Around the last time I did a juice fast, the lovely Mascarah fortuituously asked:
I’ve read so much about this Blueprint Cleanse via Julia/Mary/Meghan I really want to try it. $65/a day is a bit out of my budget […]
I’m curious if anyone knows of any other cleanses that are a bit cheaper that I could start with? Or any that are homemade? […] I’d appreciate any and all advice.
At my old website, I responded in a series of posts (1, 2, 3, 4). Since I get a number of inquiries a week on this, I wanted to update here with the links to present a consolidated view. For those not about the above click-thrus, a summary:
In the event you would like to do the Blueprint Cleanse, live / work in NYC, but are on a budget, I recommend going to Liquiteria for comparable juices. Now, Blueprint makes their Level menus transparent so it is even easier to be creative.
General rules:
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Blueprint’s Green juices can be substituted with Liquiteria’s All Greens. I’ve found Liquiteria even has a ‘With Ginger’ version for my fellow Level 3’s. ;)
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Blueprint’s Pineapple, Apple, Mint juices can be substituted either with Liquiteria’s Royal Flush (for detoxing your liver) or Grasshopper (with a shot of wheatgrass).
- For Level Is, Blueprint’s Carrot, Apple, Ginger, Lemon Beet juices can be substituted with Beets Me or Immune Rocket Booster.
- … And what about coveted Bottle No. 6? DIY Raw Horchata! Unfortunately, you’ll have to go elsewhere in the East Village to sate your appetite for this one. I recommend getting a quart of Brazil or Almond Nut Milk (i.e., 2 servings) from Pure Juice and Takeaway or Jubb’s, flavoring it yourself with a vanilla bean, cinnamon (I like lots!), and agave to taste. I will warn you that Pure Juice’s and Jubb’s nut milks are less creamy - I don’t know if that is a function of the nut-to-water ratio in their recipe or the fact they use different nuts.
And voila! I believe this will knock the cost of your almost apples-to-apples (har har) cleanse to $45 / day. Hopefully those outside New York can find comparable juice bars.
If you are stocking up in advance though, buy no more than 3 days’ worth. The theory is that after 3 days, the minerals, enzymes, etc. in the juice start oxidizing and lose maximum nutritional value. If you are looking at juices from other places, I recommend get fresh-juiced or Norwalk-pressed. Strict adherents to Raw believe nutritional value is lost in the flash-pasteurization process. Liquiteria’s juices are Norwalk-pressed and replenished on the daily.
Million dollar question (actually more like $325): knowing this and owning a juicer, I still ordered from Blueprint this time around. Why?
Anticlimactic response: I was lazy! While I can pencil in a juice fast / feast with Liquiteria or use my Breville, sometimes I need to commit serious money to get myself in the juiciness mindset. Doing Blueprint is my diet equivalent to getting a series of lessons with a personal trainer. You can easily kick your own ass at the gym but sometimes you need to ante up the money and bring in external reinforcements as a motivator.
Hope this helps! Night night.
Additional resources:
- Steve Pavlina’s 92 Day Juice Feast (going on now!)
- Philip McCluskey’s Loving Raw
- Angela Stokes’ Raw Reform
