Make it Spicaaaay

Day 4 is here and I am still juicing!  The final two juice recipes I have for you to round out this juice cleanse aren't actually made using the juicer at all.  The first one is a spicy lemonade that is very very similar to the one used in the "lemonade cleanse," and the second is a super creamy delicious cashew milk.  The lemonade tastes like...well....lemonade, and this cashew milk is a creamy, cinnamon-ey, sweet yet not mixture of wonderfulness.  It's the last juice of the day, and granted I may be delusional from lack of solid food, but I swear it is just to die for.

-both recipes after the jump-

Carrots and Apples and Beets, Oh My!

I know I said I was only going to juice for 3 days, but I think I'm actually going to extend it to 5.....or 7.  I just feel amazing!  If juicing is a cult then hand me some (raw) kool-aid because I am ready to join.  In just two days my skin is noticeably becoming more even and bright, I have an absurd amount of energy, I've been sleeping incredibly well,* I actually woke up this morning craving green juice, and my body just feels "good." No, not good, it feels great. It feels great and also all other positive adjective words that could describe how a body feels.

Here I give you the absolutely most beautiful juice you will ever drink your life.  The beet juice is a deep magenta, the carrot is a vibrant orange, and I just love to watch them swirl together in all of their pigmented glory.

-Recipe after the jump-

Who Lives in a Pineapple Under the Sea?

(I couldn't help it - for some reason I've had the Spongebob theme song stuck in my head all morning) 

Good morning, day 2!

This whole juicing thing is WAY easier than I imagined it would be.  The juices are delicious and, astonishingly, I'm not hungry at all!  I did a lot of research before starting my cleanse, and one of the things people seem to find the most difficult are the "detox" symptoms.  These happen because your body is used to getting certain toxins and other junk from the processed food you eat, so when you eliminate those foods, your body goes through something resembling withdrawal.  I was fully prepared to be launched into headaches, fatigue, diarrhea (ya I said it...we were all thinking it), nausea, and whatever else unpleasant came my way, but I haven't really had any of it! I had one tiny little itty bitty headache last night that lasted for about 15 minutes - that was it!  Quick! Someone please knock on wood!

The recipe I have for you today is the second juice of the day, and by far my favorite. It is sweetest freshest pineapple juice you have ever tasted in your life with just a little bit of minty kick.

-recipe after the jump-

Drinking The Green Monster

It's 5:30 am on day 1 guys and I just cranked out some impressive juice!  The staple juice of the cleanse is a green juice, loaded with leafy greens, that you drink twice throughout the day.  The "renovation" cleanse that I'm doing is sort of the training wheels of cleanses to try things out.  If you do the more intense extreme cleansing (quick brainstorm: can we make this a competitive sport somehow?) you drink even more of the green juice, and less of the fruit juices.

I know this juice looks scary and gross, but honestly it's pretty tasty!  The cucumber makes it very refreshing and the apples effectively drown out all the bitterness I imagined it would have from the kale.  Dare I say it?  I would probably drink this even if I weren't on a juice cleanse!

-Recipe after the jump-

Juicing (the non-steroid way)

I have this friend (and I think we all have this friend) who's a glowing skin, fitness guru, healthy eating expert, looks just as good in sweatpants as a dress, "oh my hair looks good? I haven't brushed it," effortlessly amazing kind of person.  She happens to make up 1/6th of the couple trifecta that was my Martha's Vineyard vacation recently, and while chilling in bikinis we (inevitably) got to chatting about health and fitness.  About this time last year I was a gym rat, but as the fates would have it I've gotten much more busy and have barely so much as set foot in a gym since September.  The hardest part about this isn't my declining muscle mass (and trust me, it is deeeclining), but that my energy level is much lower and (bizarrely) my complexion is much duller.  When I told her this, her instant reaction was, "oh you MUST try juicing!"

Uhhhh, like steroids? I'm not sure that's a good...

No, no, JUICING.  Actual juice!

I only had to listen to her expound on the benefits of a juice cleanse and then occasional juicing for about ten minutes and I was sold.  If consuming only juice for just three days really could give me more energy, clearer skin, improved immune function, and many many other benefits I was on board with trying!  Now here I am three days later, armed with a brand new juicer, a fridge PACKED with leafy green veggies, and bootleg recipes to the famed blueprint renovation cleanse.  

Let the juicing begin!!

Martha's Vineyard

Martha's Vineyard!  Last weekend Pat and I escaped the city along with two other couple friends (I feel weirdly like an adult going on vacation with "couple friends") and we had the absolute best time.  Our schedule essentially consisted of laying on the beach, clam boiling, grilling, and sleeping.  So what I'm saying is, it was heaven and I'm counting the minutes until we can go back.

These red clay cliffs on the beach were beyond gorgeous

New England Clam Boil! Plus a little non traditional linguica

Sweet Cheeks Barbecue

Barbecue is one of the best parts about summer.  The smell of charcoal, the grilled veggies, the weird caveman aspect of your boyfriend putting raw meat on an open flame - it's all just amazing.  What's even more amazing, is when that same caveman boyfriend morphs back into his normal gentleman self, and suggests that you leave the barbecuing to the professionals at Sweet Cheeks Barbecue.

When I say professionals, I mean Tiffani Faison, who you may know from her second place victory on the first season of "Chopped."  That no-nonsense attitude she had on the show is perfectly suited for barbecue, and translates oh so well into a menu packed with simple and freaking delicious food.

I'm not even sure what to say about it except that you have to go.  You have to go RIGHT NOW.  I wanted to die in these biscuits.

But I had to stay alive because THIS delicious pulled chicken was coming.

Oh. My. God.

That's all.  Please go.  You can thank me later.

Balsamic Chicken

Do you ever have those days where you want to make dinner, you want to craft some beautiful dish that would make Julia Child proud, you want to be the culinary master of your kitchen, but you just can't find the inspiration?

I do.

Those days make for some rough grocery store trips, let me tell you.  I'll just stand in the middle of the Trader Joe's produce section looking around thinking, "What on earth is a potato even good for!?"

Well fret not, my friends, because I have a solution for you and it's called balsamic chicken.  I discovered it as I casually perused the food section of pinterest (while irritatingly blocking the tiny aisles of the produce department - but that part isn't important) and I am soooo glad that I did!  Balsamic vinegar just has a magical way of turning boring foods into exceptional ones, doesn't it?

Recipe after the jump!