Happy Tuesday beautiful people!
I am sure you have noticed that I have been M.I.A. from the blogosphere for the past 4 months, and this is purely based on the fact that I allowed myself to get slightly overwhelmed with school and all the assignments and lesson plans that come with it. I was always tired and stressed out, so unfortunately blogging took a back seat in the priority department! However, I have decided to include blogging more as one of my resolutions for 2015, so hopefully you will be seeing much more frequent posts from blonde vegan hippie.
Since we just started a brand new year, less than 2 weeks ago, I thought I would talk to you about juice cleansing! Juice bars are popping up all over the place, offering vibrant and delicious juice combinations like apple-beet-carrot-ginger or orange-grapefruit-pineapple-mint! YUM! Juice cleanses fit nicely into this juice craze. It seems like everyone and their mothers are participating in juice cleanses to reset their bodies. So what are the benefits of juice cleansing?
- Rest the stomach: Juicing requires less of the stomach’s digestive processing, which means the stomach doesn’t have to work as hard to extract the nutrients.
- Rest and repair the gut: Toxic foods, taking medications and even stress can impair the intestine’s functioning. By consuming a nutrient-dense plant-based juice diet will allow food to be assimilated quickly through the intestine – using less energy, while toxin-free, nutrient-dense food helps to repair the gut.
- Rest the liver: Did you know the liver is the main detoxifying organ? Every molecule of food that is absorbed through the intestinal wall moves into the liver for detoxification and preparation before being allowed to enter the rest of the body. Unfortunately, there are too many toxins for most of our livers to handle, which is why an organic juice cleanse will reset the liver’s overload.
- Improve energy: Once you move past the first day’s adjustment period, most people begin to feel much more energy and mental clarity!
- Re-hydrate the body: Most people do not consume adequate fluids, often consuming diuretics such as coffee or tea as their main beverages. Drinking a sufficient amount of fluids (5-6 glasses per day) will make the body function much more efficiently, and help ensure proper elimination of toxins.
- Allow for maximum detoxification: In order to optimally support all phases of the body’s natural detox process, you will need to consume a very broad range of plant-based nutrients such as antioxidants and anti-inflammatories.When you provide your body with nutrient-dense foods, juicing allows the body to have more of the resources needed to support the various phases of detoxification.
My 3-day Juice Cleanse:
Just before Halloween, I decided to do my very first juice cleanse! I work at OmJuice, a vegan juice and smoothie bar, so finding someone to supply me with a plethora of juices was the easy part! I chose to do the 3-day juice cleanse, since it was my first time doing a cleanse of this capacity. This particular juice cleanse included 5 juices and 1 nut mylk, which were all pretty spectacular. Every morning, I started my day with room temperature lemon water, followed by a hot cup of peppermint tea.
Juice 1: Green Machine – If the name didn’t give it away, this juice is definitely green! It is also my favourite green juice from the cleanse. This juice is made with kale, cucumber, apple, ginger, lemon and cayenne pepper. It may sound like an odd combination with the cayenne, but it really is delicious!
Juice 2: Rehab – This one is a favourite for OmJuice customers and yet another green juice! It is made with kale, cucumber, apple, ginger, and ginseng.
Juice 3: Liver Flush – A vibrant red juice, packed with beets, carrots, apples and a subtle hint of ginger. To be honest, this juice scared me because I felt that it might taste too earthy but it ended up being one of my favourite juices from the cleanse.
Juice 4: Detox – A spicy blend of apple, lemon and ginger, topped up with filtered water and completed with several dashes of cayenne pepper! This juice made me nervous because I was afraid it would be too spicy but it turned out to be delicious and was hands down my favourite juice of the cleanse!
Juice 5: Mother Earth – Another super green juice full of kale, cucumber, celery and lemon! Although this juice may sound intimidating, it is absolutely delicious. It is a great juice to end the day with because it makes you feel clean and light, yet oddly full!
Juice 6: Spiced Almond Mylk – Juice #6 isn’t juice at all, but instead is a delicious, creamy almond nut mylk, spiced with cinnamon, vanilla and dates. This was such a rewarding treat at the end of a long day! I could honestly drink this spiced nut mylk all day, every day, that just goes to show how tasty this bad boy is!
** Cashew milk is also available is you have allergies to almonds **
The first day of my juice cleanse was the most difficult. I found myself slightly hungry and I really missed chewing my food. By the end of day 1, I was revealed that 1/3 days had been completed. However, days 2 and 3 were much easier! I actually felt full, I could go longer than 2 hours between juices, I wasn’t bloated and I definitely had more energy than normal! I even lost 2 lbs during my 3-day cleanse, which was unexpected as I never intended to lose weight while juicing.
Overall, I really enjoyed my first juice cleanse experience and I have to thank OmJuice for the delicious juices + nut mylk over those 3 days! I would certainly do another juice cleanse, maybe when Spring rolls around because right now I am loving raw til 4, and having my warm, cooked meals for dinner. For anyone living in the GTA, you can contact OmJuice via Facebook for more information about the cleanses they offer. Now go forth, and reset your body with a nutrient-dense juice cleanse!
Love and Light,
blondeveganhippie
blondeveganhippie 