Detoxification is not just for the movie stars who abuse painkillers anymore. New evidence has shown that just about everyone needs detox – not for drug use, but to clean out the colon, blood system, liver, and other organs that have been building up potentially toxic amounts of unhealthy matter over the years.

Lots of people are jumping on the detox diet bandwagon, and for good reason, too.

With all the preservatives, hormones, air pollutants, pesticides, and even fat (think fast food) that gets into our bodies every day, it just makes sense to clean the temple from time to time. You wouldn’t go without cleaning the house for very long, and you shouldn’t go very long without cleaning out the body, either.

Here are three delicious recipes for detox diets. Give them a try if you want to help cleanse your system and/or lose some weight:

1) Veggie Broth

• A head of fresh broccoli
• A cup of fresh spinach leaves
• A of celery
• A pot full of distilled water

Simply cut up the vegetables into very small pieces. Put them in the pot of water, cover, and bring them to a full boil. Then, reduce the heat to a simmer and let all those nutrients seep out of those vegetables into the water. After about thirty minutes, drain the mixture. Discard the vegetables, and drink the broth. Yummy and a good colon cleanser!

2) Tomato-based Hearty Detox Soup

• A pot of purified water
• A head of green cabbage
• Two medium green bell peppers (or one large and one small)
• An onion
• Three stalks of celery
• Three carrots
• One-third to one-half of a pound of fresh or frozen green beans
• One or two cans of diced tomatoes or tomato sauce

Slice the cabbage into strips. Chop the peppers into bite-size pieces or smaller if you prefer. Cut up the onion, celery, and carrots into pieces of the same size. Prepare the green beans.

Some folks will say to ad the ingredients to the water a little at a time, beginning with the “hardest” vegetables first. I find that unnecessary. Just throw all the vegetables into the pot of water, cover, and bring to a boil. Then, lower the heat and allow the soup to simmer for several hours. Enjoy!

3) Lemon and Citrus “Tea” Detox Recipes

Lemon is quickly becoming a popular detox ingredient, probably because of its high citric acid content, vitamin C density, and abundance of bioflavonoids. Besides for all these benefits, there is something that is generally pleasing about the lemon, don’t you think? Lemon furniture polish still b rings back childhood memories of helping my mom dust the living room furniture, my dishwashing detergent is lemon-scented, and lemonade on a hot day – are you kidding? It gets no better than that.

• A glass of grapefruit juice
• The juice of one large lemon
• Two teaspoons of olive oil
• One to two teaspoons of flaxseed oil
• Optional – a clove of crushed garlic
• Optional – split the juices to half a glass of grapefruit and half glass of orange
• A scoop of your favorite protein powder from the nutrition store

Simply combine the above ingredients in your blender and drink. Try to drink it on an empty stomach; perhaps the first thing in the morning, and be prepared to be cleaned out.

Recipes for detox diets are a sure and fast way to help clean your digestive system out as a whole. However, it is important for you to follow the directions carefully and only use for the length of time that is appropriate.

Nothing can be quite as delicious and satisfying as a great diet shake, especially in the hot weather months that we are now “enjoying.”

Whether you choose to go to the mall and visit a nutritional supplement shop, so you can add supplements to your diet shake recipes or whether you prefer your diet shake recipes to contain just what you can get at the farm stand or grocery store; there are a million diet shake recipes out there.

It can also be quite fun to experiment with your diet shake recipes and add your own personal touches to your delicious creations.

One of my favorite ingredients to add to any smoothie or diet shake recipes is low-fat yogurt. No mater whether you are making a water-based (ice) shake or a dairy-based (2 % milk) diet shake recipe, a little container of yogurt can add a lot. Yogurt adds a nice creamy consistency to your diet shake recipes, and I wholeheartedly recommend that you try it in your favorite smoothie recipe the first chance you get.

Here are five tried-and-true diet shake recipes. Give them a whirl in your blender:

Strawberry-Orange-Banana Diet Shake Recipes
• Some orange juice – about 2 cups or so
• Some sliced bananas – 1 or 2
• Some strawberries — a cup or so
• Some ice – about a cup
• A container of strawberry-banana low fat yogurt

Mandarin-Mango Diet Shake Recipes
• Some mandarin orange pieces – 2 cans or so
• Some cut up mangoes – 2 mangos is about right
• Some ice – about a cup
• Protein supplements from the nutrition store—follow the label directions
• A container of mango-flavored low fat yogurt

Berry Berry Special Diet Shake Recipes
• Some cranberry juice – about ½ a cup
• Some apple juice — about ½ a cup
• Some strawberries
• Some blueberries
• Some raspberries
• A banana
• A container of strawberry or blueberry low fat yogurt

Banana-Chocolate-Vanilla Diet Shake Recipes
• A cut up frozen banana
• A teaspoon of vanilla
• A cup of skim milk
• A teaspoonful of Splenda
• A teaspoonful of cocoa powder
• A container of low fat yogurt—plain or vanilla

Coffee-Mocha Diet Shake Recipes
• One teaspoon instant coffee
• One teaspoon cocoa powder
• One teaspoon of Splenda
• Ice
• A container of vanilla or plain low fat yogurt
• A powder protein supplement if you like

Regardless of which of the diet shake recipes you are making, the procedure is the same. Just pop all the ingredients into your blender and turn it on. Run the blender until the shake is the desired consistency, pour into a beautiful glass, and enjoy your homemade, healthy, nutrient-dense, diet shake recipes.

Not only will it help with your weight loss it taste delicious.