I’m feeling tired, sluggish and a little irritable. Its day 3 of my 7 day Recleanse and as a Registered Holistic Nutritionist and experienced cleanser I already know what to expect. Detoxification is kind of like having the flu, your symptoms progress until eventually your immune system overpowers it. Then you feel radient, youthful and re-energized. Trust me, it's worth it!

 I was asked by Prairie Naturals via twitter to review this cleanse with 20 fellow Canadians. Our start date was June 22. Testers were asked to “tweet” daily using the tag #Recleanse and share with others their experiences.  I’m having so much fun tweeting new people and offering my detoxification tips and expertise to other testers.  You can follow the twitter feed here, or the facebook group here.

The Recleanse is simple to use and what I consider a mild detox. This 7 day system works by taking supplements with breakfast and supper, as well as following the provided detoxification meal plan. The kit contains 2 supplements with over 25 powerful herbal ingredients like: dandelion root, red clover, parsley, triphala, rhubarb and slippery elm. The combination works to improve internal organ function while emptying out the bowel.

The Recleanse diet emphasizes eating more low density carbohydrates and a moderate amount of good quality protein/fat/high density carbohydrates and consists of a high volume of food.  I’ve tweaked my program a bit to suit my dietary needs and lifestyle. Here’s what I ate on Day 2.

Morning Drink: 1 c warm water + ½ lemon + 2 TBSP Bragg’s apple cider vinegar + pinch coconut sweetener

Breakfast:  1 c almond milk + 1 scoop hemp protein powder + ½ banana + ½ cup berries

Snack:  1 kiwi + 10 natural almonds + small freshly pressed carrot/apple/ginger juice

Lunch: 3 ½ ounces cooked salmon + 3 cup garden salad + ½ cup brown rice

Snack: 1 c water + Recleanse Refigure Lemon Mango smoothie mix (sample provided)

Supper: 4 ½ ounces halibut + 2 c cooked broccoli + 1 c cooked asparagus + ½ c brown rice

Snack:  1 serving Greens+ powder + 1 c water + 10 natural almonds

Beverages: plenty of good quality water, 1 cup of organic black coffee, unsweetened homemade green ice-tea.

The instructions suggest avoiding: pre-packaged foods, alcohol, most dairy, mushrooms, peanuts, farmed fish, yeast, frying and hydrogenated oils. Limit caffeine to 1 cup of coffee per day. I took my Recleanse diet a few extra steps by choosing to eat organic food as much as possible. Recently I decided to eliminate all corn/soy/canola from my diet, as I’ve been reading a researching the harmful effects of GMO foods. As a Holistic Nutritionist I believe GMO foods produce negative side effects and should be avoided. 

I think this cleanse is a great “beginner” tool for the inexperienced cleanser. It is simple to use and produces very mild symptoms. I caution you to seek medical/nutritional advice if you’re thinking about cleansing. At Rachelle Wood Nutrition we create customized detoxification programs for our clients after reviewing any medical complications and lifestyle factors prior to making recommendations.

To all my “Recleanse” friends I wish you good health, and look forward to tweeting with you online at our celebration chat party June 29th! Stay tuned for my Recleanse completion post early next week. If you're Recleansing too, I'd like to know how your doing. Please post any comments below.

Yours in Recleansed health,

Rachelle Wood, RHN
CEO Rachelle Wood Nutrition Inc. 

http://seeresults.rachellewood.ca 

Q&A- Rachelle what type of yogurt do you recommend for weight loss? It seems like everytime I go to the store I see a new product on the dairy shelf.  Thanks you so much for your help.  Melissa, Summerside PEI

Great question BTW and I totally agree with you. Recently I’ve noticed that the dairy cooler at the grocery store expanded. Yogurt is sold in many flavourful varieties with ranging fat grams. It’s a good source of protein, calcium and iron. Yogurt contains good bacterias which vary from brand to brand.  It is often recommended to eat yogurt after finishing antibiotics to strengthen good gut flora.

I have(and probably always will) eat the same brand of yogurt .  It’s low in fat and calories with 90% less lactose then regular yogurt. Astros Bio Best Lactose Reduced plain yogurt is my choice. It’s in a blue containor with only 1.5 grams of fat per serving with no added sugar. Plain yogurt is a necessity for my kitchen and used to make dips, sauces and smoothies.  

For breakfast I like to eat: ½ cup Astro Bio Best yogurt, ½ cup unsweetened applesauce, 1/3 cup Bran Buds, 2 TBSP Atlantic Healing Shelled Hempseed, grated cinnamon.  It’s filling, sweet, tart and flavourful.  Kinda feels like having dessert for breakfast!

If you like to eat fruit flavoured yogurt my next best choice would be Fat Free Activia. It is sweetened with sugar and has 80 calories per serving with no fat. If you don’t mind eating Splenda (I try to stay away from it), then buy Silouette, The Source or PC Finesse.  Astro Bio best make a great little stirred yogurt also found in a blue package (think jam + plain yogurt).

Thanks again for your question Melissa; I’m sure lots of other blog readers were wondering the same thing.  As always I value your opinions about my blog, if you have ideas or suggestions just email them to me.

