Day 16 of Detox

I can’t believe it but I am officially on fire! My did my usual weekly power walk around the bay with a friend, sorting out many business and personal focus points along the way. Then I stopped in at the gym to do a cardio session and nailed the rower – 10minutes and 24seconds! I asked Jessie what I should be aiming for and she burst my bubble and said less than 10 minutes. Oh well, there is definite improvement.

There was very little in the fridge for breakfast so I managed some gluten free cereal with fruit and I love apple juice on it instead of any type of milk. I have limited my dairy and wheat since I was about 11. I had intolerance testing done then and came up strongly for these. I am fine if I only eat a little but if I overindulge I become horribly bloated and sluggish. So I grew up with rice and oat milk and rarely had wheat. It was much harder back then as we didn’t have all the wonderful alternatives that are available now. I love spelt pasta and being such a foodie I am fussy when it comes to these things!

Lunch was on the run and consisted of fruit, tamari almonds, rice cakes with avocado and herbal tea. I have been looking at dragon fruit a lot lately so I must try some. I just had an achacha and it would make a wonderful sorbet – very tangy, slightly sour and full of bite. I will leave a couple on the window sill and see if they become sweeter. My tomatoes are growing at a dismal pace but I check them daily and talk to them quite often. I will give them some rescue remedy as it is a new moon and the perfect time to encourage growth.

I then worked on business plans and did some shopping for supplies. Tonight it is kingfish with a salad of snow peas, rocket and avocado. All the visitors have left so my food will be easier now – I only need to organise for myself which seems so simple!

Thought for the day “All that you are is the result of all you have thought” spoken by Buddha. Basically thought results in action and that reflects who you are. I love this and feel much aligned to it.

The dandelion root has my bowels back to normal so I won’t need to have a colonic. I am also ovulating so hence feel great and full of beans. I had a salt scrub and massage today to celebrate the half way point of my detox. I thoroughly recommend having small rewards along the way to encourage and motivate you. It is about self care once again and believing in optimum health, not average health. And it is important to invest in yourself and be the best person you can be. It will enhance all your relationships and also influence the opportunities that come your way. You become more attractive on all levels and begin attracting what you need

Day 15 of Detox

Last night I had a detox bath. That involves 10 minutes of dry body brushing followed by ½ soak in an Epsom salt bath with lavender essential oil. I always sleep like an angel afterwards but also wake feeling alert and refreshed. I took the opportunity while I am at Golden Door to utilise the spa and steam room – 20 minutes in both. I do the spa first and put a jet on my thighs and butt, taking it in turns to do both sides. The steam room is where I meditate as I can maximise my diaphragmatic breathing in there. One day I will have a therapeutic steam room where I can steam herbs for their health benefits as well. I love this therapy and believe that the effects can prolong and enhance quality of life.

In my shower I turned the setting to jet and gave my thighs and butt another massage then a blast of cold to make me really feel alive! My skin is so smooth today I can’t believe it. It must be the combination of all the omega 3 fish oils I take and the spa like treatments I have been doing over the last 24 hours. I have only ever felt like this once before and that was after a whole day at the Ginseng Bath House in Sydney where I was scrubbed and pummelled within an inch of my life!

I have been taking shots of the herb dandelion root to help my bowels and the huge breakfast serving of fruit with lots of figs will also help. I was at Golden Door today so I had to resort to my frozen casserole for lunch. I still love the lentils and vegetables but I need to do another batch of soup this week to stock up again. I can’t wait until my detox program is delivered to my door – no need for shopping or too much cooking!

The therapeutic benefits of eating organic whole foods cannot be underestimated. I had a patient today who had been through chemotherapy and was incredibly deficient in nutrients. He had not been given any dietary advice pre chemo and I explained to him the need for his body to be alkaline and well oxygenated. Cancer thrives in a cellular environment that is acidic and poorly oxygenated. One of the best ways to alkalise your body is to practise diaphragmatic breathing. I do seminars on this subject and believe passionately about the benefits involved. It is also beneficial for stress management and prevention of anxiety and insomnia.

