06/30 Life

Three Day Juice Cleanse

Three Day Juice CleanseWhile everyone’s talking about barbecues and patriotic treats for this 4th of July, I’m going to be sharing the details of the three day juice cleanse I just went through… Still interested???  Stick with me, guys.  Juices are delicious, too!

I shared the news on Instagram and after getting a positive response and expressed interest in how it went, I thought yea I’ll have to post on the blog about it.  Thanks for that by the way everyone, and for all your encouragement.  I didn’t think I was going to make it D:

And that brings us to the disclaimer: I am NOT an expert on this topic.  This was my first juice cleanse ever, and it also happened to be one I JIY’ed (juice it yourself).  I’m writing to share the details of my experience rather than to advise you on what’s the best way to do a juice cleanse, because there’s no way I would know that information.  At the very least, this is about sharing some delicious juice recipes you at-home juicers will love.  <3

So let’s start with an important question…

 

WHY DID WE GO ON A JUICE CLEANSE?


My boyfriend has been struggling with acid reflux.  At the recommendation of his doctor, he went gluten-free for a couple weeks.  A miracle… his acid reflux subsided.  So we continued on, and the next part of the plan was to eat only raw veggies and fruits for three days, which I did with him (’twas difficult), and then… a three day juice cleanse.  The idea was to reset the system, clear everything out, and then after the cleanse, to start re-introducing foods back in to see what the culprits are.  Ultimately, this is the beginning of becoming a lot more diet conscious.

So my reason for the cleanse is him.  I wanted to support him, and especially since we cohabitate, it would have made things unquestionably harder for him had I been cooking my own delicious meals while he juiced by himself.  We did it together, because we are a team <3.

Before you say that was nice of me or anything, I’d like to share that I complained HARD, and often, especially in the beginning.  He would gladly tell you all about it.  “Hangry” is a real thing.

 

THE JUICES


We based our recipes and schedule off of a local, pre-made juice cleanse package that we had considered purchasing, but decided instead to save some money, put in the extra elbow grease, and put our own juicer to use.

Omega Juicer

This is our Omega Juicer.  It’s a masticating juicer that crushes the fruits and vegetables instead of shredding them, which gets more of the juice out.  Thing is, some of the pulp comes out with the juice, so we used a strainer to catch and remove it.

We made three different juice recipes, two green and one red.  Each day we made one day’s batch for the both of us, which is all three juices in the following quantities.  Some of it we made up as we went, and we weren’t exact on quantities, but this is roughly what I can remember about how we made each juice.  Everything we used was organic.

Green Juice One

Green Juice One (makes roughly 64oz)

-2 green apples
-2 pears
-5 large handfuls of kale (we used baby kale leaves)
-2 large cucumbers
-1 medium handful of parsley
-10 stalks of celery
-8 carrots

This juice was the mildest of the three.  Had a very clean taste.

Green Juice Two

Green Juice Two (makes roughly 64oz)

-2 green apples
-1 pear
-5 large handfuls of kale (we used baby kale leaves)
-1/2 pineapple
-handful of mint
-8 stalks of celery
-6 carrots
-2 lemons, no rind

The mint was sooooo gooood, especially with the pineapple.  Made this one extra refreshing, and it was my favorite.

Red JuiceRed Juice (makes roughly 32oz)

-3 beets, including the stems and leaves
-2 green apples
-4 large handfuls of spinach
-2 carrots
-1 lemon, no rind
-handful of blueberries and strawberries (We only added these because we had them in the fridge and they were soon to go bad, but they added a nice tart flavor to the juice that I really liked.  They did make the juice thicker though, which might not be preferable.)
-little bit of ginger to taste

The first round of red juice, we used about an inch of ginger, which I loved, but my boyfriend hated it.  The kick was too much for him, so we reduced it down to about the size of a fingertip.

Juices in mason jars

So each of us drank 32oz of green juice one, 32oz of green juice two, and 16oz of red juice total in a single day, as shown in the mason jars above.  The quantities in the recipes provide two sets of these.

 

THE SCHEDULE


I mixed up the order as I pleased, but the idea is to space out 16oz servings 5 times a day

1) Breakfast- 16oz of Green Juice One
2) “Snack”- 16 oz of Red Juice
3) Lunch- 16oz Green Juice Two
4) “Snack”- 16oz Green Juice One
5) Dinner- 16oz Green Juice Two

All in between, we drank water often.  It was also important to get good sleep every night and make sure we were well-rested, and really, we didn’t have tons of energy during this whole thing, so we were happy to go to bed early.

 

TAKEAWAYS AND THOUGHTS


  • This cleanse required a lot of stuff, and juicing each day took us about two and a half hours.  Contributing factors were that we had to cut the stringier veggies (greens, herbs, celery, beets) into tinier bits since these things tend to jam up a masticating juicer, and we also cleaned out the juicer in between each juice.  Summary: it was a LOT of work, and I can see why purchasing a pre-made cleanse would be worth it.  If we didn’t already have a juicer, we absolutely would have gone that route, and maybe even still now if time were more of an issue.
  • Were we hungry all the time?  Yes.  The nights were especially hard, and we’d cope by going to bed early and sleeping through the hunger, then tossing and turning while talking about all the things we wished we could eat at that moment.  It was just as fun as it sounds… but the point is that this would have been so much harder to do alone.  This is absolutely something I’d need to do with a friend if I ever do it again.
  • It wasn’t all bad, though.  Again, the juices are delicious, and it felt good at times to be “eating clean”, a nice departure from feeling bloated after a large, greasy meal, although I do love those.
  • The first night, I dreamt that I was shoveling all kinds of food in my mouth and that was it.  I remember it so clearly.  Can we take a moment to think about how awesome eating is??  I’ve come away from this with a heightened appreciation for food and being able to chew.
  • I don’t see myself doing a cleanse again, but after eating raw for a few days and drinking all these juices, I’m convinced that I need to incorporate fruits and veggies more often into my regular diet.  It’s true that it just feels good to eat things that are good for you, and for a while I had fallen off the horse and was just going for the quickest, easiest stuff I could eat.  I would say we are generally pretty health conscious, but we are absolutely even more now.

