Reboot Days 15-18 - Feeling Accomplished

* Fruity delicious snack!!

Tooty Frooty

- 1 nectarine (take out seed)

- 2-3 oranges

- 20-25 strawberries 

-1-2 pears 

(Creates about 30 oz's, it all really depends on the size of your produce, you can add more or use less)

I ended my reboot on Day 18. I miscalculated my dates, and realized that one of my best friend's 30th birthday dinner was coming up, and had to end my fast earlier than I wanted. It was well worth it though, because I really wanted to celebrate the end of her 20's with her! I know for sure, I could have kept going, to maybe even 30 days! However, my journey didn't end there. I planned to take 3 days off of fasting and juice just breakfast and lunch, while eating dinner, and then hop back on another reboot! There really isn't a rule that states how often you can fast, as long as you are feeling healthy and not feeling sick, or feeling anything out of the ordinary, then you should be fine to start up again when you are ready. Of course, check in with your doctor to make sure everything is still okay.

Mango Kiwiberry
- 10-11 carrots
- 2 ripe mangos
- 10-15 strawberries
- 3-4 kiwis
(Creates about 30 oz's, depending on size of produce)

* Super delicious breakfast or snack! I love love mangos!!

New Green Twist

- 1 cucumber

- 2 green apples

- 1 lemon

- 6-8 kale leaves

- 1 pear

- 2 small bushels of broccoli 

- 2 handfuls of spinach

- about 1/2 thumb size of ginger

(Creates about 30 oz's, depending on produce size)

* I love the Mean Green, but wanted to switch it up a bit, and this mix is soooo delicious! 

During my reboot, a lot of people were asking questions about juicing, and it felt great to share my experience and my knowledge with them. These were people who were open to the idea of juicing, and have done their research on the benefits of juicing. There were also a lot of people who thought I was crazy and starving myself. Going on a liquid diet that consists of nothing but fresh fruits and veggies is definitely NOT starving yourself! You are still feeding your body everything that you need to function and stay healthy. Now, if all I was doing was drinking water, than that's a whole different story. I was also warned by several people to be careful about doing this type of "diet" because it will be very easy to gain all the weight back fast. I've done plenty of research of what I need to do to maintain after I finish fasting, and there is no way that I will let all the hard work and dedication go to waste. And honestly, after a reboot, your body feels so good, there's no way you're going to want to feed yourself junk that will make you sick. It's truly a lifestyle change. Going on a juice fast opens up your eyes and helps you understand the importance of how to eat and live a healthier life. Don't get me wrong, I will not deprive myself of some yummy treats here and there, but I now know how to limit myself to have a healthier portion. 

Unbeetable

- 8-10 carrots

- 1 cucumber

- 1 beet

- 2-3 apples

- 1/2" ginger root

(Creates about 30 oz's, depending on size of produce)

*Not a big fan of beet, but this mixture was actually pretty good!

I broke my fast for dinner, at Ba Chi Canteen, a fairly new vietnamese restaurant, located in uptown, New Orleans. I decided I wasn't going to jump straight in to eating any meat. I have a more sensitive

stomach than my fiancé, so I wanted to be very careful with choosing what to eat. I opted to have vegetarian dishes to introduce solid food back in to my diet. I ordered vegetarian spring rolls and a vegetarian pho. (a traditional vietnamese soup) I ate 1 1/2  of my spring rolls, and took maybe 6-7 bites of my soup, and I was totally full. It felt so weird to eat food again, I kind of missed my juice. lol. But I did get that sort of euphoric feeling that my fiancé experienced when he first ate solid food after his fast. Yeah, I guess I was a little "food drunk" too. lol. The food tasted so good, but I couldn't eat very much of it, because I got so full, so quick. It was a successful first meal! 

* Feeling great & super healthy! Dropped down 17lbs! 

*Yummy veggie pho, with kimchi & tofu!

* Veggie spring rolls with avocado, lettuce, mint, and noodles

After my 18 day reboot, I felt very accomplished! My body has transformed and I felt slimmer and healthier than I have in years. My body felt clean, and I was fully energized! I was so proud of myself for actually sticking to it, and following through. It was such an amazing & rewarding feeling! I was already planning out my second reboot! =)

Reboot Days 11-14 - Juice Flow

*Added a new fruit to our regular breakfast recipe! Yum!!

