JUICE

Photos via Instagram

I am gearing up for my my first juice cleanse. In fact, I am currently in the early, bland food stages of things before I begin juicing tomorrow. The cleanse is going to be short- just four days (two of actual juicing, two of transition), solely as a way of easing myself back into whole foods. I didn't indulge too much over the holidays. We didn't have a Christmas dinner, do I managed to avoid eating my weight in desserts. I definitely drank more in the last two weeks than i do believe I did in all of 2012 though, which most certainly needs to be rectified. The fact that the morning of January second was the first that I'd woken up without a hangover in quite some time is so very wrong. Things are more or less back to normal, and although I have already gotten back to eating whole foods (and swearing off alcohol), I feel that I could still use a little help.

In comes juicing. I've been toying with the idea of juicing for about a year now. I was briefly sold on doing the Blueprint Cleanse, but then couldn't justify paying well over $200 for juice (call me crazy...). I suppose that it would have been cheaper than purchasing a juicer and then purchasing produce. I still don't have a juicer. I did get a Vitamix though, which is in no way a juicer, but I plan on making it work. My juice cleanse will likely not be quite as effective as someone who does in fact have a juicer. A juicer... Well, it juices (I sound like an idiot here, but bear with me). A juicer separates the fiber from the liquid of the produce. A blender simply mushes it all together. So I'll be blending and then straining with a cheesecloth. The effects are not going to be the same, and will be much less detoxifying. Still, I imagine the process won't be entirely useless considering my end goal. Buying a juicer (they are so pricey!) to use likely once a year just didn't seem worth it. I guess I'll be doing more of a fruit smoothie cleanse + an attempt to remove the pulp.

So, what's this gonna look like?

Today I am eating bland-as-hell foods, better described as brown rice and steamed veg. It is mundane as can be, but I am savouring my last moments of chewing... In addition to putting off a cleanse due to my lack of juicer, I also really enjoy chewing my food. Savouring my meals. Smoothies, while delicious, are hard to make last and are most often downed within minutes. I'm gonna make it work though. Saturday and Sunday ill be consuming 5 juices a day, plus 2 ounces of apple cider vinegar in the morning, plenty of herbal tea, and even more water. My main concern is the caffeine. I drink roughly 300 ml of coffee every morning, which all things considered is not very much. If I do drink any more than this I get a tad manic, so my threshold is actually relatively low. BUT if I don't get that little bit by 9am,my head will start to pound. It is unpleasant. I am unpleasant. I know it's only three days without coffee, but I am concerned. We'll see. I am hoping to track down a good B vitamin complex to help with the headaches. Good luck to me.

To gain some knowledge on the subject of juicing, I read My New Roots post on juice feasting, the resources that Sarah provided, and Leanne of Healthful Pursuit's series entitled "Healing My Digestion." Off the Internet, I also read a few cookbooks already in my library: Fresh, Refresh, and the Rebar Cookbook. All were great reads and provided me with some great information about juicing.

Has anyone else had experience with juicing? I would love to hear some stories.