Dinner consisted of three apples whilst driving home. Not ideal but I always feel a little bloated when away from home so a light dinner is a must. Two of the apples were a new variety called Abbas. They are small, just perfect for a child’s lunchbox and quite sweet.

Day 14 of Detox

Thanks goodness for the cool change as I was beginning to have difficulties sleeping. I went to Bondi again early morning but it was really rough and I had to skip the swim. Instead I walked the beach twice, had a laugh at all the boys working out and marvelled once again at how individual the human body is – so many shapes and sizes!

I then went to the gym and again beat my record on the rower – it now stands at 10minutes and 24 seconds. Rachel came with me and it really helps to have a “row off” as it does make me competitive. My thighs and butt were aching but I need to focus on them as I think they have dropped a bit – oh dear, must have been when I wasn’t looking!

I am really starting to feel my fitness get to the next level and that makes me happy. One of my goals this year is to be as physically healthy as possible and I have made a fantastic start to the year so far.

Lunch was on the run and consisted of a tuna salad and fresh juice of lemon, pineapple and mint. I haven’t felt like much juice on this detox but that may kick in during week 3 as I get sick of the taste of water. There are so many options for fluids though – I love my tea as it makes me feel so relaxed and refreshed. Then there is dandelion leaf tea which is wonderful for fluid retention and also a liver tonic. Chlorophyll adds a nice minty flavour to water and I love it really chilled for a workout.

Question for the day – what would you do with your time if you didn’t have to work for money? The answer will be indicative of your passions and I believe these are vital to include in your life as they will feed your soul. I have written on my mirror: “self care = self love” and that is essential to look at. We watched “The Bucket List” last night and it is a touching movie. Basically, it is a list of things you want to achieve before you die. Try doing one – be as imaginative as possible and stick it on your fridge. On mine is: spend time in a small village overseas, foster animals, do a yoga retreat by the sea etc.

Day 13 of Detox

What a way to start the day – I was at Bondi by 8am and it was already 30C! The water was bracing and so refreshing. We stayed in until I started feeling cold and I just kept thinking –this is cooling my blood down! Olivia was hysterical and every time the water touched her, she would suck in her tummy, pant and wriggle every limb. The humidity is getting to everyone and lack of sleep is starting to show. We all went for coffee afterwards and I played with Olivia while everyone sipped on their caffeine.

Then off to the gym and despite the soaring temperatures I beat my rowing record – best time is now 11 minutes 8seconds. I think if there was someone rowing on the machine next to me my competitive side would come into the fore and I am sure I could get the time under 10 minutes. My brother and I have organised a staff competition involving the bike, treadmill and rower so hopefully my training will pay off.

The breakfast smoothie for everyone: berries, banana, flaxseed oil, aloe vera juice, oat milk and probiotic. I topped it off with an apple then made tracks to clinic. My appetite has decreased and I am not sure if it is because of the heat or because I am feeling bloated and sluggish today. It is very unusual for me to feel constipated and not a good thing on a detox as you tend to reabsorb the toxins from the large intestines instead of excrete them. If things don’t improve I will go for a colonic.

I have some watercress soup for lunch and I had forgotten how beautiful it is. Dinner was again salmon with salad – you can see what has happened. Everyone is here visiting me and having BBQs, socialising and drinking. I am still busy working and making sure everyone has what they need and my food has gone a little out the window. It is still organic, wonderful and healthy but I am repeating meals more than I would like. I am rather happy that things have gone this well but still it’s not ideal.

Today I found another wonder ingredient – achacha. It is a fruit that has only recently made its way into Australia. Traditionally it is grown in Bolivia and its name literally means “honey kiss”. I will eat it in the morning so will give you my low down. The University of Sydney are currently doing a nutritional analysis of it but so far it is definitely high in vitamin C, B2 and B9. It comes from the same family as mangosteen which has serious antioxidant properties.

