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I had been collaborating with Kim Evans from Whole Health Nutrition for quite a while trying to put together a juice cleanse that would hit all the required nutritional benchmarks, and be a fun experience for both new and experienced juicers. It was a bit of a tall order, and I must admit that I got wrapped up in the many details. A couple weeks after we kicked off the program, it occurred to me that I hadn’t tested the cleanse on myself yet! So at 8:30 on a Monday morning, Kim and I picked up our boxes of juice and set off on a cleansing adventure. For posterity (and the Healthy Living blog, of course), I decided to chronicle my experience.

 Below is roughly what you can expect from our Purify program. Results may vary, and so might technique; I opted for an all-juice cleanse, but we have some fantastic suggestions for those who are more interested in supplementing their cleanse with wholesome, nutritious foods.

8:30 AM— Green Tea—This is a nice way to start off the day. It could keep an average-sized caffeine craving at bay, and definitely minimized my morning appetite. A confession: I had 1.5 cups of coffee early in the morning to spare the HL staff the unpleasantness of dealing with my withdrawals.

10:30 AM—Green Up—By mid-morning, I was getting hungry, and a hearty vegetable  juice sounded pretty fantastic. It is not a sweet juice, but it IS very pleasant and easy to drink. It curbed my hunger and gave me a noticeable boost of energy.

12:30 AM—Detox Blend—Fizzy, spicy, and savory. This juice is pretty beet-heavy, and perfect for lunch. The slow burn of ginger, the tartness of Aqua Vitea’s kombucha, and the earthiness of beets make for a satisfyingly complex midday mélange.

2:30 PM—Brain Booster Blend—Another confession: I hadn’t tried this juice since we created it two years ago. I suppose I was less than tantalized at the thought of a spinach-carrot-ginger juice, but here’s the Brain Booster, back on my radar. It’s a surprisingly sweet blend, with sugar supplied by carrots, anchored by the richness and depth of spinach. What a pleasant surprise.

4:30 PM—Antioxidant Blend—This is far and away our most popular blend. Also the most filling, and well-placed for an energy boost at the tail end of my work day. The unpolished heft of beets punctuated by the bright acidity of lemon and subtle sweetness from cantaloupe place this firmly in juice all-star territory.

6:30 PM—Immunity Blend—Obviously, by 6:30 I was hungry. The Immunity Blend is a classic juice comprised of carrot, cantaloupe, and lemon. Very tasty, somewhat filling, and my dinner for that evening.

8:30 PM—Green Fizz—One of my favorite new juices is on our “dessert” menu: the Green Fizz. Aqua Vitea kombucha, spinach, ginger, and cantaloupe merge spectacularly in this fun-to-drink combination. A perfect way to close out this day of juice.

 I chose to only cleanse for one day, as it had been 3 or 4 years since my last cleanse and I wasn’t sure how my body would handle it. The following morning, I ate a small salad, and the after effects were pretty surprising: an incredible amount of energy (too much, according to some staff members), a smaller appetite than usual, and a general sense of well-being. I will certainly do this again in the future.