Does Detoxing for Health Fit into a REAL FOOD Lifestyle? + GIVEAWAY!

Let's get this question out there: Does detoxing for health benefits have a place in a traditional food home?

Y'all know we are "Real Food-ies". I post our meal plan every week, and most of the meals on that plan are made from scratch, featuring simple foods that we have grown ourselves on our urban farm or sourced as locally as possible. This also includes eggs, beef, pork, chicken, and most dairy products. We try to keep processed foods out of our mouths (yep, there's intentional and occasional slip-ups).

Sometimes when I hear the word "detox" I think of a crazy juicing diet, or a colon cleanse, or popping a 'magic' pill that will detoxify every cell in my body. Eeeeek! That's too scary. Does a detox jive with our real food lifestyle?

A non-traditional, 'magic pill' detox is not my idea of a good time. I like food entirely too much. Alas, I am participating in a 10-week wellness challenge (Live Healthy Iowa) with a team of bloggers and back in November decided to reclaim my health.

Perhaps a detox of sorts could be beneficial to my wellness journey?

I met Alexa Schirm from Simple Roots Wellness last summer at a blogger event at Bethany and Nick's house (from Reality Daydream), and her wellness philosophy inspired me. In fact, Alexa and I agree on many of the same points - food can heal and "real food and real food strategies win every time".

Maybe this IS a detox I can agree with? When Alexa came out with The Simple Detox Guide (which is free by the way), I quickly downloaded it and got to reading on my lunch break. As it turns out, detoxing in the way Alexa recommends doesn't feel like detoxing at all! There's no weird colon cleanse, you can eat solid foods, and the recipes actually look very similar to a normal real food menu.

I recommend you read Alexa's post about the truths behind detoxing right now, before you get all judge -y and think I am lying to you. I'll wait here for you.

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As you read, detoxing is should not be about creating habits that are unhealthy. It's about being "well fed on quality foods" and cleansing our systems from "toxins, processed foods, excess sugar and {making} a few healthy lifestyle choices…"

Surprisingly, John and I were already doing 90% of what The Simple Detox Guide recommends! We made a few simple changes though, which include:

1. Eating our meals within a 10-12 hour window. No more snacks after 7pm. 
2. Recycle our last few plastic water bottles and exclusively use our glass or stainless bottles. 
3. Be more adventurous and eat more of Alexa's recommended "detox foods" (like pomegranates and artichokes!)
4. Try dry brushing.
5. Make switchel and drink a glass each morning. 

Get The Simple Detox Guide here, and shoot Alexa an email to let her know that I sent you! She's a local girl, and I love to support my neighbors.

If you are ready to begin eating healthier, perhaps using all of those goodies that you preserved from your garden last year, I have a couple tools to help you! I am part of the Iowa Food and Family Project's Live Healthy Iowa team. They've generously donated 10 prize packs which include:

An Iowa Food and Family Project cookbook and a wooden spoon set!

The cookbook has loads of healthy and indulgent recipes featuring Kristen from Iowa Girl Eats and Cristen from Food and Swine, as well as a host of other Iowa bloggers and family farmers. The photography is a form of food porn. Beautiful photos, guys.

All you have to do to enter to win is complete the Rafflecopter form below, and 9 randomly chosen winners will be selected on Friday, March 11. I am picking only 9 winners, 'cuz y'all know I'm keeping one of these cookbooks and wooden spoons for myself!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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