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Hooked On Plants Interview: Cheap Lazy Vegan + Crispy Korean Tofu

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Extreme. Expensive. Difficult. Time consuming. Bland….Not when it comes to Cheap Lazy Vegan food! 

Do those words pop into your mind when someone says ‘vegan’?

Well, you obviously haven’t heard of the Cheap Lazy Vegan.

Rose is the Cheap Lazy Vegan. With over 450,000 youtube subscribers, she’s doing an amazing job at spreading the word that vegan doesn’t have to mean complicated or expensive.

She makes vegan easy and attainable. If you’re still skepticle… watch one of Rose’s youtube videos showing the ease of delicious 10 minutes meals, and you’ll be blown away at the simplicity of it all.

Along with being a youtube star, she now has an all vegan café (SaVeg Café) in Calgary, AB.

To celebrate National Vegetarian Week, it’s the perfect time to get to know Rose and bring some inspiration to you guys for cheap and easy vegan meals!


I was lucky enough to stop by the new café with my glorious Grandma to meet this beautiful soul! We also met her Mama who cooked up an amazing Tofu Sweet Potato Korean dish and a super spicy soup that we easily polished off (so dang good).

Let’s get to know Rose.

Hooked On Plants: Cheap Lazy Vegan resonates with hundreds of thousands of people now!  What was your first youtube video about?

Cheap Lazy Vegan: The first video I did was a simple introduction of my channel where I explain that you can be cheap AND lazy on a vegan diet… along with a “What I Ate in a Day” where I showed viewers some easy, simple meals that I ate in a day.

HOP: Did you come up with the awesome name, Cheap Lazy Vegan? Is there a story behind that?

CLV: I did… I had just moved to London, UK at the time and I was making very little money but spending a lot simply because I was living in one of the most expensive cities in the world. I found myself buying affordable groceries and making very inexpensive meals. I realized that I was super lazy when it came to cooking. At the same time, I’ve always been a foodie so I always have enjoyed taking photos of food. So I just came up with an Instagram page with the handle @cheaplazyvegan which is how it all started… 🙂

 

HOP: How long have you been vegan, and what was the main reason? Animals? Environment? or Health?

CLV: I’ve been mostly plant-based for about 7 years total (I became a pescatarian at first, staying away from meat, dairy and eggs, but still had a hard time staying away from fish) and now I’ve been VEGAN for almost 4 years. I went vegan purely for ethical & animal rights reasons and the other stuff (like health and environmental benefits) were just little bonuses for me. I read some books and watched some movies, which really opened up my eyes to the realities of what happens to the animals that I claimed to “love”. 

HOP: Did you take your time to take animal products out of your diet, or did you go completely vegan overnight?

CLV: It took time. I think it takes time to get used to the dietary aspect but also to mentally get your head around the whole idea. I first gave up meat, then about a month later stopped eating dairy and eggs, then lastly I quit fish, years later.

 

HOP: It is SO exciting that you’ve opened a 100% vegan café in ‘CowTown’! With Calgary being known for it’s Alberta Beef, it’s so it’s so inspiring that you’ve taken the initiative to get more vegan food into people’s mouths! Plus, you’re working with your Mom! How did you come up with the name SaVeg?

CLV: Haha, I really wish I could take credit for the name, but it was actually my friend’s sister that had the idea. I liked the trendiness of the name and the smart play-on-words.

HOP: What was the catalyst for opening SaVeg Café?

CLV: My mom already owned the cafe but it wasn’t a vegan one. I helped out there for just a few hours each day and I felt that my own time and the cafe space could be used in a better way. I wanted to be more involved and help out more, but I knew I couldn’t invest my own time/money/energy in a business that sold animal products. So, I approached my mom about the idea of fully changing the menu and concept of the cafe into a vegan one (and of course, me taking half ownership!). Calgary also is lacking in vegan establishments (in my opinion), so it made sense from a business perspective as well.

HOP: What are you excited about this year? Do you have any other cool projects you’re working on?

CLV: At the moment, I’m trying to juggle doing my social media and running the cafe! I’m focusing on getting the cafe established and learning to manage my time before moving onto other projects. I definitely would like to get involved in some new projects in the future!

