The Weekend is over and you’re either dying to get back to eating and drinking ‘normally’ or have decided to go for an optimum cleanse of three to six weeks! (The longer you follow the Plan, the better you’ll feel and the longer you’ll want to follow it.) Either way, well done for making it so far and I hope you’ve acquired new skills for looking after your own well-being and your family’s health for ever.
For those who want to continue with a wheat- and dairy- free diet there are a few more meal suggestions that include fish, soya products and goat’s cheese. You’ll find these dishes much easier to incorporate into your life. This is still a fairly cleansing diet – but a little more acidic. If you don’t want to follow any more diets, at least now you know which foods are packed with nutrients and which aren’t.
And you know which lifestyle changes have made you feel better and which haven’t. Whatever you decide to do for the rest of your life, try and look after you by incorporating some of the techniques mentioned previously and in this chapter. See how you can integrate at least 10 minutes of ‘me’ space into your busy day. Learn how to make time to develop all your senses and pamper yourself a bit more. See how to get regular exercise, no matter what, and how you can lead a more toxin-free life.
carrying on – the essentials:
Further diet suggestions
Exercise
Cutting down on outside toxins
Integration
Sensism
further diet suggestions: quick and easy wheat- and dairy-free meals
These meal and snack suggestions are designed for people who have no time to prepare homemade soups and bowls of brown rice on a daily basis but want to stick to a healthy eating plan. If you do want to continue with the cleanse, it will be easier to spend a quiet Sunday preparing some of your meals for the week ahead and store them in the refrigerator or freezer (but my smoothie will NOT keep).
breakfast
Suzi’s Smoothie
Or add linseeds, linseed oil and lecithin to a shop-bought smoothie.
Organic millet flakes with goat, soya or rice milk
Organic wheat-free muesli with goat, soya or rice milk
Porridge
Fruit salad (or stewed fruit in the winter)
A handful of nuts and seeds and a piece of fruit
Organic free-range egg and wheat-free toast
Goat’s cheese on wheat-free toast
lunches
Prepare these at home and take them in to work.
Smoothie
Hummus with carrot batons and other raw veg or salad
Roasted vegetables, brown rice and tahini paste
Homemade vegetable soup
Avocado sandwiches (Mash avocado with lemon juice, pepper, garlic and a little olive oil. Use wheat-free bread.)
Sandwiches with wheat-free bread and tuna, mackerel, salmon or chicken
lunch – if you can’t take food into work
Your choice will obviously depend on what’s available at your work canteen or the shops and cafés near your workplace.
Try a salad bar – have lots of the vegetables and whatever else you can trust.
Takeaway sushi – most supermarkets and some fast-food chains sell it now.
Takeaway salad with hummus or goat’s cheese
Takeaway vegetable soup
Oily fish such as salmon or mackerel with salad or vegetables
Baked potato with coleslaw or baked beans
snacks
Pumpkin, sunflower & sesame seeds
Unsalted nuts
Dried figs, apricots & dates
Raisins
Fresh fruit
ideas for evening and weekend meals
Baked Salmon Cover the fish with fresh herbs, such as dill or tarragon, add a little white wine and bake in foil. There is no need to add oil; the salmon has enough of its own! Serve with steamed vegetables such as broccoli or spinach. If you want more bulk or have a hungry partner, also serve basmati brown rice or a baked potato, with a little butter.
Stir-Fry Try a stir-fry with soya sausages, as they are surprisingly tasty. Cut up any carrots, broccoli and greens you have, or use a packet of prepared stir-fry vegetables. Add some soya sausages, chopped up into small pieces. Fry the healthy way – using stock or water initially, and adding oil at the end off the heat. Use flavourings such as tamari and garlic or a spoonful of tahini paste. You can also add a drop of white wine, some tomato purée, anything that will give even more flavour to the dish – as long as it’s chemical-free.
Goat’s Cheese Grilled on Wheat-Free Toast with added relish such as seaweed tartar (available in a good organic shop) or organic chutney. This can be served with a rocket side salad and vinaigrette dressing.
