Make Your Own Cleansing Juice Fast!

Make Your Own Cleansing Juice Fast!
By: Michaelene De Young

I know there are many die-hard Master Cleansers out there that say if you don't use that "exact" formula it won't work.  Well, I'm challenging that theory.  I've created my own version of the cleanse and dubbed it MYO-CJF.  I'll be posting my results, detox issues, etc. on this blog and my thoughts and feelings as I continue on this journey.
The difference between a juice fast and a juice feast is that on a fast, you drink less than 2 quarts of juice a day. On a feast, you drink between 2 quarts and a gallon of juice.  This is a fast and is intended to be used for detoxing, cleansing and weight loss.

This formula will make 16 - 10 ounce servings of juice.
Juice any kind of fruits or vegetables till you have 2 1/2 cups of juice.

I used:

• 2 apples
• 2 oranges
• 2 lemons
• 6 carrots
• 1/2 inch piece of ginger

Put in a quart jar and add 1 1/2 cups of raw honey or grade b maple syrup.
Shake well and refrigerate.
When you are ready to start your fast, use 1/4 cup of the juice/honey blend, a pinch of cayenne pepper and 10 ounces of water. Drink 10 glasses a day with water in between if you're hungry.
Each morning drink a salt water flush first thing when you wake up. (2 tsp. sea salt to 1 quart of water)
Each night, drink a cup of Smooth Move Tea before bed.
This batch should last you for 1 1/2 days. This fast should be a minimum of 10 days and a maximum of 40 days. Feel free to mix up the fruit and vegetable combinations using whatever is affordable to you when you do your shopping. You don't have to stick to the same ones every time you make your concentrate every couple of days. Just as long as you start off with 2 1/2 cups of pure juice the ratio will be the same.

You can even choose different fruits and vegetables according to what benefits you need most if that's what you're most interested in.  But, I think higher caloric items would be better since this master drink is going to be watered down 1:3 and you still need to have enough calories to get through your day and not be lethargic.  I'm not intending this to be like a water fast where you have to stay in bed for weeks.  I still want to function, and I want that for you, too.

Organic fruits or vegetables are always best, but I went for budget cost this first time so mine were not organic, but they were at least fresh. The whole purpose of my blog is to live as raw as possible, cleanse and detox on as little money as you can.  I'm testing my theory on this fasting method starting today, March 21, 2011.  I'm going to stay on it as long as I can and I'll update this note with my results.  My starting weight is 266.5lbs.

So far today, I've only had minor hunger pains which is surprising.  I'm just finishing up my sixth cup and it's 7pm. I'm normally grazing all day long and I constantly have to be eating or chewing on something and keeping my mouth occupied. So, it's kind of cool to know I'm able to achieve this small goal and tomorrow, will be a new goal to get through.

I understand the first three days are the hardest and day one is all ready nearing an end.  Amazing!

Master Cleanse Delay

Makes me a little bit upset that I can't get started on time.  Reason 1: I still have an abundance of greens and raw foods in my apartment that will go bad if not eaten soon.  My husband won't eat them. Reason 2: I have to get up at 5am on Saturday morning to go to work.  I'm afraid that the cleanse would interrupt my functionality and my ability to effectively multi-task for an 8 hour period. So, what do I do?

I'm DEFINITELY going to get started a.s.a.p. REGARDLESS of my work situation on Saturday.  I'm just going to finish up the foods I have in the house first then start the cleanse.  Tomorrow, I'm going to juice all the remaining apples and oranges I have and then finish the salad greens over the next day or two.  I'm estimating that I'll be free and clear of temptations by Wednesday.

That would put me in day 3 of my cleanse on  my Saturday work day.  I'm going to have to make my lemonade up on Friday night ahead of time because I won't be able to do it that early on Saturday morning to get ready for work.  I'm just going to take a mason jar with me with the lemonade in it and drink it while I'm working.

I need thoughts and prayers to get through the first few days.  I've never been able to complete even a 24-hour fast without being sick first.  This is going to be a challenge and a stepping stone and also a major accomplishment for me. WHEN I do this, I know I'll be able to do anything I want to improve my health and well being.

