This zucchini and watercress soup from Dr Mark Hyman’s 10 Day Detox Diet is rich, creamy, and delicious! Serve with cauliflower rice for a healthy meal.
Participating in Dr Mark Hyman’s 10 Day Detox Program has been a real eye opener.
It has been scientifically proven that sugar is more addictive than alcohol, cocaine, and heroine. Sugar is the most dangerous drug on the planet. Reading Dr Mark Hyman’s 10 Day Detox Diet book has been a game changer for me the last month.
Abstaining from any foods that convert to sugar in the body (sweeteners, high-sugar fruits, starchy vegetables, and grains) has made a huge difference in my blood sugar while I’ve been going through the program. As I mentioned last week, I’ve realized that grains are my candy of choice.
Prior to the program I felt healthy, but I wasn’t sleeping very well, which indicated an imbalance of some kind. After one day on the program I was sleeping better, and after one week I was sleeping the best I have in years! I’m now getting a full 8 hours of restful uninterrupted high-quality sleep with more periods of deep sleep. This regime could be called, “The Sleep Solution.”
The combination of resetting my biochemistry (stabilizing my blood sugar) so that it works for me, mindfully setting my intentions and focussing on my wellness, de-stressing my life, spending less time on the internet, taking the supplements, eating the specially developed food in a particular way, soaking in the detox bath every night, meditating, doing the breathing exercises, journaling about my emotions and tracking the connection with food, and meditating have made such a difference to the calmness I feel.
I also realized that I don’t sit and really enjoy my food. I’m always eating on the run driving in the car drinking a smoothie while I’m on conference calls and eating lunch while I’m answering emails. This program reminded me to stop, relax more, breathe, and take the time to practice self care. I need to take that time everyday. Wellness is not just about eating healthy whole foods. It’s so easy to forget this when you’re busy. As a result of stopping, slowing down, and practicing mindful self care I’m feeling more centered, grounded, balanced, and stronger.
This program arms you with the tools to improve your overall health – your physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual wellness. Everything is connected, and Dr Hyman covers it all. But, how do you stay motivated? Where do you find the strength, courage, and commitment to stay on the path?
The focus for the last day of the detox is to Harness the Power Of Your Community. This is a major focus of the program. Dr Hyman calls friends “the silver bullet for weight loss.” I participated in this program with an online community. We had daily calls and shared our experiences in a facebook group. This was hugely beneficial as your emotions, stress levels, and schedule change every day making it challenging to stay with the course. Participating in the calls, reading blogs about the program, and chatting with people in the group gave me nuggets of helpful information kept reframing my perspective to keep it in a positive and inspiring place.
Dr Hyman describes losing weight as “a team sport.” He cites data from his own programs (The Daniel Plan and the 10-Day Detox) and other studies that show that social threads have a bigger impact than genetics. When people participate in wellness programs in groups the success literally doubles.
If you’re participating in this program or another wellness, detox, or weight loss regime I highly recommend participating with friends, colleagues, or family members. Create your own group and commit to daily phone calls and meetings where you can share your experiences to motivate and inspire each other. Create a cooking club, a meditation group, a recipe swap online etc. Create a plan for success. Set yourself up with an infrastructure that will support your goals.
If you can’t find anybody that will join you in your existing circle Dr Hyman has an amazing online community that you can join. This community offers menus, automatic shopping lists, interactive tracking tools, cooking tips and advice, automated journaling reminders, and more. You can also find people who have the same dietary restrictions, health issues, and dreams as you. That way you can connect with like-minded people who have similar goals. You can find all of these resources at 10DayDetox.Com.
I’m going to share my final thoughts about the detox later this week after some reflection.
But, I just have to tell you again how delicious the food is! I’ve made lots of recipes in the book and they’ve all been amazing. The recipes are simple and easy to make. I picked up my parents from the airport yesterday morning, and I had a batch of this zucchini and watercress soup on the stove. They found it so delicious, my mother ordered a copy of the book and they are going to participate in the program when they get back from their cruise in a couple of months.
My father is pre-diabetic and really needs to change his life. I hope he can find the strength and courage to participate in an authentic way. I hope….I dream…
More about the detox later this week. Enjoy the soup.
Comments 24
I rarely use watercress! Time to do so. Zukes are one of my fave veg, always have them on hand. Liking the addition of almond butter in this soup, I can almost imagine how creamy this is!
Me too Dreena. I don’t use watercress as much as I should. It adds a lovely nuttiness to smoothies and so is a perfect blend with the almond butter in this soup. It’s so creamy and has a rich depth of flavour. YUM!
Thanks for sharing this information and recipe, Tess! I’ve been grabbing a few more healthy sweets lately and this article really spoke to me. I will give it a go and check out the book. Look forward to your final thoughts about the detox next week. Have a great weekend! xoxo
I have been doing that lately too Kibby, so participating in this program was such a great reboot for me. I think you would really enjoy this book. It is just amazing.
I can imagine the flavors already – such a vibrantly beautiful soup! We have been juicing here, when we complete I will be making this!
Love that you are juicing! Awesome. Yeah, this soup is a winner. My parents went absolutely nuts for it when they were staying this week. It was a huge hit and SO SO easy. Enjoy 🙂
How interesting that almond butter is included in this! I am having a hard time figuring out what it might taste like, which is why I may just have to try it!
I know! I didn’t know what to expect from this combination either. All I can say is that it is absolutely delicious. SO easy and SO yummy. We have made it 3 times already. Not to be missed.
We made it last night. It was awesome. The almond butter adds such a great creaminess. I want to use it in other soups. I will definitely be making this again. Thanks for posting it Tess.
I am so glad you tried it. The almond butter is just wonderful in this soup.
Sounds like a lovely and delicious recipe but aren’t almost all zucchini on the market today GMO zucchini? I am worried about the health effects of eating GMO food.
I don’t touch any GMO foods, I agree that they’re problematic. But, you can get organic zucchini.
Trader joes has organic zucchini
Thanks Kathy, yes, and health food stores, and mainstream grocers also have organic zucchini.
hello hi how r u. my name is Rukshana i am trying to loose weight. i am 43 . staying in canada,i go in depression when i see my self .and i want to know do u have any juice to loose weight and some good fruits face cream ,waiting for your reply thank u
Hey Rukshana, so sorry to hear about your health problems. I am just catching up on comments and messages this week. Please fill out the contact form on my site, and I will be happy to help you with some recipe ideas.
http://healthyblenderrecipes.com/faq_contact
Never see watercress in stores. Where can it be found ?
You can find it in the produce section with the other lettuce and herbs. Ask the store attendant.
Hi, I live in Trinidad in the Caribbean. Almond butter is very difficult to find here, or if it is available it is very expensive. Do you recommend a substitute?
You could blend in 1/4 cup raw cashews or blanched almonds into the soup.
Delicious soup! Wasn’t sure if the almond butter was supposed to be raw or roasted. Used roasted almond butter and the soup is fabulous. Will definitely make this again. Healthy and yummy!!
Sorry for any confusion. Raw is healthier, but roasted is always going to deliver richer flavor. So happy you enjoyed the recipe.
Hi, I tried the recipe as given, and neither I nor my wife liked it at all. Our chickens, however, thought it was great when I poured the remainder into their feeder tray. Sorry to leave a negative comment – you have so many other very tasty recipes on here – but this one just wasn’t to our liking.
Oh no! So sorry you didn’t enjoy it. I wonder if it’s the watercress you use? Not sure. This isn’t a recipe I developed personally, but I really enjoyed it when I made it. Thanks for your honest feedback. It’s always helpful for others.