Tinned Sardines on Wheat-Free Toast
Whitebait with Wheat-Free Toast
Organic, Sugar-Free Baked Beans on Toast
Wheat-Free Pasta with a tomato sauce and a big green salad.
OILS
For optimum EFA consumption, you might like to continue – whenever possible – cooking your food without oil and drizzling linseed oil over the meal once it’s off the heat. Failing that, you can use olive oil in the same way. And if you need olive oil for baking, add a tablespoon of water for every tablespoon of oil. You’ll use less oil and your food shouldn’t stick to the pan.
PUDDINGS
Try Soya or Tofu puddings, ranging from yogurts to cheesecake, which are on sale in health stores and some supermarkets. And there’s always fresh fruit, of course!
! TOP TIPS FOR EATING HEALTHILY
Once a week have a ‘no solids’ day.
Make breakfast and supper light meals – eat your main meal at lunchtime.
Leave 4 hours between meals.
Eat in the quiet and always sitting down.
Don’t talk while chewing and chew each mouthful at least 20 times.
Eat slowly, put cutlery down between each mouthful.
Exercise your taste buds by blocking your nose.
Eat till comfortably full, not stuffed.
Don’t drink water with your meals – drink 30 minutes to 1 hour before eating and wait 1 hour after eating.
Avoid ice-cold food and drinks.
Concentrate on eating alkaline foods.
exercise
You don’t need me to remind you how important exercise is for the rest of your life. Decide what you enjoy and make sure you find enough time to do it – NO MATTER WHAT – your health, heart and bones depend on it!
30 minutes, 5 days a week – that’s only 2.2% of the total waking week. You do have the time. It’s just habit to think you haven’t.
Remember these?
TOP TIPS FOR BUILDING UP TO 30-MINUTE WALKS
Get off the bus or train one stop earlier and walk the rest.
Walk at lunchtime.
Walk the children to and from school – it will benefit their health too.
If you play golf, walk as fast as possible between holes.
Use the stairs instead of the lift, and walk up escalators.
Park your car in the bay furthest away from the supermarket entrance.
Walk to the local shops & use a rucksack to even out the load.
Don’t use the TV remote!
Take longer walks at the weekend.
cutting down on outside toxins
I, for one, haven’t managed to cut down on computer and TV use very much, but I have got rid of the electric blanket and clock-radio from my bedroom! We can’t live without our electrical gadgets, but for the sake of our long-term health and our over-stimulated senses, we should at least question how we use them.
! TOP TIPS FOR USING ELECTRICAL APPLIANCES
Keep electrical appliances at least 1 m (3 ft) from the bedhead.
Sit at least 1 m away from the TV.
Use the laptop off the batteries whenever possible.
Sit at arm’s length from the computer screen.
Don’t use a hair dryer after 7 p.m. The EMFs could interfere with melatonin production and disrupt your night’s sleep.
Give your wristwatch a holiday at weekends or during leisure time.
Keep calls short on cordless and mobile phones.
Set your washing machine to run at night.
air purifiers!
And if all else fails, here is a list of plants that have been rated as being the best for removing indoor toxins. They’re especially good at absorbing chemical emissions from computers, and can also improve the moisture content of a dry work or home environment.
Ivy
Palms
Boston Fern
Weeping Fig
Peace Lily
Potted Gerbera
Dracaena, e.g. Dragon Tree
Rubber Plant
Potted Chrysanthemum
Spider Plant
So fill your home or office with plants!
integration
Finding time every morning to do yoga and go through the nose-clearing and tongue-cleaning techniques can be a tall order. I have a very quick routine to ensure that body, mind and spirit are all catered for each and every day – no matter what. Just 10 minutes in the morning and at night is all it takes. When I have more time, I do more! Again, it’s up to you to choose the techniques and exercises you really enjoy and that you can easily incorporate into your own routine.
morning routine
Quiet time in bed for 2–3 minutes
Warm water and lemon drink
Tibetan whirling
Tongue-scraping/teeth cleaning/nose clearing
Pranayama breathing while sitting on the loo!
