMEMBER

Have you been taking photos? Your whole body and face shape will change, so make sure you have some close-up and full-length snap­shots to put in your journal. Even if you don’t believe your words when you reread your journal, you can’t deny what your photos tell you.

Rest and Relaxation

Because you’re eating a higher percentage of low-toxin food than you were, your body will be detoxing your old food quite readily. It will be glad to have the opportunity and will take full advantage of it. Assist it by resting in tranquil places, having massages, saunas, sleeping in the afternoon, going to bed early to read, meditating, hugging, and practicing yoga. As you enter a higher vibration, all or any of these activities will greatly assist you. Watching TV and web surfing aren’t part of rest and relaxation and should be kept to a minimum. That includes Facebook and YouTube, by the way.

Go with your flow, and rejoice in the feeling that your stagnant stream is becoming unblocked.

Down in the Mouth

As well as swapping toxic toothpaste for a better choice, get any mercury (“silver”) fillings replaced as soon as you can. Take care choosing a good dentist, and ask for a rubber dam and mask. For at least a week after you have fillings replaced eat plenty of greens. Check out the special supplements, usually made from cilantro or seaweeds, available for people having mercury fillings removed.

 Back to Food

It had to happen. Let’s go one step beyond … Eat something raw before or with each cooked meal from now on. For example

• Have a green salad before your meal.

• Have a big portion of juicy fruit before your meal.

• Have a big salad with a third of your old meal.

By doing the above, you’re taking advantage of all the goodness in living food, but not getting to a point where you are craving “for­bidden” foods. This is quite a major step, so again, take time to get used to it.

Notice that you still haven’t cut anything out of your diet! Write in your journal how you feel: Do you feel lighter? Do you have more energy? Have any aches and pains eased?

Have Two Raw Meals a Day

Once you’re happy with the above step, take it a little bit further by ensuring two of your meals each day are totally raw. Eating so much raw food will give you a massive energy boost and will get you to the “high on life” stage that many detoxed people talk about. For recipe ideas, refer to this book and Shazzie’s Detox De­lights, plus all the raw recipe books you can find in bookstores or on the internet. Experiment with what you like; this way of eating is more diverse than the one you’ve left behind. This change isn’t very drastic, yet it will change you! You’re already having a raw breakfast, and something raw with every meal, so all you need to do is just alter half a meal a day. Easy!

Reevaluate Your Drinking

If you still drink anything other than water, fresh coconut water, cultured drinks, herbal teas, or juice that has been freshly squeezed in front of your eyes, you are still taking in toxins. These toxins contribute to feelings of tiredness, lethargy, illness, and weight is­sues. Reduce and then let go of coffee, tea, fizzy drinks, alcohol, and anything in cartons, bottles, or cans.

Look back through your journal to see how much you were drinking because you may have already cut down. If not, now’s the time to cut down to a dose that suits the new you. If you only want to reduce your cups of tea or nightly glasses of wine (for now), that’s fine. If you want to cut it out all together, that’s also fine. This is your detox, and you’re fully responsible for your well-being.

Detox Your Wardrobe, Part Two

Now is the time to clear out all the clothes, shoes, bags, belts, ties, and accessories that you haven’t worn for a year. If you’re not ready to give them up, just put them in boxes in the attic, and have a look in six months to see if you really ever thought “Oh, I so wanted to wear that four months ago.” Whatever you don’t use, lose. Give generously to some of the good charity shops, and you’ll feel light in your heart as well as in your home.

Take Up Something Creative

Take up something to help you channel your new creative energy. Whether it’s healthy food inventions, sewing, gardening, paint­ing, writing, or sculpture, when living this new life, you might find yourself in creative freefall—so many great ideas come to you. Ei­ther act upon them, or write them in your journal for future use. Create a future box to put all new project ideas into!

We all enjoy such a deep sense of satisfaction from being cre­ative. Completing our tasks isn’t always important, so don’t worry if you’re short of time and think you can’t finish what you started. Remember that it’s the process and the journey, not the destina­tion, which is important.

GO ON—SPOIL YOURSELF

You have worked hard to get to this point, and the results will be showing, and probably glowing. If you can, have a color consulta­tion to see which new clothes you are going to fill your spacious new wardrobe with. Otherwise, make an appointment with an in-store personal shopper (they are free), and let them choose designs and colors for you that they think work. You will be surprised how much space and money you save when everything in your wardrobe matches!

What’s Left on Your Plate?

Now you’re eating lots of wholesome, organic, unprocessed raw food, there won’t be much room for bad food in your tummy! But let’s just check. If your one cooked meal a day consists of fried bacon, eggs, toast, ketchup, and sausage, it’s obvious that you can help yourself still further. First of all, eating such a meal will con­flict with all the changes you’ve made. Secondly, the mixture of fresh and fried food will probably be confusing your tummy. De­pending on what you’re eating in your one cooked meal, slowly cut out (or reduce to once or twice a month) the following foods:

• Meat and fish: Replace with nuts, seeds, greens, avocado, sea vegetables, and sprouts. If you want to keep eating fish, oily fish is your healthiest choice.

• Dairy products and eggs: Replace with foods such as avocado and durian (see Your New Dairy, p. 359). Make sure you supplement with choline and vitamins D and K2 because they are essential for health and not abundant in a diet free of meat, dairy, and eggs.

• Grains: Replace pasta with Courgetti (p. 377) and squash noodles. Replace biscuits, breads, and crackers with dehydrated cookies, breads, and crackers or the healthier versions in whole food stores. Look for sprouted rye bread and gluten-free crackers.

If you have these products occasionally, your new strong body will deal with it, especially if you stick to uncooked food 75 per­cent of the time. However, if you cut out all acid-forming, cooked, or otherwise unhealthy foods for a while and then try to eat them, be prepared for some severe rejection reactions. Your body will tell you what it approves of, once it’s been allowed to get real.

Did You Start Yet?

I hope some of the information I’ve given you persuades you that detoxing your life is good for you, good for our planet, and well worth trying. Start from the top of the list, work down, and do it at your own pace.

This isn’t a race, yet you are allowed to make a rosette that reads, “I detoxed for life!” Award it to yourself when you’ve finished—when you glow, when you smile all the time, and when you’re walk­ing on air. Hey, if you email me photos of yourself before and after with your rosette, I’ll publish them on my website (www.shazzie.com)! You can let the world know of any particular hints and tips that worked for you so that others can succeed, too!