Orchard Street - The Organic Cleanse

I'm sure that some of you would remember my miserable failed attempt at a juice cleanse via "Schkinny Maninny" earlier this year.

I basically set myself up to fail, not giving up caffeine earlier and picking a 5 day cleanse, when lets face it, I was an absolute amateur when it came to cleansing, and really just in the learning stages about living a healthier lifestyle. Also, a 'slight' problem that I encountered was that I absolutely HATED the taste of the juices and soups. One, a lime green coloured soup, was particularly disgusting. The whole experience was draining, I ended up feeling sick and breaking out, finding the whole experience a massive waste of time and money.

After an overly indulgent few months and not feeling at my best, I decided to give another cleanse a try that I had seen rave reviews for.

Orchard Street -  The Organic Cleanse.
http://www.orchardstreet.com.au/

Orchard Street Cleanses are Chemical Free, Alkaline, Raw and Vegan. They use high quality medicinal plant and bush foods, wild weeds, fermented foods and super foods and are all from local and fairtrade produce. They provide naturopathic information, guidance, inspiration and constant support.

My cleanse was delivered by courier on the Thursday afternoon prior. I chose a Friday to do my cleanse as I thought it would be a fantastic way to start a healthy weekend, as well as work being a little quieter, and only booked in one day this time as I'm well aware of my limits.

It was beautifully presented and came with a little booklet with information on getting the most out of the cleanse as well as some other helpful hints and tips.

One of the other little added extras that I loved was that they came in beautiful glass packaging, avoiding that horrible BPA laden plastic. They are reusable and I have added them to my wonderful smoothie jar collection!

I woke up Friday morning excited to start my day. I got up early to go for a run and ensure I could still do some exercise that day before I got a little tired later. I sipped on my warm water and lemon on the way to work and was excited to start my "Green Guru".

I was a little nervous about the taste given my last experience, but it was delicious and filling with ingredients such as banana, and avocado. Off too a good start.

I wasn't feeling very hungry mid-morning, but gave Juice #2 a go"Tumeric Kefir". Honestly? It wasn't my favourite. The cayenne and mountain pepper flavours were strongly present and I only managed to have a few gulps. By the time "lunch" came around, I was pretty hungry! 

Juice #3 was "Green Garden"and its ingredients included kale, coriander, cucumber and mint. Some people don't like the strong flavour of kale, but I quite like it and enjoyed the juice, gulping it down.

I started to get a little tired by early afternoon, and unfortunately Juice #4 was not for me. Given I am not much of a beetroot fan, I again only managed a few gulps and had to put it away, instead opting for a herbal tea. I expected to feel quite tired, but my headache was not as bad as I had anticipated given I usually require a caffeine drip on most days.

By around 4, I was exhausted and seriously ready to just go home and lay on the lounge. The "Rosella Elixir" Juice #5 was quite light and had a strong tea flavour. I managed to get through most of it, but by this stage was a little over liquids - (I know, I know, Not a very good cleanser at all!!).

As soon as I got home, I lay on the lounge and only got up once to retrieve my final drink #6 from the fridge, the "Cashew Chai", which I absolutely adored, it was thick and creamy and settling. Almost as soon as I finished and hubby had put a movie on, I feel straight asleep until 10:30pm, stayed up another half an hour and then went back to bed and slept through the whole night.

I woke up at 5:30 the next morning for my weekly Wanda Sand Hills jaunt and literally bounded out of bed! I had so much energy and have not had such a clear head in a long time. My skin has been glowing and I still feel great almost a week later. I have felt encouraged to eat well and drink alot of water.

Overall I highly recommend Orchard Street for anyone interested in doing a cleanse. My only suggestion would be to be fully aware of what you are up against and anticipate and plan your time accordingly. If you are a novice, definitely consider doing one day to start with, just to see the different way your body might react :)

If you have any more specific questions, feel free to reach me in the comments section!

Paleo Cafe - Bondi Junction

ESPECIALLY if you've been living in a cave, you would have heard of the Paleo lifestyle or way of eating (See what I did there hehe).

A Paleo or Primal lifestyle refers to living as humans "presumably" lived in the paleolithic era. I wont pretend to be an expert, but the diet itself involves eating plenty of meat, fish, fruit, vegetables & nuts, while trying to avoid all processed foods, dairy, sugars, grains or just generally those foods with a high glycemic load.

