The thought of cleansing can be daunting if you’ve never done one. Though we pride ourselves on cold-pressing juices for the casual, everyday sipper, at the heart of our company is a core group of folks who turn to us when they want to cleanse for the first or 50th time. Here are our best tips for making the most of what can truly bee one of your most fulfilling times of your year.
Juice cleanse.
The words strike fear in the hearts of many, but we think that’s because of the preconceived notion that downing all liquids, all the time—even for a day or three or seven or more—will leave you listless, lifeless and blahhhhh.
(SO not the case.)
A chalk rendering of the TJS Standard Cleanse. These six, 16-ounce bottles include TJS’s signature flavor Bee WHealthy™ (greeny, grassy goodness); Bee Energized (beety, cooling and beta carotene-rich); Bee Pure (grownup lemonade with a kick); and Bee Magnificent (truly one of the best-tasting nut milks in all the land).
With the right ‘tude, starting a cleanse is exciting! For a bunch of reasons. If you’re deep into food—and we mean you love every stinking thing about it— you spend a lot of time thinking about it, buying it, prepping it, serving it, and cleaning up after all the above. So when you take a vacay from all that food thought, not only do you realize just how many hours a day you spend on the machinations of feeding, but you free yourself to enjoy the poetic peace that comes from knowing that as meal time rolls around, all you gots to do is grab a bottle to sip, savor and be on your way to the rest of your day. So that’s the time thing.
Then there’s the health thing. The gentility of resting your body from the energy it expends from having to digest solids helps your system press pause on all of its hard work…and yet cold-pressed juice still supplies all the nutrients you need to function (and function well, mightwesay). There’s a softness about juicing that can make your bod feel like it’s being given a little spa sesh…even as you go about your busy day.
Since we opened The Juice Standard’s doors in March 2014 (and opened our second location 14 months later), we’ve had throngs of both newbee and old-pro cleansers test drive our flavors (we offer complimentary tastings, every day, any time). Several have commented on their experience, like this Friends Who Juice profile documenting a first-timer’s 10-day cleanse, or these posts by blogger Allison Gallagher of GirlNextScore about her experience. Drinking for X-days isn’t for everyone…but we like to think that with the flavor variety in a TJS cleanse—plus, the end of the day “reward” that so many of our bees look forward to in our best-selling nut milks—cleanses can be for anyone who is committed to doing the best they can for their bod. Even if only for a few days.
Curious about all this stuff? Beecause we care about you so darn much, here are our tried-and-true tips about making the best of your TJS cleanse:
Bee WHealthy™
MAKE IT A (GOOD) MIND GAME
As you get yourself ready to sip and only sip for your chosen length of time, make a game out of drinking every bottle you crack open. As your lips hit the liquid— as you slowly swallow—see if you can taste the flavors of the various ingredients we’ve added. The turmeric, the ginger, the carrot. Can you single them out in a bottle containing all three? Juice is like wine: when you become good at drinking juice and your palate evolves, you’ll find that not only can you decipher individual flavors, but you actually enjoy them. Hells, you may even crave them…and how wonderful that will be for your health?!
QUALITY IS KEY
Shameless plug? Mayhaps. But we can’t extol enough how important it is to cleanse with cold-pressed juice made from 100 percent organic produce (which, by the by, TJS’ juices and nut milks just happen to contain). When you consume non-organic juice, you are injesting much higher levels of presticide residue than when just eating a salad. And since you are only consuming juice during a cleanse, you want to make it the highest quality possible.
PICK THE RIGHT JUICE
Choose juice that is lower in sugar. This isn’t to save calories, necessarily (though we all know a kickass bennie from a juice cleanse is feeling lithe and enjoying a flatter tummy!), but ideally you want to flush the nasties outta your system and replace them with the most nutrient-dense stuff possible. Greens-heavy juices will do this…but don’t be afraid to reward yourself, too, with some sweetness. (A little secret about the food industry? Ingredients on bottles must be listed in descending order, so if a juice starts with a high- sugar fruit like apple you may want to consider a better option for your cleanse.)
