Juice Fast Prep
I’ve been prepping for my juice fast that starts next week, and I have to say I am a little nervous. I actually love the way the juice tastes, so that is not an issue but it’s the hunger that I’m worried about. I’m juicing about 2 drinks a day right now, at least replacing one meal and sometimes two. I find that I am pretty hungry in the morning and after dinner. My husband likes to remind me that being hungry is actually a good thing, but I’m just not very used to feeling truly hungry. My parents have already started their fast and say that they are feeling great and full of energy with no hunger, so I know I will get over the hump. Since this is my first juice fast, it is just the unknowns that I’m anxious about. If you are worried about juicing for the first time, here are a few tips and recipes that will be helpful for your fast.
- 80/20 – I mentioned this in my previous post, but this is really important. You want 80% veggies and 20% fruits. I always juice with apples and lemon to make the juice a little sweeter
- Lots of greens – This is the key to juicing because greens give you the most nutrients. Some of my favorite greens to juice are kale, collards, swiss chard, spinach, and kohlrabi greens. Make sure to juice all the green tops from carrots and celery leaves too.
- The secret of butternut squash – most people wouldn’t think about juicing squash, but a butternut squash goes great with juicing. It’s my special secret because it is loaded with vitamin A and C, potassium and magnesium and makes your juice sweeter.
- Source locally – Local veggies are at their peak of freshness and will produce more juice because they haven’t been sitting in a grocery store for weeks. So hit up your local farmers market tomorrow. If you can’t do this, make sure you purchase organic ingredients.
- Leave it on – if you buy organic, wash your items but leave the skins on. This goes for apples, butternut squash, lemons, cucumbers, ginger, beets, etc.
- Strain – Most juicers will leave quite a bit of pulp in the juice, as well as foam (which can be unpleasant). You will want to strain that using a fine mesh strainer or cheesecloth.
- Serve over ice – Serving fresh juice straight from the juicer is better when served over ice. If you store it in the fridge for a couple hours, you won’t need to do this.
- Use a straw – Just another element that makes the juice more enjoyable, and leaves you free of a green mustache.
The Kitchen Sink: (makes 2-3 drinks)
1 lemon (if organic juice with rind, if not peel)
2 apples
1 small butternut squash
1 handful of spinach
1/2 bunch of kale
1/2 bunch of collards or other greens
5-7 carrots
Metabolism Booster: (makes 1 small drink, great for a snack)
1 apple
1 grapefruit
2 celery sticks
6 mint leaves
Time to Clear Out (makes 1 drink) **stay close to the bathroom for this one
1 large or 2 medium beets
1/2 lemon without rind
2-4 carrots
1 apple
1″ piece of ginger root
Most importantly, you will want to experiment this weekend before you start your fast on Monday. It takes a few tries to get the hang of it and find out what flavor combinations you like. Do you have any tried and true favorite recipes?
Great post Mary, good information. Good luck on your fast, after you pass the third day its much easier and because your getting so much nutrition, you won’t be hungry. We realized how much we eat out of habit and not hunger.
I keep hearing that the 3rd day is the turning point, excited to push through and make it to the other side
What great timing to catch up with your blog – I’ve been wanting to do this too, and have done it in spurts before but have been so busy I keep telling myself I’m not prepared. Just looking at your great recipes tells me I’m more prepared than I thought, so I just need to pick up a few things and I may join you on Monday!
I hope you do! You could even just replace one meal with juice and then work yourself up to the fast. You can really use anything you have in your fridge.
Great post, Mary. One of the keys is also staying well hydrated. We wake up and drink 16oz of water with lemon to start. So many times we think we’re hungry when we are just dehydrated.
Great advice! I’ll make sure to remember that. Thanks!
Great post, thanks! My mom-n-law just dropped off a juicer as an early Christmas present (it’s still in the box) (they were having some sort of appliance sale at Macy’s). I’m actually contemplating a juice fast, but will probably start off with a daily meal replacements. Thanks for the starter recipes & tips!
June, how exciting. What kind did you get? I started with replacing breakfast and then to lunch and next week I’ll be doing all juice. You start to get addicted
Hi Mary-
My husband and I began a 10 day juice fast a few days ago. We are on day 4. I happened to run across your blog when searching for recipes. I have been searching for an answer to a question and wondered if you might happen to know the answer. We have tried juicing beets several times, and every time they taste like DIRT. Just horrid. I’ve peeled, not peeled, done the greens, left the greens out, and they still taste like dirt. Have you had any luck doing beets and making them taste good?
Hi Virginia,
The best flavor combination for beets is probably citrus and carrots. I would juice oranges or grapefruit, lemon, carrots and beets. I have come to realize that beets are one of the things that you either love or hate and they definitely do have an “earthy” taste. I love them, but a lot of people say they taste like dirt. Hard to mask that. Hope that helps!
Another tip for beets is the smaller ones taste better, I usually juice the golden and red together with orange, carrots and sweet potato and it is awesome…my eight yr olds thinks its a smoothie