I'm a little scared, and I'm also a little excited knowing what I'm doing to help myself. 

Weight Loss and Master Cleanse

Well, I started off eating raw in February. I was at 272lbs. After one month or so, I'm now at 266.5.  I've lost 5.5lbs.  Not a bad start.

Monday, March 14th, I'm starting the Master Cleanse. I finally got all the components to get a start on it. I'm going to be using honey instead of maple syrup because of the cost.  I have the lemons, the sea salt, the cayenne pepper and today I got the last thing, the smooth move tea.  I have enough tea for 32 days.  I'll go as long as I can this first time and see what happens.  I only have a few lemons though.  I'll just buy those as needed.  Wish me luck and health! Here's to Monday! ~Peace~

My Own Kind of Cleanse

I'm calling this My Own Kind of Cleanse simply because, I can't afford some of the items on the Master Cleanse.  So, I'm going with what I can do, and what I can afford. (and what I all ready have in the house)  No one reads this blog anyway so I doubt I'll be seeing much flack over my ingredients.  I'd really be surprised if someone commented on this.

So, basically, the Master Cleanse is lemon juice, maple syrup and cayenne pepper with a Celtic sea salt flush in the morning and laxative tea at night.  Here's what's available to me and what I am now calling "My Own Kind of Cleanse."  It will be the same proportions as the "other" MC but with ingredients I have available.  Lemon juice, raw honey, cayenne pepper a regular sea salt flush in the morning, (none of that Celtic stuff) and a spoonful of Konsil in water at night.

I "may" spring for the Smooth Move tea.  It probably tastes way better than the Konsil.  I'm going to start with a 5-day goal and see how it goes.  If I'm doing good, I may continue longer.  I would eventually like to go a full 40 days on, 60 days off, and 40 days on if I can keep that schedule.  Then eat only raw vegan during the 60 days off. 

My main goal is weight.  I really want to be normal.  I want to start enjoying life more.  I want a girlfriend.  I want a job.  I can't really effectively do any of these things the way my health is now.  So, it's off to Publix tomorrow to get the rest of the stuff I need!  I believe I'll be ready to start the cleanse on Monday, March 14th.  For REAL. No Excuses!

Sunshine Breakfast Bowl

I was trying to think of a way of using all the sprouts I grew before they started going bad and this is what I came up with.

Good Morning Sunshine Bowl
1/4 cup sprouted buckwheat groats
1/2 tsp. water
 raw honey or agave to taste
a few drops of pure vanilla
pinch of sea salt
cinnamon
1 cup leafy sprouts
1/2 apple chopped (or seasonal fruit)
1 tsp. walnuts chopped
Mash sprouted buckwheat groats with a fork. Add enough water to make a thick paste. (this is going to be your "dressing") Mix in the honey, vanilla, sea salt and cinnamon. Pour on top of your sprouts and top with pieces of apple and walnuts. Toss and enjoy!

Another variation:
1 cup leafy sprouts
1/4 cup sprouted buckwheat grouts
1 lemon peeled and chopped (use a board so you can pour the juice in, too)
1 tbs. soaked/dried almonds chopped
pinch of sea salt
pinch of pepper
dried or fresh mint
raw honey or agave to taste

Culturing Vegetables + Sprouting = Cultured Sprouts?

I was just sitting here thinking... I had so much fun making cultured cabbage and I have so much fun sprouting... I wonder if cultured sprouts would be any good?  It just seems like I have way more sprouts than I can eat.  I don't want to waste any or have them go bad. So, why not put them in a jar and culture them?  They would last a very long time that way.  I'm hoping someone might have some thoughts on the matter.

Sprouts for Life!

Ok, I'm officially a sprout addict. LOL Today was day 6 of growing the French Garden Mix from www.sproutpeople.org. Wow, they are really beautiful! (On the left side of the picture) In my opinion, the directions were spot on and they needed the full six days to fully develop. Then I took them outside and let them green up for about an hour. Besides munching on them the whole time I was de-hulling them, I also put some on a chickpea sandwich. OMG, I've discovered a new heaven!