All in all, it wasn’t terrible, but I think three days is my max.  The first day after the cleanse was over, everything tasted a little strange!  We both agreed that it felt like our taste buds were off, and we were starting to crave fruits and veggies again.  Still, I much preferred that than to have continued on with the cleanse.  I’m proud of having gone through it, but I love food too much.  This isn’t the end to my juicing, but now it will just be in addition to regular meals.

Have you ever done a juice cleanse before?  Did you JIY it?  I’d love to hear about your experience and any delicious juice recipes you know of!

13 comments on “Three Day Juice Cleanse”

  1. Amy, this was by far one of the best and funniest posts I’ve read. Hangry is a term that is often used in my life. It is real. Thanks so much for sharing about your experience. I’m always wanting to do a juice cleanse, but the no eating real foods thing always gets me. I’ll probably still try it out though and see what it’s all about!

    1. Oh man, what a compliment! Feels so good to know you enjoyed this, thank you! And hangry girls unite <3.
      I know my take on the cleanse wasn't the most positive, but I think anyone that's remotely interested in trying it should do it. Hopefully you'll be sharing how yours goes!

  2. I did not learn Hangry until I was pregnant, it is very real haha. I love juicing and maybe a different juicer would be faster? I stick all my veggies in and it takes minutes to get it all done. I do not chop.
    I love the green juices and what is cool, is as you drink them more, you really do not need to add the fruit (more sugar) you adapt and do not need the sweetness. I cannot do a cleanse now because I am nursing, but plan to when I am done- not looking forward to the hunger!!! Right now, I juice as more a supplement to my diet. If you want to try different recipes, I have a Juicing board on Pinterest, so many good ideas!
    Great post! Sorry for long comment, but juicing is a fav of mine :)

    1. A little secret… I’m not that into fruit :X. Watermelon is the one thing I’ll voraciously eat, but everything else, I don’t prefer. My boyfriend though is adverse to the taste of veggies, so we made taste a big concern for this cleanse. You’re right though, even by the last day, we reduced the fruit because we felt like we didn’t need as much.
      That’s cool to hear you’re into juicing! I didn’t know! I’ll be checking out your board.

  3. Oh girl, I am IMPRESSED! That seriously sounds like it was rough. I’ve tried this once or twice before and it’s surprising how much the lack of chewing gets to you. Let’s just say I never made it to day three :)

    1. Aw, thank you thank you! This was seriously tough for me even though at first I thought 3 days psh. Even as I was cutting the veggies to juice, I was so tempted to just pop one in my mouth and chew it. Life’s simple pleasures…

  4. Congrats, Amy! It’s funny because my boyfriend too suffers from acid reflux and totally backed out of the juice cleanse before we started. He got a good dose of ‘hangry’ as I persevered through the 10 day cleanse watching him order takeout every night. I’ve been having a juice or two a day since but just improvising recipes. If you haven’t tried it already, watermelon and tomato is surprisingly good. Doesn’t sound it, but it is :)

    1. He ordered takeout every night bahahaha because you weren’t cooking his meals? Such a guy :P. I’m so impressed you did 10 days. I’m absolutely sure I will never do that. And tomato watermelon sounds amazing!!!

  5. I LOVE juice! I juice several times a week. It helps counteract all the sweet treats I blog about :) But I have never tried a juice cleanse. I love eating, crunching and chewing on things too much. It is interesting reading about your experience. I’m sure that I would be dreaming about food all night if I did a cleanse too!

  6. You are one good girl-friend! :) It takes a lot of will power to stop eating the foods you’ve grown accustomed to over the years and introduce a different type of diet. It basically changes your lifestyle in many ways. I’ve been reading a lot about replacing meals with shakes. We started replacing dinners and I must say that I feel much more energized and surprisingly not hungry.
    However, I must say that, that one time I tried to go on a cleanse I lasted two hours. It’s such a mind game! I like the Green Juice 2 and will try to make it in place of my next shake. Thank you for sharing your experience and for being honest about it.

    1. It’s totally a mind game. I’ve never thought about food so much, and I kept walking over to the fridge then walking away because I’d repeatedly forget that I couldn’t eat, and then it would be torture! I can see meal replacements once in a while working out. I’ll sometimes do that out of convenience or if I’m feeling like having something more lean, but a cleanse… I’ve got to be forced into it with a reason like the one I had this time!

  7. Hello! I am planning on following this cleanse with my boyfriend. We were wondering about how much you spent for all three days? We wanted to get a good estimate before we did it ourselves.
    Thanks lady!

    1. Hi Bethany! I’m having a really hard time remembering how much we spent, but I want to say it was for sure over $100. I’d estimate between $100-$200, maybe closer to $200. Sorry I couldn’t be more specific, but I hope that helps!

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