The Jealous Crumpet

A sweet little blog


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Surviving a Juice Cleanse

Juice Cleanse Juices

Whenever I thought about doing a juice cleanse I always envisioned the movie “The Exorcist”.  A cleanse, I imagined, involved a health zealot pelting me with quinoa or chia seeds (or whatever health food is trendy at the time) and yelling “The power of green juices and 64 oz of water compels you!”, as I vomit something green and my head spins around. Unpleasant indeed. But a couple of months ago I was covering a ribbon cutting for the opening on a new juice bar, I Love Juice Bar and the people where so nice a normal I got looking into juicing.  I Love Juice Bar offers these nifty pre-made juicing packages, so I could just pay someone make the juices. I debated for a couple of weeks and finally just decide to go for it and do a three-day juice fast/cleanse. pre-made

untitled_9Thursday: I picked up my juice cleanse, went home and immediately tasted each one. I wanted to know what I was working with. My favorite was the orange, didn’t love the fresh, but all of the juice was pretty tasty.  Untitled-1

I had done zero research on doing a juice cleanse so I didn’t know I was supposed to eat any differently before a cleanse, so I had everything bad for me the day before, sugar, coffee, booze, etc.  Oops.  untitled8

Friday: Starting my juice cleanse! I was quite worried as I am an avid coffee drinker and this was apparently not allowed, but my the end I was off from coffee.  2 weeks after the cleanse I still have one cup in the morning, but I am much less dependent on the caffeine.  Untitled-5

I decided to start with the beet juice.  It was yummy and a beautiful shade of red.  I had a couple of sips and then immediately dumped half of the juice on my white sofa.  In a panicked frenzy I start cleaning my sofa.  The juice cleanse was not off to a good start, but I learned that Oxy Clean stain remover is a miracle substance.  It took out the beet juice amazingly well!!!!  Go buy some today!Untitled-2After the beet juice debacle things went a little more smoothly.  I wasn’t dying of hunger, but my mouth would start watering every time a food ad came on TV.  I’ve never even eaten at Popeye’s, but I commercial for their fried chicken came on and man what I would have given for a piece of  fried chicken.  And I almost never eat fast food.

I slept exceptionally well that night, better than I had in months.  Could be the hunger, but I was too tired to care.

Untitled-10Saturday-I felt pretty good in the morning, well rested and craving veggies.  I did NOT start with beet juice, but opted for a less stainable green juice, which I successfully drank without pouring on anything.  Drinking water has been the hardest part. Having to drink so much water has made me realize that I normally don’t drink enough H2O.  waterI go to the grocery store to get veggies in preparation for eating solids again and my mouth starts watering uncontrollably when I see a cucumber.  A cucumber!  Already I am healthier.

Sunday-At this point I don’t really miss having food in my stomach, but I do miss the texture and the process of eating food.  I’m starting to get really excited about drinking my juices, as if it is Christmas or Thanksgiving dinner.  But I am SO tired of the constant cycle of drinking water followed by a visit to the bathroom.

I’m not really having any cravings and don’t feel hungry.

Monday-I somehow ended up with an extra juice, so on my first day of eating solid foods I opted to have my last juice for breakfast.  For lunch ate a light salad and it was glorious.

I’ve survived my first juice cleanse!  Thank-you I Love Juice Bar for helping me with the process!!!

 

 

 


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Refreshing {and Healthy} Water

Flavored H2OSo this year, I decide to get healthy… well healthish.  Having a dessert blog is probably not the best start.  I haven’t attended any 5 am bootcamp classes or become a militant raw food vegan (and probably never will), but I do attend the occasional yoga class and one time I googled what was involved in doing a juice cleanse.  I also decided to eliminate soda from my diet and drink more water.  Ouch.  In all seriousness soda/pop/coke/soft drink (whatever you call it) is pretty terrible for you.  Numerous studies have found that soda can increase your risk of obesity, diabetes, stroke, kidney damage, cancer, etc. etc. etc.  And don’t even get me started on diet soda.  So I switched to water, which is healthier and as a result I feel better, but sometimes old-fashioned H2O can be a little bit lackluster.  So I started adding little things to make it feel and taste more exciting.

Flavored WaterI am also very excited because by little herb garden is thriving, so I can add a sprig of this and that to bump up the flavor.  Of course you should try your own concoctions but these are my three favorites.  They are all obvious, but refreshing.

Cucumber Mint WaterI have lived in the southern United States for years now, and yet I am never used to the stifling heat and humidity that rears its miserable head in the summer. The heat has just begun (as well as the 97% humidity!!!!) and I am already over it.

My go-to refreshing drink is water with slices of cucumber, springs of mint and LOTS of ice.  It is reminiscent of a mojito.

Strawberry Basil WaterIf I am really missing soda I like to drink seltzer water with fruit.  This drink is just strawberries and chopped basil in carbonated water.

lavender lemon waterI also love lavender which reminds me of relaxing vacations to France rather than the suffocated heat that is trying to kill me.  I put slices of lemon and springs of lavender in still water and relax.

Also for those of you interested in photography here is a pulled back shot of my set.  Very rustic.  You don’t need a fancy studio!

background2And lastly, the gnomes are enjoying sunnier weather after their winter culinary adventures.  If you want to see their snowy shenanigans here is the link.

goodbyeStay cool out there this summer!

Flavored Waters