Healthy Honeydew Mango Green Smoothie (Dairy Free, Low Fat, Vegan)

This past Saturday, my mom and I embarked on Kris Carr’s 21 Day Adventure Cleanse. Now I’m not really the “cleanse” type, but Kris’ program is healthy, vegan, and—drum roll—looks like fun! Besides, my well-intentioned new year’s resolutions were beginning to slip. So when my mom suggested we try the cleanse, I jumped right on board.

If you aren’t familiar with her, Kris Carr was an actress in New York City until she was diagnosed with cancer (a rare sarcoma) at the age of 31. Instead of crumbling, though, she dusted herself off, overhauled her diet, and reinvented herself as a “wellness warrior,” helping women (and men) take control of their health. Since her diagnosis over 10 years ago, she’s starred in a documentary, spoken all over the country, and authored numerous books, including Crazy Sexy Diet, which contains the 21 Day Adventure Cleanse.

Although I’ve only read Crazy Sexy Diet, Kris’ infectious optimism and positive personality sparkle through on every page. Just reading a chapter feels like visiting with a good friend, so I was eager to give her cleanse a whirl.

Now, on to what the Adventure Cleanse entails. If you truly follow Kris’ guidelines, you’ll be mainlining veggies, meditating daily, working out, rinsing out a few of your—erm—orifices, dry brushing, speaking kind words to yourself, and so forth. Now, not all of these interventions fit into my lifestyle (my orifices are A-okay!), but I’m following most of her guidelines. They include:

• Upon rising: Drink a glass of water
• Breakfast: Green juice or a green smoothie; additional fruit or whole grains if needed
• Lunch and dinner: 60-80% Salads/vegan raw foods, 20-40% healthy cooked vegan fare
• Eliminate: Caffeine, alcohol, and gluten grains
• Exercise 35 minutes most days of the week
• Meditate every morning for at least 5 minutes, washed down with a positive affirmation
• Allow 8 hours for rest every night
• Laugh out loud and tell someone you love them daily

If this seems like a lot, well, it is! But these are things I’ve been needing to do for quite some time anyway. Besides, I’ve already made it to day 3, and with the exception of exercising every day (I came down with a cold the day before I started, lucky me), I’ve been sticking to the plan pretty well. (Although I ditched caffeine shortly after Christmas, so no withdrawal headaches for me.) My mom’s doing great, too—I’m really proud of her, and so glad to have a buddy on this journey.

In fact, her support will be extra important this week, because spring semester classes start today! And the library coffee shop, which so often leads me into temptation, is one destination I’ll need extra willpower to avoid. Knowing that I’ve got an accountability buddy will make it easier to steer clear.

That said, I’ve quickly discovered that if I’m going to stick with green smoothies and juices for breakfast for almost a month, I’m going to need some options! And while I’ve bombed a couple of experimental concoctions, here’s one of my new favorites. This smoothie combines honeydew, mango, and pear with fresh green veggies and a squeeze of lemon juice. It’s lightly sweet and loaded with fiber, vitamins, and minerals to revitalize you inside and out.

Needless to say, I’ll be updating you on the cleanse over the next 3 weeks, and of course would love to have you join me! Just grab Crazy Sexy Diet and you’re on your way. (Note that if you buy through this link, I’ll get a small commission, which helps keep the blog afloat. Thanks!)

On a separate note, don’t forget that this Thursday, January 30th, is National Hug A Jicama Day! Tweet your vegetarian/vegan jicama recipes with the hashtag #HugAJicama on Thursday, and I’ll retweet them. Or pin them with the hashtag #HugAJicama, and I’ll add them to my National Hug a Jicama Day Recipe board!
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Need more smoothie inspiration? Try my calcium- and protein-packed Blueberry Muffin Power Smoothie! (Kale has never tasted so good.)
Shared on Raw Foods Thursdays and Healthy Vegan Fridays.
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