Food detox tips are a plenty in the media. My goal is to break it down to a simple A-B-C, 1-2-3. Easy to read, easy to review, and even easier to implement. Working on our health goals is important, and minding a few ways to clean up your food can help you do just that.
Start with what’s in your cupboards
If you think about it, a lot of what we buy is mindless purchasing. It was on sale, it was on an end cap, the case was a BOGO, they’re half off for the day..whatever it is, we buy it thinking we’ll use it. And sometimes we do. And sometimes those boxes and cans sit around in our pantry for a long time.
When I first started my practice one of my services was a Kitchen Clean Out. I would come to your home and help walk you through what could stay, what needed to go, and why. It wasn’t about feng shui or what boxes fit best to gather for organizational purposes, it was about what belongs in your body and what doesn’t.
#1 Take a look at the ingredient label
A good rule of thumb with this is if you can’t pronounce it, don’t eat it. If your grandmother doesn’t know what it is, get rid of it. And if it has more than 5 ingredients you don’t really need it.
#2 I’m not a fan of (canned) soup
Notice the sodium content on your canned soup. You might also notice the preservatives. Soup is one of the easiest things on the planet to make. Especially with helpful time-saving appliances such as a crock pot or Instant Pot.
The only salt you should find in your soup is the himalayan pink sea salt.
If you still have ionized table salt, get rid of it.
Make yourself some soup. Right now I can hear your brain running with questions like this: “I thought I was supposed to avoid heavy cream or white flour to thicken the soup?” Any REAL FOOD ingredients are going to serve your body way better than a bunch of additives.
Soup is simple to make, often inexpensive, and easy to double batch to freeze for future use.
#3 Get rid of anything with flavor packs
You know what I’m talking about: Hidden Valley Ranch packets, Ramen Noodles, Hamburger Helper, and Stovetop Stuffing. All of these foods are easily made with real food ingredients. The small increase in price you’ll see will far outweigh the cost with health benefits.
Hidden Valley Ranch dressing can be made with some spices and sour cream. Spices are super inexpensive and a little goes a long way.
Ramen Noodles make you constipated. Try this instead.
Hamburger Helper? Just take a grain, whether pasta or whole grain rice, add some spices, onion, and ground beef and pour into a casserole dish. Match made in heaven. To make your kiddos happy, add a layer of tator tots on top. That makes for a true Minnesota dish.
Pinterest is your biggest helper in this department.
Bonus Tip
If you find boxes of Minute Rice in your cupboard, toss ’em and go purchase whole grain organic rice from the bulk section of your grocery store (cheapest way to find it purchasing from a buying club).
When you get home, take a cup of rice, toss it into a bowl and cover with a few cups of filtered water and a splash of apple cider vinegar. Let this soak for 8 hours or overnight. Strain off the remaining water, noticing how the rice is bit fluffed up. By soaking you have begun the digestion process, making it way easier on your body, AND this will also cut down on cooking time, making Minute Rice a thing of the past.
