If you’ve been following along this past week, you know that the nuts have been…juicing! Of course I’m referring to consuming cold-pressed juices, courtesy of our friends at Pure Kitchen.
So, what is cold pressed juice and why is it all the rage? Well, the benefits of juicing have long been explored by those who are looking to lead a healthy lifestyle. Juicing is an easy way to incorporate more fruits and vegetables into your diet. The upside of cold-pressed juice is that it limits the oxidation process that is caused by traditional rotary juicers. Where rotary juicers tend to heat up, by using a mechanical cold press, the juice maintains more of its nutrients and enzymes. Each bottle of cold pressed juice can contain up to 3 pounds of organic fruits and vegetables!
Why a juice cleanse? Generally, the goal of juice cleanses are to focus on the elimination of toxins that have accumulated in the body and improve overall health. While Kate undertook a 1-day cleanse (read about it here), I took on a 3-day cleanse.
So…how did it go?
Day 1, overall: “I can do this!”
I was lucky enough to have Monday off work this week, so I started my juice cleanse on a relatively easy day. I was busy running errands all morning and I started off with FLUSH (cucumber, apple, celery, kale, spinach, collards and lemon) and then followed up with GROUNDED (beet, carrot, apple, celery, lemon and ginger). While FLUSH wasn’t my favourite, it kind of grew on me as I drank it and it was definitely do-able. I loved GROUNDED and drank that easily. By lunch, I started working on GLOW (kale, spinach, collards, celery, cucumber, fennel and lime). This is where I hit a bit of a road block. I knew going into this that I likely would struggle with the green juices because I personally find greens taste quite bitter (it’s just the way my taste buds are made, I suppose) and this juice proved me right. I was feeling kind of drained by 1 p.m. but was able to have a quick nap to re-charge (thank god for having this day off!)
When I woke up from my nap, I moved on to EMBRACING (apple, carrot, lemon and ginger). YAY to no greens (this would remain my motto as this cleanse unfolded). The “heavier” juice of the day was CHAMPION (almond milk, hemp, dates, cinnamon and vanilla) which contained more protein and fat to help get through the dinner hour. I LOVED this one and was definitely feeling great after I had it. Finally, I finished up with HEALED (pineapple, carrot, turmeric, lemon and ginger). After Kate had a rough go with this, I was feeling nervous, but I actually enjoyed it. Different strokes I guess?
I was definitely never hungry this day. Between the juices and the water I was trying to chug, I didn’t NEED any solid food. Does that mean I didn’t think about it? Of course not, but the temptations weren’t that bad.
Pure Kitchen’s “Grab & Go” featuring their juices, of course.
Day 2 overall: “I can do this…but I really, really want a cheese puff”
On Tuesday, I decided to use snapchat to document my juicing journey. Below you will find a summary of my day (apologies that the juice labels are almost all backwards… #selfieproblems)
JUICE #1: FLUSH (cucumber, apple, celery, kale, spinach, collards and lemon)
You can tell by my face that the struggle was real Tuesday morning. Mostly because I was back to a green juice. Although it was the lesser of the two evils green juices, it was green and it was 7:30 a.m. and I was NOT feeling it. Again, as I drank it, I got used to the taste and in the end it wasn’t that bad….
JUICE #2: GROUNDED (beet, carrot, apple, celery, lemon and ginger)
I was still REALLY happy to be moving on to a non-green juice though. I really like this juice and I was feeling quite happy about it. Still not hungry, P.S.
JUICE #3: HEALED (pineapple, carrot, turmeric, lemon and ginger).
I realized when I grabbed this juice that I didn’t have a second green one in today’s line-up so I was clearly elated. Plus, I really enjoyed all of the juices that had carrots in them. Terrible pun, check!
JUICE #4: ENERGIZED (pineapple, cucumber, beets and apple)
I realized upon grabbing this juice that I was half-way through my cleanse. 9 juices down, 9 to go. I was feeling really good at this point and decided I am obsessed with beets. By far, the juices with beets were my favourites. This one was especially good – I think it was the cucumber in it (my fav. veggie).
JUICE #5: CHAMPION (almond milk, hemp, dates, cinnamon and vanilla)
This is where I started to break down. I won’t lie. I was at Parliament Hill attending an awareness event for Hereditary Hemochromatosis (a cause near and dear to our hearts). The event was amazing and the catered food looked so good. Each time I had to turn down salmon sliders and cheese puffs I nearly died. Also, there was a hunk of blue cheese just calling out my name. Now, don’t get me wrong – I didn’t want to eat because I was HUNGRY. It was more because I couldn’t. I did not falter. I chugged back my champion and posed for the regal picture instead. Special thanks to my friends who indulged in all of the food in front of me…ahem.
