If you are lucky enough to have a weekday off it’s a great idea to start the day with a trip to your beauty spa/ salon for an energising body scrub. The spa that I go to is a little tranquil oasis on the busy Berea and they offer a beautiful sage and lemongrass salt scrub which is perfect to kick off your day. The combination of sage On the odd occasion when I have a complete day to myself, I plan a Detox Pamper day. A day of mind, body and soul cleansing does wonders for your spirit. I rush around like the rabbit in Alice in Wonderland most days and generally really enjoy being busy, but every now and then I need to down tools, stop the clock and detox my mind, body and soul.
My ‘Super Juice’ forms the foundation of my detox days. We are particularly blessed with a constant supply of life giving sunshine in South Africa. Where I live in KwaZulu-Natal, vegetables, fruit and herbs grow in our gardens easily and in abundance. Freshly squeezed juices are an excellent way to provide your body with all the vitamins and minerals that we require on a daily basis.
The merits of juicing fresh veggies and fruit vs. eating fresh vegetables and fruit rages on with pros and cons on both sides. Juicing is an easy and fun way to get vitamins and minerals into children (both big and small).
With just a little research you can design a juice that will detox your body of toxins and alleviate any underlying maladies. If you suffer from high blood pressure, diabetes, water retention, high cholesterol or such, juices are a great way to alleviate and control many of the symptoms. This recipe is designed for general detoxing of my body and to ease water retention.
It is important to remember that fresh juice starts deteriorating the moment that it is made. Commercial fresh juices are heated and then cooled to give them a longer shelf life. When researching what effect heating and cooling has on fresh juice I found a fantastic website (SAFJA – South African Fruit Juice Association) http://www.safja.co.za/safja-faq.html that will answer any questions that you may have regarding fruit juices. They say, “In the case of chilled juices, preservatives are needed to prevent spoilage by microorganisms thus maintaining product quality and safety for the required shelf life of the product. These juices normally have a shelf life of maximum 2 – 3 months” It’s very important to read the labels on fruit juices to find out exactly what is in the juice.
How you construct your detox day is entirely up to you but a little careful planning can make all the difference and promote a healing outcome. We all have cell phones these days, so it’s relatively easy to shut the world out with the flip of a silent button. Apart from the intrusive ringing of our cell phones, Social Media such as Facebook and Twitter are the next to go! I don’t blog and I make sure that I have all the fruit and fresh water that I will need for my day.
and lemongrass act as an energiser and set the tone for a great day of toxin shedding. I have water until this point and follow the scrub with a nice big glass of my Super Juice.
I go home and spend my day in total relax – I love to meditate outside next to my pond and always put on my favourite music, burn some aromatic incense and potter around my house and garden all day. I drink plenty of water in between glasses of my juice and moments of contemplation. I like to end the day back at my spa with a reflexology session, the purpose of which is lymph drainage.
Sometimes I forgo the trips to the spa and elect to spend my day doing ‘home maintenance’ on my boday! I mix up my favourite face mask from orange, honey, yoghurt and a few other ingredients and give myself a facial, manicure and pedicure at my own leisure. I shall devote another blog post the recipe for this face mask as it’s really fantastic to use in the winter months and a rather fabulous body scrub that you can make in your own kitchen. Every detox day is going to be different as your needs and desires change constantly but do remember that the most important element of your day should be “you”.
The process of detoxing can bring on a mild headache, which is purely as a result of the toxins leaving your body and should disappear if you keep on drinking plenty of water. Another large glass of my detox juice before turning in for an early night will complete the process.
My detoxing Super Juice.
Words I like to remember when detoxing
Stop! Breathe deeply.
Begin bringing peace to the outer world
by regaining your own inner peace.
Choose love, choose gratitude,
choose forgiveness, choose peace.
Begin with your own inner peace.
Then use that inner peace
as a platform from which
to approach the outer world
with perspective, understanding, and patience.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie
Super Juice
Makes 3 glasses
This is enough for one day of detox and should be stored, covered in the fridge.
Ingredients
2 carrots
2 oranges peeled
2 lemons peeled
½ a melon peeled
2inches of ginger
2 apples
Method
Place all of the ingredients through your juicer. I add a few ice blocks made from filtered water into the jug and refrigerate in a glass jug.
Here is a list of the benefits of the ingredients in my Super Juice. With just a little research you can design your very own juice in accordance with your body’s needs.
Oranges: to regulate my blood pressure, contains Vitamins C and A, bursting with antioxidants, help prevent cancers, heart disease, fight against Viral infections,
Carrots: Are high in antioxidants, purify your blood, help control blood pressure, prevent tooth decay, aid in digestion, are high in Vitamins A and C, potassium, and are excellent in the prevention of gout, arthritis and are a natural anti-inflammatory.
Ginger: another natural anti-inflammatory, aids in digestion and any tummy dis-ease, anti-viral, immune booster, lowers blood pressure, perfect for any joint complaints, lowers cholesterol and prevents candida!
Melon: the B vitamins in melon are energy boosters, it’s great when dieting as its low carb, and it’s a natural diuretic and kidney cleanser, low in sodium.
Lemons: lowers blood pressure, promotes the production of good cholesterol, lowers rates of breast and colon cancers, high in Vitamin C, prevents infection
Apples: I always add apples (which I love) to juice for a little sweetness. They have no sodium, fat or cholesterol; are high in soluble fibre which aids in weight loss (YaY!) and regulating blood sugar levels. Also high in Vitamin C, potassium and phytochemicals
As always
Buon Appetito
Xxx
jan
