Labor Day is right around the corner and brings with it the return to school and the start of football season. As a national holiday, Labor Day is all about two things – rest and celebration (it’s pretty funny that they are completely opposite notions but oddly don’t contradict each other).
No matter where you are, or what you’re doing, Labor Day is sure to be a day to let loose a little and give yourself a break. So pull out your pair of white jeans and throw them on one last time for what is sure to be a wonderful and relaxing day filled with friends, food, and fun. In the interest of keeping things lax while still spoiling yourself, I have some easy tips to help keep you healthy and beautiful!
1. Stay away from the fruit bowl
On a hot September day out at a party, it can be tempting to beeline for the fruit bowl as a wholesome and refreshing choice. On Labor Day, parties typically start mid afternoon and go on into evening, meaning that fruit is not the most ideal beauty food after you have already fired up your digestive system and already eaten heavier foods.
Snack on veggie sticks instead.
As I describe in more detail in the Beauty Detox Solution, fruits are made of simple sugars and water and break down really quickly in your digestive tract.
In order to avoid a digestive disaster, and to keep your system running smoothly I recommend abstaining from the fruit during Labor Day celebrations. If you must, have a few slices of fruit first thing, before you get into the heartier parts of your meal.
It drives me nuts when people load up on BBQ Chicken, potato salad, and chips and then munch on watermelon or other fruits as a dessert. Talk about a total beauty traffic jam! The last thing you want to do is back your system and bloat out with rotting fruit by piling it in after lunch or a midday snack. Trust me on this one; there are better options that will leave you feeling better in the long term.
2. Choose your salad wisely
Labor day can be quite the occasion for a variety of salads. A few varieties that come in mind are pasta salad, potato salad, and green salad. While many of these traditional barbecue dishes are delicious, many contain unfavorable ingredients that can irritate your stomach, and can lead to bloating and future breakouts and clogged skin.
The green salad should always be your go-to starter salad. If you are feeling particularly hungry, pile your plate up with the house salad they are offering and munch down all the live green yummy minerals and enzymes. You are literally digesting energy.
If you’re looking for more help in digesting your foods, click here!
Don’t be tricked by “low fat” stickers— stay away from heavy cream based dressings like Ranch or Ceasar. Skip it all together, and opt for lots of lemon or a little bit of vinaigrette on the side. Ideally, a dressing made out of garlic, lemon and apple cider vinegar is optimal such as the Oil-Free Basil Lover’s Dressing.
Uncertain about the dressing or if there will be a salad? Feel free to pack a large salad for the party to eat with your meal. That way you can still get your nutrients without it seeming weird or unusual that you’re bringing food.
At all costs, avoid the potato salad! Any meal packed with 2 cups of mayonnaise and a carton of curdled cottage cheese is something that will most certainly bring down your beauty. The veggies in the pasta salad are excellent, and an “Italian” style dressing is not totally horrific, but the issue here is in the type of pasta.
If it is a white, refined style of pasta, I would pass. I would also pass on a whole-wheat pasta, which is still high in gluten and low in minerals. Why don’t you start a new tradition and make a pasta salad for everyone with quinoa pasta, which is a much more nutritious and gluten-free grain?
3. One meat or veggie burger
It is important for our health goals to limit meat consumption to once daily, if at all. The reason being because land animals such as chicken, cows etc. have tougher muscle than sea animals meaning that it is erodes our digestive energy as we work extra hard to break down complex amino acids.
Under no circumstances should you mix types of meats. If you are going to eat meat, choose one type and stick with it. Traditional style hot dogs are basically a medley of low-quality meat trimmings and bi-products, toxins and preservatives. I really urge you to give those up once and for all.
If you don’t eat meat like me, opt for some delicious alternatives. I love veggie skewers, mushroom burgers or even Alkaline-Grain Veggie Burgers like those featured in The Beauty Detox Solution. Same idea goes here as with the salad, if you aren’t sure they will be there, bring a pack of patty’s for the party!
Regardless of your protein choice, skip any and all buns. Buns are practically a tennis ball of sugar disguised as bread. It will be much easier on your stomach and better for your skin to forgo the traditional hamburger and instead pair your proteins with vegetables.
Also, avoid conventional ketchup and mustard. These are high in sugars like high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), are highly processed and this type of condiment will demand a lot of extra beauty energy from your body, taking it away from other places in your body. Serve or bring some organic ketchup for the guests, which doesn’t have HFCS.
4. For beverages, Keep it Simple
When it comes to drinks, there are tons of enticing but not beautiful options that can be found at a barbecue. Avoid sugary fruit punches, margaritas, light beers, and sodas at all costs. There are plenty of favorable options that can achieve that same “ahhh” refreshing feeling while not setting you back in your beauty detox.
In order of most to least preferable, try these drinks instead:
1. Plain Water dressed up with a slice of orange, lemon or cucumber for taste. This will be a zesty twist on a drink integral to your bodily function. The next day, consider going on a water cleanse if you’re feel sluggish from all that food.
2. Beauty detox friendly lemonade. I make this drink all the time in restaurants and on the go. Squeeze about a quarter to a half lemon’s worth of juice into a cup of water and add stevia or xyitol to taste. It is delicious, sweet, and it mobilizes of all the digestive enzymes in the lemon juice for use in your body.
3. Vodka, soda water and lime. That’s it, no more no less. If you must, Vodka is probably the least worst alcohol for the body. The lemon or other citrus you have avail (grapefruit, orange etc.) should take the bitter edge off of the vodka.