Although the way I eat aligns fairly closely with this lifestyle during the week, i'm not quite ready for the whole haul and really enjoy the occasional piece of bread or potato and love my morning oats & granola. It is still a way of eating i find has some really very good points as it encourages the consumption of good fats, leafy greens and meats, along with many other healthy foods, but I have also seen it referred to as a fad diet, which is quite true, as by definition that includes cutting out any major food groups.

Anyway.. I digress..

This morning I caught up with a good friend for breakfast in Bondi Junction. When she suggested the Paleo Cafe, I was keen to try it out, as i had been since i saw it floating around social media.

We both ordered the free range eggs (poached) and avocado on paleo toast, although what is in the toast is not described in any detail.

The meal was presented quite well, although I thought that almost a full avocado was possibly a bit much for one portion. The eggs were tasty & the toast was ok, not that I had much to compare it to as this was my first time forraying into the area. My friend who has followed the lifestyle for some time, was much less of a fan.

After being won over by Palate's, Soy Chai Latte last week, I thought i'd try their version with coconut milk.

To be honest it was just horrible, one of the worst coffees I have ever had. It was WAY too milky & with really only a hint of cinnamony taste. I dont know if it was the use of coconut milk too, but the seperation that occured between liquids at the bottom of my coffee, made it look even less appealing.

I then tried a Refresh Juice, which had Apple, Lime, Mint & Coconut Water. Again, i wasn't really blown away, it was pretty average. Alot of fluff and not much substance.

 

Would I go back? Maybe. Some of the other items that came out to those around us looked pretty good (including the paleo pancakes), and they have a pretty big variety of options, for lunch too - (see full menu here) But witha variety of other great healthy options in the Eastern Suburbs, I certainly wont be rushing back.

My Melbourne Foodgasm

Long time no speak my beautiful friends!

Over the last weekend, I had the joy of visiting gorgeous Melbourne with my lovely husband! Ahhh holidays and the joy of disposable income.

It was a very luxurious weekend of pure overindulgence. Although I ate and drank waaaay too much I was lucky enough to visit some very special places to eat.

As you would already know, I am a bit of a foodie (ok I am obseesed with food!!) and as much as possible, attempt to live a healthy lifestyle and I love to try new things. I did a fair bit of research to make sure I got the most out of my trip, and dragged my hubby along to some different places - with the promise of great food, but without telling him the scary words like raw, organic or vegan!

Here are some of my best recommendations.

*note - i didn't realise I would be including this on my blog at the time, so didn't take the greatest food pictures or many of the interior of the places. I also didn't really spend too much time rating the coffee either (hey-whatever it was, it was better than Sydney) .

Sails on the bay - Elwood
http://sailsonthebay.com.au

We were lucky enough to be staying with a lovely family friend, who took us out for a special evening on Saturday. He tried to get us in to Stokehouse, but they could only fit us in at a ridiculously early hour for a short period of time, so the runner up was Sails on the bay! but I can certainly say it was hardly a runner up.

Surrounded by glass, the restaurant which sits right on the beach has beautiful views, particularly as the sun goes down. 

Sunset at Sails on the bay

The interior is set beautifully and the staff are incredibly helpful and friendly

For the entree, I went with the Asparagus and Spring Green Salad, Pea Puree & Quail Egg. Admittedly when I was younger I HATED greens. I had to hold my nose and try and swallow them whole, downing them with water, just so that I could get dessert! When I moved out and started making my own meals and realised there was different ways to prepare them and they eventually have become a staple, to the point where i struggle to have a meal if there isn't something a little green on my plate. It was delicious! The asparagus (which is often over or under cooked) was done perfectly.

For the Main, I found it very hard to choose, but eventually I went with the grilled local bay snapper, soba noodle & wakame salad and seared scallops with champagne vinaigrette. It was phenomenal. I am not kidding! The fish was moist and the scallops were literally the best I have ever had (and I ordered them at Aria in Sydney!)

* note - I also had one of the most gorgeous wines I have ever tried with dinner ( I know, not the healthiest thing ever, but hey I was on holidays!!) I am absolutely no wine connoisseur by any means, but it was fresh and had a slightly fruity after taste. I highly recommend the 2012 Leeuwin Estate 'Art Series' Sauvignon Blanc Margaret River WA. 

Birdman Eating - Fitzroy
http://birdmaneating.com.au

EXHAUSTED on Sunday morning, we got up a little late, and made the trip by train to Fitzroy, to try a small cafe called Birdman Eating. Its a small little place with some exquisite decorations hung from the ceiling and a real warm and comfortable interior.