Here’s a playlist of Rose’s quick meal ideas: Cheap Lazy Vegan quick meals

I had to share this recipe of hers. These spicy korean tofu bits were the special at her café when we came to visit. They were deeeeeelicious.


Spicy Korean Fried Chicken-Style Tofu
 
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Rose AKA Cheap Lazy Vegan's crispy, comfort food style tofu that's good in any dinner bowl or wrap!
Author:
Recipe type: vegan meat, lunch, dinner, tofu recipe
Serves: 2
Ingredients
  • 1 block extra firm tofu
  • 1 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 tsp sesame oil
  • 2 tbsp rice vinegar
  • ¼ cup almond flour OR bread crumbs
  • 1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds (optional)

  • Sauce
  • 1 tbsp gochujang (Korean red hot pepper paste)
  • ½ tbsp maple syrup
  • 4 tbsp ketchup
  • 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
  • 1 tbsp garlic powder (or you can use 1 clove of fresh minced garlic)
Instructions
  1. Press your tofu to take out some of the liquid for about 10-20 minutes… I’ll be honest, I rarely do this because I don’t have the patience.
  2. Cut up your tofu into small bite sized pieces.
  3. Add your tofu pieces into a mixing bowl and add in soy sauce, sesame oil and rice vinegar. Mix until well combined.
  4. Toss your tofu pieces with almond flour or bread crumbs until each piece is nicely coated.
  5. Add into your air fryer at 375 degrees F for 20 minutes – moving them around at around the halfway point to make sure they cook evenly.
  6. While your tofu is in the air fryer, you can prepare the sauce by adding all the sauce ingredients into a small bowl and mixing very well.
  7. When your tofu is finished, mix in the sauce and sesame seeds (optional) so that the tofu is nicely coated in the delicious red sauce.
  8. Now you can enjoy….!!! Warning: these are ridiculously addictive!

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Raw Vegan Matcha Charcoal Swirl Cheese Cake

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Forget friends with benefits… dessert with benefits way more fun. And yes, this raw vegan matcha charcoal swirl cheese cake does taste as good as it looks.

This luscious  dessert is a crowd-pleases and SO easy!! It only takes 15 minutes of actual time in the kitchen for you. The rest of the time is for soaking the nuts and freezing the cake so it’s a cheese cake-like texture.

Matcha + Activated Charcoal.

Mixing these two wonders together creates a black and green galaxy of antioxidants and intense detoxifying powers your body will thank you for. Matcha does wonders as an antioxidant powerhouse, and activated charcoal actually binds to toxins and heavy metals in your body (great for hangovers).

This crust is just 3 main superfood ingredients with some lemon zest and sea salt. Easy as pie (crust).

Who knew dessert could be so powerful?

Matcha is one of the most powerful antioxidants in the world. I’ve been loving the ceremonial grade DoMatcha. They’re all about quality and transparency with their matcha (check out where they source it from and how it’s made here).

I’m so in love with matcha. One of my Jules Fuel overnight buckwheat oat breakfast cereals is made with DoMatcha, and when I’m working from home I end up having at least 2 matcha hemp milk lattés throughout the day, and I feel gooooood about it.
This dessert was a hit at my good friend’s 30th birthday (Happy Birthday Shannon). No one was vegan, and everyone wanted more 😉

7  benefits of Matcha:
  1. Antioxidant powerhouse! Matcha helps slow aging process by fighting free radicals and protecting your cells from damage and minimizing your risk for disease
  2. Sustained energy release compared to coffee (no jitters)
  3. High in the antioxidant EGCG, which is shown to boost metabolism, increase fat loss, and help prevent disease
  4. 137 times more antioxidants that your typical green tea
  5. L-theanine in matcha improves memory and boosts your mood by helping produce dopamine and serotonin
  6. High levels of chlorophyll in matcha detoxifies your body by helping remove heavy metals and chemical toxins
  7. Increases your immunity with it’s antibiotic properties and good levels of vitamin A, C and potassium

