There’s nothing like a good sweat to keep you calm amidst the craziness leading up to your wedding day. A good sweat also helps your body detox and renew itself. Whether you want to lose weight, tone up, or just reduce stress make sure and exercise in the weeks leading up to your wedding. Sign up for a new weekly fitness routine at your gym, hit a yoga class, or try a spin class. You might also consider investing in a heart rate monitor to keep your fitness improvement on the up and up.

Just joining?

For the next month, Green Lemonade is celebrating new brides.

• Pre-Wedding Cleansing: Get Started
• 5 Tips To Jump Start A Healthy Eating Plan

Image source: www.finestationery.com

With spring in the air, we at Green Lemonade believe a few days on “just juice” can be a great way to rejuvenate. Pamper yourself this month with a few days of fresh juice from the team over at the Cooler Cleanse.

What is the Cooler Cleanse?

The Cooler Cleanse is one of the top juice and raw food companies based in New York City. The company offers freshly pressed three day juice fasts and five day juice fasts along with a raw food cleanse. The Cooler Cleanse also gives you the chance to customize your own cooler of juice when you simply want to augment your diet. Their products are available nationally. Cooler Cleanse is a result of co-development work between Eric Helms, founder of Juice Generation, and Salma Hayek.

How does Cooler Cleanse work?

The Cooler Cleanse juice and raw food cleanses are oriented around dark leafy green vegetable juices. They are complimented by freshly pressed fruit juices, coconut waters and creamy, protein rich nut milks. As many of you beauties know, leafy green veggie juices are a core part of an intelligent juice cleanse. Leafy greens (particularly DARK leafy greens) are loaded with vitamins and minerals, antioxidants and blood alkalinizers for superior health and energy. These nutrients help with the awakening and releasing of crusty old gunk in your body. This crud can ultimately weigh on your energy, your figure and your mood. The team at Cooler Cleanse includes cucumber, celery, parsley, spinach, kale, dandelion greens, 
watercress, pear, lemon and ginger in their green juice. I found the green juices from the Cooler Cleanse had a tasty yet more subtle sweetness relative to the green juices from other popular juice companies.

Cooler Cleanse Juice + Raw Food Cleanses

• Three day juice fast : 4 pressed juices each day, 1 coconut water and 1 nut milk
• Five day juice fast : 4 pressed juices each day, 1 coconut water and 1 nut milk
• Juice & Raw Food Cleanse : 3 pressed juices each day, 1 snack, 1 entree, 1 dessert
• Custom Cooler: 6 of your favorite pressed juices

Cooler Cleanse Review

Here are a few things I enjoyed about the Cooler Cleanse experience.

• Quality, nutritious juices. The team at Cooler Cleanse uses organic produce in all of their fresh pressed vegetable and fruit juices as often as possible. They also make efforts to buy produce locally to support nearby farms.
• A broad and varied menu. The Cooler Cleanse offers a variety of fresh pressed juices in their cleanses. The five day juice cleanse menu actually varies each day, which gives you something to look forward to! You can also choose to put together a cooler of your own favorite juices if you get attached to one particular juice (or two or three…)
• Tasty and enjoyable juices. In general, I found the juices from the Cooler Cleanse to be quite yummy. The green juices and nut milks were a bit more earthy and less sweet relative to some other home delivery juice programs. I’m a huge fan of green juices and enjoy many variations, although I recognize some beauties new to juicing might argue for a little something sweeter. Green juice is a very personal thing!
• Competitive price – actually slightly less expensive than other cleanses. Fresh pressed juice and raw food prices at the Cooler Cleanse are slightly less expensive than other popular home delivery juice programs. One day of juice at the Cooler Cleanse is ~$58 per day Vs ~$65+ per day at other companies. A raw food and juice cleanse is also slightly less expensive ($72 per day vs $85+ per day elsewhere). While still pricey overall, I would recommend a day on juice and fresh foods anytime as an occasional health treat. Eating fresh foods and consuming vibrant juices can feel so good if you prepare correctly for it. (Learn more: Don’t Rush Into A Juice Fast – 5 Things You Should Know.)
• Supportive emails. I’m a huge fan of receiving supportive emails during a juice cleanse. The Cooler Cleanse team did not disappoint.

Conclusion

As many of you beauties know, I’m a huge fan of indulging in a few days of fresh pressed juices and occasional raw foods as I look to ramp up my body’s feel good rejuvenation work. Sure, you can make your own fresh pressed juices at home, but sometimes it’s nice to be spoiled and have someone else do the work for you.

Bottom line: I would definitely do this cleanse again. And I would recommend this cleanse to a friend. I’m looking forward to dabbling in their raw food and juice cleanse next!

Learn more

You might also appreciate these articles on juicing.

