My DIY 3-Day Juice Cleanse Recipe Plan

It’s finally here! After a long weekend of cleansing, and then a week of posting my recipes, here is the whole plan for you to enjoy yourselves. If you’re planning on embarking on a three-day cleanse, I’d definitely recommend reading my ‘How to prepare for a juice cleanse‘ post first, along with making sure your juicer is up to scratch. My main recommendations for the cleanse are as follows:

• A slow, masticating juicer is best
• The more organic produce you use, the better
• Definitely make sure each juice is at least 500ml
• Don’t hold back on glasses of water alongside your juices
• Make sure you prepare for your cleanse – read more here

(Psst… if you’re looking for pre-made juice cleanse, check out my ranking of commercial cleanses, and how I got on more recently doing a 7-day cleanse!)

Shopping List For Your 3-Day Juice Cleanse

Below is my shopping list for making your 18 juices, and these ingredients should provide 500ml of juice each time, although feel free to add more of one ingredient if necessary (cucumbers are a great way to make up extra juice, for example). The reason why I’m so heavily advocating 500ml juices is because the cleanse is not meant to make you feel hungry – it should be self-sustaining, and enable you to find a clear division between hunger pangs and mental cravings, enabling you to eat more mindfully in the future.

Try to get the organic versions of these ingredients – as you will be having condensed versions of everything, it’s best to get fresh, clean fruits, vegetables and the extras too. I’ve linked all of the items to Planet Organic*, but you should be able to find them all in your local supermarket if you prefer.

Schedule

To make your cleanse even more successful, you should keep to a timely schedule too. Although I didn’t quite manage this, I would recommend planning your day as follows, unless your daily schedule differs to a usual mealtime routine:

3-Day Juice Cleanse Daily Menu

1. Lemon Detox Water

1/2 lemon
1 cup lukewarm water

1. Cut a cross along the length and width of the lemon, and peel
2. Put half of the lemon through the juicer, saving the other half for later
3. Add to a cup of lukewarm water and drink

2. Sweet Morning Green Juice

1 apple
1 cucumber
1/2 lemon
2 handfuls of kale
2 handfuls of spinach

1. Start by washing your produce, then slice everything into finger-sized pieces
2. Feed the leaves with your cucumber through the juicer, then the apple and lemon
3. Funnel into a glass, skimming off any froth and enjoy!

3. Beetroot & Carrot Juice

1 apple
2 beets
2 carrots
1/2 lemon
Sliver of ginger

1. On a chopping board, slice up all your ingredients into finger-like pieces. I always keep the skin on, but this is up to you
2. Juice everything through – you may need to encourage the carrot pieces through by using the other softer produce
3. Decant into a glass, skimming off any froth and adding water if you’d like

4. Pineapple + Mint Juice

1/2 cucumber
1 handful of mint
1/2 pineapple

1. Skin the pineapple with a sharp chef’s knife, and slice into finger-like portions
2. Also cut the cucumber this way, alongside picking a handful of mint and washing well
3. Now juice everything, with the leaves mixed between the larger chunks
4. You may need to re-juice the pulp after the first time round, as both pineapple and cucumber are very juicy
5. Pop in a few ice cubes (if you’d like) and enjoy!

5. Spicy Raw Lemonade

400ml water
1 lemon
1 pinch cayenne pepper
1 tbsp agave nectar

1. Along the length of the lemon, score a cut as deep as the skin. Do the same again, this time in a perfect cross, and then peel the skin off to leave just the segments, then put through your juicer and re-juice the pulp at least once
2. Now add the 400ml water (preferably filtered), and stir in a pinch of cayenne pepper and one tablespoon of agave nectar

6. Mean Green Juice

2 celery sticks
1/2 cucumber
1 small lemon
2 handfuls of kale
1 handful parsley

1. Wash all your produce, and cut into finger-sized slices
2. Juice the leaves through with the cucumber and celery to ensure even juicing
3. Re-juice the pulp at least once
4. Decant into a glass and drink

7. Raw Vanilla Cashew Milk

145g cashew nuts
1.5 litres of water
2 tbsp agave nectar
1 vanilla bean

(Note: this recipe makes enough for three 500ml portions)

1. Start by soaking the cashew nuts in 240ml water for 2-12 hours (I soaked mine for eight)
2. Drain the water, and pop the swollen cashews into your juicer while slowly pouring 750ml of water through it too (I would really recommend a masticating juicer, as I’m not sure how a centrifugal juicer would handle this), making sure to re-juice the pulp at least one time afterwards
3. Cut the end off your vanilla bean and scrape out the paste
4. Put the cashew milk, vanilla bean paste, agave nectar and remaining water in a blender and whizz up until perfectly creamy
5. The yield should make up at least three 500ml portions of cashew milk, perfect for the three-day cleanse! You can store the milk in the fridge in-between days, for up to three days.

8. Chamomile Tea

Chamomile tea bag
1 cup of hot water

1. Boil the kettle, leaving the water to rest for a while before pouring on the chamomile tea bag to prevent burning
2. Leave the bag in during drinking for a fuller flavour

Note: Stick With It!

If this is your first cleanse, as it was mine, I really highly recommend finding introspective activities to do during your juicing – meditating, art, and reading are all perfect for this. You may also feel like partaking in light exercise, such as yoga, but try not to do anything strenuous. I took walks in the afternoon to reduce my temptation to eat and also get out of the house – hopefully this will help you too!

No-one says juice cleanses are easy, but the changes in the body’s energy levels, digestive system, and to a certain extent, loss of weight, are an amazing thing to observe and enjoy. You will also feel proud for being able to accomplish such a task without snacking in-between (my usual vice), but if you really desperately need to, cashew nut butter or raw cashews are the best bet. As an advocate for mindful eating, I wouldn’t say juicing 24/7 is a sustainable diet, but it definitely helps kick-start a healthier diet afterwards, and you will be able to minimise mental cravings while fulfilling hunger and thirst.

After Your Cleanse…

Once you have completed your cleanse, congratulate yourself! Observe your body, and how strong-willed you have been. Now, make a plan to stay this healthy, whether it be going vegetarian, introducing juices into your regular diet, or maintaining a no-snacking policy.

It is very highly recommended to eat only raw plant-based meals after your cleanse for the first three days, adding in nuts in the second day and grains in the third. Your digestive system will be slow and you shouldn’t shock it, especially with pseudo-foods on the first few days afterward. Meat will also be hard for it to handle at this point. As always, listen to your body and make a mental plan – you can treat yourself, but do so in little portions if at all.

Finally – let me know how you get on! I’d love to hear about it if you try my DIY cleanse. As an inexpensive and like-for-like cleanse to commercial alternatives, I really hope you reap all the benefits that I enjoyed when establishing it. Good luck!

Advertisement