Yesterday you may have noticed that I posted the shopping list for a 3 day juice cleanse! Who’s excited??? ME!!! After watching the movie Sick, Fat, and Nearly Dead I thought to myself, a juice cleanse may be a good thing to do. Actually, I had thought about doing it before I watched the film, but after watching it I knew I wanted to do one. I am a baby stepper at heart so I decided to start with juicing last week all day until dinner time. I had a new juicer, I was excited to see what the hype was about. After making my first green juice I had a frown on my face as I put the glass up to my mouth. I took a sip, and….it wasn’t bad! I was shocked! OMGoodness I LOVED it! The juice was o.k. but just the process of putting the veggies and greens into this machine and watching it shoot out juice in a matter of seconds was AWESOME!! I felt powerful. LOL. Just watching myself put in numerous carrots, kale, spinach, parsley, cucumber, lemon, ginger, beets, one after another made me feel good. Then to sip it down and know that all of this goodness was going to do amazing things for my body made me feel like I was doing something great, not just for me, but also my family.
Why a juice cleanse?
- We want to give our digestive tracts a little break from the junk we’ve been giving to it.
- Juicing will give your body more veggies and fruit than you would probably ever eat in a day. This means you’ll ingest more vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients to give your body a boost.
- If you don’t eat veggies normally, it’s a way to sneak lots of them in your body!
- Our veggie recipes are alkalizing to your system helping to make your PH level less acidic.
- For better hair, skin, eyes, breath, and nails! It’s worth it just for that.
- Improving your immune system.
- Helps to improve digestion and your metabolism.
- Increased energy. What mom couldn’t use more energy!
- And, hundreds of other reasons. The list goes on and on…
I searched the web, read through some books, and tested in my kitchen last week a bunch of recipes. I’ve compiled them together with my own ratios that I use and will be giving them all to you. When making up our juice cleanse I looked at 2 very popular cleanses in Hollywood and New York right now. One is called the Cooler Cleanse, and the other BlueprintCleanse. Both are similar in how you are to do their 3 day cleanses, and their ingredients are similar as well. If we were to do the BPC we would be paying at least $65 a DAY, and Cooler Cleanse is $58 a day! We won’t be spending that on our juice cleanse, but we will be getting all of the benefits.
Here’s what the Cooler Cleanse says about juicing… “A short cleanse or detox program is not a luxury or indulgence. It’s routine maintenance, something you do to help your body run better, feel cleaner, and look brighter and younger. During a juice cleanse, you ease the digestive process by replacing regular meals with delicious, fresh-pressed vegetable and fruit juices, raw coconut water elixirs, and silky smooth nut milk blends. Consuming only liquids for a few days frees energy in the body, which can then return to the essential jobs of deep inner cleansing and healing.” Excited??
Like I said above, I decided to model our cleanse after Cooler Cleanse and BluePrintCleanse and I made recipes to mimic their juice cleanse plan. I am NOT saying that the recipes you will use here are their recipes. I have never tasted their juice. I don’t have $65 a day to give them. The recipes you get will use just about all of the ingredients that are used in both the BPC and the Cooler Cleanse. I have no idea how many beets they use, or how many lemons. All I know are the ingredients. The amount of carrots, kale, and other veggies and fruit will probably differ from what they use, but I did my best to make a good healthy juice for you. I did give us 2 different green juices to mix it up a bit (I think they just have one). We will also drink our juices in the same order as the popular cleanses. Since it’s our first cleanse here I made it a starter cleanse similar to BPC’s Renovation cleanse, and the Cooler Cleanse 3 day cleanse package.
Here’s how it will work:
Whenever you decide to start your 3 day juice fast, you will consume 6 different juices in a day. You will be replacing your normal 3 meals and snacks that you normally have with the juice. You’ll drink one juice about every 2 hours. Yes, you will cut out your coffee and alcohol. You will drink tons of water. Can you exercise? Sure, but not vigorously. What if you don’t feel well and can’t stand it. Stop the cleanse. What if you still feel hungry? You can drink a more juice. If you are starving try to stick to raw veggies, if you must chew on something. It’s very important that you get a lot of rest. Go to bed early and let your body rejuvenate and work while you sleep. You will be drinking “living juices” to help your body get back on track.
If you decide to start your cleanse Saturday like me, make sure you soak 1 cup of your almonds in water overnight to get them ready for your homemade almond milk. Cover them with water and soak them overnight or you can soak them for at least 4 hours before you use them (but 8-12 hours is recommended). This will be your last drink for the day each day of the cleanse so prepare your almonds each night. Here’s a sneak peak at what you’ll do to make your almond milk so you can plan accordingly. All the other juices will pretty much be tossed into your juicer and will be nice, fast and easy. So, don’t stress (NO negative thoughts allowed)
3 Day Juice Cleanse recipes will be posted either later today or early Saturday morning.
I’m attaching a PDF of the 3 Day Juice Cleanse Shopping List so you can print and shop!
If you are going to start tomorrow make sure you eat light today. Fresh foods are best, and no or little meat is even better. Drink a lot of water. Again, you don’t have to do this this weekend. You can save it for next weekend if you like to give you more time to prepare. Either way incorporate the Baby Step from today into your life!
Any questions?? Ask me in the comments below.
Step 2
You will also watch the movie listed in the Baby Step post. Please comment on your thoughts of Fork Over Knives! I’d love to have a great conversation with you all.
Annett Davis, Olympian & Founder of Fit Moms Fit Kids
****Information contained in this website is not meant to be taken as medical advice, we are not licensed medical physicians; the information presented should not replace the medical advice of your doctor or pediatrician.
