This is a food blog. So most of our pieces are about, well, food. Call it masticating, noshing, feasting or just plain eating -- it's pretty much our everything.
So why would one of us willingly forgo food for 48 hours? Anything for your sake, beloved readers.
Juice cleansing is the new hotness, so we took downtown's Ten Fruits up on an invitation to give their new cleanse a go. Here's how it went down. Literally down, like, into our stomach.
See also: Four Tips for a Perfect Juice Cleanse
First off, let's establish one thing: this isn't considered a fast. This juice cleanse is designed to keep you fueled up, full and with plenty of calories to keep you going. I can attest to the fullness factor. On this particular plan, I didn't experience a single hunger pain. No starvation necessary.
"A lot of people have misconceptions of what a cleanse is for," says Ten Fruits owner David Polinksy. "They think it's a form of fasting and it's absolutely not. It's actually intended to be highly nutritious and to keep you running at the same energy level you would normally have but you just eliminate the bad things in your diet."
The Ten Fruits juice cleanse is offered by the day. You can partake in one, two or three-day sessions, and the juices need to be picked up daily, at $47.50 a pop. The lineup was established by juice-master and co-owner Alexander Vazquez. They're purists, folks -- so there's no pasteurization whatsoever for their fruity bevs. Everything has to be consumed within 24 hours. I decided to opt into a two-day commitment.
On the morning of day one, I was ready to go, jonesing to get into my juices. After picking up the uber-adorable to-go carton (if you're in downtown, they also deliver), I started in on juice one. You get six juices a day, and they're as follows:
Juice 1: Super Green - cucumber, avocado and blueberries. Almost smoothie-esque, it's filling and pretty delicious.
Juice 2: Refreshing Cleanse - wheatgrass, parsley and apple. Slightly sweet and very light, it's a good follow-up to the first.
Juice 3: Almond Milk - almond milk, vanilla, cinnamon and agave. Ummmmm delicious much? I could drink a gallon of this, on the daily. Go get some. Now. You'll never want regular milk again.
Juice 4: Back to Work - wheatgrass, carrot, spinach and beet. Despite my love for beets, I had a little trouble with this one. It's very earthy. While tasty in small doses, 16 ounces was a challenge.
Juice 5: Spa Day - ginger, carrot, cucumber, apple and lemon. I dug the ginger/carrot combo. It's acidic, in a good way.
Juice 6: Green Day - kale, spinach, celery, apple and parsley. This one is supposed to be particularly good for digestion. Due to my fullness, I didn't make it past a couple sips each day, but it was palatable for sure.
Polinksy warned me that more petite folks or those with a smaller stomach capacity may not make it to juice No. 6. He was spot on -- I was juiced out by number five and had no real need for the last drink of the day. Basically, you're supposed to drink a juice about every two hours.
Day one was pretty easy. While I missed the sensual satisfaction that comes with chewing, the juices kept me satiated. I'll skip the graphic details, but they're definitely digestion-friendly.
Day two was a little tougher. After the delightful afternoon almond milk (with which I am obsessed), I wasn't too eager to jump back into the beet juice. 30 hours in, I was missing all things edible. But I soldiered on through a minor headache and slightly cranky disposition.
In reality, it wasn't too tough. Drinking juices every two hours kept me from focusing on food. And while I thought I'd wake up ravenous on day three, I actually didn't. The idea of heavy eats appealed to me not at all, and I stuck to a light breakfast. A third day of just-juice, however, I would have found a tad difficult.
Honestly, one of the best parts about this cleanse is that it puts a pin in bad habits. Two days of juicing, and you're not about to jump straight back into junk food. It gives your body a healthy hiatus from your standard, debaucherous ways. And let's face it, most 305 bods could use a break from booze, coladas and pastelitos. For those whose eating habits err more towards the toxic side -- this is a less-than-onerous way to flush your system and start fresh. All in all, I'd say it's worth your while. Every now and then, those internal organs deserve a little R&R.
Who Should Try It: People who need to detox, people who want to break bad eating habits, people who love bragging about their healthy lifestyles via social media (the packaging is Instagram-perfect).
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Who Shouldn't Try It: People with major health issues (obvs), people who don't do well with self-discipline, people who don't like fruit/vegetables (although, if that's the case, you should really get over it).
You can order Ten Fruit's cleanse via GrubHub, Eat24 or phone. Check 'em out on Facebook and Instagram.
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