Juice cleanses have become incredibly popular over the past few years.

My personal experience with juicing is somewhere in the middle. I don’t think they are a cure-all, and they can definitely be taken to extremes. They also can be a great way to take a break—physically and mentally—and let your system receive rich, fresh nutrients in an easy to digest way.

Last month, Bryonie Wise and I blogged our five day juice cleanse, which had its ups and downs.   It was right at a time when I was cleaning house and getting ready to move, and seemed like a good time to do an internal clean sweep too.

When I received an email from Blueprint Cleanse asking if I would be interested in doing a review to celebrate the launch of their products at Whole Foods Market, I decided to go for it! I had read several reviews of Blueprint’s cleanses, and even grabbed one of their green juices from Whole Foods one day during my juice cleanse in May, when I forgot to bring my juice from home. It seems like there are new juicing companies starting up weekly, but Blueprint has been around awhile, so I figured it would be a good way to go. If you are looking to use prepared juice for a juice cleanse, it should be:

1. Unpasturized

2. As freshly pressed as possible

Blueprint shipped me my juice in a special cooler with tons of ice packs, and their juices are all raw and cold pressed. While pasteurization helps juices stay fresh longer in the store, to get the most from juices nutritionally, you want something fresh.

They sent me their sampler pack of the juices they now have available at Whole Foods.

I love getting exciting mail!

 

Lime, Ginger, Lemon, Agave: This is Blueprint’s newest juice, and my favorite. I love lime and ginger together and it is perfect for summer. I’d grab this on a hot afternoon even if I wasn’t juicing. I’ve read mixed things about agave, but that factor adds some sweetness while still making it appealing for strict vegans.

Kale, Apple, Ginger, Romaine, Spinach, Cucumber, Celery, Parsley, Lemon. This is a great staple, and similar to the green juice I make myself. I would recommend this to those who are new to green juices, as well as those who know and love them. It has a fresh, grassy taste that is sweetened slightly by the apple and ginger.

Pineapple, Apple and Mint. Yum. I wasn’t sure at first how the pineapple and mint would work together, but it gave it a lovely tropical taste. The pairing of these three would be great to replenish after an upset stomach, as both pineapple and mint are helpful to ease digestive inflammation.

Beet, Apple, Carrot, Lemon, Ginger. I love beets. I make a raspberry, lemon and beet smoothie often, and love the earthy sweetness beets have. If you have never tried them, it may be a bit of an acquired taste. The apple and carrot here help mellow and balance the taste of the beets a bit.

Cashew, Vanilla, Cinnamon, Agave. If I were to do the cleanse over, I would definitely throw this in the freezer for a bit. It has a creamy, milk shake type taste to it. Sadly, I threw it in my bag and headed to a friend’s house with it; by the time I got to drinking it, it was pretty warm. Still tasty, but would have been better colder.

Lemon, Cayenne, Agave. Classic. I make some variation on this all through the winter, and lemon water on its own to start most days. The cayenne was just enough to help clear my throat and sinuses, without being obnoxiously spicy.

All in all, the juices were delicious and refreshing, and I am excited to try them again in the future.

Note: elephantjournal.com received this juice cleanse  for free, in return for a guarantee that we would review said offering.  That said, we say what we want—good and bad, happy and sad.

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