My husband will attest that I am a huge fan of "brunch" - which lets face it, is just a lazy mans breakfast (and these guys serve it til 5pm - winning!!). So with a menu that included things such as Coffee Panacotta with cocoa granola and milk sorbet, Sourdough toast with Birdman 'blueberry, licorice root & pinot noir' jam, Brioche french toast with marmalade glazed Kaiserfleisch, orange pekoe & maple syrup, or an Omelete with thyme roasted wild mushrooms and whipped persian fetta - it was a huge dilemma for me to make a choice!  

On a slightly chilly, brisk Melbourne morning, I decided to go with something warm (and having had a savoury breakfast the day before and the fact I have a crazy sweet tooth) my choice was the coconut quinoa porridge with banana and dark palm sugar. It was yummy, just sweet enough and very filling, with just the right amount of banana!

I must admit to mild food envy when my hubby's breakfast arrived though.  He ordered the ricotta pancakes with confit caramalized banana, peanut butter (my weakness!) icecream and maple syrup! I snuck in a bite (or two) and it was definitely as good as it looked!

The serving sizes were relatively moderate compared to some of the huge portion sizes available these days.. But that was probably a good thing considering where we were off to for lunch.

Yong Green Food - Fitzroy

After a long morning, lazing around at brunch (hehe) and visiting the "Designing 007 - 50 years of Bond style" exhibit at the Melbourne Museum (Which is open until February 23, 2014 and a must see for big fans of the films) we walked a little more to a place on Brunswick street called Yong Green Food. This quaint little place is literally a blink and you might miss. It caters for a variety of different tastes and needs with many raw, organic, vegan, vegetarian and gluten free menu options. 

It is a lovely place, with a nice atmosphere. The staff were very friendly and helpful and we were fed very quickly, which in my eyes is always a plus.

I started with a fresh cold drink, raspberry blended with a herbal tea of some kind (as i mentioned, didn't take very comprehensive notes as i didn't realise I would blog about it at the time) and chia seeds. It was refreshing, thirst quenching and sweet. For someone trying to drink less of that horrible artificial diet soft drink crap, it was a nice change.

My man decided to "go with it" and as an almost exclusive carnivore, tried a meat free option. The Chickpea korma with brown rice, which I can report, got very positive reviews!

I have started to become quite fascinated with the concept of raw foods, so the huge menu was intimidating and I found it incredibly hard to choose between the mouth watering options. On a recommendation from my waiter - I went with the Rawsagna, and I have to say it blew my mind! It was beautifully presented and tasted fresh and delicious. It was a mix of layered zucchini with mushrooms, avocado, cashew cream and raw walnut bolgnese. 

As I think I have mentioned once or twice, I often think with my sweet tooth and not my brain! So I couldn't leave without trying something from the dessert menu. We eventually decided on the Chocolate Cheesecake (which was raw, organic and gluten free). It was made from Cashew, coconut oil, agave, almonds, sunflower seeds, sultana, dates and coconut! Lets just say it was heaven on a plate and is making me more determined to get my hands on a high powered blender/food processor - are you listening Santa?

Brunetti - Lygon Street
http://brunetti.com.au

Ok, I preface this part of the post with the fact that this is not healthy even in the slightest. I just couldn't leave it out of my Melbourne Food Review. 

Brunetti is predominantly a coffee and cake shop on Lygon street, although it also serves regular meals. Its marvelous and incredible fit out with a tall ceiling and long glass casing filled with extravagant and exquisite Italian patisserie items was enough to make this girls draw drop to the floor.

A friend took us to visit on a Saturday night and this well known place literally had people piling out onto the street, not a spare table in site. We decided on the gelato and a jaffa chocolate orange tart (that embarrassingly was devoured before I could take a photo) was rich and decadent. I think I am still trying to burn off the calories..

Palate - Prahan
http://palate.com.au

On the last morning of our holiday, we slept in as long as possible, missed a few trains and eventually got a cab into Prahan.

Luckily for us Palate Restaurant & Bar offers an ALL DAY BREAKFAST! - Yes this may be my dream.

Enjoying the sun while Sydney suffered
through torrential rain
#SunnySelfie

On quiet little Greville Street - beside from the occasional passing train that is.. We indulged in one final binge before going home and immediately starting that diet I've been promising to do all year.

Palate caters for the increasingly popular paleo diet, has big fresh juices and smoothies, and I can confirm, had one of the most delicious coffees I have tasted.






Again a serious case of food envy when my food partner in crime received his meal. Avocado and fetta on Sourdough, with a side of bacon, because, well who needs a reason for bacon?