5. Portioning & BBQ Strategy
Try not to eat all day, but instead have one healthy-sized meal albeit lunch or dinner and spend the rest of the time socializing instead of eating. Grazing accelerates aging! It ensures that we are perpetually packing food on top of undigested foods which increases the chance of putrefaction and gas. You will also end up eating more. Ultimately this means increases toxicity and quicker aging!
Remember to eat lightest to heaviest both during meals and throughout the day.
Enjoy the rest of your summer Beauties and let me know which tips helped you stay on track!
In love and health,
Kimberly
With a little preparation you’ll be packing Beauty Foods with little effort. ;)
Hi kim, thanks so much for the tips!!! I actually have a question about the link on your page for free shipping on the Vita-Mix. I am FINALLY able to afford one so I clicked on the pic as it says & it just takes me straight to the VM website, but not to a coupon code or anything…when you click on “Special Deals” it does not have anything about free shipping either…just wondering if this coupon was still valid for readers or not…? Or do I need to call the hotline & mention your name? lol
THANKS so much!!!
Hi there! When you go through the link the free shipping automatically applies when you go to check out! xx
Oh ok!!! I had not gone that far b/c I wasn’t sure if it would apply! Thanks so much!!! ;)
Love this post! So helpful before tomorrow- Thanks!! I have a quick question… what do you think about juicing until dinner? Others say this should be done on a long term basis for optimum health.. but I worry about calorie intake and wonder if it’s really necessary. I juice until lunch right now and am happy with my body, but not my facial skin yet- maybe stepping it up would help? Thanks in advance for your help!!
I don’t think juicing until dinner is realistic or necessarily beneficial for most people. It is great that you stay light in the morning.
I would be starving if I did juice all day, as I need to run around, be on my feet, and I practice yoga and need to use my brain.
However, I drink the Glowing Green Smoothie, and because of the fiber I stay full for much longer then when I used to drink juice. Today it was all I had until 3:00, and I drank a good 40 ounces or so until then.
xx
Thanks for the great suggestions
You’re welcome!
Hi Kimberly,
Just wanted to say how greatful I am to you for sharing your wealth of information via your wonderful Beauty Detox Solution. I am losing weight and have no acid reflux for the first time in years. I literally felt better than I can remember after only the first few days of following your advice. I had just about given up hope of ever feeling good again as far as my health is concerned. Please!!!!!!!!!!!! Keep up your blog and never forget about us Non-Celebs!! You are amazing. I will send before and after in a few months when my weight is gone and I am completely Detoxed! Love and Light:)
Great Marie! I would love to get your before and after pics, which will inspire so many others!
I am so happy the information is helping you, and the acid reflux is going away.
Keep in touch! xx Love, Kimberly
Hey!
I just finished your book and LOVED it! I’m curious if there are any books you would recommend or enjoyed (even non-health related books) that you would like to suggest to us readers to check out. I’m always looking for a good book and I’m sure you have some great choices!
Well, I just read The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society, which was a great book!! Check it out. It made me laugh, and cry. :)
When is the best time to drink water around a meal? I know it is good to drink BEFORE a meal to stay hydrated, but do you wait like 30 minutes after drinking the water to then eat? And after eating, is it ok to start gulping down water, or is it best to wait a little bit so the food digests better?
Try to drink significant quantities at least 30 minutes before a meal, then ideally wait 45 min- 1 hour afterwards to drink a lot again. During keep to 1 cup! xx
Hi,
Thanks for all the great advice and the book. I had a smoothie maker which broke after about a month. I was enjoying the green smoothies. I cannot afford the vita-mix right now. I was wondering what do you think about the 100% veggie juices on grocery shelves. Would you recommend those, if so are there any brand(s) you prefer? I see they have expiration dates of more than a month later, do you think they lose their nutrients by then? Thanks again.
HI Jackie,
I don’t approve of any bottled juices/smoothies on the shelf at the grocery store. They are pasteurized to be bottled, and a great deal of the nutrients are lost right away. Put your money instead towards fresh fruit and veggies, which is the only real substitute for when you can’t make the GGS. Just have some fruit in the mornings, and more salads and veggies. xx j
Hi I read your book and did my first GGS today. I’m wondering if its normal to have to use the restroom 15min after drinking it, and I was feeling lightheaded and sick until about 30 min after I drank it. I just dealt with it, and now I feel SUPER energized and great but I’m a little curious about it. Did I do something wrong??
That is a pretty classic detox response. The GGS is extremely cleansing, and if your body is acidic, it will stimulate that response at first. It usually goes away within a few weeks. Check out the transitioning sections of The Beauty Detox Solution!
I am just wondering whether Gin would be considered as viable an option as Vodka. Years ago I switched to gin based on the lack of sugar and because it was a preference over vodka. I am definitely working on greatly reducing any alcohol consumption but I am curious as to whether you would consider it equivalent to vodka. I am currently incorporating a lot of healthy changes into my life and I find your book very helpful. Thank you!
Gin is okay if you prefer it- just avoid rum and tequila, which in many ways might be the worst!!
Hi, A friend turned me on to your book after hearing I was reading The China Study. I love your book! Thanks for creating an easy, concrete way to employ the eating habits that Mr. Campbell recommends – you’re exactly what I was looking for!
Here’s my question: I meet your criteria to start as a Blossoming Beauty, but I initially tried the Glowing Green Smoothie and a) liked it and b) did not have adverse reactions for the 2 days I started my day with it. Would it be OK to start my day with the Smoothie, even while in the Blossoming phase? Or will that harm me in some way?
Steph, how wonderful! As a BB, I usually advise my clients to slowly transition into an alkaline state and into the GGS. If you didn’t have any adverse reactions then go for it! I suggest using green apples, which are lower in sugar, and liquid stevia to sweeten., instead of the banana. xx