Cantaloupe Pineapple

-8 to 10 carrots

-2 oranges

-1/2 lemon

-3 slices of pineapple

-4-5 slices of cantaloupe

(makes about 30-32 oz's, feel free to add how ever much of each fruit to your liking)

The further we got in to our reboot, the more experimental we got with our recipes! The idea was to stick to the basic as the base, and then add fruits and veggies that we think would compliment the juice. It's important to get creative, and give yourself more options in the flavors of juices you will be consuming. It helps keep things interesting and is a big way to keep juicing enjoyable!

Our main goal was to do a reboot for 12 days, until we had our rehearsal dinner tasting, but it was re-scheduled for a later date, so plans changed. My fiancé actually ended his fast on Day 10. He lost 18 lbs!! He continued to juice for breakfast and lunch, but was eating dinner. I decided to keep on going, and my goal was to do 20 days. I was feeling so good, and my body was so used to the juice, that I knew I could keep going. I no longer had any cravings for "real" solid food. My fiancé broke his fast at one of our local, tasty restaurants, and he said that food was so great, he almost felt like he was "food drunk." lol His first solid meal was a filet mignon with some delicious mash potatoes. He didn't feel sick and realized his appetite was not as big as before the fast. He did not over eat, and felt very full, really fast. He was quite surprised by how much his body has transformed. It really does work people!! I am now fully convinced that juicing really does your mind and body good!

I even have my boss juicing now, to try to help her with her migraines and to help her get extra nutrients that her body may need! She's loving it so far! Makes me feel so good  introducing juicing to others!

*Me & Boss Lady's cheers to our Mean Greens!

On Day 11, we had tickets to go see my team play at the Superdome for their first pre-season game! I was debating if I wanted to go or not. I haven't really been out and about since on my fast, and was worried about temptations that would surround me, but I couldn't miss seeing my Saints play! So I toughed it out, and brought my Mean Green with me to drink while my fiancé picked up some quick dinner. I even brought my green inside the restaurant with me! Definitely got some stares, but I didn't care! It felt good to know that I can sit in an actual restaurant while everyone is eating, and still have the will power to not eat or pick at any solid food. It was a very rewarding feeling!

*Enjoying my mean green right before the game! Who Dat! 

Days 12-14 went pretty well! I was focused and ready to keep going on with my journey! I was determined to make it to 20 days! Over the days, we went to a few social events, and one was a cookout!! I was pretty nervous about that one, but I brought my Mean Green with me, and brought a veggie & fruit dish, and did not eat one thing from the cookout! I was very proud of myself, because trust me, it was very very tempting, and everything was so delicious! Stuck to it, and stayed dedicated!

Here are a few more of my fave recipes:

Berry Twist

- 8-10 carrots

- 3 apples

- 1 lemon

- 1 orange

- 10-15 strawberries

(makes about 30+ oz's, depending on size of produce-feel free to add more or less of whatever, just make sure you have a good balance going)

* Super yummy breakfast, just enough sweetness and tartness! Great balance!

Green & Orange 

- 5-6 leaves of romaine lettuce

- 5-6 leaves of kale 

- 20 strawberries (depends on size)

- 2 gala apples

- 1/2 lemon

- 6-8 carrots (depends on size)

(Makes about 30 oz's depending on the size of produce, Adjust amount of veggies or fruit to your liking)

* You can drink this juice as a breakfast, lunch, dinner or snack! Tasty, but still very healthy!

Simple Green

-1 cucumber

-5-7 slices of honeydew

- 30-40 green grapes

(makes about 30 oz's depending of size of produce)

*So refreshing and delicious, and very easy to make!

Reboot Days 8-10 - Feeling Awesome!

*My co-worker being a great sport for my daily post, she's actually a very healthy & active person! =)

Days 8-10 was a whole lot easier! I was feeling much better, since I was finally well rested. My skin was feeling super smooth and soft, and people were telling me I was glowing. The pounds were definitely still dropping, and I was feeling healthier than I have ever felt! My energy level was high. and I found myself more focused, even with all the things I have going on right now. It felt really good to finally see some of the hard work and dedication, starting to pay off! It was a very rewarding feeling, and it gave me extra motivation!

I have also started to experiment more with my own recipes.


A small twist to our normal breakfast juice.

