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Well, I made it through the 3-Day Juice Cleanse! This post will discuss the reactions my partner and I had to the cleanse and it will contain the recipes I used for our dinners. For a full description of the cleanse, including tips and recipes, check out my previous post “All About The Juice, Part 1“.

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Goals

My partner and I did this cleanse together. My goal was to clean out my digestive tract after being wishy-washy with my food allergy diet over the winter. I also wanted to see what a juice cleanse was like. His goal was purely to experience the juice cleanse.

His Experience

My partner chose not to do any prep work for this cleanse (which is not advisable) so day 1 for him was also day 1 with no caffeine. This makes it a little tough to decipher the difference between the juice cleanse and caffeine withdrawal. He was very tired the first two days. He felt his sense of smell was heightened as soon as day 1 and that his skin was clearer. He experienced feeling cold the first two days. He also said he had an overall feeling of being healthier but that he couldn’t describe that in specific terms.

He said if he felt the diet was sustainable he would stay on it because he liked how it made him feel. He did experience food cravings though overall he felt like it was such a large quantity of juice that he wasn’t hungry, he was just wishing his food intake was something other than juice. 😉 He also questioned the amount of sugar he was consuming and how that was effecting his body. He experienced bad breath throughout the cleanse (more on that later) and a slight metallic taste in the mouth. He did not weigh himself before/after.

Her Experience

I prepped for 1.5 weeks in advance by getting back on my food allergy diet (no gluten, dairy, cane sugar, coffee, and a few misc. items) and also stopped processed foods and alcohol. It should probably be noted that I’ve been off caffeine for over a year now so there were no issues with withdrawal. In just the 1.5 weeks before the cleanse I had lost 5 lbs, showing how much bloating/inflammation I was getting from eating things I was allergic to (when I first was diagnosed with food allergies I lost 30lbs).

Day 1 I was pretty grumpy. I agree with my partner that the amount of juice we were consuming was a little ridiculous; it was about 20 cups worth per day. I felt like I hardly had a chance to drink water because it took me so long to drink all the juice. Calorie-wise though we were under average for the day so I also felt compelled to drink it all. I was not hungry, though just like my partner I had cravings for fatty foods. I was very glad to have warm foods at night as I was feeling very cold, though I couldn’t finish my (very small) dinner because I felt so full. I also had periods during the day of feeling like I was high and I attribute that to the gut-punch of nutrients in my system.

Day 2 it continued to feel like a chore to make and drink the juices, but the food cravings went away. I still battled with feeling cold so I drank hot water and tried to get some sun. I drank the juices faster so I would have some time in between to digest. As with my partner, my sense of smell seemed heightened and my skin seemed healthy and glowing. I did have a strong metal taste in my mouth and it was bothering me a bit. I still felt very full until after dinner when I finally had a great purging experience. 😉 I feel like I got that colon cleanse I was looking for! After that things got a lot better.

Day 3 I had no problem with the juices. I had a ton of energy and was in a great mood. I felt like if I had the money to afford all those fruits and veggies that I could have continued with the cleanse. I had no food cravings and still felt full most of the day. I continued to have the metallic taste in my mouth until after dinner and in researching it I believe my partner and I were in a state of ketosis. I had not heard of that before and it was a little disturbing but after reading up about it it makes sense. In very brief terms it’s the body’s natural reaction to being starved of fats. That also made me wonder if the sugar intake was actually ok. My partner combated this by taking chlorella often (over the daily recommended dose), which he believed helped. I was taking normal daily doses of chlorella and didn’t notice a difference.

Today I was happy to break the fast with some eggs over easy fried in coconut oil, avocado, berries and a green smoothie. I’m curious to see how I digest that and I intend to eat light healthy meals for lunch and dinner. (*Edit: no problem digesting it, though I didn’t have the appetite for large meals during the day and now, three days later, I still loose appetite faster than usual.u)

Dinner Recipes

It’s recommended to eat small meals consisting of just fruits and veggies for dinner while doing the juice cleanse. Tim and I chose to add some healthy fats in as well since our goal was not weight-loss and adding in healthy fats really helps with food cravings. We were also feeling cold during the cleanse so we cooked hot meals. Raw meals are a great option if you don’t feel chilly. These are just the three basic meals I made, there are certainly hundreds of others out there.

Mashed Cauliflower with Kale

This is a great comfort meal, not dissimilar to mashed potatoes. In fact, when I’m not cleansing I make them with either butter or ghee instead of coconut oil and it often fools people into thinking they’re potatoes! Note, I couldn’t eat my whole bowl, but my partner had no trouble eating his. I saved the rest and threw it into the last recipe listed here.

Ingredients (for two):

• 2 heads Cauliflower
• half bunch of Kale, chopped into small pieces
• 1/4 cup Unsweetened Coconut Milk
• 2 tbsp Unrefined Coconut Oil
• 1 tsp Paprika
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Steam cauliflower until tender (~15 minutes).
2. Steam kale until tender (~5 minutes).
3. Add cauliflower and all remaining ingredients to a food processor and blend until smooth. I like to leave mine just a little chunky so it has that mashed-potato feel to it.
4. Toss with kale, top with additional paprika for color.

Simple Skillet Kale with Portobellos

Ingredients (for two):

• large bunch Kale, chopped into large slices
• 2 Portobello mushrooms, sliced into 1/4″ strips
• 1/2 large Vidalia Onion (or a whole small one), peeled and chopped.
• 2 cloves Garlic, minced
• 1/4 large Lemon
• 1 tbsp Unrefined Coconut Oil
• 1 tsp Cumin
• Salt + Pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Heat the oil in the skillet over medium heat until fully melted.
2. Add onions and mushrooms, season with cumin, salt and pepper and sauté until the onions begin to appear translucent and the mushrooms are a bit browned on each side.
3. Add kale, garlic and additional salt and pepper as desired. Fold the onions/mushrooms and oil over the kale. Cover and let steam for a few minutes, or until the kale is bright green and slightly wilted.
4. Remove from heat, squeeze with lemon, enjoy!

Veggie Pasta

I make this meal often in the summer and usually add in chickpeas. It’s versatile, quick and delicious!!

Ingredients (for two):

• 2 small Zucchini, either spiraled or use a peeler to create thin slices
•  2 small Summer Squash, either spiraled or use a peeler to create thin slices
• 1 Portobello mushroom, chopped
• 1/2 a Vidalia onion, chopped
• 1 tbsp Unrefined Coconut Oil
• 2 cloves Garlic, minced
• 1/2 a Lemon
• 1 tbsp Olive Oil
• 2 tbsp fresh Parsley, chopped
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Heat oil in skillet over medium heat until fully melted.
2. In separate bowl, whisk together olive oil, garlic, lemon, parsley and salt and pepper.
3. Add onions and mushrooms, season with salt and pepper and sauté until the onions begin to appear translucent and the mushrooms are a bit browned on each side.
4. Add zucchini and sauté for 2-3 minutes, until it’s warm and bright.
5. Add whisked dressing and stir to coat. Let cook another 30-60 seconds. Enjoy!
6. *Note: Mine looks a little creamy in the picture because I threw in the leftover mashed cauliflower that I had. 🙂

If you try a juice cleanse I’d love to know how the experience goes for you!

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