Juice Fasting

Healthy and Safe Juice Fasting to Help Lose Weight

Juice fasting is a safe and easy way to detoxify the body.  During a juice fast you typically consume only raw vegetable and fruit juices and water for about 3-5 days.  Juice fasts are considered one of the most rapid methods of detoxifying your body.

Fasting is not harmful, have been recorded in ancient history, and have been a part of virtually all religions.   To achieve optimal health and energy I believe you should periodically cleanse your body with a brief fast.  Many popular diet plans, like the South Beach Diet, also begin with a cleansing period whereby you’re instructed to reduce calorie intake and limit the types of foods you eat for one to two weeks.  It’s a great way to jumpstart your weight loss program.

I don’t recommend water fasts as they are too hard on the body.  Water only fasts release too many stored-up toxins without supplying the nutrients needed to detoxify them.  These nutrients, especially the antioxidants supplied in abundance in the juices, bind with harmful toxins and carry them out of the body.

Although relatively safe, caution should be used when fasting.  Children under 18 should not follow a strict juice fast.  Diabetics should seek a doctor’s approval before trying a juice fast.  And, if you’re fasting for longer than five days, it’s best to seek supervision from a physician.

Some cleansing foods that are especially effective for detoxifying you’ll see in several juice recipes.  They include beets, cabbage, wheat-grass, sprouts, lemon, carrot, celery, and apple.  In addition, you can add herbal teas such as dandelion root and nettle.  These two herbs help cleanse the liver and kidneys.

Vegetable broths can be drunk as well during a juice fast.  Simmer fresh vegetables with onions and garlic, strain, out the vegetables, and add a dash of seasoning to make a nutritious broth you can drink as desired.  If you need something to much on, feel free to modify your fast by adding fresh raw vegetables.

A Few Recommendations

• Prepare for your juice fast – A few days before you begin your fast start to taper off foods like meat, dairy, sugar, caffeine, and alcohol.  It will help to eliminate some of the hunger cravings.
• Experiment with recipes – If a certain recipe you’re given is unappealing, or if you simply don’t have the ingredients, try substituting other ingredients.  Nothing’s worse than dreading that drink of juice in your diet.
• No solid foods – During your juice fast it’s counter-productive to eat solid foods like beef or chicken.
• Food withdrawals are normal – As your body detoxes it’s normal to have occasional headaches, and hunger pains in the first day or two.   Make yourself a special juice mix to battle your cravings, or drink more water.  If hunger pangs persist, and you’re thinking of quitting, try a vegetable broth, a small carrot salad, or a piece of fruit.
• Drink lots of water – Drink water after each juice meal, more throughout the day, and if juice seems too thick it’s a good idea to dilute it with water.
• Begin each day with a hot drink – My doctor recommends hot water, and lemon juice, each morning to get your digestive system working.  It’s a great way to begin your day when juice fasting.

Stored toxins that are circulated during a detox period, or fast, should be purged out of the system or they are can be reabsorbed into your system. Therefore, it’s important to drink plenty of water during this period, to flush the toxins out efficiently.  Other products to quickly dispose of these toxins include herbal laxatives such as senna tea, or cascara, and detox teas.

Juice Fast Recipes

Juice is generally “squeezed” from your home juicer.  I have a Breville Juicer, and very happy with it.  However, there are several other great juicers out there that are easy to use.

As an alternative, juice cleanse companies such as Blueprint Cleanse, Organic Avenue, and Pressed Juicery sell cleanse packages made up of various fresh pressed juices that are delivered by courier across the United States.

The recipes below are some excellent suggestions for each juice meal of the day, taken from the book Juicing For Life – available at Amazon. It’s the best book I’ve read for those who like juicing and want to get all the information they can about juice diets and juice recipes.

These are only ideas, however, and you should feel free to make substitutions and create your own recipes.  Diluting your juice with water, or mixing in lots of ice, is a great idea too, especially when it comes to strong vegetables juices like beet juice.  In fact, my dentist recommends drinking water immediately after drinking juice, or eating a grapefruit.  I recommend that you have one beet juice and one cabbage juice drink per day during a juice fast because of their effectiveness in cleansing the body.  Portions for a juice fast are to drink 3-6 juices per day – about 16-20 ounces per juice meal.

Juice Recipes for Breakfast

Energy Shake

Handful parsley 4-6 carrots, greens removed Parsley sprig for garnish

Bunch up parsley and push through hopper with carrots. Garnish with sprig of parsley.

Ginger Hopper

¼-inch slice ginger root 4-5 carrots, greens removed ½ apple, seeded

Push ginger through hopper with carrots and apple.

Pink Morning Tonic

1 pink grapefruit, peeled (leave white pithy part) 1 Red Delicious apple, seeded

Push grapefruit through hopper with apple.

Peach Nectar

2 firm peaches, pitted ½ lime 1 ripe banana 1 Tbsp. brewer’s yeast

Juice peaches and lime.  Place juice, banana, and yeast in blender or food processor, and blend until smooth.

Morning Energizer

Handfull parsley 5 carrots, greens removed ½ apple, seeded

Bunch up parsley and push through hopper with carrots and apple.

 

Mid-Morning Snacks

Green Surprise

1 large kale leaf 2-3 green apples, seeded Lime twist for garnish

Bunch up kale leaf and push through hopper with apples.  Garnish with lime twist.  The surprise is that you won’t taste the kale!

Cherie’s Cleansing Cocktail

¼-inch slice ginger root 1 beet ½ apple, seeded 4 carrots, greens removed

Push ginger, beet, and apple through hopper with carrots.

