The 12 day cleanse has come to an end and looking back, it was definitely worth it! There were some challenging days (mainly day 3 to 5, when there was a major snow storm, we had rolling blackouts and I was trying to fight the sugar/chocolate cravings), but overall, I am feeling so great and ready to continue eating delicious healthy foods!
On January 2, I decided to start the Wild Rose Herbal Detox Cleanse to cleanse my body from toxins, waste and all the sugar and indulgence from the holiday season. During this 12 day cleanse, I had to take herbal supplements twice a day and avoid many things such as dairy, sugar, caffeine, alcohol, tropical fruits, dried fruits, meat and most grains. During that period, my diet consisted mainly of vegetables, apples, berries, nuts, oats, quinoa, beans, a bit of fish and a bit of eggs around the end. Even though my energy level seemed pretty low in the first few days, it improved quickly and by day 5, I felt fantastic!!!
I was working during most of the cleanse so on the weekends, I would cook a few meals , and eat leftovers for lunches, snacks and sometimes also supper. I found that having healthy snacks on hand was extremely useful since I could just grab them whenever I got hungry. This way I did not really get tempted to cheat 😉 My go to snack was apples – I always had one or two in my purse! I also drank lots of Chia Fresca , which is so delicious and a great alternative to sugary juices or alcoholic drinks!
Doing this cleanse during the first 2 weeks of January was definitely a good idea since there were not too many social gatherings and sweet temptations. My motivation definitely got tested during a cocktail reception for work and a birthday party for a friend. Even though I was tempted by all the delicious food (cheeses, seafood, etc) and alcohol at those events, I was able to resist!
When I finally finished the 12 day cleanse, I found that it took me a few days to reincorporate certain foods in my diet, such as dairy, as it made my stomach pretty upset in the first few days.
I decided to share what I ate during the cleanse in case you are thinking about doing the cleanse too. You will realize that there is quite a variety of delicious foods that we can eat on that cleanse. I put many of the recipes I created on my blog so you can have a look if you need ideas. Also, you can check out my recipe index since there are a lot more recipes that are Wild Rose friendly, or that can easily be adapted! Do not hesitate to ask me questions if you have any!
Menu ideas for the Wild Rose Herbal Detox
Day 1.
- Breakfast – Vanilla Almond Chia Parfait
- Lunch – Kale Hummus with Vegetables
- Dinner – Zucchini Pasta with Roasted Leek and Tomato Sauce
- Snack – Spicy Mixed Nuts and Apple
Day 2.
- Breakfast – Vanilla Almond Chia Parfait
- Lunch – Cauliflower and Hemp Tabouleh
- Dinner – Winter Quinoa with Roasted Vegetables and Lemon Tahini Sauce
- Snack – Yummy All-Dressed Popcorn
Day 3.
- Breakfast – Rainbow Green Smoothie, Apple Slices with Almond Butter
- Lunch – Winter Quinoa with Roasted Vegetables and Lemon Tahini Sauce
- Dinner – Tuna and Cucumber Salad with Lemon Tahini Sauce
- Snack – Spicy Mixed Nuts and Apple, Chamomile Almond Latté
Day 4.
- Breakfast – Apple with Almond Butter
- Lunch – Quinoa and Black Bean Burger with Cauliflower and Hemp Tabouleh
- Dinner – Turnip and Pea Soup
- Snack – Yummy All-Dressed Popcorn
Day 5.
- Breakfast – Almond Milk, Apple with Almond Butter
- Lunch – Turnip and Pea Soup
- Dinner – Winter Quinoa with Roasted Vegetables and Lemon Tahini Sauce
- Snack – Chia Fresca from Oh She Glows, Apple
Day 6.
- Breakfast – Chia Fresca, Apple with Almond Butter
- Lunch – Kale Hummus with Vegetables, Turnip and Pea Soup
- Dinner – Cauliflower and Hemp Tabouleh with Avocado
- Snack – Fresh berries (blueberries and raspberries), Quinoa and Black Bean Burger
Day 7.
- Breakfast – Chia Fresca, Apple Cinnamon Oats
- Lunch – Cauliflower and Hemp Tabouleh
- Dinner – Almond Vegetable Stir Fry
- Snack – Apple, Quinoa and Black Bean Burger
Day 8.
- Breakfast – Coconut Curry Oatmeal
- Lunch – Cucumber Salad with Tahini-Lemon Dressing
- Dinner – Cod with Steamed Carrots and Roasted Sweet Potato
- Snack – Apple and Spicy Mixed Nuts
Day 9.
- Breakfast – Chia Fresca, Apple with Almond Butter
- Lunch – Cauliflower and Hemp Tabouleh with side of steamed carrots
- Dinner – Mexican Refried Rice with a Twist
- Snack – Apple
Day 10.
