Getting Ready for the 21 Day Challenge

Answering the Questions: How should I prepare? What equipment do I need?

We already have almost 80 people signed up on the Facebook page for our free guided 21 Day Challenge!  If you have a Facebook account, you might want to follow the event there as we can easily post photos and have discussions.  The great thing about doing these cleanses as a group is that you have ongoing support and feel more motivated.

I deliberately set the starting date to be after the 4^th of July holiday as many people are traveling that day or attending bar-b-ques and frankly, it is frustrating to be restricted from eating most of what everyone else is enjoying.  That’s said, my recommendation is that you use the rest of the week to clean up your diet a bit.  This will a) keep you from detoxing too intensely and b) keep you from feeling too deprived.

Ease off gradually on sugar, caffeine, red meat, wine and dairy.

For instance, I was never much of a coffee drinker most of my life but in the past 6 months my husband and I have enjoyed going to a nice Starbucks that has a view of Tampa Bay.  The large latte I usually order is made with organic soy milk, and while I don’t add any sweetener there is some sugar in the soy milk.  I started to feel a bit jittery when I wasn’t having the coffee and also noticed a flare-up of IBS symptoms, possibly attributed to the soy and/or the sugar.

This week I’ve dialed back on the coffee and have been drinking green and oolong tea so I’m not going “cold turkey” along with other dramatic changes once I start the challenge.  Eating high amounts of living, nutrition-rich food will probably start a detox pattern, but if you ease in gradually it will be happen more gently.

Bear in mind that Dr. L J is not a medical doctor and cannot diagnose or prescribe.  Check with your physician before committing to any crucial dietary changes.

What equipment should you have for the 21-Day Challenge?

I don’t expect you to go and invest into expensive equipment!  Sure, a Vitamix or Blendtec are amazing tools for the raw foodist, but you can certainly get by with a regular blender.  Having a food processor (even the smaller one) is also going to make it easier to make some of the pates and desserts.

If you do need some equipment, why not start with something like the Nutribullet?  Not only can you make a really good green smoothie, shake or nut milk, there is also a blade for grinding and chopping nuts and seeds and you can also make things like hummus and pates rather easily, just in smaller portions.  There are other brands out there that mimic the Nutribullet, so I am not making any particular pitch for them (nor do I get a commission :- )

Smoothies are more filling that juices so don’t worry about having a juicer (unless you already have one and prefer your drinks with less fiber.)

If you don’t have a dehydrator, no problem!  Lining a cookie sheet with parchment paper you can dry some of the nut burgers and scones that I’ll teach you to make.  A Silpat sheet or two would be a great investment so you can make raw-style crackers or fruit roll-ups in your oven.  They may not be fully raw, but they will still have lots of essential nutrients.

That’s about it, equipment-wise.  If you find some cheesecloth, that can fill in for not having a special bag to strain nut milks, but even a clean kitchen towel will work!

Have a great weekend.  My next post will be about What Raw Foodists Eat on a Daily Basis.

We now have a private Facebook Group to track the Challenge. Feel free to request to join and I will add you.