Last year, I wrote a post about healthy detox diets that let you eat food (yes, real food!) that resonated with many of you. With a fresh onslaught of healthy eating resolutions upon us again, I’m back with a few more options for healthy cleansing that doesn’t require fasting. Because let’s get real: fasting and parenthood do not pair well.
Whether you’re looking to trim a few holiday pounds or simply need to jumpstart a healthier way of eating, here are five realistic detox diets worth considering.
Top: Two-Week Clean-Eating Challenge | Pop Sugar
Related: 5 Deliciously detoxifying smoothie recipes to kick off a new year.
Healthy Detox Diets: 2-Week Clean Eating Plan
Earlier this year, Pop Sugar and dietitians Stephanie Clarke and Willow Jarosh of C&J Nutrition teamed up to create the 2-Week Clean-Eating Plan (above). The plan requires prepping and cooking meals, but Stephanie and Willow have mercifully created very organized — and printable — shopping and to-do lists that help keep you organized and prepared. Plus, they break down what to prep when so that you’re always a step ahead, with plenty available for leftovers.
With two small kids in my house, I feel like this plan may be hard to maintain, but I’m hoping that two weeks goes faster than I expect and I love the prospect of learning healthy new recipes and food pairings that I can incorporate into our diets over the long term.
Healthy Detox Diets: Souping
Souping, recently dubbed the new juicing, may be a good option for those of you who can’t imagine surviving on juice for more than a day. Souping is essentially a cleanse where you only eat — you guessed it! — soup. As a natural skeptic to juicing, I’m more open to the idea of eating vegan and gluten-free soups as a means of giving my digestive track a rest. And where juicing actually removes the fibrous parts of fruits and veggies, many souping recipes include whole ingredients and less insulin-spiking sugars.
The overall calorie intake of souping is fairly low, so if you’re looking to lose a few pounds, maybe that’s a nice side benefit too. For some homemade souping recipes, try the Creamy Carrot Soup with Oats (above) or any of the other 8 Light + Delicious Detoxifying Soup Recipes at Yoga Journal.
Related: 5 more healthy detox diets that will make you feel energized, not starved.
Healthy Detox Diets: The Annual goop Detox
The Annual goop Detox is not an easy one, but I found the rules to be fair — as in, we won’t starve — and most of the recipes, like this Braised Lentil Salad (above), to be hearty and flavorful. If you can dedicate a week to strictly following this meal plan, I think your body and waistline will feel amazing. Just remember that there’s no caffeine or booze, so if that thought frightens you, keep reading.
Healthy Detox Diets: Detox recipes for everyday cooking
On the topic of juicing and using other cleanse diets to detox, my father wisely questions, “Isn’t that the point of our liver?!” If you think like my dad, or you’re hoping to make your diet work with how you feed your kids, too, a super strict approach may not be practical. How to Detox the Healthy Way: 16 Recipes You’ll Love at The Daily Burn is a great read if you’re looking to find ways to give your cooking a nutritional boost without necessarily committing to a hardcore diet.
Related: Getting started on the Whole30 diet: 5 surprising things that happened during the first week.
Healthy Detox Diets: 100 Days of Real Food
Lisa Leake of 100 Days of Real Food has created not just a fad or detox diet, but rather a healthier approach to cooking and eating in general — and one that can work for families, too, if the other folks in your clan are game. Taking her pledge means giving up refined sugars, grains, and most packaged food, which gets easier than it sounds over time. Especially with her support: The site is rich with tips, meal planning resources, and even a guide on how to take the pledge for 10 days as a start — perhaps a more enticing commitment for many of us.
Lisa’s philosophy is about shifting the way you eat and reshaping your diet for the long term, rather than as a quick, feel-good fix. Scary, I know, but also what makes her approach so great. You’ll learn how to read labels and think about food choices differently for you and your entire family. And not just until Valentine’s Day.
