First day of kitchari!

We are now in the active cleanse phase. Please take it as easy as possible today in order to keep your nervous system calm. This gently promotes the body to release that which it does not need.

Today's cleanse challenges are around food habits: 

1) Try chewing your food very well - Chew until your food is like puree. This significantly affects your digestion, read this article for more information. 

2) Try not to drink water 30 minutes before or after your meals - This can dilute your digestive juices. If you must drink something, have CCF tea.

Please read the rest of this message for some helpful tips and reminders for the days ahead.


SPACING MEALS + SNACKS

People often have questions about spacing out meals, as well as how to incorporate snacks into the cleanse. As much as possible, I encourage you to stick to the number of meals you typically eat in a day – this may be two or three, or perhaps more if you tend to eat smaller meals more frequently.

If you have a snacking habit (especially afternoon snacking!), I would encourage you to check in and get really honest with yourself this week and see if your snack urges are coming from a place of true hunger, or if they are being driven by something else like boredom, procrastination or any other desire.

With that said, you may find in the first days of the cleanse (especially if you aren't accustomed to cooking with digestive spices) that you have some deep hunger pangs between meals. In that case, have some extra kitchari or enjoy some juice (feel free to make a larger batch to save for later in the day).

I've given you the recipe for a larger batch of kitchari precisely so you always have some extra on hand in case the need for a little extra materializes.

There are certainly other foods and snacks that could be considered "cleanse friendly" and you could choose those too, but I encourage you to be mindful of introducing too many options during the week – that can lead to decision fatigue. One of the gifts of the cleanse week is a break from perpetually having to plan our meals, which is something many of us give quite a lot of energy to normally.


PREPARING KITCHARI

I have also had some questions about cooking double or triple batches of kitchari. As much as possible, I would encourage you to cook one batch at a time, ideally eating most within 24-36 hours. As the week goes on, it is natural to find you need less and you may choose to cut the recipe in half.

When soaking your mung dal, place the beans in a bowl or other container and cover with water by a couple inches. The beans will drink up some of the water as they soak, so you'll need to use a bit more water than you may think you need.

If you ever forget to soak your mung beans in advance, here is a quick soak method: Place the beans in a small pot and add enough water to cover by a couple inches. Bring to a boil over high heat. As soon as the beans boil, immediately turn off the heat, cover the pot and let them sit for about 30-45 minutes. Drain and then proceed with cooking.

(I find it is helpful to set a reminder to soak my beans for each evening of the cleanse in my phone so that I don't forget!)

Also – While I love to just stick with eating my kitchari and enjoying the lifestyle simplicity, please know that I will be giving you some additional recipes midweek in case you just can't eat another bowl of it (this is why you'll see "Kitchari or Alternative" listed on our Cleanse Roadmap from Day 4 onward). These recipes will still contain mung beans and embrace the same cleansing qualities as kitchari, but can be really helpful if you feel like you need some variety.


STAYING CONNECTED

As I shared in our kick-off, one of the most beneficial aspects of doing a group cleanse is having the support of others. I strongly encourage you to stay connected as the week goes on. If you haven't yet done so, I'd love to have you pop in to the group forum and introduce yourself! 

Each day, I will create a thread in the forum for sharing experiences. Please take a moment daily to check in and let us know how you are doing. (You might also find it helpful to set a reminder to do this daily!)

Having a pulse on what is happening for all of you collectively lets me tailor some of the content we will cover in our remaining meetings and check-ins, to what is present for the group. It is also comforting for your fellow cleansers to know that others are having similar experiences and helps remind us that none of us are alone as we navigate this path together. 

I'm so excited to get things underway. Remember, you will have a daily email in your inbox with some guidance for each day of the journey, so please keep an eye out for those, and as always, don't hesitate to reach out if you need anything else!

In good health,
Ara