I recently discovered Peeled, a juice shop here in Chicago.  Whenever I feel sick or tired, I stop in and after the first sip I start feeling better.  For a few years now I have been curious about trying a juice cleanse. I’ve heard promises that consuming only freshly squeezed organic fruit and vegetable juice detoxes the body and invigorates the soul.  So, when I saw that Peeled offers a 3-day juice cleanse, I decided to take the leap.

The fresh juices from Peeled Chicago are delicious. My favorite was the green juice, full of leafy greens, lemon, and a hint of ginger. It was an invigorating way to start the day.  The red juice with beets, carrots and apples, was refreshing and clean.  Every day ended with cashew milk, a sweet and indulgent treat that was good for my body.

Much to my surprise, I was never really hungry while drinking only juice all day. Granted, I did sneak a few bites off my kids plates, but I did try to stay on-track for the three days.  I drank 6 juices every day – one juice ever 2-3 hours – and I felt satisfied.  I felt healthy and energetic after drinking a Peeled juice.

The cleanse taught me a lot about how I view food.  For our family, food nourishes, but it also provides a framework for the day. Meals structure when and where we do things, and food preparation takes up a considerable portion of the day.  The only time I missed food was when the kids were eating – I wanted to join them!

As a nursing mother, I suspect the cleanse slightly decreased my milk supply.  Fortunately, my baby is almost 1 so she is eating a lot of big people food now.  But, I wouldn’t suggest a juice cleanse to a mother of an exclusively breast fed baby.  Also, I work out (a lot), so I ate a banana before each work out just to give me an extra energy boost.

Interested in trying a juice cleanse?  Peeled is offering a special discount for Homemade Mothering readers!  Enter code HOMEMADE at checkout to enjoy a 30% savings.

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