Over the last few days I have been making constant rounds of fresh ginger tea, adding spearmint and lemon and allowing it to cool and then refrigerating it. I took a bottle of this to dinner tonight and asked for some feedback and it was loved! The general consensus was – in a pitcher, lots of ice, fresh lime/lemon slices and either plain or added to mineral water. As I have drunk 4 litres of water today it is so great to drink something with flavour!

Day 12 of Detox

Well, silly me had a cup of freshly grated ginger tea at 6.30 and then went to the gym. The humidity felt up around 75% and then the ginger kicked in and it felt 100%. I can’t believe I would do that – I was just dripping with sweat and usually I am not the sweaty type. So perhaps it is a great detox tip – why don’t you try and then let me know how you found it. BTW – my time this morning on the rowing machine was 11minutes and 32 seconds so not my best performance!

I made an antioxidant packed smoothie for everyone this morning which included double the usual amount of berries, oat milk for a change, flaxseed oil and sheep’s yoghurt. Alana, who is 14 months, just couldn’t get enough as it was quite sweet with all the berries.

I went off to clinic and snacked on apples and detox tea then had my frozen lunch back up of red cabbage, cannellini beans and vegetables. Despite the heat, my appetite certainly doesn’t suffer so I need to ensure I have food available all the time. My favourite right now is Tamari almonds – I tend to eat so many that I can’t face them for a few weeks and then I repeat the process.

For dinner I was inspired by produce. Often when I am looking for ideas of what to make I simply go to the organic shop, look at what jumps out at me and screams “eat me!” and off I go. There was white asparagus, baby endives, mini water cress and a whole heap of beautiful things.

So I settled for grape tomatoes, snow peas, fresh peas, goat’s fetta and spearmint with a simple dressing of lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil and seasoning. It was wonderful – the spearmint was a mouth explosion in amongst the other flavours and I promptly put this salad into the memory bank. I also made a salad of rocket, butter lettuce, avocado, parsley and my all time favourite, fennel. Fennel is just so versatile – roast it in winter, salads for summer. So I teamed these colourful salads with BBQ wild salmon fillets and used the last finger lime to make a salsa (see day 10).

So now I am sipping spearmint, fresh ginger and lemon tea. I think I may make an iced version as it would be beautiful with some mineral water when everyone else is swilling their wine. The family are here and we have organised an early morning swim followed by a gym visit for me and then clinic. I have never been to the beach with Olivia, my adored niece, so I can’t wait to watch her face!

My detox program is going well and I have all the supplements down pat now – I stagger them throughout the morning as I can’t fit them all in at once! I don’t think that any patient has taken as many herbs and supplements as I do. I honestly believe that if I can’t do something myself then I would never ask a patient to do it. So, trust me when I say that I have experienced all the things that I prescribe and advise!

Day 11 of Detox

Another very hot day – I am going to try taking a smoothie to work in my SIGG mug. SIGG bottles are stainless steel and are the only bottles that are proven to not leach phthalates, Bisphenyl A, lead, Bisphenol B and other harmful chemicals.

It was flat out all day today and I stopped for a Pitango soup at 2 (this is my back up option i.e. plan Z!) and raced across the road to my favourite fishmonger. Nikos, the Greek, is fantastic and he causes me to miss Ithaca terribly. We speak in Greek, mine albeit very rusty, and he at 1,000 words per minute accompanied with heroic arm gestures! I’ll never forget the first time I went to Athens at the age of 16 – I thought everyone was about to brawl as they all looked like they were screaming angrily at each other. In fact, it is their version of passion and they are simply commenting on the weather. Niko knows exactly what my criteria are for fish.

a) No deep sea large fish ( due to heavy metal contamination, specifically methyl mercury)
b) Australian
c) Sustainably farmed or wild line caught
d) Not over fished

I agree that I am fortunate enough to have such wonderful produce available but get a copy of the Sustainable Seafood Guide and become a more aware consumer. We all know that we need to eat more fish for the beautiful omega 3 essential fatty acids but make sure you are informed about the quality of the fish you are eating.