• Juice Fasting 101
• Things to Remember When It Comes to A Juice Fast
• How to Prepare Your Body for A Juice Fast
• Don’t Rush Into A Juice Fast – 5 Things You Should Know

Darlings, this week on your pre-wedding cleanse, you’re ramping up your intake of fresh, naturally cleansing foods. The best naturally cleansing foods include uncooked vegetables, fruits and leafy greens. These foods help your body’s natural detoxification and slimming work. In addition to incorporating a few more leafy green salads like these into your routine, experiment with a few days of “smoothies until lunch.” Smoothies are packed with nutrients. Given their liquid form, smoothies are also easy to digest. This allows your body’s overnight rejuvenation and slimming work to extend longer into the morning hours.

Let these 6 easy smoothie recipes inspire you. Post them on your fridge in this pretty form and let them inspire you this week.

Wedding Cleanse: 6 Easy Smoothie Recipes

1. Banana Almond Milk Smoothie
2. Strawberry + Banana Smoothie with Chia Seeds
3. Classic Green Smoothie
4. Cherry Walnut Smoothie
5. Almond Milk Smoothie + Nut Butter with Spinach
6. Raspberry Smoothie with Avocado

Just joining?

This month of April Green Lemonade is celebrating new brides. Catch up with us!

• Pre-Wedding Cleansing: Get Started
• 5 Tips To Jump Start A Healthy Eating Plan
• Pre-Wedding Cleanse: Detox Basics For Weight Loss
• Up For A Gentle Wedding Cleanse?
• 7-Day Wedding Cleanse

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Image source: finestationery.com

For the next month, Green Lemonade is celebrating new brides. If you are thinking about doing a pre-wedding cleanse, or if you’re just looking for a gentle spring cleanse to shed a few winter pounds, stick with us this April. During this third week beauties, you’ll be taking your detoxification and slimming work up a notch by incorporating a few satisfying raw salads for lunch. Leafy greens (particularly DARK leafy greens) are loaded with vitamins and minerals, antioxidants and blood alkalinizers for superior health and energy. These nutrients help with the awakening and releasing of crusty old gunk in your body. This crud can ultimately weigh on your energy, your figure and your mood. Get started with this Simple Raw Salad Recipe which includes pears, apples and watercress. It can easily be put together at home or at your office salad bar.

Just joining?

Catch up with us. You might find these articles helpful.

• Pre-Wedding Cleansing: Get Started
• 5 Tips To Jump Start A Healthy Eating Plan

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Image source: www.finestationery.com

You have heard a lot about cleansing and you would like to lose a few pounds before your wedding. You have considered a 2-3 day juice fast, but you aren’t quite ready for a few days on “just juice”. In the meantime, try these 5 naturally cleansing and slimming tips as a way to jump-start a healthy diet.

5 Tips To Jump Start A Healthy Eating Plan

1. Eat more real foods to ramp up your body’s natural detoxification and slimming work: Learn more about the benefits of simple eating for weight loss.




2. Incorporate a smoothie into your morning: Smoothies for breakfast are a great way to nourish your body and ramp up your body’s overnight detoxification and slimming work at the same time. Give these 5 easy smoothie recipes a try.




3. Think outside the box when a crazy schedule tries to impede your best efforts to eat well: Prepared in the following way, these frozen meals can be suitable dinner options that are wedding dress friendly.




4. Introduce more naturally cleansing foods: Uncooked veggies, fruits and leafy greens are naturally cleansing. They are waste and weight removing foods. Add a raw salad or two into your routine this week. Then, finish it off with one of these creamy dressings.




5. Keep in mind the detox basics when it comes to weight loss: If sustainable weight loss is a goal during a whole foods detox such as this one, keep the following tips in mind.

Learn more

• What makes a food “detox-diet” friendly?
• Should you do a cleanse?
• Cleansing 101

Image source: finestationery.com

Are you considering a pre-wedding cleanse as a way to lose some weight before your big day? Popular pre-wedding cleanses today usually revolve around fresh pressed juices, smoothies and raw foods. The primary goal of these healthy, nutritional cleanses are actually designed to give your digestive system a rest and allow your body to eliminate built-up crud. Weight loss on one of these nutritional cleanses is usually considered upside. However, it’s not impossible to achieve. If sustainable weight loss is a goal either following a juice fast (as you return to solid foods) or during a whole foods detox such as this one, keep the following tips in mind.

Read More: Detox Basics For Weight Loss


Image source: finestationery.com

For the next month, Green Lemonade is celebrating new brides. If you are thinking about doing a pre-wedding cleanse, or if you’re just looking for a gentle spring cleanse to shed a few winter pounds, stick with us this April.

