Reflections on a Juice Cleanse

Hello friends. As you may know, recently Mr. HP celebrated a milestone birthday, and with that came a month-long food and drink binge for the entire extended family.

pain killers

Add to that the horribly depressing winter weather we had until early April in Virginia, and you get a few people in a state of suboptimal health.

Accordingly, in late March, the ever-adventurous Cheenius, always-obliging MrDr Cheenius, and I decided to do a juice cleanse after the final birthday party to kickstart a new era of good feelings. Fortunately for us, Charlottesville is home to The Juice Laundry, an organic, cold-pressed juice company that offers several types of cleanses to the Central Virginia area. We chose a medium-strength 2-day cleanse, but a wrench was thrown into our juicing plans by a nasty snowstorm that interrupted juice production, delaying juice delivery by a couple days. The new schedule didn’t suit my plans, so the Cheeniuses forged on alone.

Day 1 for the Cheeniuses was a bit rough as their abused systems angrily complained, but by Day 2 they were flying high. I believe the word “magical” was used when they raved to me about feeling the toxins leaving their bodies, and they plan to do a reset cleanse quarterly. Based on their reviews, I eagerly scheduled my cleanse for the following week. Below are my notes.

WHAT

The Juice Laundry 2-day “Normal Wash” cycle. 6 juices + 1 NOMÜ nut milk drink per day. I chose the Creamy Cashew NOMÜ.

Normal Wash juices are:

  • Gentle Green: kale, spinach, cucumber, grapefruit, apple
  • Red Load-ed: red pepper, carrot, celery, cucumber, lemon
  • Rinse + Refresh: cucumber, grapefruit, pineapple
  • Green Agitator: kale, spinach, cucumber, celery, apple, parsley, ginger, lemon
  • Rinse + Recharge: filtered water, lemon, pineapple, maple syrup, cayenne pepper
  • Gentle Green: kale, spinach, cucumber, grapefruit, apple
  • NOMÜ: Creamy Cashew: filtered water, cashews, Medjool dates, cinnamon, vanilla bean, Himalayan pink salt

A cup of black coffee is allowed, but I abstained during my cleanse for the full detox effect.

WHY

From the Juice Laundry’s site:

Juice consumption allows your overworked digestive system to devote more energy to detoxifying, cleansing, purifying, and healing your body and strengthening your immune system.

The Juice Laundry cold-presses and doesn’t pasteurize its juices in order to maximize nutrients and beneficial enzymes and microorganisms.

This cleansing argument resonated most with me, based on my post-celebration physical state:

A cleanse is as much about what you’re leaving out of your body as it is about what you’re putting in.

Also: 2 lbs of produce in each juice!

Also: Why not? Sure, there are plenty of nay-sayers out there, but when it comes to nutrition nobody agrees on anything anyway. If something sounds interesting, the only way to know if it’ll work for you is to try it yourself.

HOW DID IT GO?

Day 1

First juice

Juice 1: Gentle Green. Smells highly vegetal but has a sweetish taste from the apple. Actually very good. Finished it around 10:30. Am not hungry now, but keep thinking about food, probably because I know I can’t have any.

Juice 2

Juice 2: Red Load-ed. Smells like red peppers, and I’m not a big fan of red peppers. The carrots are the main flavor, and I do like carrots. Overall not bad.

Mid-morning: Feeling totally distracted from work (even more so than usual).

Lunchtimeish: Freezing (even more so than usual). Not sure if it’s related to juicing.

Juice 3

Juice 3: Rinse + Refresh. Yum! Fruity! Finally! Pineapple is the main flavor. Crisp though, not too sweet.

2pm: Starting to wonder how I’ll get through all 7 bottles in 1 day.

Juice 4

Juice 4: Green Agitator. Ingredients are intimidating. Also, starting this one at 3pm, feeling a bit of time crunch. Smells very kale/spinachy. No me gusta. Must power through. It’s easier if I do a big exhale after swallowing and don’t breathe in the odor.

5pm: Feel kind of sad. I miss food.

Juice 5

Juice 5: Rinse + Recharge, a little after 5:00. Sweet and refreshing, with a sneaky cayenne burn. Less burn w/ the same exhale through the mouth trick as used for #4.

Juice 6

Juice 6: Gentle Green again. It’s fine. I’m cranky and irritated. This cashew milk had better be amazing.

Juice 7: Cashew milk blend. Yummmmmm. Can take big sips happily. It’s sweet, hearty, comforting.

Bedtime: Stomach started growling as I tried to fall asleep.

Day 2

Morning: Unfocused, blue, blah. Not physical, just mental. Hard to blame it completely on the lack of food since the weather is crap and work is dull. Need to drink faster today to be done with everything by 7:30 for dance class. I miss food. Constraints make me angry.

Mid-morning: Working on #2. Feeling cold and distracted again, but it feels more like my normal levels of cold and distracted.

Early afternoon: The agitator wasn’t as bad today. About to start the cayenne… also less offensive. Huh.

