Juice Cleanse

Yum!

Last week Denny, Jackie, and I decided to do a juice cleanse.  If you are like most people, you are wondering why we would EVER do this to ourselves!  Well, I can't speak for the whole group, but lately I have been feeling kinda... blah.  Headaches, fatigue, dizziness, grumpiness, and a figure that is becoming gradually more unflattering by the day.  Not to mention, I have this new intolerance to dairy - weird!  Milk is an absolute no-no for me these days, but somehow I do okay with yogurt and cheese - I'm not sure I understand it.

Over time, I have become a believer that you are what you eat - as in, what we put in our bodies has a direct correlation to the way we look and feel.  That being said, I also just LOVE food - pretty much all of it.  And I have a slight issue with self-control.  So, it was no mystery as to why I have been feeling this way - I have been eating poorly (a lot of take-out),  not exercising as much, and depending more and more on coffee to get me through the day.  (Not even in grad school did I drink coffee as regularly as I do now) I know that my body does not do well with coffee.  It actually makes me more tired and run-down.  But, dammit, I love the taste!

At any rate, I had been wanting (and now needing) to reset my body for a while, but looking at all the different cleanses out there will overwhelm just about anyone.  How do you know who to trust?  How do you know what you need?  Why is this so expensive?  I spoke with a friend who just finished the Blueprint Cleanse, and figured that if I knew someone who did it, and liked it then maybe that's the easiest way to go.

The cleanse is written by two nutritionists, Zoe Sakoutis and Erica Huss.  In an attempt to free your body of toxic build-up and give your digestive system a break, they developed the Blueprint Cleanse.  By ridding your diet of meat, dairy and all processed sugar (as well as juicing and blending your food), your body will be able to detoxify instead of trying to process all of the, well, processed foods your are constantly ingesting.

Below is a day by day account of what we were eating/drinking and how we fared physically, mentally and emotionally in the process.  In the end, did it work?  I think that is a big YES for all 3 of us.  Denny and myself want to do this on a semi-regular basis and even make some of the juices for breakfast to mix with our normal diet :)

Day 1 | Pre-Cleanse

the food: 

-2 bananas

-granola bar

-veggies tacos w/ guacamole

-asian cold noodles with spicy almond dressing (substituted almond butter with tahini)

the feeling: 

Feeling more hungry than usual and struggling a bit with blood sugar levels (probably because I stopped drinking coffee!)  But very satisfied by dinner.  The noodles were AMAZING and I would eat them on a regular basis.

Day 2 | Pre-Cleanse

the food:

-as much fruit as you want (all the same kind)

-cream of broccoli soup (made with cashews instead of dairy/cream)

-spicy edamame hummus w/ veggies.

-roasted fennel, beets, and sweet potato

the feeling: 

I had to keep reminding myself that I cannot snack whenever I want to.  Fortunately, this part of the diet does allow some homemade snacks, like hummus.  The hummus was so-so and I stuck to the carrots alone.

Day 3 | Pre-Cleanse

the food:

-watermelon

-we kept eating the hummus as a snack

-gazpacho soup (sooo good)

-grapefruit avocado salad with tarragon vinaigrette (this dressing was so good that I continue to make it)

the feeling: 

We all agree to feel lighter, and "good" overall today.  The hummus tasted so much better today, probably because of the increasingly lighter diet over the last 3 days.   I became pleasantly surprised by celery's ability to curb my hunger, when it never really has before.

Grapefruit Avocado Salad

Day 1  |  Cleanse

the juice:

-greens w/ apple

-pineapple mint

-spinach/blueberry/apple/lemon

-watermelon smoothie

-greens w/ apple

-cashew milk

Greens w/ Apple

the feeling: 

Thank goodness we are doing this over a weekend, when we are basically snowed in, because the juicing part of this cleanse is a LOT of work.  With 6 juices/day, we don't feel famished, but there is a longing for solid food!  Feeling a little low on energy, Jackie and I dipped into one of the 'cheater' foods - 1/4 of an avocado.  It tasted amazing :)  Overall, though, I have to say that we never felt famished because we are drinking juices 6x's/day!

My new best friend :)

Day 2  |  Cleanse

the juice:

-greens w/ apple

-pineapple mint

-greens w/ apple & ginger

-watermelon smoothie

-greens w/ apple

-cashew milk

Pineapple Mint Smoothie

the feeling: 

The craving for solid food is starting to go away and we are definitely feeling lighter and can notice the bloating in our bellies going down!  The pros are out-weighing the cons :)

Day 3  |  Cleanse

the juice:

-greens w/ apple

-pineapple mint

-spinach/blueberry/apple/lemon

-watermelon smoothie

-greens w/ apple

-cashew milk

the feeling: 

I went to work today and felt great.  I could function and think clearly and never felt like I was starving.  That is, until the catered work event we had later that night.  But as I gabbed with my co-workers, I was able to distract myself from all of the food that was around me.  I also told myself that I didn't NEED any of that food and that helped!  The hardest part about this day was finding time to make the juices for both Denny and myself while working 8a-5p.  The juices only last about 3 hours before they start to oxidize and turn brown, so making them ahead of time is nearly impossible.  Fortunately, I can come home from work during lunch, but most people can't.  So what then?  Bring your juicer to work???  This alone, the amount of time needed to prep and make your juices, is probably the main reason that many people don't cleanse!  Well, that and the cost :-/

We each spent about $100 for just the cleanse portion (3 days).  The pre-cleanse was about $27/person for 3 days.

The damage :(