Going into my cleanse, I imagined that I would be breaking my fast with as much food as possible to sate my never-ending hunger. At the end of day 5, I wasn’t hungry and was still full from all the juice. I went to sleep with thoughts of chewing my meals and woke up eager to break my fast in a healthy way to prolong the cleanse.

Breaking the Fast 

I’ve read that the key to maintaining the effects and success of a cleanse is to break the fast in a healthy way, so as to not overwhelm the body with everything it has not been digesting throughout the cleanse. Many cleanse protocols suggest drinking a juice and eating some fruit/veggies when you wake up the first day post-cleanse. So, I started my morning with a Green Vitality and an acai bowl with raspberries, bananas, goji berries, and coconut shavings! I wanted to stay away from all the foods that I had avoided when prepping for the cleanse, so I refrained from eating meat, cheese, flour, sugar and other high-processed foods for the first two days.

Some Vegan Recipes for Breaking the Fast 

In order to continue with the cleanse, I drank a lot of lemon water. The citric acids in the lemons aid in the digestive process, helping to get the bowels moving while also reducing gas and bloating. I found lemon water helpful with digestion when introducing food back into my life post-cleanse.

After my breakfast of one Green Vitality, lemon water, and a delicious acai bowl, I decided to have pasta for lunch! Not just any pasta though, zucchina pasta! I had recently received a spiralizer as a gift and knew this was the best time to use it. Here’s the recipe I used for my zucchini pasta:

Ingredients:

• One large organic zucchini
• 4 oz of organic baby carrots, cut into julienne strips
• 4 cups of organic curly kale, washed and chopped
• 1/4 of organic yellow onion, diced
• Canned/jarred organic tomato sauce (I went with a traditional tomato and basil, but any flavor or homemade sauce will do!)

Recipe:

This lunch was filling and delicious! Over the next couple of days, I tried a few other vegan recipes, including some from O2living: carrot ginger soup, raw marinated cashew vegetables (which I made in my oven  – still delicious!), and the warm winter quinoa salad with butternut squash and toasted walnuts.

Post-Cleanse Feels 

The first few days post-cleanse were great. I continued to have a lot of energy (and steered clear of coffee) and was eating healthy! I noticed some interesting changes in my food cravings and when and what I actually wanted to eat.

1. I had no sugar cravings. This was great! I had natural energy from the cleanse and my healthy eating, so I wasn’t reaching for a quick pick-me-up in the form of chocolate or sugar.

2. I had enough energy to not drink coffee for the entire week! I surely thought that coffee would be something I would reintroduce to my daily routine, but I didn’t find myself needing it. I had energy, and I guess the cleanse had helped me kick some of my caffeine addiction.

3. I wasn’t eating when I was bored! I did find myself drinking more water throughout the day, but I wasn’t mindlessly eating – which is a great thing. I was more diligent about what I was eating, even after I started adding meat and cheese into my diet.

Overall Impressions

I loved my juice cleanse! Not only was it completely doable, I feel refreshed and energized, ready to start the new year with a new healthy lifestyle. I will definitely be cleansing again and am now even tempted to try a juice fast – maybe even for spring cleaning! Who’s with me?

Want to learn more about O2living juice cleanses, fasts, and protocols? Click here for more information!