Just a quick post to finish off the juice challenge. Had a really busy day with my 85 year old mum, my son and my two year old fireball grand-daughter. We are all exhausted – my mum is unused to so much activity, my son is sleep-deprived from a teething baby and had driven the hour and a half to our house, my husband has been preparing house and food all week for the visits as well as driving Mum around, while our grand-daughter was here, there and everywhere, chatting and playing, completely oblivious to our yawns! I must have read 7 books – most of them belonged to her dad and his sister, so have seen better days, but the oldies are the goodies, as they say…
Foodwise, family visits are never easy when you are doing a juice cleanse, but today was a breeze. My family are used to me juicing by now – my son and grand-daughter also juice regularly – and so I don’t get the pitying looks or the questions about my sanity when they are eating pizza and home-made chips with salad while I just have the salad with a juice.
The two year old is a joy to watch at mealtimes, she loves her food and eats a variety of vegetables, salad and fruit. Yes, she had pizza which she loves, but she also had raw veggies and hummus, delighting in everything she ate. This is because raw salad-stuff, veggies and fruit were introduced from the beginning when she started weaning, she has always chosen her foods and watched them being prepared and soon began helping. Likewise, my grandson used to eat red peppers like apples when he was two and would raid the fridge for raw broccoli!
Having had a blended juice for breakfast, I felt no temptation to eat pizza or chips for lunch. Juicing really does reset your taste buds. I was ready for solid food though, I really needed to chew, and I enjoyed the avocado salad immensely. We had also grown some mung bean sprouts in preparation for my first solid meal.
For ‘afters’ and snacks, everyone was happy to eat raw treats that had been defrosted (they keep so well), and both Mum – who doesn’t like anything non-traditional – and the two year old tucked in to Easter Coconut and Almond Truffles, Home-made Raw Chocolate Treats and Chilled Sweet Hemp Treats.
(In case you were concerned, my husband, son and I managed to sneak the occasional look at the cycling Tour of the Basque country this afternoon! 😉).
But, to the business end of this cleanse: the results. My digestion is calmed, my tendency to snack – however healthily – is calmed, I have more energy and my itchy skin has calmed down. Last year’s extensive rash has stayed away,* but occasionally I do have a tendency to itchy skin if I stray from what I know keeps me healthy. My left ear and sinus had been blocked for a few days before the cleanse but are completely clear now.
And yes, I lost 5 lbs. (Update: another 1lb gone next day!)
I hope you gained the results you were looking for or that these posts have encouraged and inspired you to take a step towards a healthier lifestyle.
Celebrate your success and your resolve and Juice On!
*How I was Inspired to Juice My Skin Clear
Copyright: Chris McGowan
pearsnotparsnipsdotcom 