The Clean in 14 Detox: The 2-Week Plan to Melt Fat, Kick Cravings, and Increase Your Natural Energy Paperback – May 6, 2014

When I decided to go vegan a little over a year ago, I ordered quite a few cookbooks so that I could learn how to make *healthy* vegan fare. Quite a few cookbooks relied on processed, fake meats and other artificial-ingredient-laden products that weren't what I was looking for, but Melissa's  The Karma Chow Ultimate Cookbook: 125+ Delectable Plant-Based Vegan Recipes for a Fit, Happy, Healthy You  quickly became a favorite of mine since she focuses on clean, whole foods.I had heard of Melissa since I knew that she worked with Tony Horton of P90X fame and had worked on the Beachbody Ultimate Reset Cleanse program, and have loved everything I've made from _Karma Chow_ so far. I eagerly pre-ordered this cleanse book several months ago, and it just arrived today! I can't wait to get started on my fourteen-day detox, and will update my review after I've done it.The book is broken up into nine chapters:* Chapter 1 -- Getting Started* Chapter 2 -- 10 Basic Principles to Cleanse -- and Live -- By* Chapter 3 -- Your Questions Answered* Chapter 4 -- Preparation Week* Chapter 5 -- Let's Do It!* Chapter 6 -- Food Basics and the Meal Plans* Chapter 7 -- Cooking and Shopping Tips* Chapter 8 -- Clean in 14 Rituals* Chapter 9 -- The RecipesThe first few chapters of the book lay out the principles of the cleanse, and in them Melissa explains that this cleanse is not a starvation/deprivation diet, but is rather a whole-foods-based approach to detoxifying. During the two weeks, you will give up what she calls CRAP foods -- caffeine, refined sugar, alcohol, and processed foods -- in favor of more nourishing whole foods. In Chapter 6, she lays out a meal plan for each day so you know exactly what you'll be eating.Yet Melissa's program isn't just a food-based cleanse; each day of the cleanse, she also encourages you to avoid what she calls SAP's, or sabotaging addictive patterns, by doing things like journaling and creating action items and rituals for each day. The book also includes the URL for a Facebook support page, where you can check in to get extra help with the program from other cleansers.In terms of the recipes themselves, they all rely on easy-to-find ingredients and come together fairly quickly, so there's not a lot of complicated cooking to do. Each and every recipe also has a full-page color photo, which I love in cookbooks since full-color photos inspire me to make the recipes.Also, if you're worried that Melissa will try to convert you to being vegan, nowhere does Melissa preach about the benefits of being vegan; instead, she logically explains why a plant-based cleanse is beneficial, and then provides some tips for how to transition out of the cleanse if you want add dairy, eggs, and meat back into your diet.Since the cost of this is a whole lot cheaper than doing a pre-bought cleanse, I'm happy I bought this and am excited to get going with this next week. As mentioned at the start of my review, I'll be sure to update this once I complete it. Also, if you're interested in a shorter whole-foods-based cleanse, I'd recommend  The REAL FOOD Cleanse: 3 Days to Clean Up and Reset Your Diet .Happy cleansing!

I am in love with this book and these foods. I bought the book with the intention of picking up some new recipes to incorporate into my diet, and as soon as I started reading it, I was sold on the idea of doing the detox. The book provides a unique combination of dietary and therapeutic guidance that give you the tools to build a healthy routine and allow you to identify and modify your unhealthy eating habits and triggers. The book is organized in a way that is very approachable. It separates your daily meal plans, rituals, and recipes, and is very easy to follow. It's beautifully laid out with appetizing pictures of the foods that had me looking forward to each meal.As a non-vegan, I loved that this book introduced me to all kinds of new foods and a new way of eating. The recipes in this book were so good that I didn't find myself craving meats or dairy, and I probably wouldn't have even realized it was vegan-based if it wasn't mentioned in the introductory chapters. The servings are often for more than one person, and I found I had enough leftovers to have dedicated "leftover days." This meant that even after I finished the 14 days, there were still some recipes left that I hadn't tried, and I chose the extend the program so that I could try them all. I didn't want this detox to end.Be prepared for the time commitment involved in shopping and meal preparation. It's absolutely worth it, but it does require planning. I'm not very fast when it comes to food prep, so I easily would spend multiple hours chopping and blending to prepare for the upcoming days. Plan to devote extra time to finding the fun and exciting new ingredients on your shopping list when at the grocery store. Amazon Pantry helped me out quite a bit when getting started, and Trader Joe's had many of the items I wasn't used to buying.This program made me feel fantastic. I lost weight while eating great food! I'm excited to continue to incorporate the lessons and foods into my life and diet. I've already bought additional copies of this book for family members and friends. I can't recommend this book enough!

I tried this detox twice. The first time I spent about $250 on food for the first 4 days. Followed it to a tee. Spent another $100 on days 5 and 6. Followed them to a tee. Got on the scale and I had gained weight. Really??? It was then I discovered that the recipes, especially the salad dressings have too much oil and nuts. 1/4 cup oil in a recipe is way too much. The chipotle cashew cheese was too fattening with the cashews and tahini. I loved the salads but I think the coconut oil, olive oil, cashews, tahini and pecans were just too much for me. Perhaps this diet as written is best for very active people who can tolerate high fat recipes. I know someone on the Clean in 14 Detox group said that the fats are good fats. Really? Fat is fat when you have a slow metabolism. Anywho, the second time I did the cleanse, I eliminated the salad dressings and used the dressings from Appetite for Reduction. I did lose weight and felt much better but didn't finish the 10 days because a) I couldn't afford it anymore and b) I got tired of cooking,As far as the recipes go, I had to add more seasonings to most of recipes. I'm not a real fan of tempeh and a couple of dishes that combined tempeh, tomato sauce, brown rice and the cashew sauce actually made me ill as it was too heavy for me to digest. My favorite recipe is the split pea soup which I have since made several times.All in all a good book that I can use with recipe adjustments.

like all the others really

Feel much better since I tried this 14 day detox. It really does make you feel much better, especially if anyone has dairy and gluten issues such as myself. This coupled with the Ultimate Cookbook will definitely get you on your way to a Vegan gluten free way of life safely and satisfyingly.

Fabulous book and fabulous program. I highly recommend it. Don't think about buying this book - just do it! You won't regret it.

It's great! I'm very happy that I made the decision to buy the book.

Fantastic, she has amazing recipes