Spring Cleansing
I’ve done it again. I survived my third Blue Print Cleanse! Now you know why I haven’t posted a recipe in a few days. Cleansing + Cooking = Torture.
Why cleanse? Good question. I cleanse when I’m feeling run down, or have been overindulging and need to get back on track. To me, a successful cleanse is based on replenishing and taking care of the body, not depriving it. Juicing, in particular, gives the body a break from all the hard work of digesting and processing food. It floods the system with nutrients it may have been lacking. In liquid form, the nutrients are easily absorbed into the bloodstream enabling your body to reap the full benefits to create inner balance.
Blue Print Cleanse is a nutritional juice cleanse founded by Zoe Sakoutis, a raw-foodist and certified nutritional consultant, and Erica Huss. Their juices are unpasteurized, unprocessed, raw, vegan, and locally sourced from sustainable farms.
There are six bottles of juice per day, with a recommended three day minimum cleanse. BPC has three levels to choose from: Renovation, Foundation, Excavation. The levels vary from gentle (more fruit based juices) to aggressive (more green juices) and should be selected based on current eating habits. If you eat total crap, start with Renovation. If you’re a pretty conscious, healthy eater, try Excavation. See their website for details. The best part? They taste delicious and it’s idiot proof. Usually I’m obsessing about what to eat for dinner while I’m eating breakfast. On BPC, I can even give my brain a break from worrying about my next meal.
Here are the juices I had on the three-day Excavation cleanse. The bottles are numbered and consumed in numerical order approximately every two hours.
Green Juice (juices 1,2,3, & 5)- Romaine, celery, cucumber, apple, spinach, kale, parsley, lemon and ginger. I love it. Lemony and refreshing, I never get sick of it.
Spicy Lemonade ( juice 4) – Lemon juice, agave, cayenne pepper. Tastes exactly like it sounds, tart with a very subtle heat.
Cashew Milk (juice 6) – Cashew, water, vanilla, cinnamon, agave. This is like the golden child of the cleanse. It’s bottled dessert. I look forward to it all day long.
Blue Print Cleanse Excavation - photo courtesy of BPC website
BPC emphasizes the importance of pre- and post-cleansing. I’ll admit, this time I wasn’t as diligent as I usually am, which is probably why I struggled a bit. It’s important to ease in and out of the cleanse so you don’t shock your system. Their website has all the details and their customer service is quick to respond to any questions via email, Facebook, or Twitter @BPCleanse. BPC also sends guidelines on preparing and coming off the cleanse via email, along with words of encouragement throughout the cleanse (a nice touch).
Although it’s supposedly fine to workout while cleansing, it made me pretty hungry especially in the afternoons, and I had to “cheat” with some celery. Yes, I know it’s sad when celery is on the cheat list. But now that it’s all done, my skin is clear and glowing, I feel “clean”, and invigorated. Any cravings I had have subsided, and the little sweet tooth devil is off my shoulder.
BPC is available at Whole Foods Tribeca. I usually buy a couple bottles after class at Soul Cycle. You can also order through BPC’s website with the option to pick-up or and have it delivered. Delivery in NYC is only an extra $5 a day and it sure beats lugging 18 bottles home. They also have FEDEX so check it out no matter what zip code you’re in, you might be able to get it too!
If you’re interested in making your own juices/smoothies and other cleansing recipes at home, get Zoe & Erica’s book, The 3-Day Cleanse. I’ve made a couple recipes from it (including the infamous cashew milk) and really enjoyed them.
The 3-Day Cleanse by Zoe Sakoutis & Erica Huss
TheKitchn.com recently posed the question “Can Food Lovers Really Survive a Cleanse?” My answer? Absolutely. Not everyone believes in cleansing and I respect that. But I do think cleanses like Blue Print are beneficial, even if you’re already a healthy eater. Juice cleansing floods your body with water and tons of nutrients so it’s not just about getting the bad out, it’s about overloading your body with good. If the idea of not consuming any solids for three days freaks you out, BPC has a Juice ’til Dinner program that consists of four BPC juices, a two course vegetarian meal, and two tasty snacks. I’ve never done it, but seems like a good way to dip your toe in, if you’re new to cleansing.
I’ve seen people commenting on Twitter about how they could never cleanse because they love food too much, or they couldn’t be vegetarian or vegan for the same reason. I think they’d be surprised that many people who cleanse, are vegetarians, or vegans, are actually big-time eaters, like ME. Afterall, most are very aware of what we put in our bodies, which requires not only nutritional awareness, but also a deep love of food/cooking, and concern for how our food is grown and sourced.
What do you think? Have you done a cleanse or considering doing one? Tried Blue Print already? What did you think? Please share!
Happy Spring Everyone!!