Strawberry, Kiwi Delight
- 8 kiwis
- small basket of strawberries
- 6-8 carrots
- 4-5 leafs of romaine lettuce
Makes about 30 ounces of juice depending on the size of produce.
You can change the amount of fruits or veggies to your liking.

*This recipe is so delicious!! Makes for a perfect snack!

Pineapple & Orange Twist

- 8-10 carrots

- 2 oranges

- 5-6 slices of pineapple

Makes about 20-30 ounces of juice depending on the size of produce.

You can change the amount of fruits or veggies to your liking.

* This recipe can be a little on the sweet side, be careful how much pineapple you use. You can always add something else to it, and it will taste just as good!

Reboot Days 5-7 - Mentally Exhausted

* Kale has now become my new best friend!

So after a long night of juicing, for my mother on Friday, we had appointments scheduled early the next morning. A cake consultation, and one later in the afternoon for a florist consultation. I was so exhausted, but I knew this was something that had to be done because it's only 5 months until our wedding!! We woke up early, and had our morning juice and was ready to take care of business!

The cake consultation lasted about 2 hours, and was mentally draining. Don't get me wrong, I love our vendor, Flour Power Nola! Ronda was amazing and definitely helped us bring our vision to life, it was just the process of finally coming to a decision that was a little overwhelming. (And we didn't do an actual tasting of course, since we were fasting, but I have had their cakes before, and they are delicious! Tasting will have to wait a little.) We went there with an idea of what we wanted but there were so many options on what things we could do to customize our cake! And of course we had to discuss and make a decision for my fiancé's groom's cake. It was just so much information to take in, and being that I haven't ate any carbs in the last 5 days, my brain was feeling a little fried. lol.

After cake consultation we went back home to "eat" our lunch, and it was also mom's first day of juicing. She drank her morning juice before she met us, and we took a pit stop to drop my fiancé off, so he could open up the shop, then we prepared some notes to go to our next meeting with the florist.

* Cheers to our Mean Green! 

Before heading to the florist, we checked out some bridal boutiques to browse for dresses for my mom, for the wedding. Then we finally made it to Beth's Flowers! It was another 2 hours or so of consultation, but I love the whole outcome of all the arrangements that we put together! I also loved the fact that all my vendors so far, were all very well connected. I felt a sense of relief, another thing to check off my list, but yet again, my brain felt like it was in overdrive. Sue, at Beth's Flowers, also mentioned that I should book my limos asap, since there are only 4 limo services in New Orleans, and they were booking fast. She gave me a recommendation on who to use, one of her good friends, so yet again, another mission to cross of my list. 

By the end of the day, I was super tired and overwhelmed with wedding stuff, all I wanted to do was sleep. One of my best friends was waiting for me when I got home, and mentioned that she wanted to try juicing before she bought her own juicer. So of course, being the great friend that I am, I offered to help her juice the next day since we were going to do all of our juicing for the next few days as well. I thought, why not just do it all at once? I told her what ingredients to get, and told her to come back in the morning so we can get all the juicing out the way all in one day. 

*Production Day! Lots of work, but like with any diet, you must put in the work to get results! 

Let me just tell you, bad idea!! I felt great helping a friend out, but to make enough juices for three people all in one day is a whole lot of work! Remember my fiancé and I were fasting, so we were juicing breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, and desserts for us for the next 3 days, and my girlfriend wanted a few juices to last her 3 days as well. It was a hot mess! We ran out of ingredients and had to make last minute shopping trips to 3 different grocery stores! I was extremely tired, but I had to push through, because it had to be done! We started juicing around 2:00 pm, and probably didn't finish until 7:00 pm. 

*My girlfriend drinking her lunch, and taking off with her juices! I should start a business! lol

TMI WARNING

I wasn't sure if I was going to share this with the world, but I thought maybe some ladies who would like to try a reboot should know. Well, on my 5th day of fasting, "my time of the month" decided to make its debut! At first, I freaked out! I was thinking, is it safe to even be on a juice fast while on the cycle? I did some research, and not much information on the subject really popped up. But if there were women who have done 30 day reboots or longer, I'm pretty sure they had to go through their cycle during those days as well. Definitely a duh moment! But I was still a little bit freaked out about how I was going to handle this. How was I going to survive being on my cycle, while "eating" just juice? The first thing that happens to me when that time of the month usually comes, is cramps, headaches, and cravings for anything full of carbs! The one thing I crave for the most is chocolate!! And to top it off, I usually get pretty hormonal and PMS usually kicks in pretty bad. I didn't know how I was going to get through this. The first day it came, I was totally feeling it. No cramps or any headaches, but I was craving everything sweet and all the junk food in sight. It was tough! But I stuck it out, and sipped on my juices! I went to my dessert juice to substitute my sweet cravings, and it did the trick! I was still so emotionally and mentally drained, but I was feeling good that that I didn't cave and eat something solid.