Bee Pure
PRIME THE BOD WITH PRE-CLEANSE PREP
The day before you cleanse, eat light. In fact, if you can do it for two days, even better. And if you can stick to a fruit-and-vegetable diet (raw or lightly steamed produce is bomb.com for the body), you will transition to a liquid-only diet even easier. Also, chew your food very well.
DON’T REINVENT THE WHEEL WITH MEAL TIME
Drink your first juice of the day when you would normally chew your breakfast. It’s still bfast, only you’re drinking it. Doing this helps you maintain some consistency with your “chewing lifestyle” and can help you feel less deprived.
WITH JUICING, TIMING IS EVERYTHING
Set a timer on your phone, computer or watch to alert you to drink a bottle every 2-3 hours, and when you open that next bottle, drink it in full. You don’t want to forget to drink—nor do you want to skip bottles—because your body depends on the calories to curb hunger. And the less hunger you feel, the more easily you’ll cruise through sipping your meals.
HYDRATE, HYDRATE, HYDRATE
Even with all the liquids you’re downing, drink 8-12 ounces of water between each juice. In case you didn’t know, your brain sends the same tummy-growling signal for both hunger AND thirst, so when you hear those rumbles, always grab something to drink first because it may not be food you need. This is a good tactic for remaining hydrated all the time (and can in fact help with appetite control when you’re not cleansing), but when you are cleansing, staying hydrated helps keep you focused.
Bee Energized
HANDLE WITH CARE
Regard your cleanse’s cold-pressed juice as you would any other perishable food: with care. Lots. TJS doesn’t use high-pressure processing (HPP) or any other method of pasteurizing to extend the shelf life of our juices. We press every morn at 5 a.m. so that our product is fresh, and that means it’s raw. Keep it cold. You want the enzymes intact by the time they hit your system.
KNOW WHEN TO BREAK THE RULES
TJS cleanses contain six, 16-ounce bottles of juice, and each bottle has anywhere from 1-3 pounds of produce cold pressed into it. These bottles are big and are designed to keep you satisfied…but if you feel hungry, wait 15 minutes to see if the hunger is real (remember: you could be thirsty or dehydrated!). If you decide you truly are hungry, drink another bottle. You don’t have to wait 2-3 hours all the time. And if at any point during your cleanse you feel more chilled than you might normally, herbal teas and drinks with adaptogenic roots and herbs of all kinds are perfectly acceptable. (And, let’s be real: Some people can’t go without their coffee or high-test black tea. If you must, and we mean must, we simply recommend taking it without dairy.)
Also…TJS doesn’t provide chewables with cleanses, nor do we advocate chewing once you’ve started cleansing. But if you feel like you’re gonna crack, look for water-dense fruits or veggies to munch on. A snack of sliced cucumbers with lemon juice, cayenne pepper and sea salt is yummy; as is avocado; or, celery, carrot or apple with peanut butter. Just note that whenever you introduce solids mid-cleanse like that, it may cause wind or indigestion. And, if you MUST chew food, chew at least 50 times per mouthful. It will help curtail that, er, “windy indigestion.”
SEEING LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL
When you break your cleanse, avoid meat. The tummy troubles from introducing something so hard for the bod to break down will NOT feel nice. Start with fresh fruit in the morning and move to salads. Some grains are okay, but please don’t go too heavy. (Note: Some people like to spend the first two post-cleanse days easing back into chewing the way they eased into juicing…by only eating fruits and veggies. You don’t have to do this, but it’s a great way to extend the benefits of all the hard sipping work you did.)
Bee Magnificent
RETURN TO NORMALCY
By the third full day after your cleanse you’re safe to reincorporate meats or lean protein into your diet. Smaller portions are advised. Grains can re-appear, too. Try to keep to a half-cup serving per meal. And if possible, avoid processed grains.
That’s all we got, Bees! If you’re considering a cleanse you are no doubt committed to doing something good for yourself. Regardless of reason, we’re beeyond confident that you’ll experience just how valuable, effective and powerful it can be to add cold-pressed juice made with 100 percent organic ingredients to your world. Naturally, we hope you’ll drink ours.
Questions? We’re here to serve you on your road to WHealth! Reach us at info@juicestandard.com.