SPRING KITCHARI CLEANSE! 🍴🌿🌸

OK for the past week or so I have been feeling so sluggish. I'm usually a morning person, but I have been struggling to wake up in the morning. During the day, I have been experiencing this heaviness..and so I realized it was definitely a cleanse time!

Start your spring cleaning from the inside out 😂. Regular cleansing is a vital part of an Ayurvedic lifestyle. Cleanses allow your digestive system to have a little rest, repair itself, and clear out all the accumulated waste and toxins. Nowadays intake so many harmful things through our food, our environment, and mental stress which cause a build up of toxins in our digestive system, tissues, & mind.

Whether we realize it or not, our bodies are very much synced with nature and so during seasonal changes, just as Mother Nature, we go through significant changes. So to help our bodies shift into the next season, a cleanse is recommended in Ayurveda to support the transition and make it as easy as possible. Often during seasonal changes, especially from winter to spring, we can feel sluggish, a little lethargic, heavy and energy-less ( you can tell by my scientific language that you should trust everything I say 😂😂😂🙄). Many will notice and increase in colds and coughs and even seasonal allergies during this time because our body is struggling to adjust to the new season.

There are various different cleanses, but I like this one because it doesn't feel like you're starving your body and you get to eat KITCHARI!! SO LETS DO THIS ONE!😂

People often associate cleanse with being hungry. In reality, cleanses are less about starving your body and more about simplifying what you are feeding your body so that your body has an opportunity to reset and restore itself.  This cleanse is a mono-diet consisting of kitchari, drinking lots of fluids and (if you're feeling adventurous) an Ayurvedic herb called Triphala, which supports and optimizes the cleansing process.

You can do this cleanse for 3-5 days...but if you're a little scared to jump in then dip your toes in and just start with a day. Hopefully, you will love it and then do the full five day cleanse!

Benefits of the cleanse 🌿

🌸 Improves digestion

🌸 Regulates elimination (aka helps you poop if you ain't going daily..BTW IM SO GOING TO DO A POOP POST..TRUST IT IT'LL BLOW YOUR MIND)

🌸 Boosts energy levels & improves mood

🌸 Mental clarity, less of a foggy muggy head

🌸 Better sleep quality

🌸 Stimulates your metabolic fire that improves digestion and improves absorption of the nutrients

🌸 JUST OVERALL FEELING THE BEST VERSION OF YOU!

Have I convinced you to do this with me yet?

WHAT YOU GONNA NEED THO? 🌿

OK this is what you need. You can get everything on amazon and most of the items at Whole Foods or your local Indian store. Honestly if you don't have ALL the spices, that's ok..but adding spices is basically medicating the food..they really promote and support the cleansing and detox effect on the body. You can make it really simple and if you don't have access to many fresh vegetables, that's ok too. You can make it without the vegetables or even use frozen ones. But avoid using the following ingredients: onion, garlic, eggplant, mushrooms, tomatoes & bell peppers.

Traditionally, kitchari is eaten 3 times a day in this cleanse. However, in case you want some variety you can mix it up with some veggie soups and super stewed apples! BUT you must make sure whatever you eat is super cooked before eating it. Cooking food thoroughly means its being digested and broken down outside of the body before getting to your stomach, making the job far easier for your belly! ALSO make sure you only use the veggies below for your soups because like I said, the point is to have a mono diet with simple ingredients. Below are some suggestions for your cleanse.

KITCHARI

Click on the picture below for the link to a detailed kitchari recipe:

SOUPS

You can make soups using any of the the veggies above. I have the recipe for

asparagus, fennel & zucchini soup (click on the picture below for the link). Add ½ sweet potato/white yam or coconut cream to add thickness to the soup instead of cashews that are a little more difficult to digest!

I will be posting the soups listed below over the next couple of days for you to try. Click on the cream of asparagus soup for the link to the recipe.

STEWED APPLES

This is great for your digestion! If you want a break from having kitchari three times a day, you can also start you morning with some yummy spiced stewed apples, just cook them down till they're really soft! For more information on the benefits of stewed apples and details on how to make this item, click on the picture below.

MENU

TIPS

🌿 Keep at least 3 hours between your meals

🌿 Ideally eat your evening meal before 7pm (or at least 3 hours before you sleep, so your body is able to fully rest when you get to bed rather than still be working and digesting)

🌿 Avoid snacking between meals. My friend, Dhyana, just gave me some great wisdom about this I wanted to share with you. She said when we eat a meal, our body is using that for fuel. Only when the food is fully digested does it allow our body to start using the fat in our body as fuel. Fat is where the toxins hide and reside. Ideally we want to get into that state as often as possible to be able to get the most out of this cleanse!

🌿 If you do get hungry, have a small piece of fruit or stewed apples.

🌿 Drink your fluids between meals, not with your meals. Drinking water with meals dilutes the acid that is breaking down your food and so takes longer to digest it!

🌿 Sit and eat your meals in a calm environment and focus on the meal. Try not to eat while working or with distractions around you.

🌿 Say a little prayer of gratitude before you eat your meal. This is a beautiful practice to start as part of your conscious cooking journey. Express gratitude to the food in front of you for nourishing your body. To the farmers that harvested the grains to mother nature that creates the environment for the food to grow, God who is the source of it all.

🌿 Get to bed by 10pm so the body can use the evening to do what it is meant to be doing...rest and detoxing!

🌿 Try to make time for self care rituals that enhance this detox process eg. self massage (abhyanaga) taking baths & dry brushing

🌿Wake up before 6am (prevents feeling sluggish throughout the day)

I THINK THAT'S ENOUGH DON'T YOU.. I got carried away 😂

Sending you so much love

With gratitude

xx Radhi ♡