*Grapes, blueberries, & mint! A very refreshing juice for the summer, and soooo delicious! Another recipe  we love from Joe's 3 Day Plan, recipe below!

Purple Passion

-30 purple/black or red grapes (we used green)

-1 basket of blueberries

-1 handful of mint

By day 7, it was time to go back to work, and I was not having a very good day at all. I think all the hustle and bustle from the weekend really took a toll on me. I was so tired and drained, mentally & emotionally. It was a rough day. I just felt like crying. Life doesn't stop while you're on a juice fast, you just have to deal with it the best way you can. And planning a wedding, working full time, owning a shop, and trying to help friends and family join you on a healthy trip can be totally draining, but all I could do was get through my day and get a good night's rest. I wanted to stick to my goal. Sticking to it and not giving up was enough reason for me to know that tomorrow would be a better day!

Produce Wash Recipe

Washing your fresh fruits and veggies thoroughly is the key to make sure you avoid any pesticides or other unhealthy, unwanted, dirt that comes along with your produce. We have bought a fruit and vegetable cleanse spray from Wal-Mart, and it was pretty pricey for a small bottle. The refills were even more expensive. So I found a more cost effective way to spray down and clean your juices.

Produce Wash Recipe:

- 1 c./235ml. water

- 1 c./235 ml. white vinegar

- 1 Tbsp./15 g. baking soda

- 1/2 lemon

 Mix in a large bowl (to allow for the chemical reaction between the vinegar and baking soda) and then pour into a spray bottle. Spray fruit and rinse well. Use a scrub brush for firmer produce. 

-rebootwithjoe.com

Reboot Days 3 & 4 - Juice Love

Days 3 and 4 was actually pretty easy! We were worried about all the horror stories about the 3rd day being the hardest day, but it wasn't bad at all for us. Again, I think the reason why it was so easy was because we didn't jump straight in to a fast, I'm a firm believer now that you should really prepare yourself right and ease in to it before jumping in to a fast, because it has definitely worked for us. I thought by now we would cave and eat something, but we were still focused and determined to meet our goal!

We were actually loving juicing! Juicing was really fun for us, it was like cooking together! We had a our own system going. We had this juicing thing down! We found a flow that worked for us! Set up, pulling out ingredients, washing, peeling, cutting, than juicing was all done in our own organized way that made the process much easier. It just felt good to be on this journey together. During our fast we didn't plan on going out very much, we just wanted to stay focus. Usually when the weekend comes around, we have dinner and drinks with friends on Fridays. Saturdays after our shop closes, we usually have something going on, maybe go out bar hopping or something. Sundays we usually spend the day relaxing or taking our pup Nacho out to the park, or go to the movies. There's always tons of things to do in New Orleans! But we wanted to avoid any temptation during our fast so we wanted to lay low, and just take it day by day. It definitely helps when your significant other is juicing with you since you will both be "eating" the same thing. I could only imagine how hard it would have been if one of us was still eating steaks and stuff, while the other was juicing. I think that would have been pretty challenging for us if that was the case.

Since we started the fast we have also been drinking our juices in plastic containers, with a sealed top on them, like the ones used to hold your water, when you are on the go. Well I ended up buying us like 3 containers each, and they were around $5.00 ea., and they were not as easy to drink from, because some of the containers we had, had little sip slots that prevented enough juice from coming out when we were drinking our meals. It was kind of annoying how long you had to tip the container in order to get some juice to come out. So I was researching other alternatives. And I found some people use mason jars. Duh, like why didn't I think of this before?! I have tons of mason jars already because I'm using a lot of them to create our wedding center pieces. And the pint size jars are 16 ounces each, so it worked out perfectly! Mason jars are glass, so it keeps the juice way colder, and it has a super sealed top, which helps prevent any oxygen from coming in! And to get a dozen of mason jars, was like $7-$8! I got most of my mason jars from Dollar General, but I hear you can find them at certain Wal-Marts as well! I highly recommend using them to store your juices!! So convenient and so easy to just quickly grab and small enough to pack in a little lunch bag. And I must say again, keeps your juices super cold, which I love!!

