Review: Roots Juices

So, I have been reading a lot on Juice Cleansing.  Some people say its great; some say it's terrible.  Honestly, I don't know so I decided to try one for myself.  Fortunately, Dallas has a company that delivers "freshly pressed" juices right to your door:  Roots Juices.  I read through every inch of their website before ordering.  I even read some of the online reviews.  I was a little concerned because one review stated they had bad customer service.  I can honestly say that was not my experience at all.  I opted for the 3 day cleanse (I just wasn't sure I could actually make it 5 days on liquid only) and placed my order.  It was not cheap but I didn't expect it to be.  $150 for 3 days worth of juices.

DAY 1:

I wanted to start on Monday (the 28th) so I called and talked to Brent.  He said it would be no problem and advised me to order online and put in the notes section I wanted delivery on Monday.  Monday morning they dropped off my 3 days worth of juices in a reusable bag.  They even sent me a text after they dropped the juices at my door saying "Your roots juices have arrived!"  Here is what they looked like after I got them in my fridge:

So Cute! 

They included a handy chart showing the order for consuming these juices.  I started with the Wake Up: a mix of carrot, apple, ginger and watermelon.  So far so good.  I'm not a fan of carrots but I liked the spice of the ginger.  I didn't miss eating breakfast because I'm not a big breakfast person anyway.  I usually just eat a piece of toast in the morning to settle my stomach so I can take my vitamins.

Next on the list is Refresh: cucumber, lime, mint, apple and ginger.  I thought this one was pretty tasty.  I could definitely taste the lime and cucumber.  Again, I wasn't hungry at this point.  In between I sipped on the Aloe Vera h2O (filtered water with aloe vera).  It just tastes like water.  I do notice a slight headache.  Most likely, this is caused from the lack of my cup of morning coffee.

Time for Juice 3.  Oh no!  No no no no no.  This juice is called Restore and the first ingredient listed is BEETS!  I have a specific dislike of beets from my time doing the Tracy Anderson Method. (You can read about that here)  The other ingredients in this juice are carrots, apple, aloe and ginger but I can tell from the red color I won't be tasting anything but beet.  I removed the lid and gave it a little sniff.  Yep, beets.  All the way.  You can't mistake the dirt smell.  But I signed up for this voluntarily so I take a little sip.  And make a face.  Another sip.  Another face.  I can tell this would look disturbing if someone could actually see me.  I'm not a fan of this juice.  Let's just hope my body is thanking me deep down. 

Oh the horror of the dreaded beet!

Juice 4 is called Lean & Fit. It is pretty much straight up grapefruit juice. The label says it contains mint but I didn't taste any. I have to say, this one tasted awesome after the beet juice. It was almost enough to wipe away the memory of the horrid beets. Almost.

At 5 pm, I started Juice 5 - Go Green. It has celery, kale, spinach, romaine, cucumber and lemon. Again, this one is good. I taste more of the cucumber and lemon than anything. I am still not hungry. I think it's because my body is saturated with liquid. I'm still fighting the headache but overall I'm feeling pretty good.

I get home around 6 pm.  It all of a sudden hits me.  I'm hungry.  I know my other half is going to eat soon so I opt for taking an early bath to get away from dinner.  He's in the kitchen cooking chicken in our grill pan and IT SMELLS SO GOOD.  I try not to think about it and after my bath I move on to Juice 6 - Health Nut Almond Milk.  All I can say about this one is YUM!  It is, by far, the best of all the juices and helps fill me up before bedtime.

DAY 2:

Today my headache is gone and I start the process all over again with the Wake Up Juice.  I'm feeling pretty good and not hungry at this point.  The day goes well until I have to drink the beets (blah).  I manage to get them down.

A girl in my office asks me about the juice cleanse.  When I start describing it, she gets a terrible look on her face and says "Just hearing about this makes me want some cheese fries with ranch."  (By the way, this chick eats cheese fries 2-3 times a week and she's not fat.  She purposely abstains from putting anything healthy in her body.)  I tell her my body internally cringed from the thought of all the fat in cheese fries.  Hydrogenated, fried junk just sounds gross right now.  I'm not judging because there are times when I want that stuff too, but right now is not one of those times.

I had to go to a work-related happy hour with some people in the evening.  It was not as bad as I thought it would be.  Fortunately,  alcohol also sounds gross right now.  A guy from work offered to buy me chicken fingers and a glass of wine on Friday to celebrate the end of my juice cleanse/sobriety.  I told him I was good.  Really - chicken fingers and wine?  Um, No.

I'm TIRED and a little hungry when I finally get home.  I drink the Heatlh Nut Almond milk (still yum - it's kind of sweet) and go to bed early.

DAY 3:

I got out of bed at 6:20 am!  I never wake up that early.  I was at my office by 7:35; also an unusual occurrence.  I am feeling great.  My skinny jeans are fitting nicely today (a little loose even).  My work BFF came in at 8:30 and cautiously entered my office.  I think she was surprised when I greeted her cheerfully.  She had this "Who are you?" look on her face.  She asked me how much weight I had lost.  Honestly, I don't know because I didn't weight myself before and I wasn't doing this as a weight loss plan.  I can tell my clothes are fitting a bit looser.  I also did not work out during this 3 day period because I was a little scared of pushing it.

One thing I will say - I am a little tired of drinking so much liquid.  Most of it tastes great and I am feeling good but I really want something solid at this point.  I'm hanging in though.  When its time for the beet juice, I delay.  Opting to sip on the Chlorophyll h2O a bit longer...

I had to post this pic on my friend Bryan's Facebook wall.  We were huge Adam Sandler nerds in high school.  In response to the pic he wrote: "No, I will not make-out with you!! On with the Chlorophyll!"

I still don't like the beet juice but the Lean & Fit after it is my new favorite.  I finished the day and was just a tiny bit sad I didn't have any juices to drink the next day.  I thought about going another two days but I have to confess, I was a bit light-headed the evening of Day 3.  I took it as a sign I needed to start back on regular food.

Overall, I really liked this 3 day cleanse.  I was concerned about going back to solid foods, afraid it would throw my body into shock.  Lots of people asked me if I was going to have a cheeseburger.  I opted to ease back into food with carrots and celery.  Later I had a salad and french onion soup.   No bad side affects.

I'm not 100% sure of the benefits of juicing but I can tell you I felt like I was doing something really good for my body.  It also helped me kick the coffee habit and I haven't started back.   If you've been thinking of juicing, I'd say give it a shot.  Don't let my dislike of beets dissuade you either.  They are only in the one juice and beets have tons of health benefits.  Roots Juices has created some great products and there are other varieties of juices besides the ones included here (I'd like to try the Watermelon Cooler and the Pear Pleasure).  Check it out, give it a try and let me know what YOU think...