Feelin' Juicy...

From time to time, FEMSHEP invites guest authors to write interesting posts that will discuss new and interesting things. FEMSHEP herself has not tried the things mentioned in these guest posts, or otherwise is nowhere near as knowledgeable as the guest authors. These posts are featured on FEMSHEP in order to diversify the content provided to you, our dear reader. Neither FEMSHEP nor any guest author is compensated for these guest posts, and they are provided for your enjoyment and contemplation.


"It was all a dream, I used to read Word Up magazine. Salt n' Pepa and Heavy D up in my limousine..."

Oh hey, it's 2016! Happy New Year!  Ang was kind enough to make me a contributor to this, my second favorite blog (my first favorite is Dlisted because, please, why wouldn't it be?!) and I'm excited to start sharing with all of you.  My name is Meg and I'm pleased to make your acquaintance. In case you're wondering what prompted the Notorious B.I.G. lyrics above, my first FEMSHEP post is outlining the juice cleanse that I'm about to embark upon.  

"it's all good, baby, bay-bee"

Before I continue explaining the juice cleanse, I feel like I should probably give you a little background information on me.  I'm a 33 year old female living outside the Buffalo NY area; I love sports (playing and watching), adventure, and trying new things; I am a traveling IT salesperson by trade; and I also happen to own my own healthy lifestyle business, Do You Mean Green?.  Before I started traveling extensively for my IT job, my business also included catering, but now we mainly focus on the health side.  I just don't have enough time to focus on the catering side anymore, but I have been known to pick up a catering gig now and again, especially if it's for a good friend.  I am a pretty slammin' cook though, so don't be surprised if you see some food posts on here.

About 8 years ago, my "significant other" was into working out and being healthy (he still is), and like many other good-intentioned people, he had made the choice to supplement.  I was half living here at the time (here being the country, I used to live in the city), and due to having well water, there were some nasty hard water stains in the tub that no chemical could ever touch.  A friend let me borrow some chemical-free cleaning products and to my amazement, the tub stains were gone.  "What is this sorcery?" I exclaimed, and Shaklee was the answer.  I learned everything I could about the company, found that they were in business over 50 years, and sure they had amazingly safe (and insanely cheap!) cleaning products and life-changing skincare, but above all else, they touted the best supplements in the world. Even better?  They could prove it.  My boyfriend switched over all of his supplements, and I decided to partner with the company.  I've never looked back or been disappointed in our partnership.  I LOVE that company and their products.  You'll hear me reference them in my posts often, because, well, quite frankly, THEY'RE THE SHIT. 

Yeah, yeah, if you love their products so much, then why are you trying a juice cleanse?

Good question!  First and foremost, I absolutely love trying new things, especially when it comes to health and wellness.  Second, I found myself having to take an antibiotic where I can't drink any alcohol (during the course as well as for a few days after), and I figured this was as good a time as any to clean up my diet a bit, get off the holiday hangover and back to normalcy.  You see, I've been eating an awful lot of ice cream (F*CK YOU, Schwans! (jk I <3 u)). Third and most importantly, I can pick up what this juice company is putting down.  As I explained earlier, I partner with what I believe to be the best supplement company in the world.  Shaklee believes in cold-process, whole food and sustainability.  Juice Served Here ALSO believes in whole-food, cold-process and sustainability, plus their product looks sexy as hell and I can be an absolute sucker for great packaging.  I also really like the story of how Juice Served Here was created, and I wanted to challenge myself to do something I've never done before.

I chose the 3 day "Semi-Cleanse" because I felt like one day was nowhere near enough and five days was going to cut into my business travel.  The description of the cleanse seemed to fit me as well: "You like it clean. Committed to a clean house but not quite ready to go all the way. A mixture of greens and roots will reboot your system."  Cool. I ordered around dinnertime EST on Monday and received about 9:30am EST today (Wednesday).  The box is cute but mine was dinged up a bit. Upon opening I noticed the cleanse was packaged similarly to Blue Apron and other food delivery services, with ice packs and a bag made out of those disposable thermal blankets they give you at a race that make you look like a doomsday prepping superhero.  

Here's what came in my box:

3x 02 SWEET GREENS (Cucumber, Apple, Romaine, Kale, Spinach, Parsley, Cilantro, Mint, Lime)

3x 08 THE PIPE CLEANER (Apple, Lemon, Extra Ginger)

3x 17 GREEN EASY (Cucumber, Red Apple, Green Pepper, Kale, Spinach, Lemon, Parsley, Romaine)

3x 05 BLOCK ROCKIN BEETS (Beet, Carrot, Tomato, Lemon, Cilantro, Jalepeno)

3x 09 GREEN MILK (Alkaline Water, Almond, Cashew, Hazelnut, Spinach, Romaine, Kale, Parsley, Date, Vanilla Bean)

3x 19 CHARCOAL LEMONADE (Alkaline Water, Raw Sugarcane Juice, Lemon, Montmorillonite Clay, Activated Charcoal)

I also opted to "Make It Cushy" which added the Superfood bar, the LAX tea and the Raw Soup to each day.  

The package didn't include cleanse instructions or any prep information, so I followed the FAQ page on Juice Served Here's website.  Great info, but I'm not going to lie, the diaper question kinda freaked me out.

I start tomorrow, and am preparing today by drinking a lot of water, eating light (currently wild salmon quick seared in coconut oil over wild rice, broccoli, peppers and carrots) and definitely no more ice cream. My aim for the juice cleanse is to curb my sugar and carb cravings and re-alkanalize myself.  I feel if I can get through the cleanse, I'll be much more prepared to stay "back on track" with my healthy eating.  

Everything's stacked in my fridge, ready to go.  When I wake up tomorrow around 0830, I will have 8oz room temp filtered water, the LAX tea, and my first juice, 02 Sweet Greens.  I figured tea for breakfast, superfood bar for lunch, and the raw soup for dinner.  The schedule in my mind seems to be around 1130 The Pipe Cleaner; ~1330 Green Easy and bar; ~1600 Block Rockin Beats; ~1830 the raw soup; ~1930 Green Milk and then before bed Charcoal Lemonade. Oh and a little exercise each day of the cleanse as per the recommendation.  Will probably be barre or yoga.

Wish me luck!  I will be updating you every step of the way.

"and if you don't know, now ya know"

-MG