Easy Detox Week

After all the refined carbs and dairy that I indulged in this weekend, I think it's time for a little detox. I'm mapping out my plan in this post to help me stick to it and figured some of you might be in need of a little inspiration to cleanse this week as well. I feel like it's the only week between now and the onslaught of holiday parties to stop what could easily become a downward spiral into a state of utter grossness.

I know it won't be easy, but here are the guidelines I hope to follow until the weekend when we have plans to attend a B-school Winter Gala, will be hosting a HS BFF, and will be drinking heavily at a concert Sat night.

1) No coffee. I. Know. This. Is. Going. To. Be. Hard. So why do it? Well, I'd say about half of the sugar and dairy I ingest comes in my coffee. I'm easily addicted to caffeine and right now, as the semester draws to an end, I practically have the stuff pumping through my veins (a cup of home- or office-brewed in the morning and a latte before class). It's not good. I've even been experiencing some heartburn lately (really not good) and the coffee is NOT helping. To soften this blow, especially with a big stats test tomorrow night, I'll allow myself 2 cups of caffeinated tea/day (sans dairy and honey!). Saying no to coffee this week has the added bonus of saving me some much-needed holiday spending $$! If that's not reason enough, I don't know what is.

2) Cut WAY down on sugar and dairy (try to eliminate it).

3) Eat a healthy breakfast every morning! I'll start each day with a smoothie or a bowl of oatmeal (and maybe even smoothie with oats). I'll try my best to omit dairy and sweeteners and to share my recipes.

4) Plan my meals. I usually do a good job of this, but not always. Here's what I'm planning  to cook this week:

• Clean out the Fridge Veggie + Lentil Soup 
• Greens & Beans Over Grains
• Vegetarian Chili (minus the olive oil, salt, and cheese)
• Potato & Leek Soup (minus the olive oil, salt, and cheese)
• Salad with home-made dressing

5) Minimize use of oil and salt. I make a lot of soup and I usually start by sauteing some combination of  onions, leeks, carrots, celery and/or garlic. But nobody ever said you had to do this to make a tasty soup. I'm reading a book called Unprocessed: How to achieve vibrant health and your ideal weight. right now that I picked up at the Boston Vegetarian Food Festival. The author, Chef AJ, talks about the evil trinity of sugar, oil, and salt and I'm pretty convinced that she's right. If there are ways to avoid them, I'm going to leave them out of my recipes and I'll try some of her recipes this week as well.

6) Eat lots of raw veggies. I'll do this by incorporating some into morning smoothies and by eating a salad a day, either for lunch or dinner.

7) No packaged or pre-made foods. I don't buy heat-and-eat meals. Instead, when I do cook, I usually cook enough servings to enjoy for easy lunches and dinners throughout the week. So this won't be all that difficult. What I do eat from boxes and bags includes tortilla chips, crackers, nuts, and the like. If I do a good enough job preparing my meals ahead of time and bring things like carrots and hummus and raw nuts and seeds with me to snack on when hunger strikes, I think I can avoid the bags and boxes.

8) No refined carbs. Potatoes and brown rice are good for you, but I'm going to try to avoid anything made with flour (pasta, bread, crackers, cookies, etc) this week.

Are you also feeling the need to detox? What are your tips and tricks to cleanse the body after over-indulging? Do you think I can do this??