A couple months ago, I started hearing more and more about "Juicing". The talk on the subject totally intrigued me and I began doing some research. It lead me to the Joe Cross documentary called, "Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead", the story of Joe's suffering from a debilitating autoimmune disease and his personal mission to regain his health and lead a healthier lifestyle. With doctors and conventional medicines unable to help Joe in the long-term, he turned to the only option left, the body's ability to heal itself. Joe traded in the junk food for fresh fruit and veggies and made a vow to drink only fresh fruit and vegetable juice for the next 60 days. His only goal: to get off his pills and achieve a balanced lifestyle. His story was unbelievable, inspirational and nothing short of amazing.
Meanwhile, in Facebookland, San Diego photographer, Joanne Encarnacion started a FB group called, Thirst for a Healthy Life, filled with great advice, inspiration and awesome recipes. Within a couple weeks of having seen the movie, suddenly it seemed even MORE people were talking about the benefits of juicing.
Determined to make some health changes myself, I decided to check out what this juicing was all about. I headed out to The Bay, bought a killer Breville juicer, armed myself tons of veggies and started my 14-day juice detox!
The next 5 days I had nothing but fresh vegetable or fruit juices and water. I'll admit it, it wasn't easy but the benefits were amazing and almost instant! My energy level sky rocketed, I was sleeping better at night, my skin looked radiant, and I dropped more than a couple pounds. What's not to love? Unfortunately I was unable to maintain ONLY juice and had to add one solid meal a day, but made sure it always consisted of fresh veggies only. Since then, I make sure to drink my veggie juice (almost) every day. For me, it's an awesome way to ensure I'm getting enough fruits and veggies.
If you're looking to make a change in your diet you should definitely try juicing. An only juice detox is extreme but having a couple glasses of fresh vegetable / fruit juice every day, in addition to a healthy diet is an amazing way to ensure you're getting all the nutrients you need in your busy day. And if your looking for some amazing inspiration to keep you motivated on your journey, check out Joanne's new blog; Life as a Juice Junkie, dedicated to this very subject! She's always got some new and interesting recipes. I can't wait to try them!
So far, my all-time fave is apple + cranberry. Yummy!
Have an awesome (& healthy) day. xoxo