So, I ended up buying some local red snapper fillets and they were stunning on the BBQ with a little of the finger lime salsa from last night. I had a salad to accompany it which was what we called a “mosh pit salad” or you could also term a “fridge” salad. Anything that needs to be used up gets thrown in and it always tastes yummy. The clincher in this one was the eggplant I roasted last night – it was so smoky and silky and combined perfectly with the rocket and avocado.

I have now made a fresh ginger tea – I made it strong as it is still very humid and it does cool me down after the initial heat rush. Now, the next 3 days will be a test to my detox skills – I have friends here from Tasmania as well as my family from Melbourne. Now usually this would always involve lengthy dinners savouring wonderful wines – we all love fine wines and no one more than me! My dad called this week to ask which of his prized wines he should bring up to imbibe in.

After discussing all the vintages and regions we came to a conclusion and I unfortunately had to let him know that I was detoxing and hence unable to partake! Oh, let’s see how I go, am sure this will be the most difficult time. After the first 4 days of detox I felt ok and now I don’t miss coffee, alcohol, meat etc. at all. I am positive the exercise helps. Today is the first day I haven’t actively exercised and I feel it. Never mind, off to the gym in the morning to face that dreaded rowing machine – we are having a dual. I compete against the machine for time and so far my best for 2,000metres is 11minutes and 8 seconds. Wish me luck.........

Day 10 of Detox

Wow, today is so hot that I barely feel like eating anything but salad. I adore hot weather but not when I am working! There is nothing like the feel of those long summer nights, it reminds me of being a kid and eating sorbet. I had a “coffee” date with a girlfriend this morning but she forgot – I happily sipped my peppermint tea and read the paper. My brother and adored niece popped in so I managed to grab some express cuddles before I began my working day. Breakfast was some stone fruit and then I made a smoothie (same as yesterday).

I took an apple and some salad to snack on as I usually have lunch late. Again I went to IKU for lunch and had a cannellini bean pie with salad and their delicious tahini based dressing. A patient called me and told me she is pregnant – our treatment plan had her aiming for later in the year but her health has improved so much that she fell now!

I really feel water logged today – over 4 litres in total! I think I sweated at least half of it out though so I hope my organic deodorant is working hard – we do excrete toxins though sweat so you may be a little smellier during a detox.

Dinner was amazing – BBQ wild salmon with blanched flat beans, zucchini and corn. I found the most incredible ingredient today – finger limes. I had eaten them at The Golden Door but have not seen them in shops in Sydney. Anyway, they are about 2 inches long, dark green and very expensive. But cut them in half lengthways and scoop out the hundreds of pearl like orbs. Pop one in your mouth and be prepared for a burst of sunshine! So, for the dressing on the salmon I combined half a finger lime, lemon zest, parsley, lemon juice and extra virgin olive oil. Talk about an antioxidant rich dinner!

I am now sipping on my dandelion leaf tea and about to book into a Reiki course – I need to unblock my sacral chakra and I think that will help!

Day 9 of Detox

I watched Slumdog Millionaire last night – it is rather disturbing, very touching and just incredible. I have been to Mumbai and lived in Juhu when I was doing my post grad homeopathy training. As we passed the slums in our little tuk tuk, I used to have to hold my handkerchief against my nose. Oh, it is absolutely terrible the poverty and despair. But I have never seen people so neatly dressed and smile so much. I would walk the streets at night exploring and never once did I feel uncomfortable or unsafe. It is an enchanting country and I will get back there one day to explore more. The Taj Mahal features in the film and it reminds me how our tour guide won his job after assuring me that we would see 100 visual illusions! He really did show us close to 100, by which time we were over the novelty.