I went with the slightly healthier option of the yoghurt pot. Vanilla bean and honey yoghurt layered with berries and toasted maple oat crumble. Both of which were just delicious.

To wash it down, I ordered the "Refresher Juice" - Pineapple, Apple, Watermelon & Mint, and James had the "Frappe" – Double Espresso, Ice, Vanilla Ice Cream (no wonder he wasn't hungry at lunch time)

When we were leaving, I ordered a take away coffee - a soy chai latte, and it was probably the best coffee I had all weekend.

There were so many other places that I really wanted to try, so I think another trip is soon on the cards. 

I have also decided that I am going to start spending a little more time on my blog again. 

I always want to try new healthy food options around Sydney (or when travelling) and I spend a fair bit of time researching and trawling through Google trying to find the best. So hopefully if I can put a lot of things in one place it will help other people who want to make healthy decisions when they are out. 

How to get your "Happily Ever After"

I initially wrote this post for my friends online magazine that she didn't end up using, so I thought I would share it with you all instead :)

From a very young age, we have been inundated with Hollywood images of “happily ever after”.

As a chubby twelve year old I ached and wished for a prince. I used to think that all of my problems would dissolve if I could just find a man to love me. I even developed a crush on Prince Harry at one stage, thinking that maybe I could be royalty all on my own. Hey every little Aussie girl wants their Princess Mary fairytale right?

As I got a little older, I realised that my “happily ever after”, would not just fall into my lap.

Those that know me may roll their eyes. I may be one of the “lucky ones”. I met my Prince Charming at nineteen years old.

My (now husband) even proposed in an incredibly romantic way, getting down on one knee, after an afternoon of strolling through the autumn New York City streets, and ice-skating at Rockefeller Centre. We had a dream wedding and purchased our first home together last year

I am incredibly and phenomenally loved by this exceptionally beautiful man. He made me a more understanding, fair, calm and rational person and taught me to always share what I am feeling. In my few years of dating, I had my fair share of toxic relationships with men, who made me a much lesser version of myself. The best thing about him is that he makes me the absolute best version of myself.

Since being with him, I have not fallen into the trap that some people do, getting comfortable and taking less care of myself. He would love me no matter how I looked, but I think it’s incredibly important to keep fit, happy and healthy for my own well-being. He is incredibly encouraging of me, and having a healthy and happy relationship means that your partner encourages you to do what makes you content and to be the best you can be.

I still have my fair share of self-esteem issues from a childhood of bullying, taunting at the hands of some not so nice people. And truly believe that finding your “happily ever after”, is really about finding yourself, whether inside, or outside of a relationship, and loving yourself.

Your self-esteem and happiness should in no way be tied to whether or not you have a partner. Can your “happily ever after” mean having a life full of self-discovery, personal growth and happiness without a partner? Abso-freaking-lutely.

Can a life dedicated to health, fitness, travel, learning, dedicating yourself to a cause, a passion, a hobby (or whatever your pleasure and self-satisfaction may entail) be YOUR happily ever after?

The deep-rooted, societal belief that to live out your days happily, requires you to be married to your soul mate and grow old together is lovely, but may be outdated and not necessarily for everyone. Some are lucky to find a life partner, someone who will love them unconditionally, but many are lucky to draw this unwavering support from family and friends too. It is important to realise that people that we perceive to have a perfect life are likely to have their own battles and challenges with health, finances or other suffering and loss.

Open your heart and mind to whatever life brings you and have realistic expectations. By my definition, a “happily ever after” is living positively and efficaciously as you define achievement and success and ultimately to love yourself and be content with what you have and who you are.

Tips for getting YOUR happily ever after;

• Do something new, that may scare you at first, but that you have always wanted to do.
• Do things that make YOU happy, and be the best version of you, not to impress other people, but so you feel good about yourself.
• Write a list of the things that make you happy, and refer to this if you find that you are going off course.
• Have realistic goals about what you want to achieve and for your future.
• Be healthy.
• Put your time and feeling into the relationships (friends, family, partner) that make you feel good and less into those that don’t.
• In a similar vein, let go of the things that no longer make you happy, or bring you down.
• Let go of the stereotypical, fairytale notion of “happily ever after”, and have faith that things will fall into place.

A big thankyou to the few girls on twitter who also helped with my research xxx

May Makeover

Hello all of my beautiful readers.

Wow! Its been some time since i have given this blog love! I have no real reason for this other than being very busy with an office re-location, and just not feeling all that motivated in many aspects of my life.

