Juicy Juice Cleanse

I'm sure many of you have heard of the latest and greatest juice cleanse that will make you drop 10 lbs requiring you only to drink some mixture lemon, honey and cayenne water for a week. Well this is not that type of cleanse. Those can be terribly damaging to the body and your metabolism as well as your mental sanity. By the end of that week (if you make it there) most people want to eat their own arm off or have migraine headaches and feel terrible, or all of the above. This is because without proper nutrients this kind of cleanse is not sustainable period, and 5-7 days is an awfully long time to go with such low caloric intake even WITH proper nutrients. I have done a juice cleanse only one other time so I don't claim to be an expert in them- however I am educated on nutrition in general as well as very knowledgable about MY body and how I feel with different types of diets/nutrient intakes so in that I have tailored a few different cleanse programs to fit ME.

Day 1 will be my hardest exercise day (indoor soccer game) so to make this a little easier on me and my body I had a whey protein shake this morning with my tea. In addition to my juices I will be taking in 16oz of coconut water per day as well as drinking close to a gallon of regular water. I will also be eating 1 regular meal at dinner time consisting of fresh vegetables and 6-8oz of a lean protein. Day 1 is kind of a trial day so I plan to do this for 4 days total with the last 2 being without my protein shake and sticking to my dinner plan then the last day being solely juice with no solid food for dinner. I will only be doing walking and yoga for exercise. Please keep in mind that while I may experience some weight loss with this cleanse that it is NOT the reason I am doing it. This being the week after my show I've definitely fell off the wagon with my clean eating and I know my body is suffering. I also know that in prepping for my show I have stressed my body and would like a good reset for my hormones as well as my mind. My goal for this cleanse is to rid my body of the sugar and other toxins I've put into it along with get me back on track with healthy eating habits.

I made 2 days of juice at a time in an attempt to keep as many nutrients as possible but still have it ready ahead of time since I will be on the go. If you're able to make them all as you need them that's even better as the longer they sit the enzymes lose their potency.

Here is my two day plan- I will do this twice for a total of 4 days.

Morning Tea: 1 herbal tea bag + 1 tsp matcha

2 Days Breakfast:

4 green apples

2 turnips

1 beet

4 celery stalks

2" ginger

2 lemons

Blend

4 kale leaves

1 cup blueberries

2 Days Snack: (16 oz/day)

32 oz coconut water

2 Days Lunch:

4 green apples

4 celery stalks

4 tomatoes

2 garlic cloves

6 med carrots

2 red peppers

Blend

bunch cilantro

dash cayenne pepper

2 Days Dinner Juice:

2 green apple

4 celery stalks

6 carrots

2 cloves garlic

2" ginger

1 lemon

mint

Blend

4 kale leaves

2 Days Dinner Food:

Big Kale Salad

16oz lean protein (chicken, turkey, fish)

Drink water between juices. You should never feel starving during this cleanse the nutrients should keep you satiated. If you do, then feel free to drink more juice and make sure you're drinking enough water. If all else fails, eat some whole fresh vegetables.

Keep in mind- I made these recipes to fit what we currently have growing on our farm and although cucumbers are a great additive and contain a lot of water, theyre not currently in season and I refuse to buy produce from the store when I have an abundance of other things in my back yard. We also have a tree full of green apples and a freezer full of blueberries so that's the only kind of fruit I'm using to sweeten things up. That being said, feel free to substitute pears, oranges, pineapple or cranberries and add in some cucumber but keep your juices mostly vegetables.

At the end of my cleanse I will do another post on how it went! Let me know if you have tried a cleanse before or if you try this one and how it went!