Today, I spent $75 on fruit and veggie juices.
I’m going on a cleanse because, well, frankly that is what I do when I need to pause and reset.
I wanted to go to the self check out, but I forgot my card again. I changed courses from the nearly empty self checkout section to the longish cashier run line.
As I loaded up the conveyer belt with my green juices, berry blends, and vegetable concoctions; I noticed the air change. It seemed those around me were staring at my cart-o-juice with distaste. Instead of cowering, I took a deep breath, and continued placing juice after juice on the belt.
When it was my turn, I told the cashier my phone number and she went about scanning my juices. Again, with a judgmental look on her face. A little less judging and a little more scanning, Brenda!
I was pleasant enough, making polite conversation. But, really. What is it about juice cleanses that make the Judge Judies come out of the woodwork? Don’t worry I don’t plan on detailing every aspect of my cleanse to a perfect stranger. Gosh Brenda.
I like to reboot with a juice cleanse every once in a while. I find that it is more about the mindset juicing creates than losing a ton of weight. Because lets be honest, you might lose a few Lb’s, but its water weight. For me, juicing puts me in a healthy frame of mind. When the cleanse is over, I reach for healthy options.
And really, buying juice isn’t terribly expensive. I could spend 75 bucks at the Winking Lizard on a Sunday afternoon watching the Browns lose while smashing on some soft pretzels and tying on a buzz with my handsome fiancé. So, 75 buckaroos for some juice is no biggie.
It might actually be more expensive to make all of the juice yourself. A lot of produce (and time!) goes into those juices. So, I decided to give into my laziness and just buy the damn juice.
Dinner during my juice cleanse is typically another juice, unless the weather is cold. If its cold outside, I like to blend up a simple vegan soup. One of my favorites is carrot soup with onions, garlic, jalapenos, cumin, turmeric, and ginger. It is filled with antioxidants and anti inflammatory spices. If I’m not feeling the soup or another juice, I will roast a giant sheet pan of veggies tossed in whatever oil I have on hand. (or whichever oil they are saying is healthiest these days. Farewell, coconut oil!)
After a 3-5 day juice cleanse, I like to stick to a simple diet. I incorporate salads, soups, sheet pan veggie dinners, and some grain salads.
Bing. Bang. Boom. Reboot.
xo Ali Taylor
Alexandra Taylor 