Game Plan: Reset & Reboot

By Frances Beresford l With Love From Frances

It’s been over five years since I began my journey to live a healthful and happy life. I follow a plant-based lifestyle, I’m gluten and refined sugar free and at home, I’m vegan. Despite all these healthy life choices, which I absolutely love and usually make me feel my best, I still managed to occasionally feel stressed, run-down, a little flat and even get sick during flu season.  I wanted to try figure out how to give my body that extra boost it clearly needed so I decided that it was time for me to do a cleanse.

After trying a few different cleanses which didn’t really work for me as well as I had hoped, I decided to give the Mungday Cleanse by Happy Earth People a go. At first I only noticed a slight difference in how I felt, until I tried it again in a way that worked with my eating habits and on-the-go lifestyle. Since then, I have been cleansing on an ongoing basis and even took the Mungday Cleanse along with me while away in London.

To get the most out of this cleanse, I recommend having a set pre and post cleanse day game plan – this has notably had the greatest and most positive long-term effects on my health. Even though I still get stressed at times, I no longer feel run-down and have managed to pull through flu season unscathed. I am more energised than ever and I feel light and bright without having had to add any supplements to my diet. For me, a Mungday Cleanse is like a day at a health spa: it’s fun, delicious, engaging and effective as opposed to a not-so-fun, short-term health fix (which so many cleanses tend to feel like).

It’s become more than just a product or a one-day reset, it’s the catalyst for a change in mindset and a fundamental part of how I clean and heal my digestive tract.

How do I get the most out of my Mungday Cleanse?

By simply being organised and prepared. That’s all it takes. This may sound basic and that’s only because it is! By meal prepping and stocking up the fridge with my favourite cleanse essentials, meals and treats, I make the experience more positive and fun, which reinforces the idea that I am treating myself to an awesome healthful journey. This mindset allows me to become more mindful before I have even begun strengthening my digestive fire. This is why I turned my one-day Mungday Cleanse into a three-day health journey. I make sure that these three days are delicious, exciting and effective by eating meals that are easy to make and give my gut the break it deserves.

I do this by …

• Cleansing from Sunday – Tuesday.
• Not eating after 7pm – to give my digestive system sufficient time to rest.
• I don’t snack (even though I’m all about the snack life) and instead drink herbal teas, kombucha and treat myself to some turmeric lattes (which I have on Sunday or Tuesday).
• Not eating raw foods which can be harsh on my digestive system during a cleanse.
• Eating whole fruit and vegetables that are steamed, stewed or roasted such as pears, peaches, apples, wilted greens, sweet potato, squash and carrots.
• Getting everything I need on my cleanse ingredient checklist.
• Prepping all my meals on a Sunday. By maximising my time in the kitchen, I am able to free up some more of my time over the next two days to relax or do some much needed yoga, check in with myself or shave my legs because hey, we all have our own ways of practicing self-care.

The three-day game plan

I love variety and keeping my meals exciting even when I’m anticipating a day of cleansing. This is why I put together a game plan which keeps my taste buds satisfied, my gut happy, and me, full of energy. I have an ingredient checklist and prep list, which I use when I cleanse to help me save time and money.

SUNDAY

I start my cleanse on a relaxing Sunday morning with a warm bowl of black rice or turmeric quinoa porridge with stewed ginger and white peaches, pomegranate seeds and a little homemade granola because I am addicted to crunch. At lunch it’s a deliciously vegan roasted veggie bake, straight out the oven, followed my some herbal tea, kombucha or a turmeric latte. In the evenings I make a light and satisfying bowl of Alubia blanca soup with my favourite Happy Earth People chickpea pasta.

Remember to soak the cleanse the night before 🙂

MONDAY

Cleanse day! One jar of Happy Earth People Mungday Cleanse makes a generous pot of a broth, so filled with flavour that it will satisfy and sustain you throughout the day – which is honestly always one of my challenges. During the day I drink lots of water and herbal teas and avoid the urge to snack on something crunchy. I try to do light exercise, like a walk in nature or along the Sea Point promenade – without my cell phone. I try to wind down from 6pm and make sure I switch off all screens an hour before bed.

TUESDAY

On Tuesday, breakfast is a bowl of creamy quinoa porridge with roasted pear, almond butter, a sprinkle of almond and vanilla granola and pomegranates. Lunch is a saucy vegan mac ‘n cheese with Happy Earth People chickpea pasta and tenderstem broccoli. For dinner I have a roasted butternut, kale and chickpea salad which I change up a little by steaming the kale instead of keeping it raw and using up the last of my roasted veggies which I made on Sunday.

Ingredient checklist

Although this may seem long, it’s really very basic. Most of these ingredients are either easy to find or already in our kitchens.

Once I have everything I need, I get prepping! This only takes me just over an hour, doesn’t require much skill or effort and can be turned into a fun part of your Sunday. The prep list makes it easier to use my recipes and prep effectively.

The Prep List:

1. Prepare the Mungday cleanse (see bottle for easy instructions)
2. Make the porridge for breakfast; you can cook the quinoa in a large pot and then divide it up for the porridge and quinoa veg bake.
3. Enjoy some down time before you get prepping.
4. Roast vegetable and chickpeas – this happens first as it take the longest.
5. While the veggies roast, divide and finish off the quinoa porridge by adding water or nut milk and almond butter, then stir smooth and creamy (see recipe for more info)
6. *At this point I suggest cleaning up a little.*
7. Next make a double batch of béchamel (white sauce) which is used in both the quinoa bake and mac ‘n cheese. Once it’s done, your roasted veggies should also be ready, so you can assemble and bake these delicious dishes.
8. At this stage all you have left to do is roast the pears and soak your Mungday cleanse. And you are good to go.
9. You cook the cleanse fresh on the day of eating.

I hope this helps you get the most out of your Mungday Cleanse, as it did for me, inspires healthy habits and focusing on your personal wellness, leaves you feeling your best self and ignites your gut fire so that it can burn bright.

With love from,

Frances

About the author:

Frances is a professionally trained chef, recipe developer and blogger, who believes that life and food should be healthy as well as delicious. Her lifelong passion for sustainable alternative eating, took her to culinary school to hone her craft. She curates plant based recipes that are designed to be enjoyed by all and that are gluten-free; dairy-free and refined sugar-free.

Frances believes that living well begins with eating well! There are no set rules as everyone is different. So, it is a matter of becoming mindful and listening to your body which will allow you to incorporate her recipes and become the best you.

She also feels that keeping it simple means that fuelling and nourishing the body can be enjoyed by anyone – and hey, it is by no means boring or scary! Join Frances on a journey to discover how mouth-watering and rewarding a plant based lifestyle can be. Even conscious carnivores will be surprised by how easy and tasty the recipes are – let alone how great they will make you feel.

You can follow her on Instagram and check out her Website to find more deliciously conscious recipes like these!