My favorite Juice Cleanse Recipes that make for a great juice cleanse and full body reset.
I'm a huge fan of juicing. I just love it!! And because so many of you have asked me to elaborate on it, I've decided to share what my juice cleanse look like from start to finish!
First and foremost let me say, I am not a nutritionist and I don't claim to know everything. I just know how my body reacts to juicing and it's nice to shed 5+ pounds when I'm feeling bloated and pudgy after some serious holiday indulgence. I also know it's not for everyone - so if you're totally anti-juicing, might I suggest you check out these healthy quinoa salads and acai bowls I've been whipping up!
Now that we've got that out of the way... here's the deal!
What does a juice cleanse do to your body?
As I mentioned above, I'm not a nutritionist so you should absolutely consult with one if needed. That said, my personal experience from juicing is as follows. The juices provide a mega dose of nutrients into my body which always makes me feel great. It allows my body to reset when it comes to digestion. The extra dose of vitamins boosts my immune system and gives me way more energy that usual.
How long should you do a juice cleanse?
It's totally up to you. I find that I get the best results when I juice for 3-4 days. You should keep in mind that on top of those 3-4 juicing days, there is a pre and post period that's very important. So if I'm juicing for 3 days, it really means the cleanse is 9 days... because of the 3 day pre cleanse and 3 day post cleanse schedule that I follow.
If you're new to juicing, I'd say start with a 3 day cleanse. They aren't easy - and you want to make sure you aren't going crazy all the time! So I vote for starting on the shorter side and seeing how your body reacts. And for sure, don't skip the pre and post cleanse - I've done it before and it's much harder without the pre/post schedule.
How do you prep for a juice cleanse?
I usually prep for 3 days leading up to the cleanse. I cut out basically everything except fruits and vegetables. I eat loaded salads with different veggies, drink boat loads of herbal tea, and hydrate with LARGE amounts of water to prepare myself. No meat, no cheese, no pasta... you get the idea.
What juicer do you use for a juice cleanse?
Let's talk equipment. I have the Breville Slow Juicer which I love. The Hurom is also AMAZING. I like the "slow" juicers because you actually extract more fiber and nutrients from the fruits and veggies which gives you more pulp and gives you a bit of a thicker juice and all that jazz aka more fiber!
What does a juice cleanse schedule look like?
During my 3-4 days of "juicing" I drink about 6 glasses of juice a day and 6 glasses of water. I make 3 kinds of juice and for lack of better names, I call them by color: Green Juice (3 glasses daily), Red Juice (1 glass daily), Orange Juice (2 glasses daily). And then I cap off the day with my strawberry almond milk.
So here's what a day would look like for me:
- 7:00 am wake up - drink some white ginger tea or hot lemon water
- 8:00 am - Green Juice #1 + Water
- 10:00 Orange Juice #1 + Water
- 12:00 Green Juice #2 + Water
- 2:00 Red Juice #1+ Water
- 4:00 Green Juice #3+ Water
- 6:00 Orange Juice #2+ Water
- 8:00 Strawberry Almond Milk and some more white ginger tea
- And that's about it. Then it's off to bed where my dreams are usually filled with food. Just kidding, kinda, not really. It's hard when I live in the food world not to dream about food!!
What do you eat after a juice cleanse?
Post juice cleanse I slowly work my body back onto normal food. I eat lots of raw veggies to start and then slowly work in fruits, fish, quinoa etc. I usually try to stay off of meat for a few more days because that's just how I roll.
How do you feel during a juice cleanse?
Day 1 is always the hardest for me because I am "head" hungry. Which basically means I think I'm hungry... but really I'm not. I'm just bored and want to eat. Truth is, I'm packing my body with so many micronutrients, it has plenty to run on. I just start day dreaming about grilled cheese sandwiches and then I go crazy. So if you're juicing, you should probably stay off the food section of Pinterest. 🙂
By day 2 I feel like a million bucks. I sleep better at night, wake up in the morning ready to go. (I literally jump out of bed and Thomas thinks I'm a crazy person) Okay and this might sound weird, but you actually see things more clearly. Not figuratively... I mean literally. Things are sharp and crisp and you're just ready to take on the day!
So... you might be wondering why I juice? Well, I love it. I do it about every 3-4 months as a way to re-set my body and let it rest. And have you guys ever seen that movie, Fat Sick and Nearly Dead? It's kinda life changing. I'd highly recommend it if you're into this kinda thing. It's super inspiring.
Alright. Ready for some recipes... I am going to give you recipes for all 4 of the liquids I drink during the cleanse. And each recipe is enough for 1 glass so if you're juicing in bulk every morning, multiply each recipe by however many juices you'll need that day!
