A new year is a great time for new beginnings. This year, my hubby and I decided to be oh so cliché and decided we wanted to really ramp up our workouts, stick to eating healthier and "being good"; this latter part was more for him because if you know my husband, you know he plans his "cheat days" in advance. HA! Nonetheless, he wanted to give his metabolism a good jump start so we did a lot of research and decided that we (and by we, I mean he) was going to do the Blue Print three day juice cleanse.
If you haven't heard of the Blue Print Cleanse, check it out because it is legit! We first heard of Blue Print through the avenues and back alleys of the world known as Twitter. The cleanse consists of a 3 step process and it involves not only discipline but also mental strength to overcome your desire for food. But let me tell you, these juices are nothing ordinary and are actually quite delicious!!!
I liked the spicy lemonade so much that I decided to replicate it and have decided to share the recipe with y'all. This particular juice is not only yummy but it also is proven to have a lot of great health benefits including helping your body burn fat tissue faster, metabolism booster, as well as other advantages. Here's the recipe but if you want to know more about the cleanse itself, keep scrolling further down because I've written more about it.
Ingredients:
12-14 oz filtered water
2 & 1/2 lemons
1-2 TBSP agave syrup
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
Directions:
1. Juice the lemons to get about 2-3 oz of fresh lemon juice.
2. In a tall glass or pitcher, add 12 ounces of water to the lemon juice.
3. Stir in the cayenne pepper and agave.
4. Add more water or agave if needed.
4. Add more water or agave if needed.
5. Place in the refrigerator and chill overnight.
6. Drink up!
**Please note that this is not something I created but rather based it on the ingredients from the juices we purchased and there are many recipes for this particular drink already on the internet.
**Please note that this is not something I created but rather based it on the ingredients from the juices we purchased and there are many recipes for this particular drink already on the internet.
For those of you who want to know about about the cleanse, here's how it works:
Step 1 - The 3 days leading up to the cleanse and drinking the juice, you start prepping your body by eating fruits, nuts, and raw veggies. This included no dairy, caffeinated beverages such as sodas, coffee, etc and plenty of clear liquids. My hubby decided he just wanted to go all in, skip this step (because he fasts often enough), and opted to have a "last supper" instead.
Step 2 - Days 4-6 is when you actually get to drink the juice. You drink 6 bottles of the juice per day, one every 2 hours, for a total of 3 days. If you order the juices through their website, the juices come pre-labeled as 1, 2, 3, etc. so that you have an order to drink it in. We did enough research and bought the juices because it was going to be a cheaper option.
Step 3 - Days 7-9, your diet again consists of lots of fruits, nuts, raw veggies, liquids, no dairy, & nothing processed, etc. Being a vegetarian, we added some quinoa for some healthy protein on these days because it can me made without adding any oil, dressing, etc.
All in all, my hubby said he really didn't feel that hungry but it was more of a mental challenge. He ended up losing about 8 lbs in the 6 days (since he skipped the first 3) & would definitely consider doing it again. So to all of you who choose to do a cleanse, g'luck and I hope this post has encouraged you if not helped you!