During May I decided that I would take on a "May Makeover".

Feeling fat, frumpy and horrible, I decided to take a more full on clean eating approach. I created a secondary instagram account and started posting what i had for every meal, so that I would be accountable for what i put in my body! I think I did a PRETTY good job only forgetting occasionally to post. I followed a number of other great accounts that were very inspirational and gave me some fantastic ideas for meals.

So how do i feel?

Well I forgot to take measurements, so i have absolutely no idea in that respect. My weight did not change though. I feel that i'm stuck in a bit of a rut, unable to get into the groove and make real progress on how I want my body to look, and how i want my health to be.

I had a great time experimenting with different recipes, and gosh some of the foods i tried were delicious!! (Check it out over on instagram @maymakeover and if you have any questions about recipes, give me a holler). I do believe that i want to continue on this journey, because most of the time, I did feel better internally.

I find that i work best when I have a very specific plan for what I need to do. I believe that I need to change my diet up a bit more, if I am going to start seeing results.

• I am a fruit addict, and although it is very good for you in many ways, it is probably contributing far too much sugar to my diet, they are natures lollies after all! During Summer I could quite easily down 2 punnets of blueberries a day, but the selection is far slimmer at the moment, which makes it harder. I will try and cut down my fruit intake and enjoy more vegetable snacks
• During the colder months, I find that I eat more. Though I have been eating "cleaner", my portion sizes, number and type of snacks and calorie intake has probably been a little more than it should be based on my BMR. I am going to try and eat 3 meals, and a few sensible, well-timed snacks a day.
• Soft drink is my vice. Since I was about 16, I have consumed an unreasonable amount of diet soft drinks. When i lost a significant amount of weight, I found it was helped keep me sane, and feel like i wasn't missing out on sweet things. As we all know, it is basically liquid tar, and not the best thing to have on a regular basis, its addictive qualities do make it hard to give up however. I am going to try and reduce the amount i drink, and go off of it slowly. I drink green tea and coffee, so I don't think I will have the same caffeine withdrawal as Isuffered on the detox.
• At the moment I don't really eat that much bread, rice or pasta and generally the wholemeal varieties when I do. During May I even switched to gluten, wheat free bread when I could, and found I really enjoyed it. When i do indulge, mostly on weekends, I tend to binge a little, which is also stunting my progress. I will be trying to have more accelerator (12wbt term)/low carb days to shock my body. Reducing carbohydrates helped me lose 4kg in 6 weeks earlier this year.
• And lastly. MORE WATER! I have not been drinking nearly enough and it has so many benefits. It flushes out toxins, increases energy, boosts immune system and improves skin complexion (to name a few)

I think that I'm going to try and get back into a better routine for exercise too, as that is what I have really been missing, and it always makes me feel so much better. The class that I have been doing 2-3 times a week has become a little stale, so I'm looking for new ways to shake up my routine.

I tried a class, at the gym downstairs from my new office - Train Reaction! (check these guys out on Facebook! https://www.facebook.com/pages/Train-Reaction-Fitness/117617971644786?fref=ts) Jason and the others were very welcoming and the circuit class was intense. Three days later, my chest, back and arms are still in agony, it was one hell of a workout. I'm hoping that its something I can get into on a more regular basis, just have to sort out my current routine, as I am signed up to a few different things already.

If any of you have some more great tips for helping shake up your diet OR exercise, comment and continue the discussion below.

xx

My healthy ANZAC bikkie recipe

If you are like me, you just cannot help your sweet tooth.

I am obsessed/addicted to ANZAC biscuits! They are one of my absolute favourites. I went through a period last year where i would just whip up a batch almost weekly! They only require a few baking ingredients (traditionally made with rolled oats, butter, sugar, golden syrup, white flour and coconut) which were ones i seemed to have on hand any way!

I noticed a few healthier versions popping up (These Theresa Cutter versions look AMAZING http://www.thehealthychef.com/2013/04/anzac-biscuits/)  and now that I am trying to eat more clean and healthy I thought i would try and put together my own healthier recipe! I baked these last night, and even hard to please hubby was impressed!

