Do you ever feel like a poor diet catches up to you, leaving you bloated and not feeling your best? That's 100% been me the last few weeks!
I am not a fan of detoxing for many reasons, most of which are simply because of my picky palette, aversion to advanced meal prepping and food allergies. However, I feel that I desperately needed one to get my back on track to regulating my diet more. Lately I just haven't been feeling like I'm giving my body the healthy nutrients it needs by splurging too often on my favorite splurge items - pizza, draft beer, any sugary food and Chick-fil-A.
I've always struggled in finding the right detox plan that works for both my food allergies and amount of preparation that won't overwhelm me. The thought of meal prepping and adhering to a strict eating plan definitely turns me off from detoxing, but I gave it a go because I found this great source on Pinterest! It mapped out everything I needed from groceries, to meal by meal recipes, to helpful information. I mostly followed it meal by meal, but had to improvise a little bit near the end because my husband and I spent the weekend away at the beach celebrating our one year anniversary - and I didn't grocery shop for day seven to be honest.
Here's what my detox week looked like! To watch my video, scroll to the end of this blog post!
Detox Meal Plan
Day 1
Breakfast: Overnight Oats For Healthy Skin (this needs to sit for at least 5 hours, so be sure to make it the night before!)
Lunch: Mediterranean Bowl (make the tzatziki and quinoa the day before too. Meal prep instructions are in the recipe).
Dinner: Tomato & Basil Quinoa Risotto (double it for lunch next day) and Tomato, Avocado & Arugula Salad
Day 2
Breakfast: Yogurt with Berries And Nuts (this was not enough to keep my hunger at bay until lunch, so I made one of my favorite healthy snacks below!)
Snack: No bake energy bites
Lunch: Tomato & Basil Quinoa Risotto (because I didn't have enough risotto for a full lunch since both my husband and I ate this for dinner the night before, I added some broccoli and energy bites to bulk it up)
Dinner: Avocado Chicken Salad (I'm slightly allergic to avocados, so I omitted this and just made a Cobb salad! Double this for next day)
Day 3
Breakfast: Overnight Oats For Healthy Skin (again, make it the night before)
Lunch: Avocado Chicken Salad (or Cobb salad if you're a weirdo like me that has this unfortunate avocado allergy)
Dinner: Mediterranean Bowl (make more for lunch next day, follow meal prep instructions in the recipe)
Day 4
Breakfast: Yogurt with Berries And Nuts (another weirdo allergy of mine is tree nuts, so I just left out the nuts and had an energy bite instead to supplement for the loss of protein)
Lunch: Mediterranean Bowl
Day 5
Breakfast: Yogurt with Berries And Nuts
Lunch: (This is the point in the detox where I strayed from the plan a little bit because of our weekend beach trip.) Instead of having a Tomato chickpea salad, I ate a chicken and lettuce wrap on the beach!
Dinner: Sushi & edamame
Dessert: This definitely wasn't part of the meal plan, but Nich and I shared a small-sized ice cream bowl after dinner - total contraband, but so yummy!
Day 6
Breakfast: I accidentally skipped this meal because we had to change our breakfast plans on our weekend away, but I was supposed to have a Banana Almond Breakfast Smoothie
Lunch: Again, vacation can throw a wrench in diet plans! I ate a mediocre chicken wrap at a beach cafe, but technically should have eaten a Vegetable Fried Millet
Dinner: Goat cheese, strawberry, spinach and raspberry vinaigrette salad
Day 7
Breakfast: Healthy Strawberry Banana Pancakes (I don't like cooking before I log into work, so I just did overnight oats with berries again)
Lunch: Tomato Chickpea Salad (I didn't have tomatoes, so I just made a Mexican style quinoa bowl with pico de gallo, cucumbers, shredded cheese and chickpeas)
Dinner: Salmon Lettuce Wraps (Honestly, I just bought Chipotle because I forgot to defrost salmon haha!)
What I Liked
Overall, I feel like this detox was successful, doable and not too bad! I will take a lot of the recipes and ideas with me to implement into my diet. I especially liked how I enjoyed overnight oats and yogurt with berries more than I thought I would. I HATE oatmeal and chunky yogurts, but strangely enjoyed these two breakfast options.
I also thought that the Tomato & Basil Quinoa Risotto was SO good! It was pretty easy to make and delicious to eat, so I'll definitely keep this recipe filed away for future use.
What I Disliked
The main thing I really disliked about this detox plan was the repetitive meals and lack of snacks. I don't mind eating leftovers, but having the same meal three times in one week gets really old. I will be taking a long break from Mediterranean bowls and quinoa haha!
Another thing that I disliked was the total lack of snack allocation in the plan! I am a snacker and that works better for my high metabolism and eating preferences, so I wish there were snack ideas or recipes in the plan. Thankfully the No bake energy bites are healthy, somewhat substantial, yummy and easy to make, but I would have liked to have a few more options.
Weight Loss
I did lose about two pounds by the end of this detox. While this was not my goal at all, I'm at least happy that two pounds of fat were shed. I sincerely believe that fitness and health are not defined by a number on a scale, so I dislike monitoring pounds and chasing after a goal weight. If I am unhappy about how I feel and look, my goal is to better that - not to pursue a specific weight that can be deceiving.
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