JUICE #6: EMBRACING (apple, carrot, lemon and ginger)
By the time I got home from the event, the cravings for food had diminished, but I was questioning whether I would get through another day. Luckily, I enjoyed my last juice for the day (Hooray for carrots!)
A juice line up, courtesy of Pure Kitchen
DAY 3 overall: “If Britney Spears can get through 2007, you can get through today”
I won’t lie to you, day 3 was the most difficult. So close, yet so far. It didn’t help that there were two green juices in today’s lineup. I started off with GLOW (cucumber, apple, celery, kale, spinach, collards and lemon), which despite its’ healthy intentions was my least favourite. I ended up moving on after drinking about two thirds of it. Next up was ENERGIZED (pineapple, cucumber, beets and apple) and thank god because I needed some beets in my life. (Can we talk about how a juice cleanse changed me so quickly? I have definitely never NEEDED beets in my life before). In the afternoon, I hit rock bottom. It was time for FLUSH (cucumber, apple, celery, kale, spinach, collards and lemon) and my spirit was a bit broken. I was mad at the world for making greens, I was mad at the juice for containing them and mostly, I was mad at my taste buds for not liking them. I was getting words of encouragement from the other nuts and forged on while listening to this motivational jam.
My ability to get through the juices was slowing all day, so by the time I went to work my shift at The Dailey Method (4 p.m.) I was just getting into my fourth juice of the day, which I would be trying for the first time. HYDRATE (coconut water, lemon, lime, maple syrup and sea salt) was SO TART. It tasted like the most extreme lemonade you could imagine and I sipped it slowly throughout my shift. Luckily, my last two juices were ones that I really liked: CHAMPION and HEALED. To be honest, I felt like I couldn’t consume any more liquid…but I did (almost all of it, with the exception of maybe 1/3 of each bottle). I basically chugged them and then went to bed, dreaming of all the things I would be eating today.
FAQs: Here’s the answers to some questions I was asked repeatedly over the last few days…
Disclaimer: these are just my own experiences and opinions, and they could be different for others!
Aren’t you starving!?
No, I really wasn’t hungry #truthspeak. I was thinking about food, but I think that was a mental element than a physical one. My mind was telling me I wanted food, even though I wasn’t hungry. It’s kind of like when you’re dieting – you’ve never wanted chips/burgers/cake more.
Are you running to the bathroom to pee every 2 minutes?
First, gross…But no. I drink a lot of water regularly so I didn’t find I was using the washroom more than normal. P.S. beets dye everything red and that was a shock.
Are you sleeping well?
I didn’t have an issue sleeping any of the nights.
Are you still exercising?
I did exercise while cleansing. Instead of running, I opted for walking. But I did take a TDM class and found it fine!
Was your energy low?
Not at all, with the exception of the first day where I ended up taking a nap in the afternoon. My energy was fine on Tuesday and Wednesday at work!
Did you have any detox side effects?
Detoxification side effects can include headache, nausea, lethargy and fatigue. I didn’t experience any of these, luckily!
Did you like the juices?
YES (for the most part). Like with anything, we all have our preferences. While I wasn’t a huge fan of the green juices, they were Kate’s favourites. And while she wasn’t a fan of HEALED, I loved it. There were some I liked more than others, but that’s life. I generally like fruit more than vegetables, so it only makes sense that I preferred the sweeter ones! The quality of the product was excellent across the board and I knew that even if the tastes weren’t up my alley, the ingredients were doing good things for my body.
Would you juice again?
I definitely would like to make the juice part of my life on the regular. I could definitely see having one juice a day to incorporate more fruits and vegetables into my diet. I could also see myself doing a 1-day cleanse with ease. While I would do a 3-day cleanse again, I don’t think it would be smart or healthy to do it again too soon. Overall, cleansing is something I could see myself incorporating into my lifestyle a few times a year.
Where can I get these juices and cleanses?
Pure Kitchen generously gave us these juices to try. You can check out their awesome restaurant and juice bar in Westboro. We were lucky enough to get a sneak peak of their upcoming cleanses, that will be available in the coming months.
Pure Kitchen will also be doing a juice tasting at The Dailey Method Ottawa tomorrow (Friday, May 15). Head down, take a class and try a juice!
Pure Kitchen, located in Westboro
**Check back next week, when Catherine will write about her experience incorporating one juice a day into her normal diet!
Recent Comments