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Happy Wednesday! Today marks exactly one week since I completed my juice cleanse... and now I'm here to tell you all about it! From the shopping list, to the kind of juicer I have, to what you should expect... I'll tell you everything. If you've ever wondered whether you should do a juice cleanse, or whether homemade juice is better than store-bought, I'm here to answer all your questions. So let's get started!
I even made you a handy dandy chart so you can save it on Pinterest, and see everything you will be drinking each day, and everything you need to buy! Time to answer some common questions...
How much does it cost? Is it worth making juice at home, or should I buy a juice cleanse from a store or website?
The cost for this juice cleanse is an average of $15 a day, which is a little pricier than normal homemade food, but pretty much on par with buying food from a fast food joint or cheap restaurant. My total cost was about $45. If you were to buy a juice cleanse from a store, the average cost for a 3 day cleanse is $200. "But isn't it a pain to clean your juicer?" YES. I will be the first person to tell you. Yes, cleaning the juicer stinks, but what I did is I would prepare all my juices the night before, so really I only used the juicer once a day, and had to clean it a total of 3 times. In my eyes, a little bit of work was totally worth saving $150+!
Will this help me lose weight?
Well, maybe. I didn't lose any weight, and even if I did, I wouldn't have expected it to be long-lasting weight loss. However, this juice cleanse does wonders for your digestive system, allowing it to take a break for a few days.What you can expect out of this is fewer cravings, diminished appetite, and a more sensitive palate. What I mean by that is that your tastebuds will be more sensitive, and you might find yourself wanting less salt or sugar in your food!
So, what's the point of this cleanse if I'm not losing any weight?
As I mentioned above, the cleanse will help reduce your cravings, and give your GI tract a much needed break. Other things you can expect from this juice cleanse are a TON of energy {seriously, I had a hard time falling asleep because my body was so wired up on juice}, clearer skin, and a boost in hair growth {though maybe that's just my wishful thinking}. I have personally been craving fewer carbs, and I actually haven't had any pasta since I completed the cleanse! I had some bread and tortillas shortly after I finished the juicing, but I definitely noticed that my body isn't wanting them as much as before.
What juicer did you use?
My juicer is a Hamilton Beach Big Mouth Juice Extractor
. I love it because the big opening means I can juice big chunks of fruit and veggies. My favorite part, however, is that you can put a grocery/trash bag in the waste receptacle, meaning clean-up is easy! You just pull the bag out, tie it shut, and done. You still have to scrub all the juice-extracting parts, though!
When should I prepare my juices?
I personally prepared my juices at night for the next day. It was a good time for me because it's the time I would have normally been preparing dinner, so keeping myself busy was great. If you have a lot of time {and you really enjoy cleaning your juicer}, you can prepare each juice as you need it, but I don't really recommend that... as I said, you'll have to clean your juicer all the time, and the sheer thought of all the work you'll have to do might convince you to take the easy way out {aka eat regular food}. I don't recommend making your juices more than a day in advance. All that's in the juices is pure fruits and vegetables with NO preservatives, so they can go bad pretty quickly!
Will I be full on just juice? Won't I be starving all day?
Surprisingly, no! I will be the first to tell you that I was skeptical about getting full on juice... but it really works! It definitely takes a little longer for your body to realize it's full, since you're not chewing or ingesting solids, but one juice "recipe" should keep you full until the next meal, or close. You'll be surprised at the huge volume of juice these recipes make! If you get hungry in-between meals, that's what the coconut water and green tea are for. Don't forget to drink plenty of water, too!
I don't like {insert fruit/veggie here}. Can I substitute it?
Yes! You are more than welcome to substitute anything out of the recipes! These are meant to be used as a kind of guideline, not as a plan set in stone. For example, if you totally hate oranges, you can substitute them with grapefruits, or if your juice looks small, you can definitely add extra apples or whatever else to make it larger. Also, I used cranberry juice because the original plan I got the inspiration from used fresh cranberries, which are unavailable this time of year. If they are available fresh, you can definitely use real cranberries instead of the juice!
Where did you get those containers? Were they expensive?
The containers I used were actually containers from The Dollar Tree! They were just $1 each. I got to buy the cute colors because they are considered a seasonal Easter item {um, what?}, but they should be available year-round, just in different colors. You can also split your juices into smaller containers if you prefer, I just recommend making ALL the juice for one recipe and mixing it well before dividing it into separate containers. That way you don't have juices that taste different {or gross}!
Do all of my fruits and vegetables need to be organic in order for this to work?