Blood Regenerator

Handful spinach 4 lettuce leaves 4 sprigs parsley 6 carrots, greens removed ¼ turnip

Bunch up spinach, lettuce, and parsley, and push through hopper with carrots and turnip.

Lung Tonic

Small handful parsley 4 sprigs watercress ¼ potato, peeled 6 carrots, greens removed

Bunch up parsley and watercress, and push through hopper with potato and carrots.

 

Lunch

Zippy Spring Tonic

Handful dandelion greens (unsprayed) 3 pineapple rings, with skin 3 radishes

Bunch up dandelion greens and push through hopper with pineapple and radishes.

Potassium Broth

Handful parsley Handful spinach 4-5 carrots, greens removed 2 stalks celery

Bunch up parsley and spinach leaves, and push through hopper with carrots and celery.

Year-Round Cleansing Cocktail

3 parsley sprigs Small handful wheatgrass 4-6 carrots, greens removed 2 stalks celery 1 apple, seeded ½ beet

Bunch up parsley and wheatgrass, and push through hopper with carrots, celery, apple, and beet.

Harvest Soup

2-3 garlic cloves 1 kale leaf 1 large tomato 2 stalks celery 1 collard leaf, chopped 1 Tbsp. croutons

Roll garlic in kale leaf, and push through hopper with tomato and celry.  Place juice in saucepan, add chopped collards, and gently heat.  Garnish with croutons.

 

Mid-Afternoon Snacks

Maureen’s Spicy Tonic

¼ pineapple, with skin ½ apple, seeded ¼-inch slice ginger root

Push pineapple through hopper with apple and ginger.

Digestive Special

Handful spinach 4-5 carrots, greens removed

Bunch up spinach and push through hopper with carrots.

Morning Energizer

Handful parsley 5 carrots, greens removed ¼ apple, seeded

Bunch up parsley and push through hopper with carrots and apple.

Liver Mover

1 small beet 2-3 apples, seeded

Push beet and apples through hopper.

 

Happy Hour Juice Recipes

Berry Cantaloupe Shake

½ cantaloupe, with skin 5-6 strawberries

Push cantaloupe and strawberries through hopper.

Watermelon Juice

2-inch slice watermelon, with rind Orange slice for garnish

Juice watermelon.  Pour juice into glass and garnish with orange slice.

Waldorf Salad

1 green apple, seeded 1 stalk celery

Push apple and celery through hopper.

Applemint Fizz

4-6 sprigs fresh mint 2 green apples, seeded 1 small lemon wedge Sparkling water Mint sprig for garnish

Bunch up mint and push through hopper with apples and lemon.  Juice directly into a small pitcher filled with ice.  Pour juice into tall glass and fill with sparkling water.  Garnish with sprig of mint.

Very Berry Cocktail

1 large bunch grapes 1 quart blueberries or blackberries Sparkling water Lemon twist for garnish

Push grapes and berries through hopper.  Juice directly into small, ice-filled pitcher.  Pour juice into tall glass and fill glass to top with sparkling water.  Garnish with lemon twist.

 

Dinner Juice Recipes

Cleansing Tonic

1/2 –inch wedge green cabbage 2 green apples, seeded 6 carrots, greens removed

Push cabbage, apples, and carrots through hopper.

Alkaline Special

¼ head cabbage (red or green) 3 stalks celery

Push cabbage and celery through hopper.

Garden Salad Special

3 broccoli flowerets 1 garlic clove 4-5 carrots or 2 tomatoes 2 stalks celery ½ green pepper

Push broccoli and garlic through hopper with carrots or tomatoes.  Follow with celery and green pepper.

Maureen’s Secret

Handful parsley 2-3 garlic cloves 3 stalks celery 3 carrots, greens removed

Bunch up parsley and push through hopper with garlic, celery, and carrots.

Harvest Soup

2-3 garlic cloves 1 kale leaf 1 large tomato 2 stalks celery 1 collard leaf, chopped 2 Tbsp. croutons

Roll garlic in kale leaf, and push through hopper with tomato and celery.  Place juice in saucepan, add chopped collards, and gently heat.  Garnish with croutons.

 

Juice Recipes for Anytime Snacks

Ginger-Berry Pops

1 quart blueberries 1-inch slice ginger root 1 medium bunch green grapes 3-oz. paper cups Wooden popsicle sticks

Push blueberries and ginger through hopper with grapes.  Poor Juice into cups, add sticks, and freeze.

Very Berry Freeze

1 large bunch green grapes 1 large bunch red grapes 1 quart blueberries or blackberries

Juice green grapes.  Pour juice into ice cube tray and freeze.  Push red grapes and berries through hopper, and pour juice into tall glass.  Add frozen grape cubes and garnish with small cluster of grapes.

Fruit Tea

1 orange, peeled (leave white pulp) 1 red apple, seeded 1 lime wedge 1 quart water

Juice fruit.  Place juice in saucepan, add water, and gently heat.

High-Calcium Drink

3 kale leaves Small handful parsley 4-5 carrots, greens removed

Bunch up kale and parsley, and push through hopper with carrots.

Ginger Fizz

¼ inch slice ginger root 1 apple, seeded Sparkling water

Push ginger through hopper with apple.  Pour juice into ice-filled glass.  Fill glass to top with sparkling water.

Lemon Spritzer

1 small lemon Sparkling water

Push lemon through hopper.  Pour juice into ice-filled glass.  Fill glass to top with sparkling water.