Every year after Thanksgiving, I regret the amount of overeating and drinking that I did. It’s a vicious cycle. Thanksgiving comes and goes and I’m left feeling sick and sorry for myself because my jeans don’t fit. The upside of this terrible cycle is that it impels me to do a juice cleanse (something that I lack the discipline to do unless absolutely necessary). We’ve all heard how amazing juice cleanses can be. They recharge your immune system, they’re great for your skin, hair, and nails, and they deliver all the necessary nutrients to fuel your body.
A few years back, I heard about the Blueprint Juice Cleanse and I was sold. You know Blueprint, right? They’re those simple, organic juices that you see at Whole Foods with all the ingredients listed on the label. I wanted to give that juice cleanse a go until I saw the price. A quick visit to their website and you’ll see what I mean. The 1-day Renovation Cleanse (6 bottles of juice) is $65! That’s almost $11/bottle. I couldn’t justify spending that much on convenience and packaging, so I decided to make my own. The amount of juice that you can yield at home with a handful of veggies shows how insane that price really is.
Anyway, I always keep these recipes on hand so that I can quickly make these juices at home when my body is craving a fresh start. You certainly don’t have to jump into an all out fasting/cleanse, but adding any one of these juices to your daily routine will have you looking and feeling like a million bucks. These recipes are for the juices contained in Blueprint’s Renovation Cleanse. The cleanse itself calls for these five juices + a repeat of the green juice recipe. Each recipe that follows yields about 16oz of juice.
Green Juice
ingredients
- 5 ribs of celery
- 1 cucumber, halved
- 2 large green apples
- 3 kale leaves
- 1oz lemon juice
- 1 handful of parsley
- 3 romaine leaves
- 1 handful of spinach
Directions
- Juice the ingredients and add a tiny bit of water to help things along (not so much that it changes the consistency)
- Strain the juice through a sieve to remove excess pulp
Pineapple, Apple, Mint
ingredients
- a third of one pineapple
- 2 large green apples
- a few pinches of mint
directions
- juice the pineapple and apple together
- add mint one pinch at a time to taste (mint can be strong, so be careful not to add so much that it overpowers the flavor of your fruit)
Spicy Lemonade
Ingredients
- 14oz of filtered water
- 3-4 lemons
- a few dashes of cayenne pepper
- 1tbsp agave nectar
Directions
- mix the filtered water with the juice from your lemons
- stir in the cayenne pepper
- you can substitute the agave nectar with raw honey
ABC Like 1-2-3 (Apple, Beet, Carrot)
ingredients
- 1 green apple
- 2 beets (greens and all)
- 3 large carrots
- 3-4tsp ginger
- 1/2oz of lemon juice
Directions
- juice all ingredients together
Homemade Cashew Milk Blend
Ingredients
- 4-5oz raw cashews
- 16oz filtered water
- 1tbsp agave nectar
- 1tsp ground cinnamon
- 1tsp vanilla extract
Directions
- soak cashews in cold water for at least 8 hours (preferably overnight)
- drain and rinse cashews until the rinsing water runs clear
- blend softened cashews with your filtered water, agave nectar, cinnamon, and vanilla extract
You should definitely give this juice cleanse a try. Full disclosure: I’ve only been alternating between the Green Juice and the ABC juice this time around, but I feel so much better than I did a few days ago, that I might stop being lazy and start making the other juices again too!