Juice Challenge – Results!

Juice Challenge – Results!
To health!
To health!

I completed the juice challenge! 5 days of nothing but juices. Generally, it went well! I was so busy making and drinking juices that I didn’t have much time to think about hunger or food. It was difficult to drink that much juice each day.

Each day was organized similarly: 1) drink lemon water, 2) make two juices for the day, divide each batch in half and drink 4 servings throughout the day, 3) have coconut water mid-morning 4) end each day with vegetable broth and the “pear pie” juice which is so sweet and delicious it tastes like a sinful dessert.

Each day started with warm lemon water.
Each day started with warm lemon water.
Each day ended with a Pear Pie smoothie which really tasted like a cookie.  The cinnamon was wonderful!
Each day ended with a Pear Pie smoothie which really tasted like a cookie. The cinnamon was wonderful!
Pear Pie Smoothie (I blended mine with frozen blueberries rather than juicing.)
Pear Pie Smoothie (I blended mine with frozen blueberries rather than juicing.)

Day One

Joe's "Mean Green" juice.  A classic.  I am probably the only one who is not crazy about this juice.  For a green juice, it isn't bad, just not my favorite.
Joe’s “Mean Green” juice. A classic. I am probably the only one who is not crazy about this juice. For a green juice, it isn’t bad, just not my favorite.
Ingredients for Sunny Citrus Beet Juice
Ingredients for Sunny Citrus Beet Juice
Sunny Citrus Beet juice.  I generally like purple juices.  This one wasn't bad but the grapefruit made it a bit sour for my taste.
Sunny Citrus Beet juice. I generally like purple juices. This one wasn’t bad but the grapefruit made it a bit sour for my taste.

Day Two

Ingredients for Morning Green Glory Juice.
Ingredients for Morning Green Glory Juice.
Morning Green Glory Juice.  This was my least favorite juice of the challenge.
Morning Green Glory Juice. This was my least favorite juice of the challenge.
Ingredients for Radiant AntiOxi Orange
Ingredients for Radiant AntiOxi Orange
The Radiant Anti Oxi Orange Juice to go (as I was on the way out the door to lessons for my kids).
The Radiant Anti Oxi Orange Juice to go (as I was on the way out the door to lessons for my kids).

Day Three

For this day, I got to test what this juice challenge would be like for someone with a full time job outside the home. We were spending the day skiing so I had to make all the juices the night before and store them in portable containers. It was a lot of work at night when I was tired but generally it worked out fine.

Ingredients for Carrot Apple Ginger juice, one of our family's favorites!!
Ingredients for Carrot Apple Ginger juice, one of our family’s favorites!!
Ingredients for Pear Power
Ingredients for Pear Power
Pear Power Juice, a curiously delicious mix of pears and basil....very gourmet!
Pear Power Juice, a curiously delicious mix of pears and basil….very gourmet!

Day Four

Ingredients for Chard Rock Cafe juice.
Ingredients for Chard Rock Cafe juice.
Chard Rock Cafe juice.  Not one of my favorites but the oregano was interesting to taste.
Chard Rock Cafe juice. Not one of my favorites but the oregano was interesting to taste.
Ingredients for Anti Aging Beet Grape
Ingredients for Anti Aging Beet Grape
Anti Aging Beet Grape Juice.  I liked it!  Sweet.
Anti Aging Beet Grape Juice. I liked it! Sweet.

Day Five

Ingredients for Calcium Rich Cucumber -- one of my favorite juices!
Ingredients for Calcium Rich Cucumber — one of my favorite juices!
I always make this one as a smoothie by blending the frozen pineapple rather than juicing it.
I always make this one as a smoothie by blending the frozen pineapple rather than juicing it.
Ingredients for Micronutrient Madness
Ingredients for Micronutrient Madness
Micronutrient Madness Juice.  You could probably make this more orange by peeling the cucumber before juicing.
Micronutrient Madness Juice. You could probably make this more orange by peeling the cucumber before juicing.

Unlike last time I did a juice cleanse, there was no nausea in the early days. I am not sure if that is a sign that I am getting healthier or if drinking electrolyte juices like coconut water and vegetable broth really makes a huge difference.

I lost a total of 7 pounds at the end of the juice cleanse, including 2 inches off my waist, which was a great reward for my efforts.

2016-01-15-juicechallenge-before-after

While juice cleansing may not be to everyone’s taste, there are a few things I learned from this experience:
1) Having a lot of water/fluid in your body really does decrease hunger.
2) It still continues to be a challenge to find time to cook healthy foods, whether juices or meals. No matter which healthy eating plan I try, I have to plan on at least 30-45 minutes per meal. Until there is an affordable fast food option for clean eating, I have to figure out how I can work more cooking time into my schedule.
3) Setting a good example for my children really did show results. When they saw me eating all this fresh produce, they were more tempted to try fruits and vegetables themselves. They discovered they liked Bolthouse Farms’ Amazing Mango juice, they juiced their own fresh orange juice and ate more butternut squash soup than I have ever seen them eat before.

Fresh squeezed orange juice!
Fresh squeezed orange juice!
My son began raiding the fridge for any products with sugar in them and decided he quite likes kefir!
My son began raiding the fridge for any products with sugar in them and decided he quite likes kefir!
Babies like Pear Pie smoothie too!
Babies like Pear Pie smoothie too!
We made this gluten free banana pumpkin bread.  The kids said it was not great but did eat it because it was the best "sweet" we had in the house.
We made this gluten free banana pumpkin bread. The kids said it was not great but did eat it because it was the best “sweet” we had in the house.
This child has never eaten so much butternut squash soup!
This child has never eaten so much butternut squash soup!

I wish I could say the juice cleansing was sustainable and I continued to juice and eat healthy after it ended. Unfortunately, once the restrictions were gone, it was back to feasting as usual! It is very hard to “juice” in the cold of winter. I think my best bet at this point is to try to plan out a week of soups. If I am following a prewritten plan, I seem to do much better than just winging it and “trying” to eat healthy.

So now for this weekend’s challenge…..a blizzard! I am finding it hard to take seriously all the snow drama. It is so over the top!

2016-01-20-snowdrama

2016-01-20-nbcsnow

2016-01-20-washpost-snowdrama

Sorry folks....all that's left is the skim milk and the fancy organic stuff.
Sorry folks….all that’s left is the skim milk and the fancy organic stuff.

Maybe this storm really will give us two feet of snow. Maybe it will paralyze everything for a week. But maybe it will also be less than predicted. Maybe we will be fine.

Let’s hope! Be warm and stay safe to those affected!