*Breakfast & lunch now fit perfectly in my little lunch bag to take to work!

*Leaves you tons of extra space in your fridge to store more goodies!

*So much more convenient! Seeing the colors of the juice helps you know which one to grab for what meal! And it just looks super cool, lol. (we are both artists, so we enjoyed seeing all the different colors)

*Rash update: Was still really itchy and was still flaring up once in a while. Still not sure if it had anything to do with detox or was simply a reaction to my cortisone shot. I was hoping it would go away because it was just super annoying! I continued to take benadryl every time I felt super itchy and inflamed. 

My brother and I have also been encouraging my mom to incorporate juicing in her diet, because she gets severe migraines almost every other day. It gets so bad sometimes, that she ends up not having an appetite. The only thing she can really eat is a small snack and drink coffee. A lady on Joe's "Fat, Sick, & Nearly Dead" documentary, also suffered from migraines, so we thought our mom should give it a try. My mom didn't have a juicer yet, because she wanted to try to see if it was something that she would like, so we ended up spending our Friday night bringing our juicer to my parents house, and juiced my mom 3 days worth of juices. I was tired, but it felt good to know that this could possibly help my mom feel better. 

Reboot Day 2 - Rash?

On the 2nd day of fast, I noticed that my bite on my back was still inflamed, and now I was getting a mild rash on my neck, inner wrists, and my lower back, all around the inflamed area. So I went back to the doctor to make sure I was okay. Well, the doctor told me it could be a reaction from the cortisone shot, because some people get reactions from the shot. My skin is already super sensitive to begin with. I was also wondering, if maybe it was because my body was detoxing and this was a reaction of the toxins trying to come out of my body. I wasn't really sure what caused the rash, but the doctor told me it would be okay to take benadryl. (Doc knew I was on a juice fast) I did some research to see if a rash can be a side effect from detox, and some people say that they have experienced rashes, but it usually goes away within a couple of days. It is not advised that you take any type medication that is not prescribed during a reboot, because it will just put toxins back in to your body, but I couldn't help it. I had to take benadryl because I had to get this rash under control. It was itching pretty bad. I also rubbed anti-itch cream on it to help soothe it. It was annoying more than anything, and I really wanted to follow through and finish this detox, so I did whatever I needed to deal with the discomfort.

Other than that day 2 actually went pretty well. Started the day off with a cup of hot water with lemon before having my morning juice. I was really loving how much energy I had from my morning juice. Even my co-workers noticed how much energy I had around the office, compared to the very tired and sleepy Dana they were used to. I was feeling great!

We also decided to try some different recipes for snacks and dessert. You should drink at least 64 ounces of juice or more a day during a reboot. If you are hungry, EAT your juice! The way I see it drink as much juice as you want until you feel full! There's really no rule that says that you can't drink too much juice. I don't think there's really a limit of how much juice you can drink a day, as long as you drink enough to keep you healthy and functioning during your fast. I wouldn't drink too much of the juices that contain more fruits than vegetables, because they can be higher in sugar, which may not be that healthy for you, and may not help you lose weight as fast, if that is your goal.

For a dessert juice, we tried a purple juice from the 3 Day Plan

Peach Pie Delight
1 sweet potato
2 ripe peaches, pitted (or pears if peaches are not in season)
1 red apple
1 handful of blueberries
dash of cinnamon

*Can we say delicious?!! It is the best juice when you are craving something sweet! Treat yo' self because you definitely need to when you are fasting, it's absolutely yummy, and still way healthier than eating an actual slice of pie!

For a snack juice we used another purple juice that still has green in it:

Red, White, Blue (& Green)

1/4 Watermelon

2 handfuls of blueberries

6-8 kale leaves

*This juice is so refreshing! Watermelon creates tons of juice so you may not need to use as much as the recipe calls for. Just depends. I personally love this recipe because it's not too sweet since the kale helps balance the taste. 

My fiancé and I were both feeling pretty good, feeling healthy and super energized, and the pounds continued to drop! We didn't do too much exercising, we just took it easy since it was still our second day. Feeling super motivated and ready for more!