I also grew a new batch of lentil sprouts at the same time and I let them go a full 6 days also. (On the right side of the picture) I should have harvested the lentil sprouts a day or two ago.  They are starting to look brownish in spots.  So, next batch, I'm going to keep a closer eye on them and see.  The first few batches of lentils I only let grow 4 days and they were perfect.  Well, it was an experiment in timing.  I'm going to take this batch and let them air-dry on the counter for a while, drizzle them with a tiny bit of olive oil then sprinkle them with a blend of nutritional yeast, garlic powder, onion powder, a tiny bit of salt and some pepper.  Shake them up and since I don't have a dehydrator, I'm going to try placing them in my oven overnight.  No heat except from what comes off the pilot light.  I'm hoping these "chezy snacks" will come out like I'm envisioning.

I started my first batch of chickpea sprouts this morning, too.  Can't wait to eat those buggers.  I love chickpeas more than anything and now that I'm going to be eating them sprouted and raw, they're going to be even better.  I can tell! (grin)

My fermented veggies are moving right along.  I put them in a dark corner of my room last night on some sheets of newspaper.  Good thing I did that!  I left the tops unscrewed and just resting on top of the jars and they indeed started to seep over a bit just like I read about.  I'm not going to touch or mess with them till tomorrow, though. (Man, is that hard to do!) I just hope my hubby doesn't notice the smell and start complaining.  He can't stand kraut. And he keeps referring my jars as "that nasty stuff in the corner." Then, tomorrow, I'll clean up the outside of the jars and maybe pour a tiny bit off the tops of each one to give them some more room.  Sandor at www.wildfermentation.org suggested you taste your veg every day or every other day to see how sour they're getting so that you can decide when is a good time to place them in cold storage.  So, I'll do that tomorrow, too along with the clean-up.

Last thing, I'm posting a new video up on youtube for those of you who are interested in hearing me praise sprouts some more! I'm having a bit of trouble with it, it keeps giving me errors for some reason.  Perhaps it's because of all the Saturday internet traffic.  Anyway, keep your eyes open for it and search youtube for webladyone01 and you'll find my video.  I was going to post a link here, but it's still uploading. Umm wait, not it's not.  Another error.  Oh well, I'll start the upload before I go to bed and hopefully, it'll be ready to view tomorrow.

My next blog post is going to be about my transitioning to 100% raw.  I'm still having some problems with it.  I haven't lost much weight yet, either.  I've only lost 3 pounds. So, I'm going to post what I eat and how I prepare it so that maybe I can get some feedback on what to change.
Peace & Namaste

First Batch of Fermented Veggies!

Starting a batch of fermented veggies today. It's going to be hard waiting the 3-6 days to taste them! Here's a picture of what they look like in the jar along with the ingredients.
In case ya'all don't know, fermented veggies are one of the best sources of probiotics you can get. They aid in digestion and help create good flora in your intestinal tract. Also, it's said that they help boost your immune system! Some common ferments are sauerkraut, kimchi and rejuvelac. (a fermented beverage made with wheat berries or rye) Almost any vegetable can be fermented as long as you have a base of cabbage which contains the needed bacteria for fermentation or a probiotic starter powder. Or you can start a new batch with some of the brine from the old batch kind of like a sourdough or yogurt starter.

Ingredients in this batch:

• sea salt
• 1 small head of cabbage
• 6 small carrots
• 1 granny smith apple
• 1/2 a medium onion
• 1 small green pepper
• 1 tsp. whole fennel seed
• 1 tsp. whole mustard seed
• 1/8 tsp. red pepper flakes
• 1/4 tsp. whole peppercorns
• 4 small garlic cloves

Mary at Raw Food Rehab warned me about using too much fennel and recommended only 1 teaspoon because seeds and dried spices tend to get much stronger in the fermenting process.  I used only 1 teaspoon but once I started mixing it, it all ready started to have a strong smell.  I just hope I didn't overdo it and waste the batch.  I can't afford to lose any staples this month.  I have less than $100 left to get me through March.