Late afternoon: Mood is unmotivated, blah. Physically a little tired. Really looking forward to eating breakfast tomorrow, and I’m daydreaming about what I should make.

Evening: Finished #6 early, at 5:45. Got a little mood lift late in the afternoon, maybe from a walk? Still not very productive at work.

Day 3

Soooooooooooooo excited to eat. Made spinach and eggs.

In a fantastic mood today. Could it be the weather? It’s still cold and blustery out, but today is the turning day. The past 2 days I didn’t want to interact with anyone at work, felt bristly and irritated and sulky. Today everything is funny, I can’t keep my mouth shut in meetings, I’m singing stupid songs, etc.

Lessons learned: The lack of food forced me to examine my relationship with food, and I want to start cooking more, like I used to. I also want to try adding meat back in, starting with cow. That’s kind of a major realization. I didn’t feel the magical physical changes that the Cheeniuses did–and I was jealous of them for that–but the psychological effects were interesting.

Will I do it again? Maybe, but I’d probably sub in the beet juice for the agitator, or try the Light Rinse cleanse just to make the experience a bit more pleasant. I imagine the terrible mood I experienced on Day 2 would be lessened a bit next time knowing how happy and energetic I’d be feeling the next day.

Would I recommend it to others? Absolutely. It’s all about self-experimentation, and everyone’s mileage will vary.

Happy meat vendor news, and a couple interesting meatless/gluten-free recipes

I don’t eat meat, but have no problem with meat-eating, provided the animals were treated humanely and responsibly. Most people I know do eat meat, however, so I’m happy to promote happy meat options to them and to you. I eat a paleo-esque diet; Paleo dictates that you don’t eat food that has added chemicals that can screw up your system, and emphasizes that you are eating what the animals you eat ate. [One of my favorite quotes is “You are what what you eat eats,” from Michael Pollan.] Therefore, followers of the diet are careful to eat pasture-raised, antibiotic free animal products. This week I saw two posts on Paleo blogs about happy meat purveyors, and wanted to help spread the word.

Whole9 wrote about Pastoral Plate, a San Francisco-area meat CSA, offering local, natural, humanely raised meat and animal products. They visit the farmers regularly to learn about how the animals are raised and what they are fed, ensuring the products sold through Pastoral Plate meet their high standards: They’re pasture-raised, eat organic food, and are finished on the farm rather than a feedlot. Pastoral Plate also hosts workdays on their partner farms, and facilitate small loans from customers to the farmers. They’ll soon be shipping nationally, so happy-meat seekers from outside the SF area can enjoy Pastoral Plate products, and there’s a coupon on the Whole9 writeup. But, of course, if it’s available, purchasing happy meat locally is more environmentally responsible than having it shipped, and supporting your local farmers is good for your community

Another happy meat vendor was profiled by Melissa at The Clothes Make the Girl. TX Bar Organics raises grass-fed beef in a “calm low stress environment” in Northern California. In addition to caring about the animals, they care about people: they have made a pledge to donate one pound of meat to needy families for every 20 pounds sold; and they care about the environment: they practice sustainable agriculture through careful maintenance of their pastures. Melissa is giving away a $75 gift card to TX Bar Organics, with a deadline of tomorrow night (July 2) at 11:59pm, so sign up quickly if you’re interested! Same caveat as above though– if you have local happy meat purveyors, you should look to them before shipping meat from far away. Melissa is also known for her Paleo recipes, so while you’re on her blog, check ’em out!

And speaking of recipes, here are two I can’t wait to try. They are both meatless (but you can add meat, of course) and gluten-free.

First, a quick and easy curry, from Legal Nomads, with veggies and chickpeas and coconut milk, oh my. I think the first time I try it I’ll cheat and use curry powder instead of all the individual spices, to make it extra quick and easy. Jodi added a note at the end with instructions for adding meat, if desired.

And second, zucchini noodles in a thai peanut sauce, from Eating Bird Food. Using zucchini noodles and spaghetti squash is a delicious way to make gluten free “pasta” dishes, and anything with a peanut sauce makes me happy.

Now I must go eat lunch. I am starving.

Taste testing homemade horse treats

My sister visited from North Carolina last weekend, and she brought a couple bags of homemade horse treats from her friend at Carolina Pet Treats-N-Toys to undergo some rigorous scientific testing.

Seven horses and one dog analyzed and compared the horse crumbles and the horse cubes, and the result was: both were a hit!

The treats are all natural, with ingredients like oatmeal, carrot, sugar, molasses, and Cheerios. There was not a clear winner between the two types of treat; when offered both a cube and a crumble at the same time, one in each hand, the horses did not exhibit a distinct preference.

The horses paid close attention to the flavors, and carefully analyzed each treat. They all requested multiple samples to ensure they could give a complete report.

I rounded out my research with a dog’s point of view: two paws up!

Summary: all the horses (and the dog) loved these treats, and I was happier feeding these natural, homemade treats than the processed, commercial treats from the feed store.

For more information on the horse treats, or treats for your non-equine pets, contact Jamie Baldwin of Carolina Pet Treats-N-Toys, at 336-338-3186, or buttonrabbit4@yahoo.com.

