Raw Food Challenge

During the first week, you'll detox off red meat, eliminate sugars and white flours and start eating your vegetables raw. Instead of white pastas, eat whole wheat, substitute grilled chicken for red meat, swap out sugary desserts for fruits and replace cooked vegetables with raw ones.

On a raw food diet, you should only be consuming unprocessed, preferably organic whole foods such as:

• Fresh fruits and vegetables
• Nuts
• Seeds
• Beans
• Grains
• Legumes
• Dried fruit
• Seaweed
• Unprocessed organic or natural foods
• Freshly juiced fruit and vegetables
• Purified water
• Young coconut milk

Week 1 Tip: The kitchen closes at 7pm (or 3 hours before bed!)

This week you'll eliminate meat, poultry, eggs and dairy; to compensate, add lots of vegetables and fruit smoothies to supplement nutrients. Try interesting combinations of fruits and vegetables like a banana spinach smoothie - high in potassium, folate, vitamins K and A, and magnesium.

During the third week of your detox, add nuts and seeds as a staple of your diet. You can substitute some dairy items with those derived from nuts, like raw almond milk. When snacking on nuts, soak them in water first to wake up their natural enzymes. An excellent lunch on the go is a raw veggie burger made with almonds and walnuts.

Even though during week 1 you substituted white pasta with whole grain pasta, you're now cutting out pasta altogether because it's cooked. Try a meal consisting of shredded zucchini with veggie meatballs and raw tomato sauce. This may be the most challenging week, as you will be eating 100% raw.

At the end of the week, evaluate what you liked best and work into your regular diet. Make sure to always substitute whole grain pasta for white pasta!