Last fall I finally bit the bullet and did a juice cleanse.
I was recovering from an extended summer hangover (one of the downsides of living somewhere where warm weather and visitors keep coming until mid-October) when we booked a one-week trip to Barcelona. Just as we were finally packing away the BBQ and rosé we were headed to the land of red wine and tapas. I was both excited and exhausted at the thought of it.
I needed a reboot of immense proportions.
In my imaginary life as a Beverly Hills housewife I would have jumped on a plane to some remote location I can neither pronounce nor spell for a week of yoga on the beach, fresh squeezed juices and meditation. In my real life, yoga was when I planned my grocery list and meditation consisted of the 30 seconds it took me to fall asleep once my head hit the pillow. But I did own a juicer.
I’ve never been any good at diets. When I used to watch those stories on Oprah about people who lost 200 lbs over the course of 18 months my mouth literally hit the floor. 18 months!!!!! My diets have never made it past Friday. I can not fathom how strong you have to be to maintain willpower for 18 months. So, when I googled juice cleanse I was tickled to find Jason Vale’s 7 lbs in 7 days cleanse. Bingo!!! I only had 6 days before my flight to Barcelona but that was good enough!
Juicing is like quitting smoking. You have to be ready for it and 100% committed. I don’t know if it was my constant fatigue or the lure of jamon negro at the finish line but last October I was finally ready to JUICE. For 6 days I didn’t chew a damn thing. And I survived.
The juice below is an adaptation of one of my favorite juices on the cleanse. It’s both a juice and a smoothie and I still have it regularly. Spirulina does not rank high on my list of favorite ingredients. I would like a glass of pond scum please. But in this recipe it’s algae-ness is pleasantly overpowered by the sweetness of pineapple and apple. I also add powdered wheatgrass because growing my own wheatgrass is something I plan to do the year that I finally find time to meditate. Until then the powder will suffice.
And then there’s avocado. Hmmmmmm. According to Ms. Poppins, a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down. Avocado is my sugar. I can’t think of anything that doesn’t taste better with a bit of avocado added to it. And when you’re on a liquids only diet it has the necessary creaminess and fats to trick your mind into thinking you just ate a steak and not just a juice. Well,…..almost. You be the judge.
- 2 small apples
- ¼ medium pineapple
- ¼ cucumber
- ½ lime, peeled
- 1 large kale leaf
- ½ avocado
- 1 tablespoon wheatgrass powder
- 1 teaspoon spirulina
- 1 capsule of probiotics
- a handful of ice
- Juice the apples, pineapple, lime, and kale in a cold press juicer.
- Place the juice in a blender or Nutribullet with the avocado, wheatgrass, spirulina, probiotics and ice and blend until smooth.
Just reading with interest your juice recipe and wondered where I can find:
wheatgrass powder
spirulina
and probiotic capsules
Thanks in advance ….
Hi Georgie,
Are you in France or the UK? In France you can get wheatgrass and spirulina at most of the Bio markets (or healthfood stores in the UK) like Biocoop in Mougins and Sartoriz in Mandelieu or Vallauris. You can probably get probiotics there too but I have bought mine in the past from the pharmacy or online. Amazon is also a good resource for all 3. Hope that helps!