Hey Everyone, hope all is well! After working super hard in completing my raw food course I decided to treat myself to a juice cleanse! I know, to some this may not be a treat, but to me it is, trust me! I thought I would share my experience and recipes with all of you during my detox. I have tried to complete a juice cleanse in the past and have never succeeded past a day, but this time I am really determined! I am not sure how many days I will complete but my goal now is 1 week which means I will be looking really forward to day 8.
On Day 1 I juiced whatever produce I had left in my fridge. I made a green alkalizing juice and a liver cleansing beet juice. If you are new to juicing, I would recommend adding a higher fruit to vegetable ratio to start, then slowly start adding more veggies. I started with a Centrifugal juicer (I had the Breville Juice Fountain Elite) because it is quicker and easier to clean. I have since upgraded to a slow masticating juicer (Omega VRT400HD). A slow juicer will break down fruit and vegetables by crushing it, creating a more nutrient-dense juice which lasts longer in the fridge, up to 72 hours.
I am going to have a glass of green juice every morning to alkalize my body because when we sleep our bodies become acidic. The first step in alkalizing your body is adding more greens to your diet, and keeping your body at a good PH balance is necessary for good health.
10 Benefits of Having a Balanced Body pH:
- Skin more elastic, youthful
- Deeper more restful sleep
- Abundant physical energy
- Suffer from fewer colds, headaches, flu viruses
- Good digestion
- Less arthritis
- Reduction of candida (yeast) overgrowth
- Won’t support osteoporosis
- Increased mental acuity, mental alertness
- Legal natural high
I started with a green juice in the morning and then had some beet juice a couple of hours later. I’m not going to lie, I was super hungry already! I caved and had some grapes and strawberries; this is okay! It was the first day and having some fresh organic fruit is not going to hurt my cleanse. Beet juice is also super beneficial for your health.
Benefits of Drinking Beet Root Juice:
- Helps improves blood flow
- Helps the body respond better to exercise by balancing oxygen use and increasing stamina
- One of the richest dietary sources of antioxidants and naturally occurring nitrates
- Nitrates help ope up the vessels and allow more oxygen flow and lower blood pressure
I finished off the day with two more glasses of Beet juice and lots of water! It is very important to drink a lot water during any kind of cleanse or detox. Day 1 down, 6 more to go! If you would like to take on a challenge and join in with me, please do! Watch for my post for Day 2 coming soon, for now enjoy these juice recipes!
If you do not have a juicer, no need to fret! Check out this article from Jenny at Organically Blissful on how to juice without a juicer!
Day 1 Juice Cleanse
Ingredients
Green Juice
- 1/2 Big container of spinach
- 1 big handful of parsley
- 1 big handful of cilantro
- 3 green apples
- 1 cucumber
- 2 lemons
- 1 lime
- 2 1 " pieces of ginger
Beet Juice
- 9 carrots
- 4 oranges
- 1 large beet
- 1 lemon
- 1 lime
Instructions
- For each juice follow the instructions of your juicer.
- I have an Omega 400HD VRT so I wash, peel citrus and cut all my produce into small pieces.
- Once put through the juicer, strain with a fine mesh strainer.
- Transfer to a mason jar and store in the fridge for 72 hours.