Week 1: The Importance of a Pre-Cleanse

The key to avoiding harmful binges during and after your cleanse, is to build up a solid foundation for your cleanse. Follow these 5 tips to gently prepare your body.

1. Cut back on foods that hamper your body’s detox work Foods including soy, dairy, refined flours and sugars can slow your bod’s cleansing, rejuvenation and ultimately slimming work. You see the effects over time in the form of tired looking skin, weight gain and low energy. Swap to these foods instead.
2. Introduce more naturally cleansing foods Harsh detox programs promising to decrease your dress size and weight in a rapid amount of time, are often expensive and ultimately disappointing. Save the disappointment and your cash. Introduce more naturally cleansing and slimming foods into your diet. Uncooked veggies, fruits and leafy greens are naturally cleansing, waste and weight removing foods. Get started with these ideas. This list may also inspire you.
3. Incorporate some raw fats into your diet In moderation, raw fats (including avocados, organic nuts and extra-virgin olive oil) are awesome in aiding your bod’s detoxification and slimming work. Check out this easy smoothie recipe.
4. Engage in a good sweat Sweating is one of the best ways to detox your body. Let this routine inspire you.
5. Drink more water Hydration is key when cleansing. Water helps flush your body of crud that you have awakened in the detoxification process. Let a simple carafe of water in your refrigerator inspire you.

Week 2: Gentle Pre-Wedding Detox With Whole Foods

Once you have given your body a few days to indulge in a pre-cleanse, consider this seven day whole foods detox.

Learn More

These articles on cleansing may also be helpful to you.

• Cleansing 101
• The Broad Spectrum of Cleansing

Build on your pre-cleanse prep work with this 7-day whole foods detox. Learn more about the principles behind this detox and then download the pretty version of this 7-day plan.

Goals: Seven day whole foods detox

In general, these are the goals with this seven day cleansing program.

1. Gentle introduction to detoxification with whole foods
2. Incorporate more naturally cleansing foods (leafy greens, fruit, uncooked veggies)
3. Reduce intake of foods that are believed to slow your bod’s cleansing work (including soy, dairy, refined flours and sugars)

Wedding Cleanse: Grocery List

• 1 box quinoa (I like the Ancient Harvest brand) or steel cut oatmeal
• 2 bananas, 1 pound of strawberries
• 1 package blanched almonds (~10 oz)
• 1 half gallon container almond milk (I like the Blue Diamond brand)
• 4 apples (organic if possible)
• 1 loaf sprouted grain bread (I like the Food for Life brand; Grocer’s freezer) or good quality whole wheat bread
• 2-3 lemons
• 2 bags pre-washed mixed greens or baby spinach leaves
• 3 bell peppers (any color)
• 1 package brown rice tortillas (I like the Food for Life brand; Grocer’s freezer) good quality whole wheat tortillas
• 1 6 oz container plain Greek yogurt or 1 avocado (for tacos, optional)
• 1 small bunch broccoli crowns, 1 handful green beans, 2 plum tomatoes
• 6 organic eggs
• 1 pack frozen veggie burgers
• 1 can chickpeas
• 1 medium leek
• 1 small jar/tube tomato paste
• 1 28 ounce can of crushed tomatoes
• 1 bunch cilantro
• 1 medium butternut squash
• 1 medium yellow squash
• 1 bunch asparagus
• 1 bag frozen peas
• 2 medium white potatoes
• Lara bars (5) (Why these? )

Pantry Items

• butter (organic if possible)
• 1 jar organic almond butter or organic peanut butter (Why organic?)
• 1 jar tomato sauce
• 1 jar of salsa
• extra virgin olive oil
• coconut oil (optional for the veggie stir-fry)
• few tablespoons of dried coconut
• sea salt + black pepper
• 2 16 ounce cartons veggie stock
• 1 box herbal tea
• spices: cinnamon, cumin, red pepper, turmeric
• better-for-you sweetener: honey, maple syrup or Stevia
• 1 box Dr. Ohhira’s probiotics (Learn more.)

———– ————-

7-Day Wedding Cleanse: Menu Plan

(All recipes follow.)

Wake Up
Glass of water with lemon and a probiotic.

Breakfast (~400 calories each)
Enjoy one of the following for breakfast:

• Creamy hot cereal with nut butter. Use either quinoa or steel cut oatmeal. (3 days)
• Strawberry + banana cereal with strawberry milk (2 days)
• 2 apples sliced with 2 tablespoons of almond butter (1 day)
• 2 well toasted pieces of sprouted grain toast with butter and cinnamon. Can’t find sprouted grain toast? Use good quality whole wheat bread and toast it well. (1 day)

Note: 1 small cup of coffee ok with breakfast. (Upgrade options: Decaf coffee or tea).


Mid Morning

• Herbal tea with lemon.