- Breakfast – Coconut Curry Oatmeal
- Lunch – Mexican Refried Rice with a Twist
- Dinner – Creamy Cucumber Salad
- Snack – Yummy All-Dressed Popcorn
Day 11.
- Breakfast – Coconut Curry Oatmeal
- Lunch – Green Salad with Lemon Tahini Dressing
- Dinner – Mexican Refried Rice with a Twist
- Snack – Apple
Day 12.
- Breakfast – 2 Hard Boiled Eggs and Chia Fresca
- Lunch – Vegetable Slaw Salad
- Dinner – Vegetable Soup
- Snack -Apple
I’m on day ten of this cleanse now! I’ve found some great recipes but this was very helpful as I’m going to continue eating this way for the next twelve. That said, the food was great but I’m wondering if I’m feeling more of a placebo/ mind over matter effect with the kit. Regardless, thanks! I’ll try a few of these out in the next two weeks
Hi Ashley! It is so great that you are continuing for another 12 days! I agree totally that the best part of this cleanse was the food! Eating clean and no sugar for 12 days really made me feel amazing! I find that when I finished, I did not even want to eat sugary treats! It is definitely a good idea to continue a bit longer! Let me know how it goes for the rest of your extra long cleanse! All the best,
Ellie
Thank you for all these great recipes. I am going to start my cleanse next weekend, after I return home from a little business trip out of town. I am using the time until then to prepare, and I love the looks of all the delicious recipes on your website, they are very inspiring and will be very helpful, thank you! I can’t wait!
Thanks Rhea – good luck on your cleanse! It is a great idea to wait until you come back from a business trip! I also travel a lot for work and I waited until I was in town for 12 days before doing the cleanse so I can cook all my meals. It is so tempting to deviate when you are at a restaurant!
This is really helpful and inspiring! Starting later this week!
This is great Beth, good luck with the cleanse!!! You will feel so great afterwards!
I am so chicken to get started but am determined to start tomorrow. Did you find it difficult to be at work? Did you add in exercising too?
Hi Gloria,
When I did it, I had the first 5 days off work so I had a lot of time to plan meals and things like that. I also prepared my menu and some of the meals so that when I am back to work, I have lots of food ready. I think you could totally do it while you are at work, as long as you have some of your meals figured out before hand. I also found I had to stop the laxative once back at work because otherwise I would just spend the whole day on the toilet 😉 I did not do any heavy exercise during the detox, but I did some yoga and it really made me feel great. Good luck, the hardest part are the first 3 days, but if you can go through those, you will be fine for the rest of the cleanse! Good luck, let me know how it goes!
I just tried chia fresca the other day for the first time. I’m not sure if I’ll be able to get used to gooey seeds floating in my water. There’s some great looking recipes here, I’ll definitely be trying the kale hummus.
Thanks Janet! Chia fresca is definitely different, but once you get used to the seeds, you will be hooked 😉 Thanks for your comment and let me know how the kale hummus turns out!
Where can I find vanilla powder
Hi Mirriah, I get my vanilla bean powder at HomeSense or online, it is made by Organic Traditions. You can also scrape the seeds from a vanilla bean, that is equivalent to the powder and you will likely be able to find whole vanilla beans in the spice section of your local grocery store.
You can eat all meat and all grains except wheat! And you can drink coffee, I add unsweetened almond milk. Why do you think you can’t have these things?
Hi Alice, you are correct that the diet says it is acceptable to eat about 20% of acid-forming foods (which includes meats and grains), but when I did it, I really wanted to push myself to limit my intake of acid forming foods to the maximum. I really wanted to make a change in my diet. Thus, I really tried to focus my food consumption around the bulk-forming/neutral foods and the alkaline-forming foods. I limited my intake of acid-forming foods to beans, oats, rice and a few eggs so this is what I shared in my menu. You are free to adapt it to your preferences!
Do you know of anyone who has done this cleanse that also worked at a bar or restaurant? I work at a neighborhood bar and I’ve done the cleaners before but it seems to be one thousand times harder when you literally surrounded by alcohol and foods I shouldn’t eat. Have you heard of anyone who has had a similar experience?
Hi Katy, I don’t personally know anyone who has done it while working at a restaurant or bar. However, in my full-time job, I work in a corporate environment where I have to travel and eat out on a regular basis. I found it hard to do the cleanse when exposed to all kinds of restaurant food and work functions with alcohol, so I waited to start the cleanse when I had a week off. I found that easier because I could stay home and control the foods I was exposed to. I then went back to work for the second part of the cleanse and I found it easier since I had been through the hardest part (first 3-4 days) and had figured out my meal plan. I would recommend that if you are able to start the cleanse when you have a long weekend or 3-4 days off in a row, you could focus on developing a good meal plan and routine, and start packing some food. This way, when you continue your cleanse and are back at work, you might not be as tempted by all the food and alcohol around you. Hope this helps! Good luck and let me know how it goes!