5.0 from 1 reviews
Raw Vegan Matcha Charcoal Swirl Cheese Cake
 
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A decadent, raw vegan dessert packed to the brim with antioxidants and detoxifying effects! It only takes 15 minutes of actual 'work in the kitchen time', the rest is freezing or soaking time! It's delish and has mega benefits.
Author:
Recipe type: dessert, pie, raw dessert
Cuisine: raw vegan
Serves: 10-12
Ingredients
  • Crust:
  • ½ cup oats (gluten-free if needed)
  • 1 cup pitted dates
  • 1 cup walnuts
  • 1 tsp lemon zest
  • ⅛ tsp salt

  • Filling:
  • 2 cups cashews, soaked at least 3 hours (or 1 hour in hot water)
  • 1 cup full fat coconut cream (scrape the solid white stuff out of the can, leave the liquid)
  • ½ cup maple syrup
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • juice of 1 large lemon
  • 2 tbsp coconut oil
  • 2 tsp matcha powder (I used ceremonial grade matcha fromDo Matcha)
  • 1 tsp activated charcoal (sub cacao powder)
Instructions
  1. Make crust: in your food processor, blend dates until they've become small chunks or a ball. Remove from food processor and blend walnuts and oats until their a fine meal. Add the dates back in. Blend until well combined. Texture? It should stick together when squeezed.
  2. Press crust into a parchment lined spring form pan (up the sides too).
  3. Place the crusted pan into the freezer.
  4. Make filling: in your blender, blend cashews, coconut cream, maple syrup, vanilla and lemon until smooth and silky. This will give you 2½ cups of white filling.
  5. Pour ¾ of the filling (1¾ cups) out into a jar, keeping half of the filling in the blender.
  6. Add matcha to the blender and blend until combined.
  7. Pour matcha filling in the pie crust.
  8. Blend the rest of the white filling with the activated charcoal (or cacao).
  9. Drizzle the activated charcoal filling in a swirl over the matcha filling. Use a butter knife or chop stick to create art! (zig zag motion)
  10. Place the pie in the freezer for at least 2 hours.
  11. When you're ready to eat it, take it out of the freezer and let sit 10 minutes.
  12. Store it in the freezer!
Notes
The actual 'work time' of this pie is only 15 minutes, or so (blending the crust, then blending both fillings). The soak time and the freezer time is included in the total time.
The longer the cashews are soaked, the creamier the pie.
You can freeze it for less time, but it just won't be as solid.

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Check out 80/20 Plants program for all you need to go plant based.

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Smokey Vegan Parmesan | Ready in 3 minutes

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This smokey vegan parmesan goes well with anything, and I mean ANYTHING savoury.

It has to be in the fridge at all times, ready to get it’s sprinkle on.

There’s nothing like a little smoky saltiness to add pizzazz to any meal.

Your next pasta, salad, tofu scramble, sandwich or wrap will welcome this parm with open arms.

The one thing people seem to miss most during the transition to plant-based eating… CHEESE, because it’s physically addicting. Casomorphins in dairy create an opioid effect to keep the calf coming back for more from her cow Mama. When milk is made into cheese for human consumption (it takes 10 lbs of milk to create just 1 lb of cheese), the casomorphins are concentrated to high levels and create a strong opioid effect, that keep us coming back for more. Once you’re separated from the addiction for a bit, you’ll be over and and see cheese for what it really is… Check out this post for more on that.

It’s becoming easier and easier with all of the amazing vegan cheese companies coming out with innovative, melty, flavourful, creamy, cheeses! And this recipe gives a cheesiness to any recipe.

When it comes to parm, I think VioLife makes the best store bought vegan version. But, when you don’t have any of that kicking around, you can resort to this smokey vegan parmesan recipe!

The smokiness adds a deep deliciousness to your typical parmesan flava flave.

Benefits:

  • Cashews provide you with 100% of your copper needs! Copper helps with the reactions needed for the metabolism of iron, energy production, and neurotransmission. They’re also packed with vitamins E for healthy skin and bones!
  • Paprika is ground up red pepper! It’s packed with antioxidants, and is very anti-inflammatory.
  • Sunflower seeds are also an amazing source of copper and vitamin E, as well as B1. Vitamin B1 helps the breakdown of fats and protein, and vastly improves the cardiovascular functioning of the body.


