Post-Cleanse groceries and restaurants

Are you both terrified and ecstatically happy at the thought of ending the cleanse?  What are you going to indulge in first?  Is it possible to put coffee, chocolate and wine in your mouth all at the same time?  Haha!  I read your mind.  Well, of course it is smart to take it slowly.  After all of this hard work, it is really helpful to be able to evaluate how you feel after eating certain foods.  If at all possible, add one vice at a time to see how it affects your body.

Many of us have a pretty good idea what the foods and drinks are that do not agree with our bodies, and commonly those are the things that we crave the most.  During your last few days of the cleanse, write down the way that you would like to eat after the cleanse is over.  While you still have your rational mind, know that you are not going to eat perfectly, but perhaps try to make some changes from the way that you were eating before.  Pay special attention to your eating HABITS - when you eat out of habit, rather than out of hunger.  The difference between the two becomes quite clear during the cleanse, and if you can maintain your recognition of those feelings, it will be a very effective tool to maintain the weight loss that you may have had during these past three weeks.  In other words, try to think before eating.

If you got the Sargasso meals during the Cleanse, the question is, how do you make these wonderful meals on your own?  I am going to provide you with a shopping list - and I hope that many of you who review it will add your own grocery ideas that I have forgotten.  But these are the ingredients for many of the recipes in the Clean book.  Yes, you will be cooking in a way that you may never have cooked before.  But that doesn't make it hard, necessarily, just different.  And very soon it will become "your new normal."  So stock up your pantry with these healthy foods, and you'll be able to make most of the clean recipes that you find in the book and online.  Here is the link to more clean recipes online:

http://support.cleanprogram.com/forums/168415-meal-recipes

ELIMINATION DIET GROCERY LIST

Always buy organic whenever you can.  Also, try to avoid canned foods - buy dry beans and soak them overnight and then cook the next day.  They taste so much better and you don't have as much sodium or yucky chemicals from the can leeching into your food.

unsweetened almond milk

coconut water - this is a really nice alternative beverage

raw almonds 

raw almond butter 

organic raw cocoa 

chia seeds 

flax seeds 

sesame seeds 

raw cashews 

walnuts 

frozen organic blueberries, raspberries, peaches

coconut palm nectar 

quinoa 

brown rice 

carrots

lettuce - use different types and mix together for various tastes

spinach

green apples

avocados

dates 

currants

garlic

scallions

high quality olive oil 

grapeseed oil

cold pressed sesame oil

sea salt - there are many different types out there with different flavors

kale - really any cooked greens are great for your body

kalamata olives

parsley

sprouts

lemons and limes

green tea (if you are using caffeine)

herbal tea

Perrier (I believe the only carbonated water that doesn't have carbonation added but I could be wrong)

Lara Bars - many of them only have clean ingredients

garbanzo beans

adzuki beans

black beans 

organic chicken, lamb, venison (if eating meat)

wild caught salmon, halibut, sole

hemp or rice protein powder 

rice crackers

seed crackers (Mary's Gone)

gluten free bread - be sure to read ingredients because some gf breads are highly processed 

rice or quinoa pasta

nori seaweed sheets (the kind used to roll sushi) these are great as a substitute for a tortilla to make a wrap.

TIPS

- If you want consistent protein, it is good to cut up and cook some meat (chicken breasts or other) at the beginning of the week to put on/in recipes during the week.  An easy meal is the Big Green Salad in the book with chicken or extra nuts on it.  Or do the same with quinoa or brown rice - throw a bunch of veggies in, add olive oil, salt, pepper and combine.  Simple and delicious.

- It helps to carry something that could be a snack in case you get stuck somewhere without being able to eat.  Lara Bars or Odwalla Juices can help in an emergency.

- Nori seaweed Sheets are great to make a wrap.  If you have leftover salad from the night before, put some hummus (or any dip) on the nori sheet, then put the salad inside and wrap.  Really, it works with nearly any ingredients.

CLEAN-FRIENDLY RESTAURANTS

Sargasso

Terra Cafe

Cafe of India

Yama

Black Bear

Any sushi place if you are eating fish - just be careful which fish you order

Kenyan Cafe (last night we learned the sauces are gluten free there)

I invite you all to please add more ingredients, tips, ideas, recipes, restaurants and more!  Hopefully we can all learn from one another how to maintain this sort of lifestyle.

Cheers