Toby and I recently watched the documentary, “Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead,” about a man who was 100 pounds overweight and suffering from a myriad of diseases. After 60 days of green juicing, he shed the weight and now enjoys incredible health, all from drinking green juice and a bit of exercise. The movie inspired us so much that we decided to do a juice cleanse of our own. Our reason for the fast was simply to have a bit of a spring clean for the new year. Last Sunday, we both gave up what seemed like everything, except raw organic fruits and vegetables. I’m not going to lie, we both endured massive headaches in the first 24 hours from the loss of our beloved tea and coffee. Thankfully by day 2 we were rocking, rolling, and feeling fine. I’m not going to say that I didn’t miss my comfort foods, but it was worth it to just give my digestive system a break, enjoy a light and breezy feeling, mental clarity, and more energy than I imagined without the boost of caffeine. By the end of the week, Toby lost 9 pounds and I have lost 7. If you’re interested in a juice fast, I would suggest consulting with your doctor beforehand, and taking a week to prepare your body by eating a light, cooked vegetarian diet of whole grains, fruits, and vegetables before diving into the fast. The purpose of green juice fasting is to thoughtfully and compassionately give your body a chance to rid itself of toxins and reboot, rather than shock the system. The most important thing is to buy strictly organic or you will be increasing your intake of toxins due to pesticides sprayed on conventional produce. Organic fruit and vegetables also have 50% more nutritional value due to being grown in healthier soil without pesticides.

Toby and I averaged about 5-7 tall glasses of organic juice or smoothies a day. To make the drinks we use a Waring Pro Juicer for juice or a Kitchen Aid Blender for smoothies. Here are our favorites this week:

Feel free to play around with the measures and ingredients. Have fun and be creative!

Carrot, Apple, and Ginger juice
5-6 carrots
2 apples, cored, chopped
thumb size piece of ginger

Berrylicious Smoothie
1/2 cup blueberries
1/2 cup strawberries
1 banana
2 cups of fresh squeezed orange juice (not pasteurized) or filtered water
tbs of raw honey agave syrup (optional)
ice

Tropical Smoothie
oranges
banana
mango chunks (fresh or frozen)
tbs of raw honey or agave syrup (optional)
2 cups coconut water (water not cream) or filtered water
2-3 cubes of ice

Green Smoothie #1
2 apples, cored and chopped
1/2 cups mango chunks (fresh or frozen0
1 banana
4 leaves of lacinto kale
2 cups filtered water
tbs of raw honey or agave syrup (optional)
2-3 cubes of ice

Green Smoothie #2
4 lacinto kale leaves
handful of raspberries (fresh or frozen)
handful of strawberries (fresh or frozen)
1 banana
4 soft medjool dates (optional)
2 cups of  filtered water
2-3 cubes of ice cubes

Green Smoothie #3
4-5 lacinto kale leaves
1 banana
2 apples, cored, and chopped
2 cups blueberries
1/2 cup raspberries (fresh or frozen)
4 soft medjool dates (optional)
2 cups filtered water
2-3 cubes of ice

Lean Green
5-6 carrots
5 leaves lacinto kale
handful of parsley
1 cucumber

Mean Green
2 beets
5-6 carrots
1 stalk celery
thumb size piece ginger
handful of spinach

Related posts:

• Vanilla Almond Milk I've been drinking almond milk for years, but to be honest, I've never really found "my brand." Sometimes the vanilla flavor can taste a bit synthetic, it's too sweet, or the texture is too thick or thin. O.k. o.k., so I'm a little A-type...
• The Green Smoothie for Kids Miracle of miracles: my son just had a 2 cups of raw kale and he's smiling! Yup, no negotiations, no moaning, no groaning, just requests for "more smoothie please." My son is most certainly not one of those amazing raw foodist kids we've ...
• Vegan Eggnog Happy Holidays everyone! Here is a dairy-free eggnog recipe that is incredibly quick, easy, and so so delicious. With or without alcohol it is OMG good! Vegan Eggnog 1 liter of unsweetened almond milk 1 can of light coconut milk 1 banana tbs v...