Everything She Wants is delighted that her schedule is often packed with breakfast previews, press luncheons and cocktail receptions. But too many sweets and flutes of champagne can sabotage a girl's figure and leave her feeling bloated, sluggish and as "Toxic" as Britney.
Here's where Organic Avenue comes in. Organic Avenue (the food of love) has five locations in New York City and offers several levels of cleansing -- from the beginner Love Easy to the juice-only Love Deep. With its alkaline-balancing, detoxifying menu of live, raw and vegan food and freshly-pressed organic juices, Love Easy is ideal for first timers and folks like me who find liquid-only cleanses too limiting. So when I was given the opportunity to go on a five-day Organic Avenue cleanse and blog about it, I chose Love Easy ($350 plus a refundable $40 bottle deposit).
I followed the instructions emailed to me each day, and began the cleanse with a glass of Fiji water and the affirmation: "I am happy. I am joyous. I am free."
The instructions encouraged me to "chew" the juices without gulping, and to drink and eat in the sequence numbered on each container. Additionally, I could drink 8 oz. of water or more in between each nutritional beverage and live food item. It was recommended to go to bed earlier if possible, and to avoid consuming water or herbal, caffeine-free tea after 9 p.m.
"Allow your body to do its housekeeping," the email stated. Other guidelines were to refrigerate items upon pickup or delivery, although they could be consumed at room temperature.
During my cleanse, I started each day with a chlorophyl shot around 8 a.m. and ended it with a yummy 16 oz. Cashew Mylk around 8 p.m. Surprisingly, I had a lot of energy (perhaps too much since I started to feel jittery around Day 3). And although I supplemented my diet with organic pop corn and fruit a couple times, Organic Avenue's daily liquid and raw meals were filling.
I loved all of the organic juices, however, I grew tired of the taste of some of the raw foods. Now that I've done Love Easy, next time I'll attempt the all-liquid Love Deep cleanse. Based on my experience, I would recommend Organic Avenue to anyone who wants to try a gentle, nutritious detox diet. Individual juices are also available for purchase at Organic Avenue's New York City locations.
Love Easy 3: Each "meal" was spaced about one to two hours apart. The third drink was called Young Love and was made from spinach, Swiss chard, kale, cucumber, celery, green apple and lemon juice. Swiss chard has high concentrations of vitamin K, vitamin A, vitamin C, magnesium, manganese, potassium, iron, vitamin E, and dietary fiber.
Love Easy 4: My first raw food entree was a portobello Reuben wrap made with lemon, carrot, tomato, spinach, cucumber, parsley, ginger, Himalayan salt, avocado, olive oil, onion, zucchini, pine nuts, garlic, cashews, yellow pepper, black peppercorn, cabbage, portobello mushroom, sauerkraut, flax seed and pickle. I've always loved sauerkraut, and turns out it's a great way to protect the balance of bacteria in your gastrointestinal tract.
Around 3 p.m. it was time for my second raw food meal (Love Easy 5), a kale salad seasoned with ginger, Himalayan salt, Yacon syrup, red pepper, olive oil, pine Nuts, dulse (red seaweed), olive and bell pepper. Although I love vitamin C-rich kale, this is when I started to yearn for something else to eat. And I did. I cheated and had some popcorn.
Love Easy 6: Finally, it was time for dessert. Organic Avenue's take on an apple crisp is made with lemon, apple, Himalayan salt, cinnamon, walnut, pecan, date, sprouted buckwheat, psyllium husk. Because of the nuts and fiber, the crisp was filling. But it didn't quite satisfy my sweet tooth.
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| Image by Harper's Bazaar |
I followed the instructions emailed to me each day, and began the cleanse with a glass of Fiji water and the affirmation: "I am happy. I am joyous. I am free."
The instructions encouraged me to "chew" the juices without gulping, and to drink and eat in the sequence numbered on each container. Additionally, I could drink 8 oz. of water or more in between each nutritional beverage and live food item. It was recommended to go to bed earlier if possible, and to avoid consuming water or herbal, caffeine-free tea after 9 p.m.
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| Chlorophyl shot. |
During my cleanse, I started each day with a chlorophyl shot around 8 a.m. and ended it with a yummy 16 oz. Cashew Mylk around 8 p.m. Surprisingly, I had a lot of energy (perhaps too much since I started to feel jittery around Day 3). And although I supplemented my diet with organic pop corn and fruit a couple times, Organic Avenue's daily liquid and raw meals were filling.
I loved all of the organic juices, however, I grew tired of the taste of some of the raw foods. Now that I've done Love Easy, next time I'll attempt the all-liquid Love Deep cleanse. Based on my experience, I would recommend Organic Avenue to anyone who wants to try a gentle, nutritious detox diet. Individual juices are also available for purchase at Organic Avenue's New York City locations.
(Continue reading to get my Day 1 Love Easy menu)
The first component of the cleanse (Love Easy 1) was a chlorophyl shot that temporarily left my teeth and tongue green. Natural health proponents believe chlorophyll is known to help cleanse the body, fight infection, heal wounds, and promote the health of the circulatory, digestive, immune, and detoxification systems. I enjoyed starting my day with the chlorophyl shot.
Love Easy 2: Delish fresh-squeezed grapefruit juice.
Love Easy 2: Delish fresh-squeezed grapefruit juice.
Love Easy 4: My first raw food entree was a portobello Reuben wrap made with lemon, carrot, tomato, spinach, cucumber, parsley, ginger, Himalayan salt, avocado, olive oil, onion, zucchini, pine nuts, garlic, cashews, yellow pepper, black peppercorn, cabbage, portobello mushroom, sauerkraut, flax seed and pickle. I've always loved sauerkraut, and turns out it's a great way to protect the balance of bacteria in your gastrointestinal tract.
Around 3 p.m. it was time for my second raw food meal (Love Easy 5), a kale salad seasoned with ginger, Himalayan salt, Yacon syrup, red pepper, olive oil, pine Nuts, dulse (red seaweed), olive and bell pepper. Although I love vitamin C-rich kale, this is when I started to yearn for something else to eat. And I did. I cheated and had some popcorn.
Love Easy 6: Finally, it was time for dessert. Organic Avenue's take on an apple crisp is made with lemon, apple, Himalayan salt, cinnamon, walnut, pecan, date, sprouted buckwheat, psyllium husk. Because of the nuts and fiber, the crisp was filling. But it didn't quite satisfy my sweet tooth.
Following the apple crisp, I drank my final meal of the day (Love Easy 7) -- Organic Avenue's naturally-sweet Cashew Mylk made with alkaline water and cashews.
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