The word ‘cleanse’ is usually associated with juice replacements or ridiculous measures that are not only hard to keep up but also deprive you of everything solid, and well, delicious.
Which is probably why everyone is getting so excited about the Cake Cleanse. Yes, there’s a nutrition program that actually encourages you to eat cake. Be still our beating hearts… and rumbling tummies.
Unfortunately, the cleanse doesn’t consist of cake for every single meal (we know, it’s disappointing). Alongside savoury main meals, the cleanse aims to give your favourite cakes a healthy makeover, without losing any of the flavour.
Created by Sydney-based (and self-confessed sweet lover) Deborah Schipper, the idea came as a way to eat healthily without giving up treats.
“I suffered from severe eczema on my face and body and seborrheic dermatitis on my scalp. I was incredibly fatigued and relied on processed treats to keep me going. I realised my diet could be improved but when I looked into detoxes or juice cleanses felt this was not a sustainable way to improve my health,” she says.
If you want to ease in slowly, Schipper recommends replacing sweet snacks you crave with a Cake Cleanse treat. (Post continues after gallery.)
Some recipes from the Cake Cleanse
"If it's a chocolate bar for example, make the No Bake Choc Cake Bar and notice the difference in energy levels." she says.
So is it too good to be true?
While the cleanse comes with Sydney nutritionist Jennifer May's stamp of approval, nutritionist Susie Burrell says you still have to take care not to get carried away.
"While the best diet is always one that is sustainable, evidence suggests that the more we consume sweet treat style foods, the more we crave them. Once you are also baking this much, chances are you are going to consume a lot more than just the allocated serve each day," she says.
She recommends adopting an approach that includes portion controlled 100 to 200 calorie sweet but nutritious foods such as Greek yoghurt, fruit and nuts, and dark chocolate, leaving the cakes and brownies for special occasions.
It's these kind of ingredients that feature heavily in the Cake Cleanse.
Like all things, it's all about moderation. A healthy twist on sweet treats like the Cake Cleanse is great way to cut out processed foods, but that doesn't mean you can eat endless amounts of it. Being healthy is about balance and not depriving yourselves of things that you like, so if you want to eat the 'real' thing, do that too. Without guilt.
Would you try the Cake Cleanse?