Step 1: preparation

A good cleanse needs a little planning. It would be a tragedy if you got all the way to Sunday afternoon only to succumb to that chocolate biscuit hiding in the cupboard. Solution? Clear your cupboards and your refrigerator of anything that you know in your heart is a poor food. Crisps, biscuits, cakes, oven chips, burger buns, and tinned custard have got to go. Remove all of the temptations so that you can focus on your detox.
Clean the house on Thursday night. Wash your sheets and air your bedroom so that you have a fabulous, clean bed to jump into on Friday. Make sure you have all your favourite clothes clean, especially some comfortable baggy pants and your favourite T-shirt. You are going to be a bit of a hermit this weekend so dress comfortably. The only time you'll leave the house will be to have a brisk walk in the fresh air.

Make sure you have all the props you need for a weekend of peace. Get some magazines and a few movies and make sure you have some candles to set the mood in your bathroom and bedroom. Turn off your cellphone and put on your answerphone.

A special note about breakfast: It is vital during the detox to start your day on the right note. Your body has been cleaning and detoxing during the night and so breakfast should facilitate this process. A good, healthy breakfast of pure foods helps the body to continue to clean out.

Step 2: menu plan

Day one
Cleanse:aid smoothie (first thing in the morning)
Cleansing cocktail
Breakfast Berry fruit salad
Lunch Garlic grilled sardines with pomegranate salsa
Dinner Roast salmon and beetroot (beet) salad; and for dessert a piece of fresh fruit eaten half an hour after your main course
Before bed Max's detox herbal tea

Day two
Cleanse:aid juice Hot lemon and ginger
Breakfast Berry fruit salad
Lunch Ginger chicken skewers with quinoa
tabbouleh
Dinner Three-bean chilli with avocado salsa; and for dessert a piece of fresh fruit eaten half an hour after your main course
Before bed Max's detox herbal tea

Snacks and smoothies
Snacks are not banned on the detox, but restrict them to fresh fruit, raw vegetables, raw nuts, and seeds (such as sunflower and pumpkin seeds). Keep near you a small airtight container filled with vegetable crudit¨¦s (such as cucumber, celery and apples), so that you always have something healthy to snack on. Try to drink at least one additional health-giving juice or smoothie each day.

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