I started the cleanse today! I had a question about that delicious Chia Fresca. I added maple syrup to it, but is it allowed in the cleanse?
Hi Frederique, it is great to hear that you are starting the cleanse today. During the cleanse, I was making Chia Fresca without any maple syrup – you will find that since you generally reduce your sugar intake, the coconut water is sweet enough! Good luck on your cleansing journey
just started the cleanse for the seven year, I just noticed the Chia Fresca in this web site , where can I get or find it – Chia Fresca that is .Thanks
Maria
Wow, you have been doing the cleanse for 7 years! This is so great! For the Chia Fresca, you can make it yourself, it is super easy! It is a recipe from Oh She Glows and you just need to mix 2 cups of water with 1.5 tablespoon chia seeds and 1/2 tablespoon lime juice. It is that easy and you will have your own natural energy drink! Enjoy
I am going to try this after the weekend.. i was doing some research and i think your blog is the best and you make it sound so exciting LOL!
i am very eager to try. How did you find the supplements helped? Are they absolutely necessary or do you think just the diet you have there should be a cleanse enough? – I teach spin class 3 times a week do you think it would be manageable or I will struggle for energy the first few times? I ask because then I could try and schedule the start of the cleanse a few days before a class. Any advice would be great!
Thanks
Kuki
Hi Kuki, thank you for your comment! It is so nice to hear that you will start the cleanse! I would definitely recommend starting the cleanse a few days before your class, but that may vary for each individual. Based on my experience, I found that the first 3 days were the hardest as my body adjusted to all these changes, but after that, I regained energy and was feeling great! I took the supplements that came with the kit, but stopped the herbal laxative about halfway through the program since it was giving me unnecessary stomach pain. I hope this helps, good luck!
Hi Rhea. Can you have brown rice pasta and quinoa powder on the wild rose 12 day cleanse?
Thanks
Cathy
Love your recipes
Just wondering if you used nutritional yeast popcorn and or soy sauce spicy nut mix ? Wasn’t sure if I should:)
Thanks Monica, I did use both of these recipes during the cleanse. I found it was fine for me, but if you want to follow the cleanse really strictly, you can omit the nutritional yeast and tamari sauce. Both of these recipes will still be super tasty with the other spices
Hi, just curious, how much weight did you lose?
Hi Jackie, I lost about 5-7 pounds.
I would like to know as well if you lost any weight from this? I am starting my cleanse Feb 1st! :), thank you for sharing this!
Just wondered if you continue to take supplements while on the herbal cleanse. I currently take a probiotic, spirulina, D3, magnesium, iron and a multi.
Hi Sue, I am not certain about this. I did not take any other supplements than what was provided with the cleanse during the 12-day program, but you might want to check with Wild Rose or your personal physician. All the best!
I absolutely adore your blog! It is my first time visiting it and literally stumbled upon it by accident. You are doing things very similar to some of the culinary projects I am doing, specially when it come to branding and overall look and feel. I also collect hearts so I felt right at home when opening up this page while searching for more information about the Wild Rose Detox program. I will continue to search through the rest of your posts, have only skimmed through this one so far, but you have made an amazing and inspiring impression! Have a good day and I will update you on the progress of my cleanse once I start it.
Andrea
I noticed in your black bean burgers, there is brown rice flour, is this allowed on the cleanse? I thought you had to cut out all flours… also, could these burgers be made without the flour? Would they hold together still? Thanks
Hi Tara, you could try to replace the brown rice flour with almond flour perhaps, but I am not sure if they would hold as well.
Thank you so much for the recipes! I have been eating the chia parfait for breakfast and love it! I am on day 5 and feel more and more tired as the days go on. I have had no other side effects though, which is great. It has been pretty easy for me so far since my typical eating habits are similar to the requirements on this cleanse, making it less of an adjustment. I am just frustrated with the fatigue and exhaustion that I am feeling. I don’t know if it may be because I stopped taking my usual vitamins/supplements as suggested while doing the cleanse. I figured I would start to feel a burst of energy by now, but I am feeling less an less energetic….hoping things turn around soon! I
Hi
Can you name the times at which you ate breakfast, lunch, dinner and your snack !
Thinking of trying this diet and want to know an idea of what times I should br eating everything . Thanks !!
Hi Neesha, I usually ate breakfast around 6am, lunch around 12:30pm and supper around 6:00pm. I ate snacks when needed, more often around 10am, 3pm and sometimes a night time snack. Hope this helps, best of luck!
Thanks for your recipes. They are great. This is my second time doing the cleanse. I’m on 6th day and feel amazing. On the 4th day I got the worst headache ever but managed without any painkillers. I usually run 5K 3-4 times a week. I think I’m ready for the run today, couldn’t do it the first 5 days because was feeling tired. Do you think it would make sense to do the cleanse once every 3 months? My last one was in the fall of last year. Thanks.