Day 20-
Today's diet:
On waking: Hot water with a slice of lemon.
Breakfast: Gluten and wheat-free muesli with rice milk and a banana. Green tea.
Morning snack: missed morning tea today.
Lunch: Chicken breast served with carrots, cauliflower and zucchini. Green tea.
Afternoon snack: 1/2 a cup of biodynamic bush honey yoghurt (Jalna). Peppermint tea.
Dinner: (Homemade) pumpkin soup with 1&1/2 slices of gluten and yeast-free bread. Peppermint tea.
After dinner snack: Lemon and Ginger tea with honey.
At least 2 litres of filtered water throughout the day.
Exercise: 1&1/2 hour bushwalk with my husband and daughter.
Sleep: About 7 hours- woke up once, but it took me 2 hours to get back to sleep.

Lovely day today, my husband was home and though we had a bit of running around to do in the morning, we were able to go out for the afternoon. So we took ourselves off for a drive and visited a cozy pub with a roaring fire for lunch. It wasn't as tricky to order out as I thought. I told the lady behind the bar I was on a Detox and she totally understood. Green tea and chicken with vegetables, not so difficult. Although the vegetables the meal came with were carrots, zucchini, potato and cauliflower. I couldn't eat the potatoes or zucchini, but the rest was nice. Covered the chicken in lemon juice and salt, Yum! After that we drove to a nice place to have a walk and had a great time exploring a new track, despite the bad weather. Eventually though, the rain became too heavy and we had to turn back, but it was a really enjoyable way to get some exercise.

Joshi devotes quite a few pages to how to eat out in a healthy way. He runs through the healthiest options in a number of different cuisines, here is a short list:

Chinese: Fresh vegetable and chicken stir-fry, steamed fish and vegetables, duck (without the skin), chicken satay, chicken and sweetcorn soup, plain steamed rice.---AVOID--- soy sauce, glutinous sauces, MSG, anything fried, pancakes and noodles made from wheat.

Thai: Rice paper rolls, chicken satay, warm salads, chicken and vegetable stir-fry, steamed fish, rice noodles---AVOID---anything fried, seafood dishes (mercury), spicy curries (acid-forming), fried rice, pork or beef dishes.

Indian: paneer, sauteed spinach, grilled chicken tikka, tandoori, chicken cooked with herbs, dahls, pilau rice, riata---AVOID---spicy curries (acid-forming), kormas (creamy), nan breads & chapatis (unless made from chickpea or lentil flour and not wheat), popadoms unless grilled, chutney (high in sugar).

Italian: Buffalo mozzerella and salad, risottos, grilled chicken or fish dishes, vegetables---AVOID---pizza, pasta, sauces, bread, salad dressing, parmesan cheese.

Japanese: Edamame, salads with chicken or fish, spinach dishes, yakitori, sushi & sashami, ramen (but ask for rice noodles), miso soups, tofu, plain rice---AVOID---anything fried (tempura), gyoza (dumplings), egg noodles, don buri (crumbed and fried meat), pickles and mayonaise.

French: Soup, fish dishes, chicken dishes, vegetables---AVOID---all sauces, steak, french fries.

Middle Eastern: Mezze plates, hummus, tzatsiki, bab ghanoush, pitta bread, carrot sticks, falafel, chicken kibbeh, grilled chicken---AVOID---couscous, tabbouleh, fried pastries.

American Diner: Soup, salad without dressing, fried chicken or fish without sauce, sandwiches without bread---AVOID---pretty much everything else.

Most of this follows the same rules as the Detox in general, ie, avoid wheat, dairy, oils, vinegar, sugar, spicy food, seafood, red meat and anything processed. The main point that Joshi stresses is that you are the customer, do not be afraid to ask what is in a dish/ how it is prepared/ if they can do a healthier version.

To me though, always ordering chicken or fish and vegetables when you go out kinda takes the fun out of it, but I will certainly try to have a look at some of the dishes on the menu that I may have overlooked in the past. And as Joshi says, once you're into the maintenance program, you can introduce a greater variety of foods again. The occasional treat is no big deal, your body will cope, but you may feel a little bloated/ill afterwards.