Ok, I (Lyssie) confess…I tend to get a few (some may say, a bit odd) food loves.  BUT in my defense, Tammy’s are just as odd, or at  least almost as unusual! 😉 ! I’ve been known to hold a candle for certain foods like purple cabbage, turnips, tofu fudge popsicles (oy–don’t have too many of those, they can do a number on your stomach! ;)) –and lately ginger and turmeric.  But after creating our Lemon and Mint Detox Drink to help rid the body of bloat and toxins from overindulgence–and it going a bit gangbusters in the repin department on Pinterest (thanks to all of you!), I started to love the flavor of mint even more.  Yep, mint is now my new thang…its just so delicious (not to mention that it works wonders on a bloated tummy!).

And living in NYC, I saw a pot of mint being sold at our local market–and I did as any good fan would do, I bought three of them! 🙂 But for good reason! I don’t have a garden, so I need to give my plant(s) a fighting chance inside my apartment’s window sill, where fortunately I do get some good light (but it’s still not oustide)!  Well after a good 6 months, I took the last of the remaining shriveled plants out to pasture yesterday.  But while they lasted, we created a few goodies! 🙂  Remember our Skinny Strawberry Mint Homemade Ice Cream (4o calories!) our Slimming Raspberry Mint Detox Spritzer and our  Melon Mint Slimming Tea (which rocks cold or warm!)?

 

And we made this one thanks to you! Yes YOU! 🙂 You’ve told us you love our other “detox” and “flush” drinks and as soon as we get such great reviews from you, you get us fired up (and it puts a fire under our tushies) to create more!  So thank yourself for how much better you feel after you drink this! We sure are thanking you! 🙂

 

After all, it all began with our  Lemon Ginger Detox drink, and from there you told us, you need more–for those days when you feel you overindulged and really want to get back on the healthy track.  We created that because as registered dietitians and personal trainers we get a lot of questions about simple strategies to rid the body of overindulgences to feel better and lighter. Of course, being authors of The Nutrition Twins’ Veggie Cure , we can’t help but to recommend loading up on veggies—especially bright colored ones—and greens. 🙂 They’re nutritional powerhouses and some aid the liver in breaking down and neutralizing toxins while others fight inflammation and the damage it does to the body. They’re also loaded with fiber, which helps to flush waste out your colon–goodbye constipation and unsightly gut bulges from it–hello flatter belly. Oh Yeah!

 

But you’ve told us you want these drinks in addition to eating your veggies–so how could we not deliver?!  We’re psyched that you’re asking!  So we explain a lot about why these drinks work their magic in our Cucumber Blueberry Water Flush, and we give you some other details to really get back on the clean and healthy path in Our 5 Steps to Cleanse The Body Detox and Recharge.   You have let us know you love how simple and effective our Orange-lime Sparkling Flusher is to help you get back to the basics and that makes drinking it so easy for you.  So we’re giving you this simple number and some reminders and some specifics as to why this drink works so well to get you back on the healthy track and bloat free!

 

 

This Strawberry Citrus Flush the ideal drink if you overindulged on food and drink and your intestinal tract is not letting you forget it, i.e.–you’re feeling bloated and your stomach is just full of discomfort. You truly just need to calm down your insides so they can start settling down, repairing, de-puffing, restoring and rinsing the bloat.  As we always remind our clients, your body responds to poor food choices and toxins with inflammation. Chronic inflammation in the body leads to diseases like heart disease, cancer, and diabetes. So preventing that inflammation means not only will your body have less immediate damage on the inside and less stomach distress, but you’ll also be healthier in the long haul! 🙂

 

 

 

Here’s why this drink works it’s magic:  Of course, #1, we made it taste great, so you’ll actually want to drink it! 😉

Thanks to lemon, mint and strawberries, you’ll flood your body with anti-aging and disease-fighting phytonutrients and bloat-fighting potassium and water—and the phytonutrients will help to mop up damage caused by free radicals and toxins from processed foods, pollution and stress!

The Water:

You probably know how we feel about water!  It’s the most important thing you need to survive!  You’ve heard how important it is to stay properly hydrated–but you may not realize some of the reasons why. After all, if you are even slightly dehydrated (just 1% of your body weight), you’ll feel sluggish (you’re less likely to get to the gym if you’re feeling wiped out—and even if you do get there, you likely won’t work as hard).

Of course, less movement and eating more both spell trouble for your waistline!

You can easily mistake thirst for hunger. (We see this happen often, you’re dehydrated, so you crave energy and you think you’re hungry.  Guess what? You crave sugar!–oy! Drink water instead and you’ll notice you have fewer sugar cravings!)

 

Many times constipation (and unsightly gut bulges with it) can be prevented if you simply drink water to get things moving right along in your colon.  That’s why we tell you what we do every morning and especially before an event here: 4 Surefire Ways to Get to the Event Bloat Free

Ahh! Don’t let dehydration happen to you. If you’re not a water-lover, we made this jazzed up water for ya! Give this water a whirl!

 

The Mint:

Mint aids digestion and settles the stomach. We add it to everything! Hello Lemon Mint Detox Drink

Mint (and lemon!) both contain potassium to help restore normal fluid balance and flush out bloat.

 

The Strawberries:

Strawberries are both packed with potassium & water—the perfect combo for restoring the body’s normal fluid balance, flushing out excess sodium and the bloat that comes with it.

Strawberries are fiber filled, so they help to keep you regular and flush out any bloat and puffiness from constipation— this is critical–who looks good or feels good when they are constipated?–not US! (Hello Strawberry Kiwi Lemonade Flush)

Strawberries help to fight inflammation (calm your insides and protect against damage, keeping you healthier).  Studies show that women who eat more strawberries have lower levels of CRP (a measure of inflammation) in their blood. (Remember, an unhealthy diet with saturated fats and toxins creates inflammation, so we always recommend trying to reduce inflammation with brightly colored produce, like strawberries and red peppers–just two of our faves!)

Strawberries contain immune boosting phytonutrients and antioxidants (which can help your body fight off and repair the damage caused by inflammation) and are a great source of vitamin C.

 

The Lemon:

The ideal flushing food–packed with potassium and water to restore normal fluid balance and flush out bloating salt that may be causing you to store water and puffiness. Hello Blueberry Lemon Detox Smoothie!
Let’s face it, when you don’t eat right and you overindulge in junk, you put your body to the test. Lemon gives you a shot of vitamin C and acts as an immune-booster to help strengthen your body after all the havoc it’s just been through.

Helps to neutralize free radicals before they can do any further damage and prevents inflammation so that the body can stay “calm”.

 

Citrus Strawberry Flush

Serves 8

Ingredients:

1/2 gallon cold water (or cold sparkling water)

5 mint leaves (or more if you choose, we add a lot!)

1 cup strawberries, sliced thinly

2 lemons, sliced

 

Directions:
Place mint, strawberries and lemon into a small pitcher and add cold water. Allow the ingredients to sit in the water for 15- 30min before drinking (the longer it rests, the stronger the flavor).

We eat the strawberries after they’ve been sitting in the water—they get really plump! Note that if you don’t eat the fruit, the water itself will have virtually zero calories and with the fruit it’s only 8! We suggest eating the fruit for maximum phytonutrient benefits! 🙂