Organic Avenue Juice Cleanse

While I was in New York City, I fell in love with Organic Avenue.  I fell so in love that I wanted to try more of their juices.  The only problem was that their food and juices were in NYC, and I was not.  Good news is that Organic Avenue ships their all juice cleanse (LOVE deep), so the decision was made to try one.  As I mentioned previously, I am traveling a lot for work right now, so I planned my juice cleanse for one weekend when I would be staying in Memphis between work weeks.  This would be the perfect opportunity for a cleanse as 1) I would not be able to cook my own food anyways 2) I would not have friends or family around to hang out with (or distract me with their food!) and 3)  I wanted to do lots of yoga studying.

I chose a 3-day cleanse (Friday - Sunday), and the juices were sent to me in two shipments (they don't do weekend shipping, so I got a package on Thursday with one day of juice and a package on Friday with the remaining juices).  There were six juices for each day (one of which was a "mylk") plus a booster shot for first thing in the morning.  Each day there were different shots and different juices, which I liked becuase it kept things interesting!  If there are certain ingredients or juices you don't like (or if you have any allergies), Organic Avenue will take those into consideration when planning your cleanse.

Day One - Wheatgrass shot, Royal Red, Green Coco, Turmeric Tonic, Veggie Vibe, Splendid Sweet Green, Cashew Hemp Mylk -The first day was definitely the hardest for me. All the juices were delicious but I found myself hungry and drank a few juices before their scheduled time.  I also had some mild headaches throughout the afternoon. The most surprisingly tasty juices for me were the Royal Red and Veggie Vibe.  I'm not a huge fan of straight beet juice, but both of these juices contained other yummy ingredients to balance out the strong flavor and texture beet usually adds to a juice.  The Turmeric Tonic, while not a "juice" per se, was awesome and very satisfying.  The only problem with this day's juices was the Cashew Hemp Mylk - mine had definitely gone bad.  I don't know if this was a result of the shipping, or the fact that my juices did not get refridgerated immediately upon delivery, or a problem with that batch of mylk, but it was super sour and I knew something wasn't right upon first sip.  I had another Cashew Hemp Mylk that was supposed to be for Day Three, so I drank that and decided I would have to find something to replace it later.  The (not-spoiled) Cashew Hemp Mylk was satisfying, but the flavor was a bit bland - it could have used some cinnamon and/or nutmeg to kick it up! 

First juice of the cleanse- Royal Red

Turmeric Tonic and reading outside

Splendid Sweet Greens before yoga

Day Two - Aloe Vera shot, Cucumber Mint, Mellow Love, Ginger Lemonade, Veggie Vibe, Green Love, Coconut Mylk - As I have learned previously, juice cleansing equal awesome sleep.  Even after napping on Friday, I slept for a full 10 hours Friday night!  I woke up on Saturday morning a little hungry, but not as bad as the day before.  I had lots of energy and was easily able to get through a moderate yoga class and some low impact cardio.  No headaches at all.  As far as the juices,  the Aloe Vera shot didn't taste like much, which I guess is a good thing, but it is supposed to help the digestive track during cleansing.  The highlights of this day were Ginger Lemonade, which reminded me of the iced ginger tea I drank so much of in Thailand, and the Coconut Mylk.  I did not think the Coconut Mylk (young coconut meat blended with young coconut water) would be substantial or fulfilling enough, but it was absolutely lovely.  Naturally sweet and rich, I ate it with a spoon and felt like I was having dessert!

Ginger Lemonade and more studying

Sweet Coconut Mylk = Perfect end to Day Two

Day Three - E3 Live shot, Watermelon, Green Coco, Master Tonic, Virgin Mary, Splendid Sweet Green, Cashew Hemp Mylk - After another solid night of sleep, I woke up ready to take on the last day of my cleanse.  The day started with an E3 Live shot.  E3 Live is a blue-green algae that contains tons of healthy vitamins, minerals, and enzymes.  It is said to boost immunity, cleanse your digestive tract, and increase your energy, among other things.  I had never tried it before, and was a little nervous for the ominous looking shot.  It actually didn't have a strong taste at all (nothing like wheatgrass), score!  My energy was high again all day, no headaches or other "detox" side effects.  This day's juices were a perfect mix of sweet and savory - the sweet Watermelon juice was yummy for first thing in the morning, while the Master Tonic and Virgin Mary were great as spicy midday  pick me ups.  I had to improvise for my final juice (since I drank this Cashew Hemp Mylk on Day One).  I searched the local Whole Foods for a replacement drink and the closest thing I found was Suja's Coconut Almond juice.  This juice was pretty tasty (coconut, almond and cinnamon, with honey and cherries for sweetness), but my stomach was a little unhappy afterwards (which was the first upset of any kind the whole cleanse).

Nervous for the E3 Live shot!

Beautiful day for a run

Catching some rays with the spicy Master Tonic

What does one do (besides drink juice) during a juice cleanse?  Well, good question. Most programs suggest that you rest as much as possible (go to bed early, sleep until you naturally wake up) and do light exercise (such as walking and yoga) to increase circulation.  Some other suggested activities: meditation, journaling, spending time in nature, activities that promote detox (massage, dry brushing, colon hydrotherapy, sauna time).  Me?  I definitely did the sleeping thing and treated myself to a massage.  I did a lot of yoga and some running, but only because my body told me to.  The rest of my time was spent reading, studying yoga stuffs, and watching meaningful documentaries (both of which I highly recommend - Hungry for Change and Happy).  My intention for the cleanse was to focus on studying, but each person and each cleanse is different. 

Overall, this was by far the easiest and most delicious juice cleanse I have done.  I had very few detox signs (headaches, breakouts, etc).  My energy was high throughout the cleanse and I was able to stay on track with my normal workouts, and get some studying done.   The first day after my cleanse ended I was actually sad not to have yummy juice to drink that day!  If that is not a sign of juice success, I don't know what is!


Have you ever done a juice cleanse?  How was your experience?