Looking for more amazing breakfast ideas? Check out my 100 favorite breakfast recipes here
Juice Cleanse Recipes
Ingredients
For the Green Juice
- 3 leaves kale stem removed and roughly chopped
- 1 handful spinach leaves roughly chopped
- 1 cup chopped romaine lettuce
- 1 bunch parsley roughly chopped
- 1 cup chopped english cucumber
- 2 sticks celery roughly chopped
- 1 whole apple halved and seeds removed
- 1 inch fresh ginger
- 1 whole lemon rind removed
For the Red Juice
- 1 apple, quartered
- 2 red beets, quartered
- 3 large carrots
- 1 orange, rind removed
- 1-inch piece of ginger
- 1 handful fresh spinach
For the Orange Juice
- 9 larget carrots
- 1 orange, rind removed
- 1 apple, quartered
- ⅓ cup fresh pineapple chunks
- ½ lemon, rind removed
- 1-inch turmeric root
For the Strawberry Almond Milk
- ½ cup unsalted raw almonds
- 2 cups water
- ½ tablespoon agave nectar
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ vanilla bean, seeds removed
- 3 strawberries, hulled
Instructions
For the Green Juice
- Place ingredients for the green juice into a juicer and juice!
For the Red juice
- Place ingredients for the green juice into a juicer and juice!
For the Orange Juice
- Place ingredients for the green juice into a juicer and juice!
For the Strawberry Almond Milk
- Soak the almonds in some water for at least 2 hours
- Drain the almonds and combine them with 2 cups of water, agave nectar, cinnamon, vanilla bean and strawberries in a high powered blender and blend for about 2 minutes until very smooth. No need to strain.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Photo by Matt Armendariz / Food Styling by Adam Pearson / Recipe from What’s Gaby Cooking
Such dedication! I loooove juicing but I'm not sure I have enough self control to do it as a cleanse haha One question, do you make the juice and drink it right away or do you make big batches and store it to drink over three days? I heard if you make bigger batches the juice can lose it's nutrients after like an hour, do you know if that's true??
I juice every morning to make enough to last me through the day! I think it's true that juices can lose some of their nutrients if they are sitting around for too long - but I find that just doing them each morning totally works!! And then I just store them in air tight containers until it's time to drink!
I have never tried to juice but really want to. I ordered a 3 day Blue Print juice cleanse to do next week. If I like it I want to buy a juicer and make my own next time.,,and I will use your recipes 🙂
I love blue print!! They cashew milk is soooooo good!! I always feel like it's such a treat to drink that at the end of the day! Good luck! xo
Oooo, we love juicing! We have a Nekter Juice Bar walking distance from our house, but how fun to make it at home! Bookmarking this for sure 🙂
These are great ideas - thanks Gaby! I am in the process of researching to buy a juicer and can't wait to give it a try!
Looks fantastic. I'm going to take the plunge and try it out. Are you able to exercise while on the cleanse?
yes!! I exercise the whole time!! But I don't go do crazy things like rock climb... more spinning and yoga etc 🙂
Someday I will try a juice cleanse! If only I could juice cookies:)
These look great! Unfortunately I don't have a juicer and my budget definitely won't allow for one right now. Can you think of an alternative? Would a blender work? Thanks!
a blender would work for the green juice for sure!!!
I need to do this! So inspiring!
Girl, you have some really GREAT, juicy ideas here. Thanks!
this is SUCH an awesome post, Gaby. I love how detailed it is and it really does uncover the truth about juicing and how to do it, etc. I've always been so curious about it and I really do want to try a pre-wedding cleanse. I'm going to have to make some of these juices from you and give it a shot! You're such a trooper for being able to do 6 DAYS!!
What amazing variety Gaby! I should try this...
These are very creative combinations--yum!
AND... I have a question. Can you make any of these in advance or do they need to be consumed directly after juicing?
I usually make them in bulk and then keep them for 2 days max. Otherwise they get a little funky! 🙂
Excellent! Thanks 🙂
just want to share. I juice and I use the vaccum sealer. mine has the jar sealer. mine keep for at least 5 days
Recently, I've been seeing a lot of posts on Facebook about people having success with juicing. I was just thinking to myself this morning... what kindof juices are they drinking?! I've tried many on the Williams-Sonoma website, but several of them are down right nasty. And others don't really seem that healthy.
Thanks for the step-by-step tutorial. I am going to give this a try. I'll make sure I tell EVERYONE about it, so I get the full health benefits 🙂
Brandon
It's pretty clear that I need my own Breville Juicer. I'd love to be able to create my own 3-day cleanse once in a while. Thanks for those recipes!!! So I'm on the 4th day right now of a 6-day juice cleanse. You would have totally laughed at me yesterday- I was filming the video trailer for my cookbook and had to pretend to be eating things that I was making all day long. It was hysterical. I actually took a bite of my red velvet cake and then had to spit it into a napkin, lol! I didn't want to ruin my cleanse!! I totally agree that the pre and post are important. And I love the amazing feeling I have after a cleanse. Thanks to YOU for introducing me to cleansing in the first place 🙂
rock on Lori!!! Love that you're going strong!! And I've totally done the same thing for filming before! Hysterical 🙂