With a little apprehension and yet a little excitement, a few weeks ago I jumped into a 7 day cleanse.  I desperately needed a reset.  I felt like I was in a fog after a month of taking care of my son (he had surgery and then a bacterial infection in his intestines that kept returning).  I was ready to put a little focus on myself and fuel my body with healthy food that could give me the energy I so desperately needed.  

The rules for the cleanse were to eat all fruits and vegetables, olive oil and herbs were OK too.  The goal was to limit the sugary fruits, like a banana and also starchy vegetables, like sweet potatoes.  But overall, it was free game on most fruits and veggies!

With the help of the Shaklee Cleanse Facebook Group, I printed off several healthy food recipes to use throughout the week.  I like to feel prepared when tackling something new, so I planned out my meals for each day and coordinated them with what I was making for my family.  For example, making spaghetti for my family and having spaghetti squash for my meal. 

What I didn’t expect is how much I loved the recipes!  I have now worked several of them into my regular meal planning and want to share them with you.  Who doesn’t need a great healthy recipe, right?!

Being Creative

Another surprise was the creativity.  I do a lot of cooking at home, but the week I did the cleanse I was amazed at how many different ways you can cook vegetables.  How many sides you can make that are healthy and taste delicious.  Did you know how many different things you can do with cauliflower?  Cauliflower rice, cauliflower soup, roasted cauliflower, raw cauliflower, cauliflower crust and the list goes on.  Squash is another one of those vegetables that I don’t experiment with enough.  

I also found a new love in sweet potato.  Whether it is making sweet potato hash or baking up some sweet potato fries with herbs, they taste delicious and it is something I never thought I would like, let alone want more of after the cleanse!  

Healthy Recipes I loved!

So here it is, here are some of the recipes that I loved so much that I have continued or will continue to make even now that the cleanse is over.

Apple Green Smoothie

8-10 oz water

1 apple sliced (they recommended a green apple, but I always used a red apple)

1/2 banana

handful of kale

ice if desired

Roasted Cauliflower and Broccoli

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.  Then lay foil on a baking sheet.  Place cut cauliflower and broccoli in a bowl, then drizzle with extra virgin olive oil.  Sprinkle on any seasonings desired (garlic, or herbs) and then spread veggies over foil on the baking sheet. 

Place them in the oven for 15-20 minutes or until crispiness desired.  *you can roast any variety of veggies this way.

Sweet Potato Fries

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.  Then cut up the sweet potato into long rectangular cuts. 

Toss them in a bowl with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.  Sprinkle on seasonings as desired.  For the cleanse I added garlic and nutritional yeast.  Spread them out on a baking sheet (I often cooked them along side roasted veggies).  Cook them for 15-20 minutes or until softness desired.  

Sweet Potato Hash

I have to admit when my sister-in-law first told me about this recipe…I never thought I would like it.  However, it definitely won me over!  I varied the recipe a little…

1 Tablespoon olive oil

1 Tablespoon rosemary

1/2 red onion

1 clove garlic (minced)

1 sweet potato

1 bell pepper

Start by dicing up your sweet potato, green pepper and onion. 

Grab a skillet pan and add about 1-2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil to heat up.  Add your sweet potato.

Cook the diced sweet potato about 7-8 minutes or until they are almost soft.  Stir them regularly.  

Then add your onion, green pepper and all seasonings.  Cook about 5 more minutes or until the sweet potato is soft.  

Then enjoy a hot healthy breakfast!  It really is delicious.

Eating healthy is always a great focus to have, but in my experience, you will never stick with it if you don’t enjoy what you are eating.   So be creative and find those foods that are healthy and that you love! 

If you are interested in Shaklee or interested in the 7 day cleanse CLICK HERE.  The cleanse is a great way to jump start a healthy diet and the weight loss doesn’t hurt either.

Thanks so much for checking out my post!