by Kerrie Bross

I just finished up the 21 Day Detox Diet Plan for the third time. The 21 Day Detox Diet Plan was developed by Dr. Erica LePore, a naturopathic doctor with over 15 years of experience helping patients heal through detoxification and food testing. Even though I eat a pretty clean diet, I do the detox once a year just to clean out any toxins that have built up and to help get me back on the heathy track. For an in depth report on the results after my first detox, check out this blog.

Another 21 Day Detox Diet Success Story

While I do it just to get a good cleanse, many people do the 21 Day Detox Plan to help figure out why they feel unwell. A good friend of mine is in this category. Melissa was feeling off for a long time. Her feet hurt when she got up in the morning. She often felt very tired, had low energy and was often down. She had gas and bloating, joint stiffness and a general feeling of malaise. I mentioned the detox to her last year when I did it, and she said she wanted to do it to see if food was triggering her symptoms. It took her until this year to finally get prepared and just do it. She was amazed by how much better she felt after just a couple of days.

Melissa’s Results During the 21 Day Detox Plan

In just the first week on the 21 Day Detox Plan, Melissa noticed an improvement in mood and energy, and she said she had bouts of unexplained happiness or giddiness. This was such a nice change after feeling down a lot for no reason. She also noticed she felt wide awake when she woke up in the morning – no dragging tiredness – and her feet no longer hurt when she got up. She noticed significantly less joint pain and the stomach issues were gone.

What Melissa Learned from Doing the 21 Day Detox Diet

Doing the 21 Day Detox helped Melissa realize a few very important things. She believes she was probably dehydrated most of the time. She also realized she was addicted to sugar and flour and that it was contributing to overeating. Now she stops eating when she’s full as opposed to feeding the sugar and flour addictions. She has made a breakfast smoothie part of her regular routine and loves starting the day with a glass of water. She says it is a nice way to gently wake up her system instead of filling it with egg and cheese on a bagel on the way to work. Many of the healthy habits she picked up during her Detox Diet have remained part of her daily routine and she feels so much better.

The 21 Day Detox Diet Plan is not easy – that is why it took Melissa so long to finally get prepared and do it. But, when done properly, it can help you figure out if certain foods are causing or contributing to your health issues. It is a very powerful tool when used properly. So, I wanted to help anyone who is attempting the diet with a list of my favorite recipes from this latest round of detoxing.

21 Day Detox Diet Breakfast Recipes

Breakfast Smoothie

This is my go to breakfast all the time, and now it’s Melissa’s, too. Although beef is not allowed on the diet, Perfect Hydrolyzed Collagen from grass-fed cows is allowed, ( I checked with Dr. Lepore). To make this more filling and last with you longer, add 1 Tbs Perfect Coconut Oil.

Ingredients:
2 Tbs full fat organic coconut milk (Native Forest is my favorite)
Filtered water
1 Scoop Perfect Hydrolyzed Collagen
1 Scoop Perfect Acai Powder
2 Scoops Baobab Fruit Powder, (if doing the diet, you already have this)
1/2 Tbs Catie’s Gluten Free Greens
6 – 8 oz organic frozen fruit – my favorites are raspberries and pineapple-mango

Directions:
1) In a blender, add coconut milk then filtered water to the one cup line.
2) Add Perfect Hydrolyzed Collagen, Baobab Powder, Perfect Acaiband Catie’s Greens to blender. Blend for a few few seconds to mix it all together.
3) Add organic fruit and blend on high until all the frozen fruit is broken down and well mixed in.
4) Pour in a glass and enjoy

Rice-less Krispie Treats

This recipe comes from Paleohacks. You will need a food processor to chop up the nuts. This is a good dessert or snack, as well as a good breakfast!

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups raw almonds
1 cup raw macadamia nuts
1/2 cup creamy almond or cashew butter
1/4 to 1/3 cup honey, depending on how sweet you like it
salt to taste

Directions:
1) Place nuts in a food processor or high speed mixer. Pulse several times on high until the nuts are a crumbly mixture.
2) In a large mixing bowl, add nut mixture, honey, almond butter and salt. Stir to combine.
3) Line a loaf pan or small glass pyrex dish with parchment paper. Firmly press the mixture into the dish, all the way into the corners.
4) Refrigerate for at least two hours to set. Cut into 10 or 12 pieces. Store in the refrigerator so it stays firm.

21 Day Detox Lunch or Sides Recipes

I tried this Beet and Quinoa Salad and it was fantastic. I ditched the dijon mustard and used 1/4 tsp ground mustard to eliminate any sugar or toxins from processed mustard. Make sure you buy organic edamame because soy is a GMO crop. Week two you cannot eat soy, so substitute garbanzo or black beans instead of the edamame. One batch was enough for a few lunches. I sometimes added leftover chicken to make it a little more filling.

