smoothie – GRIT By Brit

4 Fantastic DETOX Drinks

October 29, 2013 3 Comments

Hey guys! As always I hope your week is going well. In preparation for the holidays, I’ve been searching for some interesting yet effective detox drinks to help me get through all of the turkey, ham and pie that I plan to eat. I found these 4 recipes that I’m super excited about. I’ve already tested them and they received the GRIT by Brit stamp of approval. Remember that detox drinks are good meal replacements and/or supplements to add to your diet every once in a while. However, long-term elimination of food for intense detox cleanses can be dangerous and actually slow down your metabolism which leads to weight gain. Be smart and drink up! Lots of luv, Brit

1. Fat Burning Detox Drink

I love this drink because it has apple cider vinegar in it! Apple Cider Vinegar is believed by many to be a natural fat burner – my mother and grandmother swear by it. Growing up, I remember watching them take a straight shot of it every morning. In case you’ve never had it, it’s disgusting! I found this recipe on Raining Hot Coupons and I was excited to find that the drink actually tastes good!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups of water
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp sweetener
2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar
½ apple (sliced) – add to the liquid ingredients at eat after you finish drinking

Instructions: Mix all liquid ingredients together in a blender/shaker for 10 seconds. Pour into a cup a let sit for 10 minutes. Drink and eat the apple slices at the end.

2. Liver Detox Drink

The liver is our most vital, detoxifying organ. Sometimes it has to work overtime when we consume too much processed food, alcohol, sweeteners and coffee. Everyone once in a while, it’s a good idea to give your liver a rest by drinking tons of water and drinking this liver detox drink. All of the ingredients in this recipe are ‘RAW” and have been shown to naturally help cleanse the liver.

Ingredients:

A handful of spinach
1 apple
1 banana
1 lemon (squeezed)
Half a chili pepper (optional)
1 garlic clove or as much as desired (optional)
1 glass of water

Instructions: Put all ingredients into a blender and mix until smooth

3. Digestive Detox Drink

Warning! This drink does NOT taste good, but it is really good for you. It’s got a ton of vegetables that are super rich in fiber. If you’ve been suffering from constipation and want a digestive “cleaning,” look no further!

Ingredients:

3 carrots
3 kale leaves
2 celery stalks
2 beets
1 turnip
½ bunch of spinach
½ cabbage
½ bunch of parsley
½ onion
2 garlic cloves

Instructions: Mix all ingredients with water and puree in a blender.

4. Diuretic Detox Dandelion Tea

Dandelion detox tea is a diuretic that will eliminate bodily toxins through your liver and kidneys. Drinking it is natural way to rid your body of excess water and feel lean. According to classical homeopathic practitioner Sonya McLeod, B.A., D.C.H., dandelions are a great source of vitamin A, potassium, iron and calcium. Also, some research shows that it’s a natural cancer fighter. Most importantly Lindsey Lohan and Gwyneth Paltro swear by it (kidding, not kidding).

6 tablespoons of 1-year-old dried dandelion root
12 tablespoons of fresh dandelion leaves
4 cups of purified, boiling water.

Instructions: Mix all ingredients together in a tea bag. Place bag in boiling water and brew for about 10 minutes.

Just for Fun

5 Super Smoothie Recipes: Lo SUGAR Hi PROTIEN

August 12, 2013 No Comments

Since I travel for work every week, I often need a nutritious filling meal on the go. Lately, I’ve gotten really into smoothies (as you know from all of my Dr. OZ Drink Cleanses). I like smoothies because they’re an easy way work in my daily serving of fruit & veggies as well as other vitamins and protein. BUT, I have to be careful to choose the RIGHT smoothies. By “right” I mean smoothies with low to moderate sugar and lots of protein. While smoothies are tasty, they can be loaded with sugar which packs on the pounds and makes us hungry. Keep in mind that smoothies are good forms of “meal replacements” not “appetizers.” Often, I unintentionally consume too many calories in 1 day because I’ll have a smoothie PLUS my meals – not a good look. If you are trying to drop a few pounds, be sure to drink a smoothie INSTEAD of eating a meal. Keep this in mind as you enjoy these 5 Super Smoothie recipes! Lots of luv, Brit 🙂