 

Out of all the recipes on the Rachelle Wood Holistic Weight Loss program, this has got to be my client’s favourite. These high fibre muffins are so filling, one will always be enough. By combining nutrient dense foods like ground flaxseed, wheat bran and raisins these muffins range between 6-8 grams of filling fibre. If constipation is an issue, these muffins will certainly “do the trick”.  This recipe is compliments of Rachelle Wood, www.rachellewood.ca

Healthier Morning Glory Muffins        makes 16 muffins    

1 1/3 cup whole wheat flour 

¾ cup wheat bran

1/2 cup ground flaxseed

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsp baking powder

2 tsp cinnamon

½ tsp nutmeg

½ cup unsweetened applesauce

1 chopped apple

½ cup seedless raisins

1 cup shredded carrots

A large squirt of honey

2/3 cup skim or soy milk

2 eggs, beaten

1 TBSP canola oil

Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl. Mix wet ingredients into another, including carrots and fruit. Pour wet into dry. Mix just until moistened. Spray muffin tin with non stick spray. Spoon batter into cups. Bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes. These muffins freeze well. For a complete breakfast eat 1 muffin with ½ cup yogurt + ½ c applesauce with a sprinkle of cinnamon. These muffins make a nice morning snack with a cup of tea.

This is not the exact same recipe sold at the Souris Save Easy, but very close. Rachelle Wood and the bakery department at the Save Easy and came up with a secret recipe for the store. If you don’t have time to make your own muffins, (like me), you can buy them premade at the Souris Save Easy. Rachelle would like to thank the Souris Save Easy bakery staff, especially Lucy, for making these wonderful muffins. I hear they sell a ton of them, and Rachelle even takes orders for her Charlottetown clients.

Do you have a muffin recipe to share with other blog readers, or have you tried the muffins. If so post your comment below. Rachelle would like to thank Gaylene and Jennifer in Charlottetown for inspiring this blog post.

Lately I have been spending more time in Moncton, and am always looking for a new spot to eat at. My Moncton friends always rave about how good the food at Calactus vegetarian restaurant is, so I decided to give it a try. This restaurant is by far one of Monctons healthiest, the service was great and my meal was delicious!

The atmosphere inside the restaurant was inviting with a  natural theme, using lots of wooden tables, fake trees and art work. The healthy menu selection was impressive and included only vegetarian options. The menu pointed out that lactose and gluten free dishes were available by special request. Most dishes were served with organic corn chips and tabouli salad. Everything looked so healthy and delicious I found it hard to decide what to order and decided to start with a coffee.

I love drinking coffee, and I must admit that I really enjoyed the bitter strong taste of the house blend at Calactus. It almost tasted like an espresso! I decided to order an Indian dish which consisted of brown basmati rice, green peas, and a curry chickpea sauce. On the side was chapatti bread with a yogurt sauce. The serving size was very large, and I couldn’t even finish the meal.  It was delicious, and a taste experience I hope to someday recreate within my own kitchen.

Kathleen decided to order a Caesar salad. Being a vegetarian restaurant, Calactus skips the bacon and tops each salad with fresh alfalfa sprouts. What a healthy twist for a, “classic high fat” salad. She also tried my dish and really enjoyed the curry experience. Beans, especially when mixed with a curry sauce, seem to always satisfy my appetite.

IIf you’re traveling to Moncton and want to eat healthy- I would highly recommend Calactus! If you’re a blog reader in Moncton can you suggest another restaurant I should review next time I’m in town? Post your comment below or email Rachelle Wood at positivechange@rachellewood.ca .

Choosing the right wine is often considered a fine art. Pairing fine wine with sharp foods creates   indescribable taste combinations. Usually my blog posts are about weight loss, and we all know alcohol is not recommended while trying to shed extra pounds.  

So for this post I’m thinking back to my waitressing days, which consisted of studying nutrition by day and serving fine wine and fancy meals by night. Restaurant servers are responsible for taking care of the paying customer’s meal requirements.  Servers may make food recommendations, which may also include a fine wine to compliment the meal.

When pairing wine, think white wine for lighter tasting dishes and red wine for heavier ones. This simple rule will help you easily pick a wine to accompany your favorite dish. Here is a general guide for wine pairing:

The Meal                         The Wine                          Color-Tastes Like

Red meat, pork, lamb     Red Zinfandel, Merlot     Red-Tastes berry like and dark, oaky 

Chicken                            Chardonnay                      White-Tastes mild, oaky, light

Meaty Strong Fish         Pinot Noir                          Red-Tastes berry and citrus like

Lighter White Fish         Sauvignon Blanc             White-Tastes tropical and citrus like

Pasta Tomato Sauce       Chianti, Sangiovese         Red-Tastes dry, bold, tart

Pasta Cream Sauce         Pinot Grigio                       White-Tastes light, crisp and fresh

Asian/Indian                   Riesling                             White-Tastes sweet, light and crisp           

Not only does wine vary in color, but country and price as well. Explore the wine section of your local liquor store and try wines from different countries. Through experimentation I’ve learned that I enjoy Italian red wine the most, especially when eating seafood! Canada has some great wine producers too, including some new Organic Vineyards and Wineries in BC and Ontario. I also enjoy the Prince Edward Island winery,  www.rossignolwinery.com .

Fine wine requires good conversation.  To cut back on calories, never open a bottle of wine alone. Invite a friend over to share the calories with you. Drink extra water before and after drinking alcoholic beverages. The best cure for a hangover is Vitamin C, which is abundant in oranges, carrots and tomatoes.  Another trick is sports drinks, which work to rehydrate your body quickly.

If you’re invited to a dinner party, ask the host what they are cooking. Once you find out the main course, use the wine chart above to choose the right bottle. Experiment with different countries and never be afraid to try a new kind. After all, it is thoughtful to bring wine to your dinner host, but curtsey to choose one that will compliment the meal!