Spring is a time for renewal, and an excellent time for cleansing the body and creating positive changes changes in your life. We can use the energy of this season to support our transition into better health, increased vitality, and a clearer mind. In this post, I’ve shared a simple, gentle, and low key cleansing protocol that will maximize your energy as you transition through the seasons.
The Mung Bean and Rice (Kitchari) Mono-diet is an Ayurvedic protocol that's a gentle and effective way to soothe inflammation in the body, and cleanse the digestive tract and colon. Please see the Mung Beans and Rice (Kitchari) mono-diet protocol and two recipe links, below.
My Experience
I find I have loads of energy during this mono-diet and after. My skin looks great, I feel great, no more aches or pains, and my mind becomes clear. The protocol is simple, gentle, and most people find they can continue to work and live their life without the downtime that is required with other cleanses. The best part being that you can eat(!) and it's delicious.
I wish you well on your cleansing journey, and we'd love to here about about your experience, so please share in the comments if you decide to try it!
MONO-DIET PROTOCOL
Mung Beans & Rice (Kitchari) Cleansing Diet
As a mono-diet eat only mung beans and rice for 3 days or up to 30 days, with lots of fresh vegetables cooked in (I like carrots, zucchini, and broccoli)
You may have fruit in between meals for snack
Drink Original Yogi Tea throughout the day (scroll for recipe link)
Drink plenty of water throughout the day
Recipe HERE
Benefits
Good for the kidneys, colon, and digestive organs
Helpful for alleviating constipation and other digestive issues
High in protein
Easy to digest and considered a "pre-digested food"
I make a big pot and eat this “porridge” for at least 3 days in a row, for 3 meals a day. You can add a dollop of sour yogurt (if you are lactose intolerant or non-dairy, leave this out), and drink Yogi Tea, as well as eat raw fruits in between meals.
I personally don’t do the fruits, but it’s up to you.
Original Yogi Tea
Yogi Tea is a traditional loose spice tea recipe given by Yogi Bhajan
Benefits
Yogi Tea purifies the blood, lungs and circulatory system. It cleans the liver and has many more unseen benefits.
Supports the brain cells and nervous system
A healthful alternative to caffeine
It’s good to drink this tea every day, while mono-dieting or not.
Recipe HERE
*Pro Tip: For addition cleansing benefits sip one 8 oz. cup of cold, unsweetened Yogi Tea, without milk, first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. This is very beneficial for the liver.
For your convenience, here are some excerpts from the book
“Foods for Health and Healing” by Yogi Bhajan:
MUNG BEANS AND RICE - pg. 78
"This is a good cleansing diet which still gives you plenty of nourishment if you have to work hard. It is a good winter fast, and it is especially recommended for people over forty. Mung Beans and Rice is good for the kidneys, colon and digestive organs. It is also beneficial in cases of constipation, or when food is not being digested thoroughly by the intestines. Mung beans are a very easily assimilated form of protein. Combined with rice and cooked until they have a soupy consistency, they are really a "predigested" food. (See Mung Beans and Rice.)
For thirty days, eat only mung beans and rice at mealtimes, with lots of fresh vegetables cooked into the same dish. Fruit may be eaten between meals as a snack, and you can drink yogi tea. As a variation, you can eat mung beans and rice with yogurt. In the winter, you can grind chiles into it to make it hot and spicy.
You can live on this diet alone for years and years and be very healthy. In India, there was a very saintly person. Mung beans and rice with yogurt was his entire diet. He would make it each night and eat it for breakfast the next morning. That man was a radiant light, just from the food he ate. People would come from all over to be healed by this man. Each morning they would form a long line outside his door. Whatever sickness they had, he would give them mung beans and rice with yogurt. And they would be cured! That's why it is called the food of angels. It has protein, carbohydrates, everything you need."
YOGI TEA - pg. 45
"Though it is really a combination of foods, Yogi Tea is so important in the diet Yogi Bhajan recommends to his students that it is included in this chapter. Yogi tea is a delicious drink which acts as a mild stimulant. It is a healthful substitute for coffee or strong black tea. It can give you a nice "high" while your feet stay firmly planted on the ground. (See Yogi Tea.)
Yogi tea, when regularly included in the diet, helps to correct damage done to the nervous system by drugs. Actually, it is a tonic to the nervous system. It will improve your memory and balance you out when you're feeling out of balance. It can take away tiredness and bring you out of discouragement and depression. It can give you the energy to achieve your goals. Yogi tea is both a remedy and a preventive measure for colds, flu and diseases of the mucous membranes.
The ingredients of yogi tea are divine. Black pepper is a blood purifier. Cardamon is for the colon. Together, they support the brain cells. Cloves are for the nervous system. Cinnamon is for the bones. Ginger adds flavor, is strengthening to the nervous system, and is very good if you are suffering from a cold, flu or any physical weakness. Milk aids in the assimilation of the spices, and avoids irritation to the colon and stomach. The black tea in the recipe acts as a catalyst for all the other ingredients. Please note: the black tea is necessary. Herb tea will not work in its place."