Two-Day Superfood Cleanse

I've been eating a lot lately, especially today. It was Dining Out for Life day, when restaurants across the country give a portion of their proceeds to HIV/AIDS organizations. Here in Memphis, the donations went to Friends for Life, the HIV/AIDS support org that I sit on the board of directors for. So I ate out twice today (tofu pad thai and spring rolls at Mulan and buffalo "chicken" salad with ranch at Imagine Vegan Cafe), plus I got Paul some takeout tofu nachos at a participating restaurant and I snuck bites of those on the way home.

Add that beer I had with my co-workers around 2 p.m. and the glass of merlot I had during the Memphis Grizzlies playoff game (that we won!) a couple hours ago, and you've got one calorific day. Honestly, my whole week has been like that. I've strayed far from my post-January plan to eat cleaner. And the straying isn't over yet.

Tomorrow, Food Awareness is holding its annual Worldwide Vegan Bake Sale for the Memphis & Shelby County Humane Society outside Grawemeyer's restaurant (520 S. Main) during South Main Trolley Night. I can say with certainty that I will be splurging on cookies, cupcakes, and brownies Friday night. And probably beer.

All this is to say that a cleanse is in order soon. But I don't want to embark on something extreme like the Crazy Sexy Diet again so soon after completing it in January. Enter The 2-Day Superfood Cleanse by Robin Westen.

Ever heard of the 5:2 Diet or Fasting Diet? You eat a normal amount of calories (for me, that ranges between 1600 and 2200 depending on my workouts) five days a week. And the other two days, ideally days when you're less active, you only eat 600 calories, and if you're following Westen's plan, those 600 calories come from superfoods. But we're not talking crazy exotic superfoods like camu camu or something. These are simple foods that just happen to be super — beans, nuts, seeds, veggies, and fruits. In her book, she includes a list and the calorie counts per serving.

There are recipes too, and they're all quite simple and natural — Wheat Germ Cereal, Sunflower Spread, Hemp Seed Carrot Salad, Bean & Buckwheat Soup. Plus, there's all sorts of info about other aspects of cleansing, from deep breathing to cosmetics to homemade cleaning products.

But my favorite part are the quizzes! They are peppered throughout the book, and they're more fun than some Buzzfeed quiz about what pasta you are. Westen's quizzes tell you things like what foods are best for your personality type and what gives you a winning edge. '

I can't start this cleanse until the first weekend of May is over. I just have too many splurges planned. But as soon as things slow down, I'm going to give the 2-Day Superfood Cleanse a try. Stay tuned. I'll blog about experiences!