Jump-starting the New Year with wholesome juice.

I mentioned in my previous post that there is something about a fresh start that pulls me towards it. A chance to redeem myself, an opportunity to learn from the past and prepare for the future and that is exactly what I did this New Year. After a month of shameless gluttony of Christmas cupcakes and reindeer donuts, of liberal portions of roasts and cheesy lasagnas, of tons of buff dimsums and sarson ka saag with white butter on top I think both my tastebuds and my system wanted a breather.

Lighter meals, more veggies and fruits, healthy dips, leaner proteins and so after some more bingeing on the New Years’ Eve I began my day doing exactly that; with a power packed smoothie for breakfast (a food resolution I made to myself).And later that day when I went down to one of my favorite coffee shops with an intention to work and ofcourse to have some coffee (since I mostly work out of home and there are times I like to get out of my pyjamas and disturb the zen like environment that the ironed and neatly stacked clothes in my cupboard are usually living in) and that is when I came across Bean Machine’s Juice Diet. To be really honest I always run away from these so called diets but the large glasses of fresh juices that their other customers were ordering kept me away from my regular order of coffee that day.

I found out that the lovely couple who own and run Bean Machine, Paul Farrance and Duaa Anwar came up with this Juice Detox diet almost a year back when Paul was struggling with some serious health issues. Duaa a certified fitness professional shared how and why she came up with these different concoctions and how Paul benefitted from it. Duaa says, “Toxins find their way to us through processed foods and the air that we breathe and fresh juices help eliminate those toxins. It strengthens the body and mind, replace deficiencies, helps built immunity, increases the energy level, controls cravings and ofcourse if done regularly can help with weight loss. A diet of raw fruit and vegetables is beneficial whatever your goal may be”.

I decided to give this a try except for one thing that I could not have survived only on three portions of juice alone. That is when Duaa told me that they don’t expect you to. The juices need to be supplemented with other interesting and healthy meals like a salad, nuts or some form of protein that fills you up. Plus some windup options that you could take before going to bed. I chose their three day juice diet (they also have a seven and a fourteen day diet for the dedicated).

So the next day at a time pre-decided by me I received my first glass of a very pretty both on the outside (my favourite colour) and the inside (packed with blueberries, banana, orange, bio-live yoghurt, honey and muesli) Blueberry & Banana smoothie. It was a large glass (16 oz.) that filled me up completely. For lunch I had what they called a Turbo Detox juice made up of apples, carrot, celery, spinach, broccoli, beetroot, zucchini, ginger (I liked this the best) which I had with a grilled chicken salad. Come evening, I had my last juice of the day, Two carrots, two apples, ginger and a squirt of lemon. Each night I had some grilled cottage cheese and veggies with it. I also had a lot of water each day to make it work better.

What worked for me?

• After a crazy festive month it was just what my system needed to spring back into a normal eating pattern. So I am still eating my occasional dessert but the juice diet supplemented with healthy food provided a sort of healthy jumpstart for the year ahead. I highly recommend it if like me sometimes you need some inspiration or a friendly nudge.
• The juices were fresh, delivered to my doorstep three times a day which means they weren’t standing in my fridge all day and I got the maximum benefit of the nutrients. Also they were sans any sugar and included the fiber from the fruits and the vegetables.
• The juice wasn't expensive. At 16 ounces it costs only 20 aed.

What would I have liked done differently?

• My smoothie/juice was the same for each of my meals. I am someone who thrives on variety and by the end of the day two much as I liked the juices I would have preferred some variety. For someone who wants to try this out for seven/fourteen days it could get very boring after a while.

Like it or not, everybody needs to detox from time to time to revitalize and cleanse your much abused bodies and to flush out those toxins and replace the nutrients. Choose what works for you.

Eat healthy and stay fit.

Disclaimer: All views expressed here are my own and Bean Machine invited me to try out their juice diet. 

Images: Personal Album. While you enjoy reading this post with visuals. Please do not use them without asking. They belong to Orange Kitchens unless otherwise stated