Brit’s Berry Blast Smoothie

3/4 Grapefruit Juice
1/3 Cup of egg whites
1 Cup frozen or fresh mixed berries (raspberries, strawberries, blueberries)

Carob Nut Banana Smoothie

1 banana (small) cut into pieces
1/4 cup skim milk
1 tablespoon dried carob powder*
2 tablespoons reduced fat peanut butter
1/2 Cup of ice

Apple Cinnamon Soy Smoothie

1/3 Cup egg whites
1 Sweet, crisp apple (medium size) peeled, chopped red apple (about 1 1/4 cups)
1 Cup refrigerated vanilla soy milk
1/4 Teaspoon ground cinnamon

Lean Mean Green Smoothie

1 cup kefir
2 T ground flax-seed
1 1/2 cups spinach
1 banana
1/4 quinoa (prepared with milk)
1 tsp peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla (optional)

Copycat Gladiator Smoothie (Smoothie King)

This recipe is great because you can alter it to fit your own preference and change it up as much as you’d like! (My favorite is vanilla protein powder with strawberries and banana!)

1 serving of whey protein powder (any flavor you like)
1 Cup of fruit
1 Cup of water, or milk of choice
1/2 Cup of ice

Just for Fun

Dr. Oz 3-Day Weekend Juice Cleanse Challenge

July 14, 2013 6 Comments

Image source: http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/joe-cross-juice-cleanse-recipes

Today is my 29th birthday – woo hoo! I’m so blessed to have completed another year of life and am grateful for good health, a great family and a hobby that brings me so much joy! In honor of my b-day, I’d decided to bring in my 29th year on a FRESH and CLEAN note. That’s right ladies and gentlemen, I’m starting a new cleanse, which was inspired by the Dr. Oz Weekend Juice Cleanse with Joe Cross. Since I had so much success with the Dr. Oz Detox Cleanse (you can CLICK HERE to read my full review) , I decided to keep the momentum going by trying another cleanse.

Unlike the Dr. Oz Detox Cleanse, this cleanse is a JUICE cleanse. That means I need a juicer, as I can’t use my blender for this cleanse. HOWEVER, today I went to Target to buy a juicer and realized they were out of price my range right now…the cheapest one I found is $79.99. What if I don’t like the cleanse? Then I’ll be stuck with a juicer that I never use.

SO, I made up my own version of the cleanse using some ready-made, all natural, no sugar added juices and I also plan to buy some fresh squeezed juices from Whole Foods or Central Market over the next 3 days. Essentially, I plan to have 4-5 servings of juice each day to replace my meals. Then for dinner I’ll have one solid meal every evening, just like the Dr. Oz cleanse. However, dinner must consist of only of fruits and vegetables. And as icing on the cake (mean joke – I know) , I’m going to make sure that my dinners are RAW! So I’ll only eat fresh, raw produce and maybe steam my veggies if I want something hot.

As a fitness professional, I wanted to share a few facts with you about Juice cleanses vs. Smoothie/drink cleanses.

Juice does not contain the skin of the fruit or vegetable
Smoothies have more fiber and tend to be more filling
Juices tend to be high in sugar and low in protein and fiber (which I’m a little nervous about)

Now let me be clear, I’m typically an “anti juice” person because I believe that juice is nature’s reward for EATING your fruits and veggies. However, there are many benefits to juicing. Just a name a couple…

Juice absorbs in the body faster, so it’s an efficient way to get vital vitamins and minerals
Juice is a tastier way to consume fruits and veggies that you don’t typically like
Juice is less likely to cause upset stomachs, like smoothies which sometimes have too much fiber

For more information about differences between juices and smoothies, check out this post by my “Fit Friends” over at Sporty Afros: http://sportyafros.com/nutrition/differences-in-juicing-and-smoothies/

Grit by Brit WARNING – Juice cleanses tend to have very little protein. So, I’m not going to lift weights or do super high intensity workouts over the next 3 days while I’m on the cleanse, as I don’t think my body will have enough protein to repair my muscles. If you engage in high intensity workouts and weight training, like me, you may want to do the same.