Lunch (~400 calories each)

• Baby spinach salad with vegetable burger and salsa (2 days)
• Taco Bites (3 days)
• Crunchy orange + yellow pepper salad with sautéed eggs (2 days)

Afternoon Snack (~200 calories each)

• Lara Bar, an apple or a few carrots

Dinner (~400 calories each)
Enjoy 1-2 cups of baby spinach or mixed greens with each meal. Top your side salad with salsa, hummus, a mustard vinaigrette or simply extra virgin olive oil and lemon.

• Medium baked potato with veggie chili (2 days)
• Vegetable Detox Pizza (2 days)
• Veggie stir-fry + 1 slice well toasted sprouted grain bread (2 days)
• Two eggs (or 1 veggie patty) prepared your way with a leafy green raw salad topped with salsa (1 day)

———– ————-

Wedding Cleanse: Recipes

• Creamy Quinoa Cereal with Nut Butter: Warm, nutty and comforting.
• Strawberry + Banana Cereal with Strawberry Milk: Simply, creamy and delicious.
• Baby Spinach Salad with Vegetable Burger and Salsa: Place 2 cups of baby spinach leaves on a plate. Toast up your vegetable burger and place it on top with a few tablespoons of salsa.
• Orange and yellow pepper salad with sautéed eggs: Slice up a half of an orange pepper and half of a yellow pepper. Serve topped with two sautéed eggs and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, sea salt and pepper.
• Veggie Stir-Fry with Coconut: Caramelized veggies set atop a well toasted piece of sprouted grain bread.
• Veggie Chickpea Chili: An easy and quick vegetarian dish.
• Taco Bites: Packed with protein rich quinoa.
• Vegetable Detox Pizza: Veggies never tasted so good!

Are you considering a gentle pre-wedding cleanse? You might consider this seven day whole foods detox as a gentle way to get started. This seven day detox is build around the following principles:

1. Gentle cleansing with whole foods. Liquid only days filled with nutritious vegetable juices and smoothies are just one way to cleanse. This type of juice rich cleansing is on the more progressive end of the cleansing spectrum. Raw foods and even cooked foods have a place in a healthy detox. Quality protein and dairy also have a place in a healthy cleanse. This seven day whole foods detox includes these foods. Learn more about the broad cleansing spectrum.
2. Shift away from calorie counting. Calorie counting is not part of a detox lifestyle. However, portion awareness is always in vogue. Moderate sized meals ease your digestive load and keep your bod’s energy focused on detoxification (and ultimately slimming) work. This Buddha Bowl may be a great tool as you look to set reasonable portion sizes. In the meantime, I realize many of you will look to calories as a guide as you begin to transition to a whole-food centric diet. Therefore, as a point of reference calories on this wedding cleanse will be kept below 1600 per day.



3. Vegetarian-centric meals. The meals on this gentle seven day wedding cleanse will have a vegetarian focus. Simple vegetarian meals require slightly less energy to digest. The benefit to you is that more of your body’s energy can be spent on rejuvenating work.

Additional detox articles

You might also appreciate the following articles.

• Why eat more enzyme rich/raw foods?
• Why eat more cleansing foods?
• Easy to digest foods
• Tips for whole body detoxification

Bridal beauties, as you prepare for the big day, keep expectations real.

Harsh detox programs promising to decrease your dress size and weight in a rapid amount of time, are often expensive and ultimately disappointing. Save the disappointment and your cash. Introduce more naturally cleansing and slimming foods into your diet. Uncooked veggies, fruits and leafy greens are naturally cleansing, waste (and weight) removing foods.

Add a raw salad or two into your routine this week. Use a combination of various types of lettuce (including baby spinach, Tuscan kale, mesclun greens, arugula) and top your greens with chopped cucumbers, tomatoes, carrots and bell peppers. Then, finish it off with one of these creamy dressings.

Raw Salad Dressing Recipes

1. Curry Coconut and Basil Dressing Curry, turmeric, and cumin combine in a delightful way.
2. Creamy Almond Butter Dressing An almond butter swap dials up the “healthy” factor.
3. Oil-Free Orange Vinaigrette Dressing A celebration of early spring where avocados and juicy naval oranges combine.
4. Sunny Avocado and Basil Dressing Avocados, basil and honey combine into a yummy favorite.
5. Carrot Ginger Dressing with Sunflower Seeds A tasty raw salad dressing with a tangy twist.

Just joining?

This month of April Green Lemonade is celebrating new brides. Catch up with us as we pursue gentle cleansing and slimming tricks this month.

Wedding Cleanse: The 1 Month Makeover (Week 1)

• Cut Back On Foods That Hamper Your Bod’s Detox Work
• Introduce More Naturally Cleansing Foods
• Incorporate Some Raw Fats Into Your Diet