Smokey Vegan Parmesan
 
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This is your next meal's best friend. Sprinkle this stuff on anything to enhance any kind of savoury dish.
Author:
Recipe type: topping
Ingredients
  • ¾ cup raw cashews
  • 1 tbsp sunflower seeds
  • ¼ cup nutritional yeast
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • ¼ tsp smoked paprika
  • ¾ tsp sea salt
Instructions
  1. Blend all ingredients in a mini food processor, blender or spice grinder until you reach the consistency of parm! You shouldn't need more than 30 seconds.
  2. Store in the fridge for up to 3 weeks.

** This goes great with Simple Green Curry, Butternut Mac n’ Peas, Whole Roasted Cauli, Curried Collard Greens, Mashed Potato Butternut Swirl, and the Green Machine Curried Zucchini Hummus.

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Gooey Vegan Sweet Potato Brownies + Choco Frosting | GF + Oil-Free

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Gooey, decadent brownie indulgence, without rebelling from your ‘eating clean’ regime. These healthy, oil-free, gluten-free, vegan sweet potato brownies are so downright delectable that you’ll feel as if you’re re-living that brownie experience you had at the grade 4 bake sale (that one packed with alllll the sugar and butter).
Well nope, this one is gluten-free (just use gluten-free oats), vegan (always), and free of refined oil.
It’s packed to the frosting with unrefined whole foods!
Dates for the sweetener, sweet potatoes for the nutrient-dense filler, and almond butter for the density.
These brownies aren’t too sweet, and they go AMAZINGLY with nana’ nice cream!
But, what’s a brownie without a topper? This Chocolate Date frosting is thick and creamy with only whole food ingredients. Date paste is the magic that creates a frosting that’s a sweet, spreadable answer to cure that sweet tooth craving.
Let’s talk protein for a sec.
First of all, these brownies are packed with protein.
Surprisingly:
1 cup of sweet potatoes = 6 grams of protein
1/2 cup of oats = 5 grams of protein
1/4 cup almond butter = 13 grams of protein
Each of these ingredients has a bit of all 9 essential amino acids, too (plug it in on cronometer).
Around 42g of protein per day is more than enough for the average person (about 0.8g/kg of body weight).
Too much protein, on the other hand, is very hard on the kidneys, plus it leads to weight gain, water retention and poor digestion.
So? You can stop worrying about whether or not you’re getting enough protein throughout the day. You will most likely be getting much more than 42g of protein, or around 10-15% of your entire diet coming from protein on the plant-based lifestyle, as long as your eating enough calories (not starving yourself). Plant protein is easier to digest, and we can get all the essential amino acids we need from plants.
Where do you think the muscular Gorillas, Elephants, Rhinos and Horses get their protein?
Rather than having the cow eat the plants to grow meat for humans to eat, let’s get straight to the plant source and stop using the animal as the middle man.
As for complete protein, you don’t need to worry about combining plants on your plate to ensure you’re getting a full spectrum of amino acids in one meal (the rice and bean theory). As long as your eating a variety of whole plant foods, and enough of them, your body will store excess amino acids in the amino acid pool, and release these amino acids to form complete proteins when ever it’s needed throughout your week!
One more thing to think about. Protein doesn’t come on it’s own…it comes as a package.
Which protein package sounds better to you?

 

We can stop worrying about protein and ask the new question: where do you get your fibre? (Most people are low in this SUPER important nutrient)
Whole plant foods are packed with this F-bomb. And these brownies are a good place to start!

Brownie benefits:

  • Sweet potatoes are queen in my eyes. They’re packed with vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and taste like heaven on earth. They’re incredibly sweet for a tater! Vitamin A for your eyes, B vitamins for your nervous system, manganese for your bones and fat metabolism, and potassium to lower your anxiety and stress levels.
  • Dates are packed with fibre and minerals. They’re essential if you need to move things along, if you know what I mean. The mineral content in these babies is amazing for your bones, and they are the best whole food sweetener you can find.
  • Tapioca flour is a flour made from the cassava root, so it’s naturally free of gluten. It’s amazing in baking because it gives anything a dense, chewy texture!

