As we launch the start of our in office group purification program, I’m on day 13 and feeling awesome.
The bloating has gone away, my energy is great, I am sleeping really well (and so is the baby) and the only thing I’m noticing is that my skin is breaking out a bit below my lower lip and chin. Growing up my skin was always prone to a breakout so it isn’t a surprise to me that this is where my detox efforts are landing.
My daughter’s complexion, however, looks amazing. She’s pinked up, skin is clear, and she is feeling good — despite the 13 year old concerns of not eating enough of what she wants to eat.
I have remedied that a bit by purchasing foods I normally wouldn’t except for special occasions. One reason is due to the cost. Packaged food is expensive and mostly unnecessary unless you’re on a road trip or traveling. Secondly is my kids fly through whatever I buy in a heartbeat so it’s gone in the next day or two unless I ration it. I’m buying things like fruit leathers, dried fruit bars (that That’s it bars for example), meat sticks, Epic bars, and Jackson’s Honest sweet potato chips.
She was invited to a sleepover this past weekend and was worried about what she would eat. The family she was spending time with is great and was really supportive, and I set her up for success. This event was the reason for the above shopping spree at the co-op. We bought roasted chickpeas, sweet potato chips, fruit leathers, fruit bars, and even a small bag of macaroons. We dropped her off after I served her dinner so her belly would be full. She had her SP Complete shake packed with a scoop of whole food fiber, and her SP green food capsules in a container.
When her friends mom asked what to serve the kids for breakfast, I suggested a smoothie, and that if she didn’t have any ingredients I’d be happy to send them. She replied happily with frozen fruit options, coconut oil, and that they were set. Sunny was so excited to find she was well taken care of … she was even thrilled to find out they did some juicing to go along with their breakfast smoothie. She was tickled pink when I picked her up, excited to feel ‘normal’ in someone else’s home. There aren’t many homes where she feels that way, so it’s really exciting when she does.
Dinner during the Purification Program
A couple years ago a friend sent me this amazing recipe for an autoimmune paleo chili (AIP chili). My whole family loves it. Our weekly go to of split pea soup (without ham for the first 8 days then with ham there on out). A note on this: my people could eat split pea soup for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for a week straight … for some families their favorite once-a-week meal is spaghetti, or pizza. For mine it’s split pea soup!
We are eating lots of great salads based on kale or baby spinach with a bit of granny smith apple to sweeten it up for the kids. I also like to sprinkle on sprouted pumpkin or sunflower seeds for some extra crunch, grate some carrots for color and toss in a basic dressing of lemon juice/olive oil/sea salt/garlic.
hamburger curry.
Breakfast during the Purification Program
There is a suggested grain-free blueberry muffin sweetened with stevia and with a substitute of chia/flax egg for real egg. Flavor is ok though texture is funny. I wonder if it isn’t because I doubled the recipe and I know the chia or flax eggs don’t always do well if you need more than 2 or 3 eggs.
Because eggs are to be avoided, and so is almond flour, we have avoided all pancakes, waffles, and muffins. Most mornings it’s been sausage or bacon with the SP complete shake, followed by a protein/green/fruit smoothie.
Lunch during the Purification Program
Lots of dinner for lunch … or what my kids call a snack plate. A snack plate is basically lots of different fruits and vegetables, a clean protein and normally they would put goat cheese of some sort in their lunches. This week for school Sunny has been taking some meat, vegetables, fruit, perhaps an applesauce cup (again, not something I would buy, but it’s making it easier for her to feel like she’s got more options), and sweet potato chips.
Am I Snacking?
Oddly, I thought we would be more hungry and I’m surprised to see if I’m not. For the first couple days I was, then the feeling began to plateau and it wasn’t anything a smoothie couldn’t handle. If I’m drinking a lot of water along with my shakes and daily smoothie, adding a couple bowls of soup and fresh vegetables has me feeling really full.
Tips & Pointers
Make certain you’re getting enough healthy fats throughout the day. This looks like seeds, coconut/olive oil, avocado, salmon (once you’re on day 11 and can start adding in protein unless doing a modified program).
If you’re not a water drinker, flavor your water either with essential oils or fresh lemon/lime or cucumber/raspberries. I’m not a big sparkling water fan, though that’s allowed on this program and has been helpful for Sunny to feel like she has another option.
Check out the Facebook Live photo below where I recap all of the above for you!