Breakfast this morning was a rather sad affair as I am due to shop. It consisted of a kiwi fruit then a smoothie with oat milk, berries, probiotic, flaxseed oil and apple puree. I made the apple puree in winter when apples were abundant and when I stewed them I added cinnamon which is wonderful for stabilising blood glucose levels as well.

I have a salad prepared to eat mid morning – rocket, carrot, cucumber, avocado with a dressing of extra virgin olive oil, tahini, balsamic vinegar and lemon juice. That should keep me going until lunch – I have found over the last day or two that my appetite has decreased. I feel like eating really light foods and often, say every 2-3 hours i need to ingest something. My mood is good as well.

Dinner was one of my pre cooked frozen casseroles of red cabbage, vegetables and cannellini beans. One day I will get sick of them!

Emma's Detox Salad

This is one of my fav lunches during detox and I just had to share it with you! All the ingredients are organic and sourced from my local markets - I am especially excited to see the finger limes back in season. These beautiful little things will delight you - they are like an explosion of citrus and a burst of freshness! This salad is packed with goodness - anti cancer, upregulates detoxification and loaded with nutrients!

Detox Salad Ingredients
1 cucumber
1 carrot
1 small beetroot
½ red cabbage
40gr broccoli sprouts
½ bunch flat leaf parsley
1 large finger lime
100gr organic firm tofu, cut into slices
Sesame seeds

Method
Marinate tofu in tamari and extra virgin olive oil for 4 hours. Grill for 3 minutes on each side. Grate carrot and beetroot into a stainless steel bowl. Slice the cucumber and red cabbage finely (I use a Moulis for this). Add to bowl along with broccoli sprouts and pearls from the finger lime. These are just sublime and pop in your mouth just like caviar! Slice the tofu into small bite sized pieces and add to salad. Finely chop parsley and add. Make your favourite dressing. I use a teaspoon of my home made pesto with some additional extra virgin olive oil. To finish, lightly toast sesame seeds for 30 seconds and sprinkle over the top. Voila, eat, feel the love and smile!

Recipe and image © Health Equals Vitality 2010

Day 8 of Detox

Wow, stayed up very late watching Lipstick Jungle – it really is so addictive, all those amazing clothes & accessories! This morning involved the weekly Bay walk with a friend which I always love. I munch on an apple and tamari almonds while I power walk as I need something light otherwise my energy fades. We fix all our problems, nut out business ideas and check out the eye candy all at the same time – love being a multi tasking female! Then a gym session which is always so much harder after a Bay walk. My legs were shattered and I am sure Jessie, who put my program together, is trying to make my booty resemble hers (she is from Jamaica so you can guess what her booty looks like). So I booked in a review of my measurements for the end of my detox to make sure I am focused and accountable.

Breakfast involved a smoothie of mixed berries, bonsoy, probiotic, aloe vera juice and flaxseed oil followed by a shot of herbs, a concoction of gut repair powders & vital greens with all my tablets as a final touch. Must admit, my brain is on fire and I feel really well. Usually I need a solid 8 hours sleep or I am rather irritable the next day. Last night I had 6 and I feel great. Mind you, a patient just called to tell me she was pregnant, we both screamed and laughed and cried. What a fantastic start to the day!

Lunch today was a beautiful IKU salad and white miso & cannellini tart. I think of IKU as my fast food on the run and 100% solid back up plan for any time. After a few business meetings today, I am starting to feel so much clarity with my plans. This must be the detox removing all those cobwebs from my brain and stimulating the neurotransmitters to fire more effectively! Dinner is a salad of rocket, cucumber, carrot, avocado and parsley with a small bowl of slow cooked vegetables.

Tip for the day: when lemons are in season and abundant, juice them into ice cube trays, freeze and put into plastic containers. Then, when you are detoxing, you can boil the kettle on rising, add your lemon ice cube and voila! Saves time, mess and energy – just what we like!