The holiday merrymaking was a blast while it lasted, but now we’re ready to hit the reset button. Enlist a friend to join you in our fifth annual Action Plan, a 21-day, whole-body detox designed to supercharge you for the New Year.

1. Go Step By Step

We built this plan around a simple base diet of lentils, fruits and vegetables, and nuts and seeds; these (plus oils and seasonings) are the only ingredients allowed for the first week. The subsequent weeks introduce variety, including fish and gluten-free grains in Week 2 and eggs in Week 3. 

2. Devise a Strategy

We realize that making all of the plan’s recipes is no easy feat. So we’ve streamlined things this year with weekly meal-by-meal plans. To ease prep, some recipes have a make-ahead component, and most recipes make big batches, so you’ll always have a selection of leftovers in the fridge.

3. Make It Your Own

While there are 45 recipes in the cleanse, you can certainly improvise meals; simply follow the ingredient guidelines for each week. You can also carry over your favorite dishes as you enter a new week. Do keep in mind that while you should keep portions modest, counting calories is not part of the program. “This is not a calorie-restricted diet,” Blum says. “This is about food choices.” 

No, we’re not talking about anything as extreme as fasting, but in these first days you’ll purify with a spare diet designed to heal your digestive system so it can focus on cleansing. “Your liver is burdened every day,” Blum says. “We’re removing all the stressors so it can start clearing out the muck.” 

Keep In Mind: By midweek, you’ll likely notice some unpleasant symptoms—fatigue, aches and pains, headache, bloat—as the body purges toxins. This is normal, so don’t lose heart. You should start to feel better by week’s end. 

BASE DIET FOR THE PLAN
• Lentils
• Fruits and vegetables
• Nuts and seeds
• Oils and seasonings 

Not exactly the kind of bland stuff that springs to mind when you think “detox cuisine,” is it? Thank
Sarah Britton, the Copenhagen, Denmark–based holistic nutritionist behind the blog My New Roots (mynewroots.blogspot.com), whom we tapped for the second year in a row to create her always-fabulous food. Breakfasts are juices and smoothies, which are easy on digestion. For lunches and dinners, you’ll see lots of liver-boosting cruciferous vegetables and lentils (“They’re the legume that’s most easily digested,” Blum says of the latter). To ensure success this week, plan your meals and then prep whatever you can ahead of time (cook lentils, roast beets). 

Day 1: Mango-Tahini Smoothie

Day 2: Cucumber-Pear Juice

Day 3: Blueberry-Mint Smoothie

Day 4: Pineapple-Spinach Juice

Day 5: Mango-Tahini Smoothie

Day 6: Green Lemonade

Day 7: Blueberry-Mint Smoothie

Day 1: French Lentil Salad

Day 2: Creamy Broccoli Soup

Day 3: French Lentil Salad

Day 4: Cauliflower "Rice" Stir Fry

Day 5: Roasted Beets on Greens

Day 6: Red Lentil and Sweet Potato Stew

Day 7: Roasted Beets on Greens

Day 1: Creamy Broccoli Soup

Day 2: Cauliflower "Rice" Stir Fry

Day 3: Creamy Broccoli Soup

Day 4: Roasted Portobellos With Kale

Day 5: Red Lentil and Sweet Potato Stew

Day 6: Roasted Portobellos With Kale

Day 7: French Lentil Salad