Skin-brushing
Hot & cold shower
Quick facial massage using daily moisturizer – not oils
Quick DIY massage – using body lotion rather than oils – on legs and arms only
Quick walk for 10 minutes or yoga exercises
evening routine
Yoga exercises, gym session or a long walk for 30 minutes-1 hour 5–10 minute meditation
sensism
Finally we need to consider our five senses. Experimental Psychologist Dr Charles Spence believes there is a new philosophy, which he has called sensism, that we need to embrace if we are to increase our well-being.
According to Dr Spence, the senses are so intertwined that most people can’t tell the difference between an apple and an onion if they eat them with their nose pinched shut. In order to get the senses more balanced and integrated we therefore need to stimulate them regularly – a sort of sensory workout!
hearing
Search out natural sounds, such as running water, rustling leaves, birdsong. Make a point of ‘listening’ to natural sounds whenever you can (and turn the mobile off so you’re not disturbed). Listen to beautiful music that inspires and relaxes you. Background music has a profound effect on how we feel and act – just ask the supermarket giants!
sight
Get out into the sunlight as much as possible – even if only for five minutes at a time – during the day. Think about colours for your home and clothes that might affect your mood, such as energizing reds and calming blues and greens. Get plenty of colour into your food as well: red, orange and yellow foods are full of antioxidants.
taste
Incorporate these six tastes into your daily diet so your taste buds get as much exercise as your body: sweet (dates), sour (yogurt), salty (tamari), pungent (ginger), bitter (leafy greens) and astringent (pulses).
smell
If possible, have an essential oil burner sitting on your desk. According to Dr Spence, the smell of lavender oil balances and stimulates office workers and can make them more productive and efficient. It can even change their voices so they sound more relaxed! And 80 per cent of a food’s flavour comes from its smell, so close your eyes and take in-your meal’s aromas next time you sit down to eat.
touch
This is the most neglected of the five main senses, according to Dr Spence’s research. He believes we crave touch and that having massages will address this, as well as relieving stress and tension. What more of an excuse do you need to make sure you get a regular massage? And before you say you can’t possibly afford it, just check out your local colleges. Massage courses need guinea pigs for students to practise on. This usually means extremely cheap, but effective, massages!
Dr Spence also suggests that we surround ourselves with tactile, natural objects, such as pebbles or driftwood, to feel and touch: ‘The irregularities of natural objects are probably more attractive to us because irregular shapes were all we touched thousands of years ago, before we evolved.’
… and not forgetting the sixth sense
This is the one we women recognize and rely on more than all the others: intuition. It will be very well looked after if you practise a little meditation or relaxation each day – even if only for five minutes. Anything that stills the mind, even if you just sit in silence and stare at the walls, is going to help the development of your sixth sense.
Your intuition will, I hope, keep you and your family on the road to a Healthier Life. It’s your body and if you stop for long enough to listen to it, it will tell you everything you need to know! Whatever you decide, make it work for you. I know how easy it is to feel you don’t have one spare minute in a day. So you may decide to dedicate only 50 per cent of your life to optimum health. It doesn’t matter, as long as some of the healthy habits stay with you.
If you want to cleanse for only one day a week, that’s fine. If you eat meat and two veg every Sunday lunchtime, that’s fine too – just make it meat and five veg from now on! Whatever eating plan you follow, at least make sure that you minimize the 3 ‘S’s – salt, sugar and stimulants – and maximize the EFAs by eating plenty of oily fish and drinking a daily smoothie that incorporates them all. And drink 2 litres of water a day! As I said at the beginning of the book, if you do no more than this you will be improving your long-term health more than you can possibly imagine!
Think about changing the proportions of healthy to unhealthy foods and practices in your diet and life rather than permanently going without things and feeling miserable. Life shouldn’t be a battle, full of deprivation – it should be varied and full of fun. Remember:
90% optimum nutrition + 10% of what you fancy = perfect health!
I hope you’ve discovered how to balance your life so that your body, mind and spirit and all your senses feel healthier, and continue to do so, long after the Weekend is over. And if the stress and toxins start to build up again, just take another 48 hours out and revisit the road to a healthier life. It will always be there for you – you have the map now.
Good luck and good health!