Around this time, a lot of us may be considering a dietary cleanse of sorts — you know, to kinda to kick our new, better, and noticeably more awesome selves into high gear. A cleanse is essentially eliminating accrued toxins from the body and/or allowing the digestive system to “rest” by means of a full throttle consumption of detoxifying herbs, juices, elixirs or fancy concoctions . . . and not eating much else. Many times cleanses don’t even allow solid food.

A small cleanse (say, a few days long) can certainly have its place in a natural lifestyle. But rather than such a regimented approach, I prefer utilizing a style of cleansing I call “organic cleansing.” Instead of taking the extreme measures of a fast, simply eating really good-for-you food on a daily basis (essentially “cleansing” daily) allows your body to stay “clean” at its own natural and organic rate. Really good-for-you foods include whole, plant-based foods that are as close to their natural state as possible. Also, eating more “raw” foods – foods that haven’t had many of their vitamins and enzymes destroyed by cooking and heat — is among the easiest and healthiest ways to cleanse (or stay cleansed!) at an organic pace. Basically: eating natural food keeps you clean & energized. It’s that simple.

Eating this way is fun, as you can genuinely feel good about each and every positive choice made. It feels like you giving to you, with, I imagine, the inner conversation going something like this:

Outer You: Hey, here, I made this smoothie for you.
Inner You: Oh, hey, thanks.
Outer You: Yeah, no worries.
(processes smoothie)
Inner You: Wow this is GOOD! Yum yum yum yum.
Outer You: I know, I had some.
Inner You: Here, I have something for you too: it’s called “a lot of energy.”
Outer You: Nice – I like a lot of energy.
Inner You: Do you think you could make me a salad later?
Outer You: Sure, but we’re going for a long hike first.
Inner You: You’re the greatest.
Outer You: You are.
Inner You: No you.
Outer You: YOU.
(group hug).

Here’s 5 foods to incorporate right away to get your great tasting, group-hugging, “organic cleanse” on:

Juice – You don’t have to go on a juice fast to get the benefits! Make sure it’s fresh and not from concentrate. No juicer at home and no juice bar around? Even a handheld citrus squeezer to make some fresh-squeezed orange juice will make the difference – and what a heavenly difference at that!

Herbal Tea – Herbs are amazingly powerful (!) and steeping them in tea is an excellent way to take advantage of their benefits while staying warm inside at the same time. Right now I’m big into nettle tea and peppermint tea.

Smoothies – The no brainer approach to a better meal. Fill up a blender with fruit, a plant-based milk or water, and your favorite superfoods for a flavorlicious meal. I think if everyone substituted their breakfast for a smoothie each day, the world would be a better place.

Leafy Greens – Eat them. Have a salad, juice them, stick a couple in your smoothie, serve them as a steamed side; just eat them. Your body loves them, and the more you can incorporate them into your diet, the better and cleaner you will feel. Sea vegetables are excellent detoxifiers as well.

Kombucha – This 2000 year-old elixir is ideal for daily organic cleansing. Kombucha is not only a delicious bubbly beverage, but one that contains copious amounts of enzymes, micronutrients, and also contains lactic acid – a dietary component which increases oxygen in the blood.

And of course, here are more recipes for a natural diet.

Probably the single easiest concoction to make at home, you really can’t really mess up a smoothie – it’s not like baking where the proportions have to be perfect . . . with smoothies, just keep adding things until it’s tasting good! There’s literally thousands of ways to make a smoothie, but here’s my fool-proof strategy for healthy, simple, and delicious results:

Ice: Always start with a handful of ice at the bottom of the blender. Smoothies are meant to be cold, and putting the ice in first ensures the blender blades crush the cubes thoroughly.

Banana: Bananas add a creaminess and density to smoothies, yet are low in calories. Use ripe (even overly ripe) bananas because they will provide more natural sugars and flavor. Mangos are a good substitute if bananas are not on your “love-it” list.

Frozen fruit: Add next a cup or two of frozen fruit like blueberries, strawberries, pineapple, acai, etc. Although fresh fruit is more than fine, frozen fruit is often less expensive, lasts longer, and provides a better frozen-treat texture.

Nutmilk: Pour in about a cup of unsweetened nutmilk like almond or hazelnut for healthy and delicious creaminess. Allergic to nuts? Try hempmilk, ricemilk, or soymilk instead.

Superfoods and power powders: Here’s where the creativity really sets in. Add in a few spoonfuls of protein powder, superfood powders, freeze-dried greens, etc to really charge up this nutritional meal. Get ambitious and choose your own blend of powders, or find a high-quality whole-food premixed blend.

Stevia (optional): I always put in just a tiny dash of stevia to further draw out the natural sweetness of the ingredients without raising a single calorie. A touch goes a long way/

Water: Top off your smoothie by pouring water into the full blender, just about an inch or two above the rest of the ingredients, so that it’s easy to blend.

Of course the biggest rule is to customize, customize, customize until it becomes your unique and perfect blend! Make your smoothie into something of a daily “healthy insurance policy,” as no matter what happens food-wise the rest of the day, you’ve had at least ONE amazingly super-charged meal to keep you going strong. Your body will love you for it.

Here’s a recipe for an old standby my personal blender has come to know — my Chocolate Goodness Smoothie. Fabulous.