This is my first time to try a juice cleanse. Hopefully, some of you decide to try it along with me! Have you done a juice cleanse before? How did it go? I’ll be back in a few days to share my results. You can follow me on Twitter and Instagram @GRITbyBrit for progress updates! Until then…

Wishing you health, happiness and BIG RESULTS! xoxo, Brit

Inspiration & Motivation

Dr. Oz 3 Day Cleanse Confessions

May 16, 2013 77 Comments

So, I’ve officially completed the Dr. Oz 3 Day Detox. I personally wanted to try the detox because I’m a new vegetarian (5 months strong) and I’ve noticed that I’ve become sloppy (i.e. eating lots of simple carbs and fewer fruits and veggies). I’ve actually gained 3 pounds since I’ve become a vegetarian…not a good look. The Dr. Oz cleanse presented me with a great opportunity to get back on track it because it replaces meals with fruit/veggie drinks for 3 days. Click here to see the drink recipes. Overall, I give the Dr. Oz cleanse the “GRIT by Brit 2 thumbs up” and here’s why…

First off, I definitely got my fair share of veggies and fruits. Each drink consists of at least 3-4 servings of fruits/vegetables (sometimes more than I eat in an entire day). I feel like a born again vegetarian 🙂 Unlike most cleanses, each drink includes some sort of healthy fat (i.e. avocado, coconut oil, almond butter). This is really important because my body wasn’t deprived of essential nutrients AND I got an adequate amount of protein. Since I weight train 2-3 times per week, I HAVE to make sure that my protein intake is sufficient so that my muscles can repair themselves. I was also really impressed by how tasty each of the drinks are. I mean, who would guess blending mango, blueberries, cayenne pepper, avocado and coconut water would actually taste good?

Secondly, in only 3 days I lost 2.2 pounds 🙂 I’m 5’8″ and very muscular but I always try to keep my weight below 153 pounds. Still 1 more pound to go!

Also, I developed a new obsession = Epsom Salt and lavender oil baths! This was HEAVEN IN MY HOME! Daily soak sessions are a part of the Dr. Oz cleanse. Not only are they detoxifying, but they are SO relaxing and soothing! As a group fitness instructor I always have sore muscles and these baths were a perfect remedy for my muscle aches. I also discovered Dr. Teal’s Epsom + Lavender oil bath soak, so I can buy both ingredients already combined – yes!

Last, the cleanse has definitely helped me ween off coffee. I sometimes drink 4 cups a day…not good I know, but at least I’m honest. After going 3 days without coffee, I’ve realized that I don’t really need it. The cleanse calls for 1 cup of hot green tea ever morning which gave me a decent caffeine fix. However, I was a little groggy on some days without my Cup-a-Joe. This is something I’ll continue to work on.

Now that the cleanse is over, I’ve decided that this is not going to be a “one time thing” for me. I really loved the lunch drink, so today I’m having it for dinner before I head to yoga! I’m going to continue making these smoothies and drinking them as meal replacements every now and then. It’s an easy and efficient way to ensure I get enough fiber and my fruit/veggie fix.

If you are considering trying the Dr. Oz 3 Day Detox cleanse – I highly recommend it. Let me know how it goes!

1. Fat Burning Detox Drink

2. Liver Detox Drink

3. Digestive Detox Drink

4. Diuretic Detox Dandelion Tea

Wishing you health, happiness and BIG RESULTS! xoxo, Brit

Lots of luv, health & joy to you!

xoxo, Brit