Three Day Juice Cleanse - Day Three!

One of the great things about juicing at home is knowing that your ingredients are organic. Eating organic is always important, but specialists like Gary Null, John Robbins, and just about everyone else emphasize how important it is to use organic fruits and vegies when juicing. Some even suggest not doing it at all if it isn’t organic because you’re just filling your system with pesticides. This is super important too when juicing to detox; we’re trying to get out the toxins, not get more in!  

It’s kind of exciting to mix different flavors and try new vegetables and fruits. Some recipes can be duds and won’t come out as delicious as you’d hope, but sometimes certain combinations can surprise you with a new favorite. One of my favorites is a Bloody Mary inspired juice that I think I perfected this morning. I threw in a handful of cherry tomatoes, two carrots, three celery stalks, a bundle of kale, and four small sized peppers (or one large one,) any color. The red, orange, and yellow ones tend to be sweeter than the green peppers. The cherry tomatoes are sweeter than full sized ones and the peppers added some sweetness too. The celery is salty so together this drink is very satisfying.

The next recipe I tried I was a little apprehensive about. I’ve never been crazy about swiss chard. It has a very strong taste and can be bitter. If you use too much in a juice, every sip kills your throat. BUT, it really is one of the best things for our body so I gave it another chance. I used three large leaves and pared it with one red apple, two kiwis, one lemon, one cucumber, and a handful of alfalfa sprouts. Sprouts are beneficial because they contain a concentrated amount of nutrients in a small amount of food, juiced or not. This juice came out on the sweet side with a small amount of bite. I can’t say it’s my favorite juice, but I can say that it’s the best combination I’ve done with swiss chard! That counts for something right?

The most recent recipe I did was a combination of a juice and a smoothie. First I juiced a large bundle of purple kale. Then I broke out the blender to mix the kale juice with coconut water, coconut meat, and a banana. This juice always comes out amazing to me because I am a huge coconut lover! But, I saved this one for the second half of day three because there is some fiber in this drink from the banana and coconut. I also thought it would be a good transition for tomorrow when I start eating whole foods again. It may be just enough to hold me over tonight. If not, I’ll make a banana, peanut butter, almond milk, and ground flax smoothie.

I’ve always wanted to complete a juice cleanse and now that I know how easy it is, I won’t hesitate to do it again. I know a lot of people have the misconception that juicing is like fasting but on the contrary, your body is getting packed with more nutrients and vitamins than any other diet available. I thought I’d be ending this post with day dreams of tomorrow’s lunch but instead I’m thinking about juicing again for breakfast!