My fabulous cousin and aunt have been doing this cleanse called “Clean” since April. They can’t say enough things about it – they look great, they feel wonderful and they’ve each lost 30 pounds! Since my wedding is coming up in a few months, I wanted to hop on-board, too! Now, I’m not one who goes on diets to lose weight (the gluten-free diet is difficult enough!), but I thought that doing a cleanse might help be lost that difficult ten pounds just before my wedding. Plus, my cousin and aunt were continuing the Clean lifestyle and my mom was going to start with me. I had my own personal support team to help me 🙂

About a month ago, I picked up Clean by Alejandro Junger, MD from Barnes & Noble and immediately stuck my nose in. I was absolutely fascinated by this book! It is truly disturbing when you stop and think about how many toxins are inside our body from the air we breathe, the place we live, the cosmetics we use and the food we eat. There are a lot of unnecessary toxins that we feed into our body that harm us. When it comes to food, we can certainly control those toxins.

In the book, Alejandro describes exactly how Clean works. Although there is a lot to it, the #1 rule is to follow this simple formula: Eat two liquid meals and one solid meal per day (the solid meal to be eaten at lunchtime). Snacks in between are allowed, but you must keep a 12-hour window from your last meal until your breakfast the next morning in order for your body to cleanse.

After completing Clean, I feel healthier, my skin is brighter and I’ve lost weight! No more stomach aches, bloating, fatigue or headaches. Clean is a cleanse that makes perfect sense and is easy to do. Only 21 days and you’re clean!

I wanted to share my all-time favorite recipe from Clean: Quinoa Salad with chicken and Mixed Greens (p.254 in Clean). It’s refreshing, delicious, healthy, and super easy to make. Double the recipe and eat it for your lunch all week! You’re going to love it 🙂

Ingredients:

2 cups cooked and cooled quinoa

4 (4-ounce chicken breasts, grilled or steamed and thinly sliced)

1 tablespoon chopped parsley

1/4 cup currants

1/4 chopped raw almonds

1/2 cup diced carrots

1/4 cup chopped mint

1/4 cup scallions, cut thinly diagonally

1/4 cup chopped parsley

1/4 cup lime

1 teaspoon agave nectar

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 cup olive oil

4 cups salad greens tossed with 2 tablespoons olive oil

Instructions:

1. Steam chicken breast.

2. Put all ingredients except chicken and salad greens in a bowl. Toss together with quinoa. Adjust seasoning to taste.

3. Mound half quinoa salad on each plate

4. Make a bed of salad greens next to quinoa and place the sliced chicken on top.

mmmm… delicious!

{currants not photographed}

Recommendations:

Make it your own. I love currants, so I use about 3/4 cup currants in the mix (even though I was in the middle of making it last night and realized that I was out of currants!) Add a few more almonds if you enjoy a ‘crunch’. I suggest using less than 1/2 cup olive oil – I don’t think 1/2 cup is necessary because the mix will get soggy. Personally, I enjoy Quioa Salad without the chicken or salad greens because I love the taste of quinoa so much. Be creative!

If you’re looking to cleanse your body from toxins, lose a few pounds and feel healthy and energized, try going Clean! Visit their site and check out all of the resources that they provide (grocery list, elimination diet foods, daily routines, ect). Happy cooking and Cleaning!

I think this Alejandro guy is a genius 🙂

{imges via tutto bella}