The body cleanse Kate-style

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We had guests last week. There was a lot of eating. Most of it was without a salad or healthy vegetables. (Guests are a reason to indulge.) By the time everyone left, I was feeling bloated. I wasn’t in the mood for potato chips (that is a miracle!) and was craving something simple and “clean” (my word for food without a lot of fat or sugar).

Monday was day 1 of my cleansing. I don’t do those traditional cleanses where you poop out your guts or drink nasty liquid every few hours. My idea of a cleanse is to eat super healthy (think veggies mostly) and simple meat (hello rotisserie chicken). I try to keep the carbs low and hunger satisfaction high.

I got up hungry on Monday, which is unusual as I don’t eat an early breakfast. The only thing in the house was bagels. I started my healthy cleanse with a high carb bagel with butter. I left a tiny bit on the plate which I was a goodwill gesture to convince my gut that I was serious about this. (My gut was laughing assured that grease, carbs and salt would be coming down the chute soon.)

The rest of Monday wasn’t too bad (except for the brownies and the handful of salty nuts) but it wasn’t a low carb day. Tuesday I bought two rotisserie chickens. This is clean eating. No grease and tasty. (They also make my cat Gracie happy!) Toss in simple sides (with ample butter to replace the grease that you are not eating with the meat) and I am set.

It is now Thursday. I haven’t had a salad all week, but I had fruit each day and simple carbs with the chicken. I still get my mocha latte for breakfast (I’m not crazy! That would challenge my sanity.) The true miracle is that I haven’t had potato chips all week for my 3 p.m. craving.

We ate out last night with friends and I kept it simple (but still ate too much). Today is a new day. Will it be a salad day? Don’t hold your breath. Lettuce gets recalled for salmonella or e-coli issues regularly. You’ve never heard of chocolate cake getting recalled! Therefore, eating salads is a great risk. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it!

How about you? Any tips for easing off a “big eat” week?

50 thoughts on “The body cleanse Kate-style”

  1. I do eat bagged salads and haven’t had any ill-effects (fingers crossed it stays that way), and sometimes we eat all-veggie meals. Just different cooked vegetables or raw ones if we are having a snack supper.

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    • You are lucky. My husband is a meat eater. I could survive on veggies. I like an occasional good salad but it’s less about the greens for me and more about what else is in it. My mother ate a lettuce salad every single day. Always iceberg. Argh!

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      • I couldn’t do just iceberg every day – bleah. I like the kits because they come with all kinds of extra stuff for the salads, which makes them more interesting. My husband is all about meat as well, but he will consent to occasional veggie days. Especially if I include broccoli or one of his favorites.

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  2. For years I had an e-mailed newsletter on recalls and veggies that had listeria or salmonella issues. I worried about my canary ingesting greens that were “bad” and because Dole has had so many issues with their bagged salads or veggies, I finally quit buying them. But I never liked rinsing out sand or dirt from lettuce either as I thought I did a good job, only to feel the grit of sand (hopefully sand) in my mouth. The “dirty dozen” produce to be avoided due to an inability to thorough wash them, for me, is a deal breaker.

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      • I was leery of growing veggies in the backyard, unless you used a raised garden bed, as I knew squirrels, rabbits and birds would get them. We grew tomatoes one year and the squirrels took one bite and pitched them on the ground or birds pecked on them. Now that I know raccoons, groundhogs and possums lurk in the yard, I less inclined to do that. I don’t eat salads anymore, even using organic greens.

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        • I’m finding that after all the recalls, more people are not eating salads. I had my last garden fenced in. That worked mostly although I’d get the occasional bird peck on my cherry tomatoes.

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          • I may have mentioned my friend in NC who grew only cherry tomatoes when you posted about yours in the past, but Cheryl had many pots on her back deck with cherry tomatoes. The squirrels would pick them, sometimes bite into them, most of the time, pick them and throw them across the deck. (Funny a little, but not funny.) So she read to “paint” the cherry tomatoes with Tabasco Sauce, when they first appeared on the vine so they could grow to a full size. It was supposed to discourage squirrels eating them. Well it didn’t work 100% of the time and every time it rained she had to “re-paint” them so she gave up and buys them at the store now.

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  3. So true about chocolate cake and/ot brownies. no recalls there. I love Publix brownies. I used to make a boxed brownie but I don’t remember which one. They were cake brownies and I was addicted to them. I don’t do anything when we have an anything goes food binge. I just go back to our regular food choices. I support Anne’s thought on not beating yourself up. I always drink lots of water. I think it helps. Vegetables are limited here because they wreak havoc on my digestive system.

