treats - juice cleanse (day 5)

day five has become the most difficult. i was hoping to go a full seven days, but i don't think i'll make it. i'm very ready to chew. i also want to ease back into eating a regular meat diet and know i'll need a few days before i can become a carnivore again.

don't get me wrong, the juices are very tasty! i hope you enjoy them.

christmas juice
*i was inspired by holiday colors for the ingredients in this juice
the goods:
- 1 apple
- 1 cucumber
- 1 basket strawberries
- 1 bunch kale (i used 2 different kinds of kale for this juice)

christmas-colored produce

the how to:
- juice berries on low
- increase to high and add kale on top of cucumber
- finish with apple

the results:
a very tasty green juice! the strawberries really stand out among the leafy greens. delicious!

purple juice
the goods:
- 1 beet
- 1 cucumber
- 1 apple
- 1 basket strawberries

the how to:
- wash beet thoroughly and cut off ends
- juice strawberries on low
- add remaining ingredients and juice on high

the results:
a rich purple juice. the beet definitely adds a rustic flavor, but the strawberries mix very well with the beet and fool your brain into thinking it's mostly berries.

purple juice

treats - juice cleanse (day 4)

day four was interesting because i let myself out of the house and went to the movies. luckily the smell of hot, fresh, buttery popcorn wasn't very tempting. unfortunately i did have to turn down a social invite to a post-movie dinner. i knew i wouldn't hold up very well in there.

i do feel like i'm not juicing as much as i should be, but i think it's because i'm waiting until i'm very hungry before i make a juice. my chompers are ready to start chewing!

orange veggie blend
the goods:
- 3 carrots
- 1/2 sweet potato
- 2 blood oranges (or regular oranges)
- 1 bunch spinach

the how to:
- peel the oranges and juice on low
- speed up to high and add spinach in with carrots
- finish with sweet potato

the results:
the spinach turns it a bit brown, but it's still very tasty. the oranges help add a hint of sweetness.

orange veggie blend

mean green (alt 3)
the goods:
- 1/2 bunch spinach
- 1 cucumber
- 1 bunch bok choy
- 1/2 bunch kale
- 2 apples

3 different leafy greens

the how to:
- cut end off bok choy so all leaves are separated
- mix leafy greens with cucumber and apples when inserting into juicer
- juice all ingredients on high

the results:
a very tasty green alternative. the bok choy has a bitter taste when it's raw, but the cucumber and apple reduce the bitterness drastically in the juice.

banana yellow
the goods:
- 1/4 pineapple
- 1 bunch green grapes
- 2 bananas

the how to:
- remove grapes from stem and juice on low with pineapple
- in a food processor, blend banana until smooth
- add juice mixture to food processor to incorporate banana

the results:
more like a smoothie. the pineapple is the dominant taste, so add extra bananas or ripe bananas to downplay pineapple.

banana yellow smoothie

treats - juice cleanse (day 3)

i was really fearing day 3 because i hear it's the worst day of the cleanse because your body is finally adjusting to everything. i'm happy to report i'm feeling great. i've even lost 3 lbs since i first started the cleanse.

i'm really enjoying the creative freedom i have with all of the juicing. i'm starting to spin off of each juice i've made to see which combinations work well and which ones don't.

day 3

mean green (alt 2)
the goods:
- 1 apple
- 2 kiwis
- 4 kale leaves
- 2 handfuls of spinach
- 1/2 cucumber

the how to:
- wrap the spinach inside of the kale leaves and juice on low
- juice the kiwis on low
- juice the apple and cucumber on high
*if you've peeled off the cucumber skin, juice on low

the results:
a hearty green mixture. the spinach has a great flavor and it's not as punchy at the wheatgrass.

mean green juice (alt 2) - my favorite green!

orange creamsicle (CURRENT FAVORITE!!)
the goods:
- 2 oranges
- 2 pears
- 1/2 papaya

the how to:
- peel orange rind, leaving on the pith (the white part)
- cut off stalk of pears
- scrape out papaya seeds
- juice orange and pears (soft) on low
- juice papaya and pears (hard) on high

the results:
my goodness this is the best thing i've ever tasted! this was actually supposed to be made with peaches instead of pears, but they're not in season and i'm happy i had to substitute. the pears add a lovely smooth, creamy texture to this so it's not super citrus hoppy.

orange creamsicle juice

body factory's pb&j
my grandfather's love for peanut butter passed down to me and i was craving some protein to add into my mixes. i ended up venturing to the body factory and ordered my favorite smoothie, the pb&j.

the goods:
- peanut butter
- bananas
- blueberries
- body fuel protein powder

the results:
still delicious as usual, but i did notice that the protein powder made me feel a bit bloated. i think i'll stick with the raw fruits and veggies for the rest of the cleanse.

bodyfactory pb&j