As we talk about a lot on here, we are vegan. We have a pretty good diet in that we don't eat any animal based foods, we make our own vegetable stock and are working to lower oil usage. So we're not getting any external cholesterol (only animal based foods have that), we're getting good amounts of fiber and we're not adding a lot of salt.
But we know that we can improve how we eat. We're bad about planning our meals. We eat out a lot and, yeah, we end up eating the same meals out of laziness and convenience just like everyone else.
We figured we needed to get in more nutrients, especially greens. So what does that mean???
JUICE FEAST!!!
The good thing about juice feasting is that you get tons of nutrients in an easy to add way and lots of stuff I don't like to eat, like carrots or kale, I'm happy to drink. For the past week and a half, most of our calories have come via juice. Good thing they sell 25 lb bags of carrots!
Each day we're making enough juice so that each of us drinks at least 3 - 4 quarts of juice. We tend to do a mix of our favorite ingredients, including:
- Carrots
- Apples
- Oranges
- Grapefruit
- Mango
- Lemons
- Limes
- Pineapple
- Celery
- Ginger
- Parsley
- Kale
- Spinach
- Cucumber
- Beets
- 1 tbl of ground flax seed added to the completed juice
It's actually really surprising how easy this can be. I find that I'm not hungry afterwards at all. My cravings for junk food goes away and I'm not dizzy or headachy or anything. Plus, I tend to be very bad about drinking enough water. This way I'm getting plenty of fluids so that helps too.
We haven't had many "detox" issues because we already eat pretty well, but if you did plan to do a juice feast, it's best to know what to expect. You are more likely to work through any icky feelings if you know they are going to pop up.
One logistic that can make things easier is to make up your juices for the day and then vacuum-seal them for transport, just shake them up before you open them. We use 1-quart mason jars and drink one for breakfast, one for lunch and then one late afternoon around 4pm or 5pm. Then I might be set for the night. We have been having a few "meals" here and there, as well as some solid snacks, so it's not a 100% thing for us.
Some people will go through some weight loss when doing a juice feast, especially if they have had a poor diet or health prior to making this change. We may have dropped a few pounds but overall our goal is to add nutrients which we definitely are doing.
Juicing can be anything from adding a juice to your meal all the way up to a 100+ day juice only program. It's always best to have a doctor's review before you make a major switch, especially if you have any health issues. If you're just supplementing your diet, then juice away! And have fun with it. Mixing up flavors is the best part. You don't know how delicious it can be until they go through the juicer and mix with the other flavors. It's like a fun surprise in a glass.