Ingredients
1 Cup of Wholemeal flour
1 Cup of Wholemeal rolled oats
1/2 cup desicated coconut
2 tablespoons pure extra virgin coconut oil (melted)
2 tablespoons agave nectar
2 teaspoons organic vanilla essence
1 tablespoon natvia (to sweeten)
1/2 cup water (add more water if required to make sure ingredients stick together)

Method
1. Preheat fan-forced oven to 160 degrees celcius and line a baking tray.
2. Combine flour, oats and coconut.
3. Add coconut oil, agave nectar, vanilla essence and water
4. Mix ingredients together with spoon, adding natvia as you go (and extra water if required) until combined and at a nice consistency.
5. Form into as many balls as you like (depends if you want big or small cookies) and place on baking tray.
6. flatten down with fork with enough room around biscuits to expand in oven.  
7. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden on 160 degrees (note: the longer you leave them on, the harder they will turn out, i personally prefer soft cookies)
8. Wait til they cool to eat (or if you are cheeky like me and cannot wait, eat them warm and fresh from the oven!)

Let me know how you go if you decide to have a go and make some!

Fair warning, they are addictive!!!

xx

Did I survive my detox???

Detox Day Two, was nowhere near as challenging as the first.. but i quickly came to realise, that I really did not like the taste of the juices, in fact they made me almost gag a little. 

The headache subsided and I honestly didn't feel as hungry anymore. I consumed very little on the second day. I barely got through a few mouthfuls of the first juice, couldn't bare more of a sip of the second (Not sure why schkinny pine grapple was the only option for morning tea every day of the detox - i hated it). 

By the time lunch came around I was a little hungry. Lentil luncheon was on the menu and it was my favourite of all the ones that i tried over the detox. I inhaled it! (mostly because there were lentils in there i could chew on!)

I pretty much couldn't have more than a few sips of the afternoon juice remembering how sick it had made me the day before.

After hardly touching a juice/soup all day, I was hungry. I struggled through a few mouthfuls of the evening soup and desperately wanted to go to bed!

Where was this new found energy I was supposed to be feeling? 

I basically lived on teas (peppermint & chamomile) it was the only thing that kept me sane (and helped my body NOT go into starvation mode!!)

Thursday. Different day, same struggles.

Hubby has Thursday off, so I begged him to come and sit with me at lunch time! Before i met up with him i heated up my soup. I can't even remember the contents now, but it was lime green!! It smelt ok, and I almost started to look forward to it. I took my first bite and i almost brought it right back up. The only way I can describe the taste was warm, sour guacamole.. in other words, revolting.. 

At this point I almost felt like crying! Instead of giving up completely and stealing some of James's delicious looking chicken katsu, i bought a freshly squeezed boost juice. I think I was starting to fell quite out of it because i swear its the best thing i've ever tasted.

Again, i could only manage a few sips of my afternoon juice. I just didn't like the taste..

By dinner, I wasn't even hungry, just desperate for the stupid thing to be over. The vege con carne cold juice dinner was almost as disgusting as the lunch soup.. I knew I wouldn't last much longer. 

I woke up on Friday morning full of hope, knowing that this would be the last day. I wasn't getting intense hunger pains, i didn't miss food. The Schkinny Manniny juices just weren't for me.

Fighting through my morning juices seemed a lot easier knowing that i planned on having dinner. For lunch was the AWFUL lime green sour guacamole soup (I am aware this is not really what it was.) I had to make another trip to Boost Juice! I didn't even bother with the afternoon juice.. i just hung on, knowing dinner wasn't far away!

The taste of real, solid food, never felt so good! I lasted only 3 and a half of 5 days, and even though I wanted to finish it to write about it, I couldn't bear it anymore.

So what are my concluding thoughts???

• I felt exhausted. I think the fact I didn't like and could barely stomach the juices meant i didn't get enough nutrients or calories in a day. I didn't like that i didn't have any energy to exercise either.
• I got a shocking cold this week. Obviously it could be because of the weather and that people around me are sick.. but i feel inclined to blame the detox and eliminating toxins from my body.
• My face has broken out terribly again. I was worried this might happen as it was a potential side effect (and one of the main reasons I didn't want to do it before the wedding).
• I only lost 1kg all up. Pretty much water weight. My weight generally shifts this much in an average week anyway. I still felt quite bloated too.
• I realised that I much prefer clean eating and exercise. It makes me feel much healthier, happier and content.

Will i detox again?

Probably! I don't mind the idea of a detox. I like to replace some of my meals with clean fresh green juices or protein smoothies anyway.

Will I do Schkinny Manniny again? No. I found most of the juices horrible. I have read a lot of positive reviews, but i sincerely hope that someone reads mine and realises that it just isn't for everyone.

For the ridiculous price i forked out - i found it a MASSIVE waste of money.

Can anyone recommend any good ones that they might have tried? I'm always interested in researching and trying new things.