I’m not one for diets, or for juice fasts, but now that I’m done breastfeeding my 2nd child and with summer around the corner- it was time for to jump start something.   I usually eat pretty well, but as a foodie, I love to indulge in great food and have a sweet tooth.   I was feeling blah- it was time for a change!   Many of my friends and family have been talking about juice cleansing and how good they felt after.  So I decided to do some research.  Which cleanse is better?  Do I do buy a certain system or should I just juice myself?

There are 6 17-oz juices/drinks per day, plus 2 more (the shred) if you workout.  The only juice I really couldn’t stomach and didn’t drink much of was the pre-shred.  Here are the ingredients:

1:  spinach, romaine, kale, celery, cucumber, green apple, lemon (the first sip was a bit of a shock, but I ended up loving this juice)

2:  apple, grapefruit, celery, cinnamon for first 3 days; strawberries, watermelon, young coconut water for last 2 days

3:  spinach, romaine, kale, celery, cucumber, green apple, ginger

4:  filtered water, lemon, agave, cayenne (this was very light, but the cayenne woke up my senses!)

5:  spinach, romaine, kale, celery, cucumber, green apple

6:  cashew, alkaline water, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, agave  (very tasty, and satisfied the need to “chew” something because of the small bits of cashew, but it left my stomach a little unsettled because it was so rich in fat)

pre-shred:  carrot, beet, celery, apple, pear (I barely drank this, it was too sweet for me)

post-shred:  almond, alkaline water, vanilla, cinnamon, agave (really yummy and surprisingly creamy – satisfied my milk fix)

The green juice was actually tasty and satisfying and became one of my favorites as the days progressed.  The biggest problem I had was drinking water – just couldn’t stomach any more liquid with everything I was already drinking.  The program isn’t cheap, but if your spare time is sparse (as mine is), it’s probably worth the money than if you were to buy all of the organic ingredients, clean them, and then juice them, particularly if you don’t already own a juicer.

I truly feel like my body was “reset” after completing this cleanse.  I am loathe to put anything into my body that is processed, I have recommitted to fruits and veggies, and I am trying to eat organic whenever possible.  Ritual Cleanse reminded me that we are what we eat.”

 I have a Champion Juicer so I decided to try to juice myself.  Or actually my mother in law was planning a juice cleanse so we decided to do it together.  It’s a lot of work.  You have to juice most of it in the morning so you have all the juice fresh and ready or you may give into food.  The 3 green juices have the same base so in the morning I added lemon, for lunch I added ginger and dinner I drank it plain.   Juice 6 and the Post Shred-I soaked almonds and cashews and used aMagic Bullet blender right before I needed the drink. 

Day 1 was fine.  I felt really energized and since I was working out in the morning I had more juice than I could drink with the pre and post shred.  Surprisingly I wasn’t starving, but it was hard when I walked into my pantry and when I was making the kids dinner.  I realized how I unconsciously put food into my mouth throughout the day.  Like when they want a cracker or when I taste test their food.  I had to stop myself several times.