Peeled: Juice Cleanse

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Well, here are we are at Day 1 of my juice cleanse. I was thinking about waiting until the end of cleanse to post a collective summary, but I thought I'd kick off the blogging now. Real-time is always better and I need to get my mind off the fact that I am very hungry — anyone who ever told you the juices are filling and you're never hungry is a big, pants-on-fire, fat liar.

Anyways! So lets start from the top. I first heard about the Groupon from this juice cleanse from Eydee (friend and classmate), about a week ago. I've juiced before in the past, but never on an actual cleanse program. Even though I've always wanted to try a cleanse, I never seriously got into the juicing fad because I never wanted to deal with hassle and the mess that came with doing it yourself. This seemed like the perfect win-win.

Speed ahead to today. Instead of trying to face the treacherous roads in the never-ending Chicago snow, I decided to walk the mile to the Peeled Juice Bar in the early morning snow blizzard. Keep in mind that I had not considered the weight of bottles at this point (18 bottles? 16oz each? 18lbs? Who knows? I'm a master in communications, not math).

Fast forward! After the treacherous walk back in a snow storm with what felt like 50lbs of juice on my shoulder, I immediately put all the juices in the fridge and decided I would start my first bottle at 9:30 a.m.

GREEN LANTERN

(kale, romaine, spinach, cucumber, celery, lemon and ginger)

Initial thoughts: WOW! This is delicious. It tastes like the other green juices I've made before and have had. Easy.

I was feeling pretty high and mighty about myself during this bottle and after finishing it. I felt clean, light and energetic — it's the first day, so I'm not sure if it's because of the juice, or if it was a placebo effect from feeling so psyched. Regardless, great juice and I looked forward to drinking it again later in the day. This is a repeat bottle during the day, along with the less than pleasing Maroon 5, which you'll read about later.

HAUTE LEMONADE

(agave, cayenne pepper, grade a maple syrup, lemon)

Initial thoughts: Ooh... lemonade. WAIT A MINUTE MY LIPS ARE BURNING A LITTLE BIT. This would be great during a sore throat.

This had more of a kick than I was anticipating. It wasn't as tasty as the Green Lantern, but still pretty easy to get through. Mostly lemonade with a nice kick of spice at the end. I was also still reeling off the momentum from my first bottle.

MAROON 5

(beet, carrot, apple, lemon, ginger)

Initial thoughts: This was a mistake.  A big mistake. This is what dirt and and probably new cut grass tastes like. Is that an after taste of beets? Gross. I compare this unpleasantness to having to drink 16oz of tequila. For those of you who don't know, tequila is essentially poison (to me).

I read a review, previous to starting the cleanse, from a woman who really enjoyed this juice. She must enjoy the taste of beets like Andy (he claims it taste like "soy milk" - he's wrong), because this bottle was the worse for me. I can't get past my distaste of beets. I could not taste any thing else in that mix, except for beets. Halfway through the bottle, I was worried I wouldn't finish. So, I went to the fridge, cut a slice of lemon and and chased the drink with a lemon (as though I was taking shots) after every big gulp. Is this cheating? Maybe. Needless to say, I wouldn't have been able to get through the bottle without the lemon.

**Update: The second bottle later in the afternoon was even worse.

CASHEW MILK

(ground cashews, Madagascar vanilla, purified water, dates, and raw agave with a spicy dash of nutmeg)

Initial thoughts: Thank god there are no beets in this. Sweet, delightful. Nice way to end a food-solid-less day.

So I'm working on this bottle as a type and I know why this put this one at the end of day. If you've had almond milk in the past, this is a close comparison. You'll taste the sweetness of the cinnamon and see specs of vanilla in the drink itself. It's helps with the pangs of hunger, similar to how a tall glass of milk would.

FINAL THOUGHTS...

- I am still hungry now. The desire for food (I'm assuming) is what Edward, Damon and Stefan must go through daily, but with blood. In which case, I feel for you fictional vampire characters. Hopefully this will subside in Day 2 and 3.

- Thank goodness I found this post for some comfort.

- I've never experienced such a strong desire to eat like this before. It feels very savage like and surreal.

- I tried to watch Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead for inspiration. And I was inspired, except I felt like I wasn't doing enough, because everyone was doing at least a 10-Day cleanse.

- I would definitely incorporate the Green Lantern into my everyday routine and would replace it for one or even two meals. That being said, I enjoy eating whole, natural foods, not just drinking it. I think a medium of the two would be highly beneficial.

One day down! Two more to go.