EASY WEEKEND
BUDGET-FRIENDLY
JUICE CLEANSE
2-DAY JUICE CLEANSE
This "juice fast" or "juice cleanse" is for or anyone with digestive issues or who wants a mini, budget-friendly cleanse that can be meal-prepped and done over the weekend. Make sure to avoid having too many high-sugar fruits in your juices, as too much sugar without the fiber meant to go with it can cause low-energy and digestive issues, especially if you have insulin resistance or candida overgrowth.
- JUICING MEAL PREP:
This is a 2-day juice cleanse, so to get the most benefit you should not have any solid food or liquid food/drinks at all besides the freshly juiced produce listed below + lots of water. If you still get extremely hungry even after drinking the juices, then you can eat raw whole fruit as well, but try to think of this as a true "digestive cleanse" where you want to limit your food intake temporarily to allow for digestive healing.
**Use the Dirty Dozen list to see what produce really should be bought organic, then buy all other stuff non-organic to save money.
Grocery List:
**NOTE: This was designed for myself, a 5'2" female who has a small appetite, so if you tend to eat a lot or get hungry often, consider doubling the amounts listed below.
CLICK FOR PRINTABLE GROCERY CHECKLIST:
Vegetables:
- 6 medium carrots
- 3 bell peppers
- 9 stalks celery (1 bundle)
- 2 cups packed raw spinach
- 1 small broccoli
- 1/2 purple cabbage
- 2 medium tomatoes
- 2 large cucumbers
Fruits/Other:
- 1 apple
- 2 pears
- 1 orange
- 1/2 large pineapple
- 3" ginger root
- 1 lemon + 1 lime (or two of each) (these are great to add to any juice that you feel is too bland or just doesn't taste good, but you will need to add some sweetness too with either stevia leaf, monkfruit extract, or more fruit)
Optional Additions:
(The following are all OPTIONAL, as they either have extremely strong flavors (not for the faint of heart), or in the case of the mint, it can be expensive in some stores:)
- 2 cloves garlic (optional)
- 1 bunch cilantro (optional)
- 1/2 large onion (optional)
- 1 small bunch mint leaves (optional)
Once you've washed and chopped all your produce small enough to fit in the opening of your juicer (or extra small if using a blender), seal the pieces in air-tight containers so that when it's meal time, you can pull out the prepped container and all the ingredients you need will be there ready to juice.
**SWAPS**:
On a budget, you really need to be flexible, that means going with whatever produce is the most affordable during the current season in your local area, so feel free to swap out cheaper produce for what I've listed above. (TIP: unripe fruit is often cheaper, and is great for juicing since it tends to be lower in sugar!) The key here is to swap in similar-tasting stuff, that means mild should be swapped for mild, and sweet for sweet, etc. Remember to always swap by weight, not size, because some produce is very dense and others are very "fluffy", so you'll get unexpectedly different amounts of juice from different sized stuff.
Here are some of my swap recommendations:
Lime <-> Lemon <-> Ginger
Cucumber <-> Celery <-> Cabbage/Lettuce (or other very mild, watery leafy greens)
Apple <-> Pear <-> Peach/Nectarine <-> Mango <-> Grapes
Carrot <-> Tomato <-> Bell Pepper (very different flavors, but similar sweetness levels)
Broccoli <-> Spinach <-> Cauliflower
Orange <-> Grapefruit <-> Pineapple
Strawberry <-> Blueberry <-> Raspberry <-> Blackberry <-> Cherry
Cilantro <-> Mint <-> Basil <-> Ginger
Affordable Juicers:
The cheapest one:
- BLACK+DECKER 400-Watt Fruit and Vegetable Juice Extractor
Best under $150:
- Breville RM-JE98XL Juice Fountain
The most $$$ option for if you want a good investment :
- Vitamix 5300 Low-Profile Blender
(this is actually a high-power professional blender, but it's the best option in my opinion because it liquifies the veggies + fruit, so you keep all the fiber, but you don't taste it!)
**Loophole**: How to Use a Normal Blender to Make Juice: Go to 15:45??? mark in my video above to see how I used my average-power blender + a strainer to juice one of my meals for this cleanse.
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- DAY 1:
Breakfast: 3 Carrots + 1 bell pepper + 1” ginger + 1/2 lemon
Lunch: 1/2 Purple cabbage + 3 carrots + 1" ginger + 1 orange
Dessert: 1/2 Pineapple + 1 handful mint + 3 celery stalks + 1 cucumber
- DAY 2:
Breakfast: 3 stalks Celery + 2 cups spinach + 1 apple + 1/2 lemon + 1 small broccoli
Lunch: 2 tomatos + (2 garlic cloves) + (1 handful cilantro) + 2 bell peppers + 3 celery stalks + (1/2 red onion)
Dessert: 2 Pears + 1" ginger + 1 lime + 1 cucumber
ABOUT SUGAR + INSULIN RESISTANCE:
If you're like me and you have a family history of insulin issues (insulin is the hormone that regulates your blood sugar), then a juice cleanse can be a little difficult since you're getting a ton of carbs/sugar into your system all at once, without the fiber, fat, or protein that would've been mixed in if you'd eaten the same produce with a full meal. My hack to deal with this is to pair a juice cleanse with intermittent fasting. That means drinking all your juices within a 6 or 8-hour "eating window" and then not taking in any more calories for the rest of the day. This is not only great for digestive healing, it's also great for managing insulin issues. Learn more about intermittent fasting here: https://youtu.be/dFT2IKmwyfg
- RESOURCES + WHY BOTHER WITH A JUICE CLEANSE?:
Benefits of Juicing:
https://draxe.com/juice-cleanse/
Why Fresh-Made Juice is Better Than Bottled Raw Juice:
http://justjuice.org/when-does-fresh-juice-lose-its-freshness/
Raw vs. Processed Juice:
https://www.eujuicers.com/magazine/fresh-vs-store-bought-juice
What to Do Before and After a Juice Cleanse:
Tips for Good Digestion When Transitioning Back to Whole Foods:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9tz2xkWuhY&t=1004s
- MORE JUICING RECIPE IDEAS:
- https://www.thedailymeal.com/expensive-juice-cleanses-you-can-diy-cheaply-home/33114
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-lFFy5pMKVM