No, not everything has to be organic, though it is recommended! Not everything I bought was organic, simply because not everything was available as an organic choice! I bought as much as I could from my local farmer's market and organic from my regular supermarket, but there are some things I was forced to buy as conventional. If making juices with non-organic produce makes you uncomfortable, then choose fruits and vegetables with thick skins that you can remove, if desired. For example, my pineapple wasn't organic, but since I had to cut off an inch of outer skin, it wasn't a big deal! Just do your best. The juices will be great for your body either way! For some help on what to buy organic and what's okay as conventional, you can look at the Dirty Dozen/Clean Fifteen lists.
What else should I do {and not do} during my cleanse?
I recommend doing at least one Epsom salt bath during the cleanse to help your body purge toxins and impurities. Please make sure you buy Epsom salt, and not just bath salts, for optimum results. If you're afraid it might be expensive, just know I bought mine at the dollar store 🙂 You should NOT work out during your cleanse! Your body isn't consuming enough calories for you to be able to work out safely. You can definitely take walks and do low-impact exercise like yoga, but I highly suggest you avoid running or other strenuous physical activities.
Well, I hope this helped! 🙂 Feel free to comment if you have any more questions, and I will do my best to answer them. Thanks for stopping by!
Original plan from Willow and Jade.
Amanda Coers says
What a great post! I've thought about doing a juice cleanse before, but I wouldn't even know where to start - but now it's easy to see what we could do. Thanks for posting this!
lydiaf1963 says
Interesting. There's nothing on the list I don't like 🙂
Jasey says
I love all the fruit in that first picture - yummy! I've never done a cleanse before, I can't afford to right now due to the fact that I am on a highly restricted diet due to my daughters allergies who still is nursing. But someday, I think I will give it a go!
Christine says
Hmm...I'd totally do this if I had a blender that was worth even being called that;) Veggies and fruit don't sound horrible to me!!!
GiGi Eats Celebrities says
OMG I could never ever ever juice fast, YIPES! I love the act of CHEWING and... I actually cannot even eat fruit! Ha. I would NOT recommend this for more than three days, really not even more than one! Even though you might be getting vitamins from the fruit, you're not getting any protein or healthy fat, unless you chow down on avocados!
Steve Jobs ate a diet that was all fruit. And studies have been done that note that eating an all fructose diet could lead to pancreatic cancer! Obviously, this won't happen after three days, but if someone were to do this for many years... Maybe?
losing weight says
Great, simple ideas. I love that you focused on losing weight for life and on reducing stress. I'll be checking back for motivation frequently.
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Tina says
What is the coconut water for do you add it to your juices
valentina says
Hi Tina! The coconut water and green tea are there to drink in-between the juices throughout the day in case you get a little hungry 🙂
Alyssa says
I just started today I am having a really hard time trying to finish all the juice I'm just so full already. My question is do I have to finish it all?
valentina says
You definitely don't have to finish it all if you're too full, but if anything I would suggest saving the juice for later or drinking it maybe half at a time. Don't feel obligated to have to drink it all in one sitting! Try drinking it over the course of a couple of hours and see if that helps. Good luck!
Angie says
Do we bake the sweet potatoes?
valentina says
No, the sweet potatoes are juiced raw.
kendra says
Today is my first day on this! Wish me luck!
valentina says
Girl you got this!!! 🙂
Misha says
What would be a good substitute for celery? And how much of it -- let's say compares to "1 celery"
❤
valentina says
Hi Misha! Honestly you could just leave out the celery altogether if you don't like it 🙂 But celery is pretty watery so you could use more cucumber instead. I would say 4 pieces of celery are the same as 1 whole cucumber!!
Misha says
Awesome! Thanks so much! I found your recipe on Pinterest! I'm excited to try! ❤?
Carly says
I’m curious how many ounces each juice makes? Thanks!
Leah says
Are the recipes enough for two people, or should I double it?
valentina says
Hi Leah, this is the amount for one person!
Jessica says
How many ounces about does 1 juice make? It seems like a lot of juice per day....we added our up and it’s almost 100 ounces of juice
Skylar says
Do you have to use the cranberry juice? Which do you recommend?
Lisa says
I was thinking that a half a jalapeño pepper would be good in the day 3 juice! Lots of energy, but it’s tricky if you exercise although I will definitely do it again. I was starving when I got home from playing tennis, tho...
Abby says
Hello!
I'm launching this next week! Curious about the citrus... you mention to peel the lemons but not the orange. Is it necessary to peel the oranges (and pineapple; and apple/pear cores?)? I have a masticating juicer but have never tried to throw citrus peels in there... I was also planning on getting frozen berries (to thaw) since they aren't quite in season. looking forward to it, thanks for sharing!
Arlecia B. says
I completed this juicing detox and it was amazing! Thank you for sharing. This week, I picked my favorite 4 to have - I really enjoyed this!