As you may know (if you follow my Facebook, Instagram & Twitter), I have just finished a three day juice detox by Roots & Greens this morning. Following much indulgence over the Christmas holidays, I felt like my body and skin would really benefit from a cleanse and decided a juice detox would be the best way to kick-start a new year healthy overhaul. I stumbled upon Roots & Greens before Christmas and had been dying to try them. They’re a new Galway-based juice company whose products are sourced from a local organic farm. While there are a few of packages to choose from, I chose the 3 Day Detox which is €75.
Bear in mind I love my food; I love sugar, sweets, bread, cheese, sinful sauces, you name it, my vices are plentiful. And I will never deny myself of these. I admire people who live by an acutely strict diet and have one cheat day or worse again, cheat meal a week. Seriously, it’s commendable, but it’s not something that interests me (or something my weak willpower would allow). At the risk of sounding very cliché - life is too short. Too short not to enjoy food, and I enjoy food! However, I do want to make some small changes. I want to eat far less junk as I have a huge sweet tooth. I want to start eating far more protein, in both meat and plant form, because I went years eating barely any meat and still don’t eat much, and eat more vegetables, good fats and good carbohydrates. This won’t be a hard task for me - I love vegetables and would choose wholegrain or spelt pasta over white any day. I really do like these foods but I am a sucker for quick and easy meals, and the aforementioned sinful sandwiches. For me, it’s all about habit. I need to kick some of these bad habits and make some health conscious changes on a daily basis. I know I have gone somewhat off topic here but I have a point I promise! I always feel like in order to make changes like these I need to dive into the deep end and kick it off with something that will make me want to continue - cue, Roots & Greens juices.
For €75 you get a total of 12 bottles of juice to be consumed over three days, hence, four juices a day. The detox consists solely of these juices and plenty of water. You can also drink herbal teas which was a huge help especially with this January weather. I was pleasantly surprised to find that a few herbal teas and a pack of Chia Seeds were added to the bag. Chia Seeds are a well known ‘super food’ and they are also great to boost energy levels if you are feeling the effects of not having coffee.
What’s in them?
The Early Bird - Carrot, Orange, Lemon and Ginger
The Liver Cleanser - Beetroot, Carrot, Orange, Lemon and Ginger
The Energiser - Spinach, Celery, Cucumber, Pineapple, Apple, Wheatgrass and Lime
The Big Green - Kale, Spinach, Celery, Cucumber, Spirulina and Lime
The Skin Soother - Spinach, Cucumber, Celery, Aloe Vera, Apple and Lime
What I loved most about the Roots & Greens is not only are you getting a juice packed with nutrients and vitamins from 4-5 different vegetables and fruits, you’re also getting a dose of some super food plants such as Wheatgrass, Spirulina and Aloe Vera - without the overpowering taste. Granted, The Energiser did have a strong taste of Wheatgrass (and celery) with the first sip but I found after the first couple of sips I really enjoyed it. I am fully aware of the benefits of Aloe Vera gel, it really is great to rid your body of toxins and is especially good for your skin, but I absolutely hate the taste of it! Much to my delight, I couldn’t even taste it in The Skin Soother. Aloe Vera is also expensive so for me this is a far better offer.
The Liver Cleanser - My Favourite
Value for money?
When you first hear €75 you may think it seems a little steep, but have a think about it and you’ll realise it’s not. Especially since the juices are organic. The cost per bottle is €6.25 (compare that to a lunch out or takeaway salad/sandwich). Before Christmas I decided to make loads of juices and have 1-2 a day in conjunction with healthy meals. I spent approximately €35 in Tesco on vegetables and fruit and, admittedly, a lot of that went to waste. If I had used them all I wouldn’t have gotten the amount of juice that I received with Roots & Greens, not to mention all the time it would take to prepare and clean up after making all of them. In addition to this, the Aloe Vera, Wheatgrass and Spirulina are more expensive and I didn’t have any of those so you must factor them in when comparing the costs. I am a firm believer of making your own juices at home but realistically it does take up time and is not cheap. More so, when you order and pay for the juices and they are ready to go in your fridge, you will drink them. If you feel you aren’t very motivated, you’re better off ordering juices rather than buying ingredients that you may never use.
Juice Detox Vs The Clean 9 (Forever Living)
Last year I tried and tested the Forever Living Clean 9 detox (now known as C9) which you can read here, so I thought I would compare the two for any of you looking at detoxing options. In brief, I much preferred the Roots & Greens detox. If you want to lose a few inches and give your body an almighty cleanse, then the C9 is probably a good option for you, but I wouldn’t do it again. You will lose a few inches, drop a few pounds and probably feel and look better at the end. Nonetheless, it is very expensive, it is difficult and you will probably feel very lethargic the first two days and maybe even ill. I felt ill the morning of my second day so I wouldn’t really advise it. I don’t see how not having any food for two days is beneficial. However, if you have bad skin the C9 should really help it, or you could just stock up on Aloe Vera which is a more cost-effective and far easier alternative. I think a 10 day detox is a bit too intense, your body needs fuel. What’s more, it isn’t safe to work out properly (even if you had the energy to do so). I worked out the evening of my first day on the juice detox and I felt great. I thought I would be very lethargic without coffee and sugar but I wasn’t at all, I had plenty of energy. It is of course difficult to compare the two as one is three days and one is ten, so of course there will be more benefits if you detox for ten days. But personally, I feel like there is a disadvantage to this also. After being on a detox for ten days I was ready to binge. I was really fed up and just wanted to treat myself. This of course meant undoing a lot of my hard work. Whereas with the juice detox, it’s only three days and today I feel far from fed up. I honestly feel great and feel more motivated to keep up eating clean and drinking super food juices.
The Verdict
In short - go for it. As aforementioned, the juice detox has made me motivated to keep up healthy eating and juicing - which was my goal. I expected to wake up this morning with a yearning for coffee and toast, and while I was excited for breakfast, I had a hot water and lemon first and had my breakfast about an hour later. I did really miss food during the three days but I honestly was never really, really hungry and the juices did fill me up. I also made sure to drink plenty of water and herbal teas to ward off hunger. That is also the big benefit of ordering from Roots & Greens - they know what they are doing and the juices are designed to fill you up and have the right foods at the right time of day. What’s more, while I’m looking forward to lunch and dinner already (I really love my food) I don’t have any huge urge to binge on junk food and bold treats which is great as I thought I would be dying to binge on junk food today. I feel far less bloated and my stomach surely looks a little flatter in just three days. I have tons of energy and I also feel like my skin has improved a little. Roots & Greens state that one of the benefits of the juice cleanse is that is reduces sugar cravings, a clear benefit for me and so far I do feel like this has worked which I am really happy about. I just hope I can continue to cut down on sugar. As I said, when you break down the price it is cost-effective (€6.25 a bottle) and in my personal opinion, it’s worth the money. I fully intend on stocking up on a few of these during a few of my busier weeks when I don’t have the time to make juices and feel I need a health boost and cleanse.
Until next time,
N
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