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    • I have to be careful with fruits and vegetables here too. I remember a new doc recommending a fiber supplement. Worst week of my life and no, my system didn’t “get used” to it.

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  5. OMG, you had me in stitches with that bagel and leaving the extra bite for good measure. LOL. I do that, too. I also get cravings for clean-eating. Nothing fried. Mostly veggies and roasted chicken. And btw, since when does chocolate-anything get recalled?
    I recently read that it’s not so much the carbs, oils, and fats that are bad for us, but the oils used in them and the way the oils are processed. Canola oil used to be the healthy oil, but I’ve learned the process they use to make it is toxic over time. I’ve been trying to avoid foods with oils in them (mostly seed oils). When I cook, I’m only using olive oil (avocado oil is supposed to be good, too). And cold-pressed is best. Apparently, the reason fast food is bad for us is because of the highly processed oils they use. Just a few tips from a nobody. 🤷‍♀️

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  6. I think you’re reasonable and at least you recognize what you might consider changing. You’re aware, and that’s sometimes more than enough to do well. And I’m glad to know your mocha latte is still in the cleans plan. Just keep telling yourself “I could do worse,” and don’t budge! 🙂

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  8. I like your idea of a cleansing menu and can really chime in with your last paragraph about lettuce recall versus chocolate cake. A few weeks back I was wanting a salad, picked up lettuce at the local grocery store, and both my husband and I were sick for almost three days. I haven’t had a salad since, but I did make a batch of brownies today. 🙂

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  12. Due to the rebuilding of the kitchen after water damage, there has been a lot of take out around here. After a while, I’m like, “I need a salad. Or sushi. No sauces! Nothing fried or with cheese!” My husband: “Who ARE you?!”

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  15. Your “cleanse” cracked me up, Kate. But good for you staying away from the chips. Eating chips “in moderation” is sometimes more difficult than abstaining. NO. MORE. CHIPS.

    I eat salads for lunch and lots and lots of veggies for dinner most days . . . even when we have guests. If we eat out with others when vegetables are MIA, I feel the difference and immediately ramp back up with my veggie intake. Or I’ll add in a bit more fruit ~ bananas, apples, oranges, grapes, melon, etc.

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    • We didn’t eat at any place that had good salads. I also have to be careful of fiber intake. Contrary to most medical advice, I have to be careful about how much I get or it triggers my IBS. I had beef barley soup the week before (with a lot of barley which I love) and I felt it. Getting good tasting fruit is key. Right now the pears and blood oranges are fabulous. The apples have been tasteless and the grapes that I’ve had have been tasteless too. I love fruit and the occasional good salad. I crave salt. I have low blood pressure so my doc is ok with it in moderation. When I was writing this I thought of you. Your diet is always healthy!

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      • Yes, we “always” eat healthy . . . except when we don’t. 😀

        These days, I do tend to view most junk food as, just that, junk. As a result, most food we buy is, just that, food. Veggies, Fruit, Nuts, Seeds, and . . . Chocolate.

        Some exceptions get factored into the food equation on occasion ~ e.g., tortilla chips! Perfect for making bean and cheese nachos. YUM.

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        • It’s a short hop from tortilla chips to potato chips! Just sayin’….

          We don’t eat a lot of junk food normally except for chips and I do love pretzels but they make those in wheat and other sort of healthy versions.

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  16. Cocoa beans, which are the primary ingredient in chocolate, are grown on the Theobroma tree, which is considered a fruit tree according to science. Therefore, the consumption of chocolate counts as eating fruit, which is GOOD for you! That’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it!

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  18. You make a good point on the chocolate recall fact. I may need to rethink the salad thing because of it and Elsa says that a cleanse should only be a good dusting with a Swiffer-nothing else. Ok, maybe a few less chips but that’s her only concession.

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    • People prefer either sweet or salt. I am in the salt group so not craving potato chips (although I did have salty cashews) is huge and a sign I overindulged. I worked with a person who did those crazy (to me) cleanses periodically. Never helped him a bit. It just made him annoying to co-workers. I do like my brownies though. Elsa is a wise soul.

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  19. while reading I think you are totally right… I never heard about chocolate reacalls… just salad, some veggies and some eggs during the last time… so I better take the food what will not kill me… haägen dazs … or lindt

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