the cleanse

My insides are kind of broken.

I was diagnosed with several gastrointestinal issues in my early twenties. I had the faulty valve at the base of my esophagus repaired after two years of not keeping food down and not understanding why. I finally had a 24 hour PH test and they established that my valve wasn't working and I needed a Nissen fundoplication.

That fixed one problem, but all of my gastrointestinal system is a mess. I eat a fairly clean and wholesome diet, I eat a little red meat sometimes and I do love cheese, but I try to limit it. It hurts my tummy and never really feels worth it.

The past few months I've been feeling really unwell. My tummy is constantly sick, bloated and I live with chronic pain. I'm used to it, it's really not a big deal, but the past three weeks were more than I could stand.

After doing a little research, I decided to try a juice cleanse. I've done the Wild Rose Cleanse many times and love it, but I didn't want to take all the pills and drops this time around. I needed to start fresh.

Enter the Blueprint Cleanse. If I could afford it, I would order online and have it delivered to my door. I just can't justify the $271 (including $20 shipping) to have three days worth of juice delivered to me.

I did some research online and discovered that people had come up with a way to make the cleanse at home. I combined a few methods found here and here, bought my groceries at the market near my office and got started.

I have a juicer, I bought it at a garage sale for $20 a couple of years ago. It's not fancy, but it works great. I've read that you can make these drinks in the blender and then strain the liquid out using cheesecloth - sounds like a lot of work.

To prepare for the cleanse, I eliminated all dairy, gluten and meat for two days before as suggested here. I primarily ate steamed veggies and a little bit of fruit. I'll be doing the cleanse for three days.

Following the Blueprint cleanse program, this is the order I drank my juices in:

Green Juice

Pineapple Apple Mint

Green Juice

Spicy Lemonade

Beet/Apple/Carrot

Cashew Milk - dreamy, delicious cashew millk

Here's the recipes that I used. 

The Green Juice (makes enough for the 2 servings)

10 ribs of celery
1 cucumber
4 green apples
6 kale leaves
1 peeled lemon

2 handfuls of parsley
6 romaine leaves
2 handfuls of spinach
1 inch piece of ginger

Juice it! You want 32 ounces, so if you come up a bit short, add a bit more cucumber and apple. Split into 2 containers.

Pineapple Apple Mint
1/3 of a pineapple
2 green apples

small handful of mint (to taste, I love mint so I use quite a bit)

Juice it! You want 16 ounces, if you come up a bit short, add a bit more apple.

Spicy Lemonade14 ounces of filtered water 
1 peeled lemon through the juicer
a few dashes of cayenne pepper
1 tbsp of agave nectar

Mix together. Don't add too much cayenne, I did the first time, ugh.

Beet/Apple/Carrot

1 apple
2 beets with the greens
4 large carrots
1 tbsp ginger
1 peeled lemon
Juice it, again, you want 16 ounces, if you come up short, add more apple and carrot.

Cashew Milk
The best part of the day.
1 cup raw cashews
16 ounces filtered water
1 tbsp agave
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1" piece of vanilla pod of 1 tsp of vanilla extract
Soak the cashews in water over night, just enough water to cover them. In the morning rinse them off and dump into the blender with the other ingredients. Blend until smooth and put it in the fridge to enjoy at night.

From my research on the cleanse, you'll want to start the day off with a glass of hot water with a little lemon in it. Try to space your juices out, about 2 hours apart. It's recommended that you drink 14 ounces of water between your juices. I did what I could, but was too full. Have your cashew milk 2 hours before bed.

I've finished my first day and it's been really easy. I am a little bit more tired than usual. I was expecting to be more hungry, but as soon as the hunger pangs hit me it was time for another juice.