Kate’s Real Food Bars

In need of an afternoon snack, I walked over to pick up a CCNO Bar from my local grocery, but the proprietress was concerned about the age of the bars and pulled the box off the shelf (after giving me two for free!). She hasn’t been able to get in touch with the makers of the bars and thinks the company may be kaput.

So I need a new afternoon snack option. I can buy Larabars at another local grocery, but just learned they are now owned by General Mills, and would rather patronize a smaller company. While at the register chatting about the potential staleness of my CCNO Bars, I noticed Kate’s Real Food bars. This could be my answer.

They’re made with real food, with no added soy, and the Caz Bar is gluten free. According to the web site, it’s a small company made of hardworking people who are serious about eating healthy food to fuel their various, and pretty hardcore, athletic exploits.

They’re carried by several stores in Charlottesville. Look up your own location here. I didn’t try one today since I had my freebie ancient CCNO Bar in hand, but can’t wait for the next afternoon snack urge to strike!

Local snack: CCNO Bars

I am embarrassed by, and sorry for the poor quality of this picture:

I walked around my office trying to find some decent lighting for my old iPhone’s camera, to no avail. Fortunately, this blog has a lovely photo of a CCNO Bar.

I needed an afternoon snack, and my favorite workday food shop doesn’t carry my usual quickie bite, Lara Bars. I like Lara Bars because they’re just fruit and nuts smashed together, without chemicals and additives and preservatives like Clif, etc. So I was very happy to find the box of CCNO Bars by the register. They’re along the same lines as Lara Bars, but made locally, and with an extra kick of flavor from cononut oil. They’re vegan, gluten free, and all-natural. And LOCAL. And REAL FOOD. Give them a try, if you can find them!

HP in HK

Greetings from smoggy Hong Kong!

In my wanderings, I stumbled upon ThreeSixty, Hong Kong’s largest organic/natural foods store. I headed straight for the egg section to see the egg choices available to responsible Chinese consumers (and zillions of ex-pats, and many tourists, from the looks of the clientele). The eggs were all free-range, pastured, happy eggs, from Washington State and New Zealand. (Too bad they have to be shipped in from so far away.)

Interesting that the New Zealand eggs are sold in 10-packs!

From ThreeSixty’s site:

We are committed to sustainable consumption. We believe in relationships based on trust, honesty and integrity. We will partner with organisations that share our vision and demonstrate a similar commitment to our planet and its inhabitants.

Prices weren’t bad, and there was a food court upstairs with many different types of cuisines on offer. Cheers to ThreeSixty!

Avoiding beef vs. enjoying leather

Leather is a by-product of the beef industry, right? It comes from cows that have already been slaughtered for meat, doesn’t it?

Or maybe not. Action For Our Planet says the big cattle factory farms and slaughterhouses make up to half their profits from leather, so when you buy leather goods, you are supporting companies that practice inhumane treatment. Care2 Causes tells that more and more leather goods sold in the US are made from leather produced in China and India, where animal welfare laws are non-existent or unenforced. In Defense of Animals has a similar argument.

What’s a responsible consumer to do? Fortunately there are many synthetic leather-like materials on the market today, which are generally easier to care for than leather.

Here are a few good sites for vegan shoe, bag, and accessory shopping:

Alternative Outfitters: mens’ and womens’ shoes; bags; accessories

Moo Shoes: mens’ and womens’ shoes; bags; belts; wallets

Zappos Vegan: vegan shoes for the family, and other eco-friendly products (some of which contain leather, so be careful if you’re trying to avoid it completely)

Happy humane shopping!

Mare’s milk for skin care

HP was recently in Belgium, where we noticed a line of skin care products called New Forest, made from horse milk. We love ponies, and we love natural skin care products, but we were a little taken aback at the combination of the two. Why should we be surprised? How is horse milk different from goat milk, which we have used as part of soaps and lotions before without a second thought? Perhaps it’s because we have a personal attachment to horses on an emotional level, which is different from how we feel about other livestock. (We hadn’t even considered horse milk as a beverage, but after researching we’ve learned that it’s lower in fat and calories than cow’s milk, and can be used to treat metabolic, gastrointestinal, and liver problems.)

Upon returning to the States, we were curious to learn more about the company and their herd of milk mares. Googling didn’t locate the company whose products we had seen in Belgium, but it did lead us to Spa Creek Ranch, located in Canada. Their horse milk production is a byproduct of their sport pony breeding operation: the family breeds New Forest ponies, which are hardy and gentle. The herds live naturally in pastures, on a diet of grass and pesticide-free home-grown hay. When babies are born, the foals get all the dam’s milk for the first 6 weeks, after which some of the milk is redirected for the skin care products. Mares produce enough milk to support two foals, and after the foals start eating grass they require less milk, so there’s plenty to go around. The mares are milked until the foals are weaned at 8 months; it’s an enjoyable process for them as they get attention and are rewarded with treats.

A small farm earns a little extra money by selling a natural product using a substance that was humanely obtained from happy animals: seems like a winning business model!