A 3-day Ayurvedic cleanse to kick off the year

Cleanses are a vital part of an Ayurvedic lifestyle as they provide a means of clearing accumulated waste and toxins from the mind and body. As we enter the New Year, it is common for us to want to embark on a cleanse, especially after overindulging over the Christmas period. I know I have noticed the negative effects on both my mind (anxiety, irritability) and body (lethargic, skin breakouts, dull skin) of eating badly, drinking alcohol and neglecting self-care.

Why do a cleanse?

Although I feel like the New Year is a great place to start a cleanse, I also want to highlight that in Ayurveda, it is encouraged that you take regular cleanses throughout the year. This isn’t just a new year fad, but something you should consider doing regularly. Why? Because an Ayurvedic cleanse provides the body with an opportunity to rest, recuperate and repair itself, and let’s be honest – we need that more often than just at new year. This cleanse will encourage the body’s natural mechanisms for detoxification (your body has sooo much power) and it’s beneficial for both body and mind.

This 3 day Ayurvedic cleanse is an extremely gentle cleanse which shouldn’t cause a great deal of discomfort (as so many cleanses do). There’s no juices or skipping meals that leave you feeling hungry, and no tough workouts. It’s all about being slow and gentle with yourself. So I won’t be doing any tough strength workouts, or long runs (even though I’m training for a marathon and my training schedule says I should). These 3 days will be dedicated to walks and yoga. The foods you will digest during this cleanse will help improve the strength of agni (metabolic fire), which is essential to optimal health.

The cleanse

So let’s get onto the cleanse itself. I’m going to be honest with you – it will not be the most exciting 3 day culinary experience you’ve ever had. Variety is the spice of life as they say – and this seriously lacks variety. But for 3 days, I can suck it up for the good of my mind and body. The cleanse is centred around ‘Kitchari’ – a staple healing food in Ayurveda. It gives the digestive system a much needed break whilst also providing all the essential nutrients your body needs.

What is Kitcahri?

Kitchari is made of rice, lentils (specifically yellow split mung beans also known as mung daal) and spices. It’s so simple to make. Mung beans are one of Ayurveda’s superfoods, as they are easy to digest and help remove toxins. The herbs and spices (such as ginger and cumin) will help rekindle your digestive fire (agni). Kitchari should be soft and mushy like porridge so it’s easier to digest – nothing al dente about it. Try to make your Kitchari fresh as much as you can – the fresher the food the more life force energy it has. You can make a batch for the day but try not to make a large pot for the full 3 days as you’ll lose some of the benefits. You can also add your choice of vegetables with each meal. I will be eating vegetables that help pacify vata (one of the three doshas), as I currently have a vata imbalance. This will include carrots, courgette, peas, sweet potatoes, butternut squash and asparagus. If you don’t know about doshas don’t worry – just add what veg you fancy. I’m also going to change the rice for quinoa on a few of my meals for that extra protein hit, although mung daal is already high in protein. So this is the main meal you’ll be eating throughout the cleanse – for me this will be lunch and dinner. I’ll add the recipe I’m using below :)

What else can I eat?

There is slightly more variety in this cleanse (although not much). I will be eating cooked spiced apples for breakfast. Fruits are easier to digest when cooked, especially in winter. I’m not sure I could stomach rice and lentils for breakfast, so spiced apples are a little closer to what I'd normally eat. I'm using cinnamon and cloves to spice my fruit. I’ll also only be drinking herbal teas throughout the cleanse. Ayurveda always encourages warm beverages rather than cold ones whether you’re on a cleanse or not, but it's even more important during these 3 days. If you’re at home you can make fresh herbal teas using ginger, cumin seeds, fennel seeds and coriander seeds, but if you’re out and about stick to warm water or herbal tea bags.

Other things you should be doing during the 3 day cleanse:

• Rest as much as possible. You want to make sure the bulk of your energy is devoted to cleansing the mind and body. This also includes eliminating as many daily stressors as you can. This might be easier said than done, and everyone’s situation is different. But try to choose 3 days where you don’t have too much on. Social situations make it harder to stick to the cleanse.

• Try to eat at consistent times and eat your last meal for 6/7pm if possible. You want to give your body enough time to digest dinner before you go to sleep.

• Take 2 triphala supplements before bed (at least 2 hours after dinner). They help to support the digestive tract and as I’m sure you now realise; this cleanse is all about supporting digestion. I'll carry on with these supplements after the cleanse.

• Enjoy a daily self-massage or dry brushing. Massage and dry brushing helps detoxify the body’s tissues, increases circulation and calms the mind.

• Stay mindful during the cleanse – I’ll be taking a social media break for most of the 3 days to stay as present as possible. I’ll also be doing activities such as puzzles and reading to remain present.

• Finally, when you finish the cleanse, a slow transition back to your normal routine is important. Try to eat simple foods for a few days after and gradually reintroduce diverse foods. This will help preserve the benefits of the cleanse. Don’t celebrate with processed foods, sugar and alcohol!

Kitchari Recipe

There are lots of variations of Kitchari recipes out there, but here is the one I used:

Ingredients

• 1 cup uncooked mung dal (don't get this confused with yellow split peas as these are different)

• ½ cup uncooked white basmati rice (or quinoa if you want the extra protein)

• 1 tablespoon of ghee (or I used coconut oil)

• 1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger root or 1 teaspoon dried ginger powder

• 1 teaspoon each of black mustard seeds, cumin, and turmeric powder

• Optional: 1 pinch hing (also called asafoetida) - I used this as I was recommended to before by an Ayurvedic doctor

• 6 cups water

• ½ teaspoon salt (rock salt or Himalayan pink salt is best)

• Top with 1 small handful fresh chopped coriander

Instructions

1. Rinse the mung dal and rice until the water runs clear.

2. Measure out all of the spices into a small bowl (apart from the black mustard seeds) — this makes it less likely that you'll burn your spices while searching for the others.

3. Heat the ghee or oil in a large pot. Firstly add the black mustard seeds and allow them to pop. Turn the heat down a little and add the rest of the spices and sauté together on a medium heat for a minute until fragrant. Be careful not to burn the spices— it's better to err on the side of caution on your first attempt.

4. Stir in the mung dal and rice and coat with all the spices. Add 5 cups of water.

5. Cook for at least 30/40 minutes (longer if using whole green mung beans), or until the dal and rice are completely soft and have a porridge-like consistency. You may need to add more water if necessary.

6. Top the kitchari with freshly chopped coriander and serve with your choice of vegetables.

I hope you find this information useful. I understand there are so many cleanses out there, but this one is really gentle and doesn't deprive your body of food (only the bad food). At the time of writing this I'm almost at the end of day 2. I haven't felt hungry and I can't tell you how good it feels to know I'm giving my body a chance to heal. I miss the variety in my diet, but I know it's only for 3 days and it will be so worth it. Good luck if you're going to give it a go!

All my love,

Emma