5 Day Raw Food Cleanse: Day 1

There are many reasons to want to cleanse the body, and many ways of going about it. Personally, I have been eating too much junk food (pizza, ice cream, popcorn at the movies...) and I have begun to feel it (and see it!) in my body. I am sure there are lots of cleanse diets out there, but I have decided to makeshift my own kind of cleanse by eating primarily raw fruits and veggies for 5 days.

Here are some benefits of a raw food cleanse:

• Boost energy!
• Shave off some pounds
• A general detoxification of the body, ridding the body of excess waste
• Improve digestion, memory and immune system health!
• Cut down on household energy costs - no cooking necessary!
• Learn how to use new ingredients in creative ways

I thought I would share what I make over these 5 days to inspire ideas and also to show how I  incorporate CSA veggies into my raw food meals. 

My meals will be primarily raw fruits and vegetables, with nuts, herbs, legumes and seeds combined in fun and tasty ways. I will not be eating sweets, bread, meat or cheese (no alcohol or caffeine, either!). I am, however, making some small exceptions. I will be using minimal amounts of ricotta cheese, cottage cheese and plain greek yogurt. I have an incredible raw food "cookbook" that I will be deriving lots of recipe ideas from, and many of the yummiest things call for these ingredients. Additionally, some of the nuts I will use will be roasted (but not salted). I will also use small amounts of things like peanut butter, olive oil and soy sauce for flavoring. I want this to be a success so I am trying to be reasonable! 

OK, here is what I ate on DAY 1:

Breakfast 

Herbal tea with lemon, honey and ginger. 

Lunch

"Everything but the..." salad - I had many random leftovers in my fridge that I thought would all go together nicely in a salad

• Lettuce and chard
• Tomato
• Onion
• Pineapple
• Beets
• Basil and Parsley 
• Chopped almonds
• Lemon, olive oil and black pepper

Snack 

Banana, almond milk and peanut butter smoothie (yum! A must try!)

Dinner: 

Stuffed mushrooms - baby bella mushrooms with ricotta dill stuffing

• Clean the mushrooms thoroughly and pull out the stems
• Grind the stems in blender and mix with ricotta cheese, garlic, onion, fresh dill and black pepper
• Stuff the mushroom caps! 

Gazpacho - To accompany the mushrooms I made gazpacho, which is primarily all the following ingredients mixed in the blender, to taste.

• Cucumber
• Tomato
• Onion
• Garlic
• Eggplant (because I had some that needed to be used)
• Some homemade pickle juice with pickled jalapeños
• Sriracha 
• Tomato paste
• Cayenne pepper, black pepper, and a little salt 

I feel nourished but not full. Overall very satisfied! Looking forward to day 2!