Detox Smoothie Recipe

Protein Shake Ingredients

1 ½ cups cold water ½ lemon, peeled 1 pear 1 green apple 1 tablespoon coconut oil, melted ¼ teaspoon ground turmeric ½ tablespoon grated fresh ginger root Pinch of cayenne pepper, to taste ½ teaspoon stevia or other natural sweetener, to taste

At the direction of my naturopathic doctor, I did an extremely restricted diet for six months a couple years ago.  Although it was pretty difficult and frustrating at times, I have to admit, it was nice knowing that I was only putting “real” foods in my body.  Basically, I ate fruits, vegetables and meats (grass fed, antibiotic and hormone free), nothing else.  After the restricted diet ended and I switched to a more Paleo-like diet, I found myself wanting to do a “detox” every once in a while just to get that feeling of a super clean system again.

After finding a bunch of different concoctions online and in books, I decided to make my own combination based on the most common detoxifying ingredients.  Lemon, fresh ginger and turmeric seem to be the most-touted ones out there.  Lemons help with digestion and flush toxins from your body, while ginger helps with liver function.  Turmeric is also beneficial to the liver.

Cayenne pepper is another go-to ingredient when it comes to detoxifying.  It has been praised for its benefits to your circulatory system and digestive system.  Apples and pears are a great way to add fiber and of course water instead of milk is a no brainer.

Since I’m not a huge fan of ginger (and that’s what you usually taste the most), I add a little liquid stevia for taste.  It’s not contradictory to the detox like traditional sugar and helps tame the spiciness of the ginger root and cayenne.

This isn’t one I like to drink every day but it’s a great way to “clean up” your body every few weeks!