Online, WWW

Firstly, as someone who isn't GF out of choice, this isn't going to be a blog about being crazy healthy. I am not a "bad eater", but I definitely believe in balance and so this won't be about finding healthy alternatives to bad food. I love cake, fries and pizza just as much as I love salad, avocados and fruit, so don't expect this blog to be a certain way. It won't be. My search for GF food and eateries covers junk food just as much as health food, so please don't expect a bunch of posts about Kale; it's not going to happen.

Now, after saying that, a lot of people talk about the benefits of doing a "juice cleanse". A lot of the time people haven't got a clue what they're talking about. And a lot of the time people just like to be doing what everyone else is doing, but juice is one of those things that people are actually right about.

I personally discovered how much juice cleanses benefit my insides, when I randomly decided one day that I needed a boost. I hadn't done a juice cleanse before and I was adamant that I was going to do a 3-day cleanse and dive straight in and everything would be magical. In short, I was one of those people and I quickly discovered that 3-day cleanses... are very hard. By the end of it I felt famished and I just wanted to chew a piece of food; but I also discovered that for someone whose intestines don't always want to cooperate, it was a great way to give them a reset. I haven't done a 3-day cleanse since, but I actually do, do (ha) day cleanses very often. My body can hold onto a crazy amount of food (sorry to be graphic), and I can feel sluggish and bloated and gross all the time, and so, every so often it actually feels nice to not be eating anything and to give my body a bunch of nutrients and even more fruit, veggies and supplements. There are two companies I use nowadays, one local and one that I get great deals with online using Groupon. This is about the latter. (I will of course be giving the run-down of the local juice company I use at a later date, because woo local.)

Jus by Julie

Jus by Julie was the first company I ever used, and I've used it a bunch of times since. As I said, they usually have great deals on Groupon, but this time they actually had an awesome deal on their own website - it was for 18 juices (enough for 3 days), 12 booster shots and free shipping for $129. That might sound like a lot but trust me, for that amount of juices, it's a bargain; so I ordered it right away.

Ok, so a day cleanse works in the following way: You have 6 juices, each with a number on them to let you know what order to drink them in. If you feel like you need to eat during the day you can have steamed plain veggies, or egg whites for dinner, but I don't ever feel the need for this on a day cleanse, if you do a 3-day, you might find this helps. Jus by Julie send you a leaflet so that you can understand how to do the juice cleanse and what to do and not do during the day, so make sure you read it beforehand. 

Before I started, I actually contacted Jus to ask if I could not be sent a peanut butter flavoured juice in my order. I was met with a reply of them not being able to "accommodate flavour requests" and that if I wanted specific juices, I'd have to select them individually. However, if I had done that, I would have missed out on the deal, so I told myself if they sent me a peanut butter juice, I'd give that cleanse to Caleb. They did, and I did. And that would be my only complaint.

Firstly, the Booster Shots were something new for me from Jus, and I've only managed to use a couple of them so far, so I can't comment a lot on them, but booster shots are always a LOT stronger than the normal juices, so bear that in mind when taking them. The ones I've had so far, have been easy to take and some of them are actually tasty if, like me, you love flavours like pure lemon juice. Ha!

The day cleanse went by as usual, lots of green juices (the X-treme Greens being the tastiest one out of those) and then the few variants in flavours for certain numbers (2,4) throughout the day. I have to give a special mention to their Chia Berry juice as it is my absolute FAVOURITE and it's ridiculously tasty. The Spicy Pomenade juice also deserves a mention as it's also unbelievably yummy, and their Spicy Lemonade although hot, is way better than other Spicy Lemonade's I've had on other cleanses. The day went smoothly and the next day my insides felt a lot less bloated and heavy. Worth every penny!

If you're looking for a juice cleanse to do, I can't recommend their company enough. The juices are filling and actual taste of something, unlike other's I've tried. The company also do soups and snacks, which I am yet to try, but will keep in mind for the future. The first place I would check for deals (I hate to pay full price for anything) is Groupon and then I'd check their website to see if they have any specials going on, it's always worth a shot! The shipping can be expensive if you don't get a deal (because it's fresh and has to deliver overnight), so make sure to check all your options. 

Do you do juice cleanses? Do they help your insides like me or do you do it for different benefits? Have you tried Jus by Julie before and do you enjoy them?

Also, don't forget I'll be in NY on Monday, so look out for my next blog about a couple of places I'll be trying there. Including a GF NY Slice spot!