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
Looking forward to trying your orange juice (with some raw sweet potato as an addition!)! My red is similar to yours and I'm way too attached to my green to trade it just yet 😉 but keen to try the orange.
In my green I use apple, fennel, cucumber, mint, spinach and lemon.. have you tried this combination? It's lovely!
I've never been sure about nut mylks on a juice fast, but I'm going to give it a go next week and see how I feel.
Thanks for the info!
How many ounces of juice are you drinking each day? The jars look big!!
Thanks for the great post and recipes.. I’m going to try a 5 day juice cleanse this weekend 🙂
Hey Gaby,
Thanks for putting this cleanse together for all of us. I want to clarify a couple things that i found with making the Juices. The recipes above will make between 10-14 fl ozs of juice which is one serving. I found that the romaine lettuce gives the green juice a very particular taste that i was not a fan of. Also I would do the lemons last in all the recipes as they tend to cut through everything taste wise. Instead used pineapples a smaller sub to the lemons.
The first day is definitely the toughest of this cleanse. You are shocking your body to probably take less sustenance that its use to so dont be surprised if you feel a little drag.
The second day was amazing for me. I did more things on my to do list then i ever thought i could get done after work. You will def feel the energy.
The third day is awesome as well. By this day I looked better (not bloated), felt better (no 2pm feeling or drag) and actually felt like i could do this a couple more days.
Hi Gaby,
I'm following your suggestion of pre/post cleanse and a 3 day juice cleanse. I'm on day one of juice. I've juiced lots in the past, and never had issues, so I'm wondering if you can help me?
I made my juices last night and refrigerated them. Last night I tasted the green juice. I followed your recipe except I left out parsley and celery. (don't like those at all). This morning I gave my bottle a shake and the juice is so bitter I can hardly drink it!!!
Any suggestions as to what I could be doing wrong?
Thank you for this plan! I think the pre cleanse suggestion is great! I"m feeling really good today on day 1 of juice!
Hey Tami!! That is so weird that it went bitter - not sure why that could have happened! I'm so sorry!
Yes, it's strange! The orange and red are really yummy! My second green juice for the day wasn't quite as bitter as the first one. Thank you!
may i ask what size containers you use for each of your juices? i'm looking to prepare and take to work with me in the work fridge.
Sorry if it's already been asked, but there are to many comments to read through. Does anyone know the estimated calorie count per juice?
I haven't calculated it - sorry! Varies depending on size of the fruit / veggie that you use
Obviously this is very late haha, but I thought it might help people looking for this info in the future.
I weighed everything out in grams as I was juicing, and each time it came out (roughly) as follows:
Green Juice: 234 Calories per glass
Red Juice: 435 Calories per glass
Orange Juice: 470 Calories per glass
(I did not juice the almond milk)
Remember, when juicing or eating only raw fruits and veggies, your body does not absorb ALL of the calories, so it might seem like a lot, but trust me, you wont gain any weight (I didn't and I'm 5'2 and only need about 1600 calories to maintain my weight).
Hope this helps!
Are you using a vitamix blender or juicer? Do you get juice out of spinach and lettuce? Thanks
juicer and yes!
For the pre-cleanse, do you need to eat just raw veggies and fruits or can you eat cooked veggies? Oh, and we don't have any turmeric root or vanilla beans where we live, so do we just leave it out or substitute for the ingredients. If we substitute for the ingredients what would you use?
Thanks so much for your help!
Sorry about that, didn't mean to double post my comment. The website said that it didn't post so I though it was because it was so long so I made it shorter and tried sending it again. You can just reply to one of them, they are basically the same thing.
For the pre-cleanse, do you need to eat just raw veggies and fruits or can you eat cooked veggies? Just needed clarification on the matter before I eat anything cooked. Thanks so much for this website! It's got me really excited about this juicing thing! I haven't ever done this before which makes me clueless. But I asked my mom to keep me from eating anything but raw fruits and veggies for the 3 day pre-cleanse. Oh, I have another question for you. We don't have any turmeric root or vanilla beans where we live, so do we just leave it out or substitute for the ingredients. If we substitute for the ingredients what would you use?
Thanks so much for your help!
cooked veggies work! and you can leave those ingredients out and you'll be fine
Is it okay to skip the pre-cleanse? I was just wondering. I'm starting this tomorrow and I didn't know whether or not, I needed to do the 3 day pre-cleanse?
I'm not a nutritionist - but I find it really helpful to do the pre-cleanse to ease into it!
What is your post cleanse routine?
Can I use a nutribullet instead of a juicer?
sure!
In the orange juice recipe it states using 9 carrots. Would that be baby carrots or large carrots?
If it is 9 baby carrots then how many large carrots would that be?
just regular sized carrots!!
Did you lose any weight on the three day cleanse?
Hey Gaby, can I just make litres of the juice and put them in the fridge instead of making them everyday?
sure!! they'll just need a good mix/stir before drinking!