5 minute Apple Quinoa Flake Bake + Cocoalmond Mania Butter

April 5, 2011 By Leanne Vogel December 11, 2018

I’m 10 days into my cleanse and things are going well! To recap, my goals were:

• Increase water from 3 liters to 4 liters/day. CHECK
• Lemon water in the morning. CHECK
• 1000ml Ginger water in the afternoon. CHECK – I added grapefruit to yesterday’s batch.
• Add parsley to my breakfast shakes. 1/2 CHECK – I got kinda sick of parsley a couple of days in, so I’ve been adding an extra kale salad in the afternoon as a snack.
• Prepare 2 cups of fresh cleansing juice everyday [with 5 drops of chlorophyll]. DOUBLE CHECK. I’ve really enjoyed this.
• 2 salads a day. CHECK – my favorite dressing right now is ground cashews, lemon juice & dill. Amazing!
• Continue with whole food sweeteners and sugars. CHECK – wait, does rum count?
• 20 chews a mouthful. 1/2 CHECK – my jaw hurt for the first 5 days of doing this. I forget half the time, but I am counting more often.
• No more snacking before dinner. 1/2 CHECK – I’ve been really, really good. I slipped up last night when I grabbed a bag of granola while I was making kale chips. Other than that though, it’s going really well. I find that as long as I’m aware of the habit, I avoid it.

My favorite part about my mini cleanse: taking the time to come up with creative ways to add veggies to my day. My lunch today is raw veggies + raw teriyaki sauce wrapped in nori. Fun! My least favorite part:  cleaning my juicer. My favorite breakfast/snack this week [since we’re on the topic of favorites]: quinoa flake bakes. They’re refined sugar free, gluten free, high in fiber, protein, and ready in just 5 minutes. View Nutrition Information (once on page, scroll down) The fun doesn’t stop there. What’s a good breakfast bake without some mean nut butter? [“mean” = “awesome”] I didn’t think my food processor was up for the task, but I had an an empty jar of almond butter and absolutely no desire to head to the store. Desperate times call for desperate measures. View Nutritional Information (once on page scroll down) I seriously just want to jump into that little mason jar, yum! The thing I love about cleanses is that they can be anything you want them to be. A cleanse can be as simple as making an effort to drink more water + lemon or as complicated as removing all sugar, grains, caffeine, and chemicals from your diet for a period of time. For me, I chose to build a cleanse that focused on increased vegetables, low sugars, reduced night snacking and increased water. In other words, the areas in my diet that needed a little TLC.

What is cleansing?

Cleansing is the process of either clearing toxins from the body or transforming them. It involves dietary and lifestyle changes that will reduce the intake of toxins while improving elimination.

Who should cleanse?

Almost all of us need to detox our body and give it a rest from time to time, although some of us may need it more than others. If you have any of the following symptoms, it could be a sign of toxicity/time for a cleanse:

• headaches
• mood changes*
• fatigue*
• frequent colds*
• coughing
• nervousness
• nausea
• indigestion
• skin rashes*
• sinus congestion
• fever
• sore throat
• backaches
• itchy nose
• hives
• bad breath
• constipation
• sleepiness*
• insomnia*
• dizziness

*note: these symptoms may also be due to a deficiency

Types of cleansing

There are multiple different ways to approach cleansing:

1. Pure cleanse [my favorite]: avoidance of chemicals, refined flours, refined sugars, caffeine, alcohol, tobacco, and drugs. Drinking extra water and increasing fiber [more fruit + veg]
2. Rigorous cleanse: made up exclusively of fresh fruits, vegetables, whole grains, raw/ sprouted seeds or legumes, and extra water. No breads, baked goods, animal foods, dairy, alcohol or nuts.
3. Brown rice fast*: 3-4 bowls of rice daily along with liquids – herbal tea, green drinks, and miso soups.
4. Raw foods cleanse*: sprouted seeds, grains, beans, nuts, seeds, and fresh fruit and vegetables.
5. Liquid or water cleanse*: juices, vegetable broths, and teas with spirulina for protein building.

*note: only recommended under the supervision of a trained professional.

Too fast, too soon, too much

I want to bring attention to an issue I see way too often – over cleansing. It is possible to overeliminate/overcleanse to the point where it becomes detrimental to your health. Some people go to the extremes, using plans like the Master Cleanse, or fasting, using laxatives, enemas, colonics, diuretics, or even exercise to obtain the ‘detox’ they want. If done incorrectly or immaturely, these practices can lead to the depletion of your essential nutrieints from your body and can cause very serious protein and/or vitamin-mineral deficiencies. Although cleansing is a great healthful step towards improving your life, it’s important to listen to your body, start off slow, and work your way to health. For more details on spring cleansing check out: Coconut Curry + Miso Gravy Luscious Bowls Black Bean and Ginger Pasta Fry + Spring Cleanse Plan Raw Cashew Lemon Drops + Cleansing Do you have any questions about cleansing that you want to ask me? What is your favorite type of nut butter? I love Artisana almond butter. Nothing is more perfect! Do you make your own nut butter? Imma first timer! Any suggestions on the next flavor of quinoa flake bake? [besides the strawberry one I’ll share with you later on in the week]  

This entry was tagged: breakfast bake, cleansing, quinoa cake, quinoa flake bake, quinoa flakes