Juice cleansing is made for the transition from one season to the next. Although most folks have their own personal preferences and habits about when they like to cleanse, a juice cleanse at the change from spring to summer and summer to fall are two highly beneficial times of year to help the body adjust to new weather and new paces of life. Many traditional cultures fast or detoxify at these key times of year.
While we highly recommend fitting in a few days of juice cleansing in May and September, there are other tools at the ready as well to help us all make the seasonal transition in good health. Whether you took a summer break from paying attention to what ends up on your plate or just need a little inspiration to enhance your fall cooking plans, we asked health expert and Kevita founder Chakra Earthsong Levy to share a few of her ideas about making the transition to a healthier diet a little bit easier. Most of us need a little TLC and time to adjust! Try a few of Chakra’s suggestions below for a week or a month at a time and see if your habits – and your tastebuds! – start to shift gears.
Oil Spill: If you normally use processed fats and oils to cook with try switching to only olive oil or coconut oil for a month. Your taste buds will adjust, and your body will happily begin to crave healthier fats and oils over processed ones.
Grain On the Brain: Eat whole grains instead of processed cereal out of a box. Scoop a serving of cooked whole grains into a bowl and top with chopped nuts, seeds, shredded coconut, and a splash of nut milk, seed milk or organic whole milk. Add a dab of honey or agave if you enjoy your cereal on the sweeter side; otherwise try a dash of sea salt.
Reverse Brunch: Eat lunch or dinner foods for breakfast. For those who tend to eat sweet morning foods this is a great strategy for breaking the sugar/carb cycle. Be adventurous and try steamed veggies over a bowl of quinoa with coconut oil. It could become your new go-to starter meal.
Open Faced: One slice of bread only. Use a piece of lettuce, cabbage or kale as the top, instead of both sides of a sandwich bun.
Citrus Twist: Use lemon, lime, apple cider, or coconut vinegar to replace wine, white vinegar, and balsamic vinegar for a more alkalizing effect.
Green Chips: When cucumbers are abundant over the summer months, eat them as a snack. They are delicious whole, sliced to replace chips, or as part of a green smoothie.
Whole Foods: Try eating only whole unprocessed foods for one week: nothing out of a can or box that’s been pre-made. It’ll open your eyes to just how much processed foods you may be including in your diet without even thinking about it.
Taste the Rainbow: Color up your plate. Buy extra vegetables, preferably organic, with the goal of using all items up by the end of the week. They can be steamed, grilled, sautéed or blended, and any leftovers can be used to make an end-of-the-week soup.
Sweeten up: Try liquid stevia, available in glass dropper bottles at most natural food stores. For one week, use zero-glycemic index stevia, which is thought to stabilize blood sugar, in place of sugar, agave, honey or xylitol.
Fizz it up: If you’re a soda or coffee drinker, try a refreshing KeVita Sparkling Probiotic Drink as your afternoon pick-me-up instead. You’ll get the fizz, but without the sugar and chemical additives, plus a boost of healthy probiotics.