This Three Bean Salad is so invigorating with the fresh parsley. The dressing calls for 1/4 cup granulated sugar. I used 2 Tbs honey instead. Use more or less according to your tastes.

Last nights leftovers always make good lunches. Read on for the snack and dinner recipes I loved this time around.

21 Day Detox Snack Recipes

I could not get through the 21 Day Detox Diet without having snacks and homemade goodies on hand.  I also found a couple of great store-bought snacks this time around that are really flavorful, healthy and only have ingredients that are allowed. See the picture.

I have a sweet tooth, so I needed lots of pre-made sweet snacks. One day we were going to the movies and I needed a sweet snack to munch on that was small and candy like. I found a maple glazed nut recipe that I altered a bit. The following recipe is so good, I’ve made it a few more times since my diet ended!

Paleo Maple Glazed Nuts

Ingredients:
5 cups of organic nuts – I used macadamias, pecans, walnuts, almonds and brazil nuts
4 Tbs organic maple syrup
1 tsp alcohol free vanilla extract
1/2 to 3/4 tsp salt – to taste

Directions:
1) Add maple syrup, vanilla extract, and salt. Mix to combine.
2) Add nuts and stir so all are well covered in the maple mixture.
3) Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper. Scoop out the nuts with a slotted spoon and let the excess liquid drip off for a few seconds. Place in a single layer on the cookie sheet.
4) Cook at 250° in a preheated oven for 45 minutes. Remove and let cool for a few minutes if you can. Store in an airtight container.

Other Sugar-Free Snacks

I also ate the Rice-less Krispie Treats for sweet snacks along with Dr. Lepore’s Vanilla Coconut Chia Seed Pudding. Fruit is always a healthy snack. I ate a lot of apples, tangerines and pears. I couldn’t eat icecream, but I have a Yonanas machine that turns frozen fruit into sorbet. My family ate bags of frozen berries this way. My kids like it sweetened with a little honey. For salty snacks, and for an appetizer, I ate a lot of fresh guacamole with the Red Rice chips.

Guacamole

Ingredients:
2 medium avocados
1/4 cup diced organic tomatoes
1/4 to 1/2 tsp salt, to taste
1/2 Tbs organic dried onion
1/2 Tbs organic lime juice or fresh squeezed lime juice

Directions:
1) Cut avocados the long way and use a spoon to scoop out the green goodness. Mash to desired consistency.
2) Add 1 Tbs filtered water and the dried onion to a glass dish and zap in the microwave for 30 seconds. Fresh onion can be used, but my kids don’t really like fresh onion and this is fast.
3) Add onion, salt, and lime juice to the avocado mixture. Mix well and adjust salt if needed. Add tomatoes and serve immediately. If you are not eating right away or if there is any left over, this is a trick to keep it from going brownish on top. Put it in as small a container as possible so there is only a little open to air. Slowly add water so it sits on top, completely covering the guacamole with about 1/4 inch of water. When it comes time to eat it, pour off the water and stir.

21 Day Detox Dinner Recipes

This stuffed turkey tenderloin recipe is fantastic right out of the oven or as leftovers. It is completely compliant and no changes were needed. I also really enjoy the Sweet Potato Coconut Curry Soup from the 21 Day Detox Plan website. A few nights we did roasted chickens or rotisserie turkey for dinner and for leftovers. Then, I made bone broth and really good chicken soup. Here’s the link to my bone broth and chicken soup recipe. It says chicken noodle soup, but it tells you how to make it chicken and rice soup. It was the soup days that I ate Guacamole and Red Rice chips to make the meal a little more filling.

Another thing I made a few times was Fresh Basil Pesto. This recipe puts it on chicken breasts, which totally works for the 21 Day Detox Plan. I usually made just the pesto and ate it on baked spaghetti squash with some diced chicken thrown in for protein. YUM!!!! Trader Joe’s makes brown rice and quinoa pasta that you can eat on this diet, too.

How to Find Recipes for the 21 Day Detox Diet Plan

There are lots of recipes out there that work for the 21 Day Detox Diet Plan. Search for Paleo versions of your favorite recipes and those will usually work with little or no tweaking. The best way to be successful on this diet is to have food on hand that you can eat, including snacks. Make sure to make some emergency turkey meatballs to freeze for a quick meal in case you are in a hurry. The recipe I made was not great, so I didn’t share it, but having them was good for rushed meals when I wasn’t well prepared. Check spaghetti sauce jars, many have sugar in them.

Last thing, these recipes are tasty, healthy recipes good for any time, not just when your detoxing. Enjoy!