Week 3 of Footlose & Callus Free: The Apple Cider Soak

This could be a particularly challenging week for the Apple Cider Soak.  I have not been kind to my feet and there are some pretty hard calluses to get rid of.  Gross.

I'm apprehensive.  I associate apple cider vinegar with musty old apple juice someone forgot to throw out.  Now I'm going to soak my feet in it??

This is not as simple a process as the past 2 soaks.  The American Athletic Institute method requires that I pre-soak my feet before using the apple cider vinegar.  Their steps are:
1. Soak in a 50/50 solution of white vinegar & warm water for 20 min
2. Soak feet in drinking water for 5 minutes
3. Soak your feet in apple cider vinegar (not diluted!) for 15 min.

This does not seem to be a very time-efficient method of removing calluses as it takes 40 min for the process to work.  The recipe claims to work wonders on callused feet.  Hmmm, I've heard that before.

....5....

...10...

...15...

...20...

...40...

40 minutes later and I definitely have a rating for this soak: 0/5.  WORST one yet.  The only thing this recipe succeeded in doing is getting my feet to smell like rotten apples.  The calluses were barely softened and I probably could have accomplished just as much by just soaking in warm water.

Next week's soak is compliments of Ashley Gilbert on Pinterest.  This particular recipe combines many of our previously tried ingredients.  I'm calling it "everything, but the kitchen sink" foot soak. 

Delicious Detox

Is "Delicious Detox" an oxy moron?  Looking up the word "Detox" online results in numerous methods to clean out your body and very few of them seem appealing.  For example, you can go all juice, or you can take a variety of supplements/pills to help your body "flush" the toxins out.

This gives me the impression of either being very hungry (and feeling very sloshy) or having to swallow horse pills in a variety of colours.  Neither one conjures up the adjective, "delicious". 

Starting Monday, I'm going to put the book "Delicious Detox" to the test.  The book claims these are "fast and easy recipes to boost energy and improve health".  I'm hoping they all taste good too!

What I CAN'T have:

• Beef, Lamb, Pork, or Goat
• Eggs, Shellfish, or Soy
• Wheat, Oats, Rye, Barley
• Spelt, Kamut, or White/Whole Wheat Flours
• Tomatoes, Eggplant, or Corn
• White Potatoes, or Mushrooms
• Oranges, Bananas, Melons, Dried Fruit, or Fruit Juices
• Peanuts, Peanut Butter, Peanut Oil, Corn Oil, Vegetable Oil, Canola Oil, Butter, or Margarine
• Alcohol, Caffeine, Sugar, Vinegar, Dairy, MSGs, Preservatives, or Sulphites

If you're thinking..."Geez, what CAN I eat...this sounds like I'm giving up the entire contents of my fridge/freezer/pantry", don't panic.  There's a great list of things you can eat on this detox.

What I CAN have: 

• Chicken, Turkey, Fish, and Beans
• Quinoa, Amaranth, Millet, Buckwheat, and Brown Rice
• Gluten-free flours
• Gluten-free pasta
• Plain brown rice cakes/crackers
• Any other vegetables (other than those on the "can't" list)
• Any other fruit (other than those on the "can't list)
• Unsalted raw almonds, walnuts, brazil nuts, and pecans
• Almond butter, and other nut bothers
• Pumpkin seeds, Sunflower seeds, Flaxseeds, and Sesame Seeds
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Sunflower Oil, and Sesame Oil
• Rice and Almond Milk
• Herbal Teas (Green, White, or Rooibos)
• Sea Salt
• All Herbs & Spices

The book suggests a detox of 3 weeks, but as I'm going to be vacationing before 3 weeks is up, I'm opting to do just 1 week.  That might extend to 10 days, but it depends on how "delicious" this detox is.

The other thing I'm keeping in mind is that a lot of detoxes require you to spend a fair bit of money.  I want to see if I can do this detox on my budget of no more than $40.00 a week in groceries.  That said, there is kale &  a head of broccoli in my fridge, a container of sunflower seeds in my pantry, 2 yams in my veggie drawer, olive oil under my sink, and frozen blueberries in my freezer, so I don't have to buy any of these items (roughly $10.00 worth of groceries).

Psyching myself for the detox,

The Loon