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Good Food road-test: Gwyneth Paltrow's 7-day Detox diet

Nicole Papaz

Far from a menu staple in Australia: Kale smoothie.
Far from a menu staple in Australia: Kale smoothie.Marco Del Grande

The premise: Cut carbs, red meat and all processed foods to look good and feel great.

The results: Gwyneth, ''40 and fabulous'' as it says in the introduction to her bestselling detox cookbook It's All Good, has been labelled a lifestyle guru with her famous blog GOOP and her first cookbook My Father's Daughter.

It's a spiritual ride with Gwyneth, whose philosophy focuses on eating healthy, unprocessed food straight from the earth. Her devotion to clean living came after she had a panic attack, which sparked a round of tests, and inspired her healthy lifestyle choice.

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First step: shop. My page-long list was mammoth, full of ingredients I'd never bought before - hemp seeds, apple cider vinegar, raw honey, loads of beetroot, and for my morning snack on day three: ''a nice pear''. It took about two hours and required travelling to three shops and one market to buy everything I needed for the week. Next, prep my meals, another two-hour exercise. Soak the almonds, chop endless amounts of vegies, make ''vegenaise'', a less creamy, less everything version of mayo. This wasn't easy; where was Gwyneth's chef when I needed him?

The first three days of the diet were rough going. There was so much prep to do for the two juices, one snack and two meals I had to consume each day, and fitting in work and social events to the mix was nearly impossible. I was grumpy, spaced out and my tummy was rumbling.

By the fourth day, I got my energy back. I could concentrate at work, was happier, and felt a sense of lightness. This diet really does give you more energy and makes you feel great, but it's a lot of work. With some carbs and red meat, I could perhaps be persuaded to adopt this lifestyle, but I'll need to work for that celebrity salary first.

The pros Five meals a day of the best organic produce money can buy.

The cons It was a very costly diet - about $110 a day. My kitchen was a mess and compost bin was full after all the juicing.

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Dish discovery Turkey meatballs (with a few additional ingredients, such as parmesan and chilli, they'd be completely delicious).

Dish disaster The creamy avocado and cacao smoothie wasn't easy to get down. It looked like a chocolate milkshake - tasted like glue.

Top three pantry staples Kale, beetroot and rocket.

How hard is it to eat out? Impossible. Unlike the US/UK, kale juice isn't yet a menu staple alongside our trusted OJ - so eating out was off the cards. I spent Father's Day lunch eating a rocket salad and watching my family devour a leg of lamb. I don't know how Gwyneth does it. The day I finished I went straight to George Calombaris' Jimmy Grants for a lamb souvlaki.

Did it work? It really did. From day three, I felt so much healthier, had bucket-loads of energy and my skin was looking great.

What will you keep? Incorporating juices into my diet rather than a muffin or danish for morning or afternoon tea. Juices are a great way to keep you going until the next meal without the calories.

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