What kind of juicer do you have? I have a Blendtec will that work?
Hi Genia, I have a Blendtec as well. I LOVE it! But, I also bought a juicer last week. I LOVE it!! I’ve made smoothies in my Blendtec and they come out great. I’ve tried to make juice in my Blendtec as well and it is not the same as the juice in my juicer. It comes out smooth but thick because it can’t extract the fiber. I prefer the juicer for juice, and the Blendtec for smoothies, ice cream, soup, sauces. I’m not sure if the ratio’s will come out the same using the Blendtec since the fiber won’t be taken out. it will still be in the Blender and will also be thicker and if you put in the amount of fruit and veggies we are using in the juicing recipes it will fill up your blender. So, I recommend you use a juicer.
Hi Annett,
I have always wanted to know what the benefits of juicing are verses blending. Why would you want to remove the fiber? I always thought that the fiber was a pretty important part of eating fruits and vegetables. I would love any thoughts you have on this. Thanks!
Hi Amanda! I LOVE your question. I have another friend named Amanda who asked the same question last night. I am NOT a doctor nor a scientist. I get my info from reading just like everyone else, and as we know with science there seems to be two sides to every coin. Western diet/science and Eastern.. etc.. Anyhow I like Dr. Oz, and he thinks it’s ok to do a short juice fast, and it’s good for you. If you are already on a nutrient rich diet.
I also thought the same thing about blending as you (I have an awesome Blendtec that will liquify anything). But, it still has all the fiber in it so it has a thicker consistency. Don’t know if you’ve juiced an apple in your blender, it’s sort of like applesauce instead of juice. Some stuff is too thick for me to enjoy as a drink, but I still will get sooooo much more of the nutrients juicing than I would not juicing because there is no way I’d eat all the nutrients I’m getting from the juice in a day. I just cannot eat that much. I tried juicing my sister’s normal juice in the Blendtec she gagged on it!! It looked like a smoothie. So, if you can handle that consistency go for it! I think that’s fine on a normal basis. But, with this juice cleanse our goal isn’t to get all the fiber we can in a couple of days, nor is it to lose weight. In The Juice Lady’s Guide to Juicing for Health she answered your question this way. “Of course we need to eat whole vegetables and fruits for fiber. Whole fruits and vegetables have insoluble and soluble fiber. Both fibers are very important for colon health. However, soluble fiber in the form of pectin, gums, and mucilage is found in juice. That is a fact proven by research. These soluble fibers are excellent for the digestive tract. They also help to lower blood cholesterol levels, stabilize blood sugar, and improve good bowel bacteria. Does a significant percentage of the nutrients get lost because they’re attached to the insoluble fiber? In the past, some people thought that a significant amount of nutrients remained with the insoluble fiber after juicing, but that theory has been disproved. The Department of Agriculture analyzed twelve fruits and found that 90% of the antioxidant activity was in the juice rather than the ejected fiver. That is why juice makes such a great supplement to a high-fiber diet.”
I’ve read that a juice-based cleanse can be a good way of getting more phytonutrients found in fruits and vegetables than you could normally eat, and going on a short cleanse or detox for a few days can also help jump-start a commitment to a healthier diet. I find this is true, because for 3 days we are cutting out all our junk, and bad habits. After this, we’ll slowly incorporate other foods, hopefully GOOD food. This is a good way to check for any food allergies we didn’t realize that we had as well as we revisit food.
Another reason to just juice that I’ve read was that little energy is used by your digestive system during the cleanse (you don’t have that extra bit of fiber to break down), allowing the body to focus on rebuilding, renewing and healing. You are giving your digestive track a break. This is why I’m doing it. I think we all need rest, our bodies included. I think 3 days is a nice break, I wouldn’t do any longer. After that I can eat all the fiber I want.
I do know that I will continue after this cleanse is over to add juicing to my daily life. I will probably have my protein shake with homemade almond milk (tried it with this cleanse and I LOVE it) and fresh fruit and greens added (all fiber included b/c blended) and I’ll add a veggie green machine juice to my daily diet. Yesterday I juiced 8 stalks of celery, a bunch of kale, 2 cucumbers, 2 lemons, 3 apples, 3 inches of ginger, 2 grapefruit, mint, spinach, romaine, parsley, lime, 5 carrots, 1 beetroot, 6 dates, vanilla bean, and homemade almond milk. No way I would have eaten all of that goodness in a day.
Again, there are people who say don’t juice, others that live by it and have been healed by it (I know some personally). Everyone should decide for themselves.
I’ll do both though forever… juice some stuff and blend my smoothies with greens in it. I hope this makes sense.
Great question!!
Amanda, I forgot to say that when I’ve blended my sister’s juice concoction it made a lot because it had a lot of pulp. We couldn’t put all the veggies she normally would add. I can juice many more veggies and fruit, adding to the nutrition count when I juice. But, like I said, I’m going to do both after the cleanse because I know we do need fiber.
Thanks for the information, Annett ! That was very helpful. Do you have an inexpensive juicer that you would recommend? I would like to try it out but am not ready to put a lot of money into it. I am excited about seeing what I think once trying it out :<). I think you might have already addressed this question but I couldn't seem to find it again.
Hi Amanda! Mine was about $150 from Bed Bath and Beyond. It’s a Breville Juice Fountain Plus juicer. I LOVE it! I used a 20% coupon from BB&B. It’s highly rated. It’s the juicer everyone in my town kept asking for and they were out during Christmas. My sister has the Jack Lalane power juicer. It’s under $100. At Costco they are around $80-90 i think.. Have fun!! I’m having so much fun with ours. So are the kids! They love watching the juice shoot out of the veggies, greens, and fruit!