Sweet Potato Brownies | Oil-Free, GF, Vegan
 
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Sinful tasting brownies without the sins. Goo-ey, decadent, and chocolate-y. These are a go-to for a healthy snack, or a delicious dessert.
Author:
Recipe type: dessert, snack, brownies
Serves: 9
Ingredients
  • 12 medjool dates, soaked 5 minutes and strained (keep the liquid!)
  • ½ cup smooth nut butter of choice (I used almond butter)
  • 1 chia egg or flax egg (1 tbsp chia seeds or ground flax + 3 tbsp water)
  • ⅛ tsp sea salt
  • ¼ cup raw cacao powder (standard cocoa powder works too)
  • 1 tbsp tapioca flour (or tapioca starch)
  • 1 cup oat flour (just blend 1 cup rolled gluten-free oats to a flour in your blender)
  • 2 medium-sized sweet potatoes, poked with a fork (will become about 1 cup mashed)

  • Frosting:
  • ¼ cup date paste (left over from brownie mix, see below)
  • ½ cup nut butter
  • 1 tbsp cacao powder
  • 3 tbsp plant-milk (I used vanilla unsweetened almond)
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven the 350°F, line a 7"x7" (approx.) cake pan with parchment paper and set aside.
  2. Cook sweet potatoes: Either bake for 45 minutes (or until soft), flipping once. Once cooled enough to handle, scoop out the meat and discard (or eat) the peel. (Another option is to steam the potatoes: Peel, then chop into ½" cubes, then place in steamer for 30 minutes).
  3. Meanwhile in your blender, make the date paste by blending all medjool dates with ½ cup of the left over date soaking liquid. Once smooth, remove ¼ cup of the date paste and set aside (for the frosting baby!)
  4. Add the nut butter, chia egg, salt, tapioca flour, oat flour, sweet potato and cacao powder to the date paste in the blender. Blend until smooth (use your tamper to help it along). Another option is to mix by hand in a big bowl.
  5. Pour the mixture into the parchment covered pan and bake for 30 minutes (or until a toothpick comes out clean).
  6. Meanwhile, make the frosting: Blend the left over ¼ cup of date paste with nut butter, cacao powder and plant milk until smooth.
  7. Remove brownies from oven, let cool 10 minutes.
  8. Flip upside down onto a serving plate and spread frosting over the top. Sprinkle with walnuts.
  9. Place it in the fridge for 10 minutes to solidify the frosting. Then slice and enjoy!
  10. Can be stored in the fridge for up to a week, or in the freezer for months.

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Juice Cleansing 101

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Juice cleansing can give you the vitality, energy and digestion you’re looking for…

(Scroll to the bottom for $ off the cleanse I did)

After the detox symptoms pass and the will power succeeds, that is…

Spring is the time for re-sets, refreshers, transitions, and switchovers. I love it.

It’s also the perfect time to get your cleanse on. I used to think it would mess with the metabolism, but now I’ve learned that a short juice cleanse can be the thing to do if you need a digestive re-set.

Here’s the thing. Food takes energy to digest, which takes away from the energy it needs to support other important bodily functions, so it’s good to give your digestive system a break every now and then. Fasting and cleansing allows the body to work on other ‘house cleaning’ besides digesting, assimilating and eliminating the last snack or meal.

There’s no doubt about it, you will experience some detox symptoms. This is your body clearing out toxins and excess waste.

Why do a juice cleanse?

We are constantly putting food into our mouths. 3 meals a day, snacks in between. Many of these foods are acid-forming and inflammatory. Our body sometimes needs the time off from digestion, assimilation and elimination, to start working on other important aspects of being a bad-ass body!

While we sleep, our body works on cell rejuvenation and toxin removal (once our dinner is digested, which why it’s a good idea to eat a couple hours before sleeping). This typically leads to waking up feeling puffy, with white on the tongue and flem in the throat. The body is ‘cleaning up the yard’ as efficiently as it can while it doesn’t need to focus on digesting food or expending energy elsewhere. This is why it’s recommended to give yourself a fasting time of 12 hours from dinner to breakfast. Eat a couple hours before bed, then listen to your hunger signs in the morning and eat when you’re actually hungry. This has been proven to lead to longevity, prevent cancer and disease and help digestive issues.

While we juice cleanse, we’re fasting while still fuelling our cells with a super-dose of enzymes, nutrients, antioxidants, and minerals that will help breakdown diseased tissues in the body. Aging and disease come from biochemical suffocation, that happens when our cells aren’t getting enough oxygen and nutrients to eliminate wastes. Juicing will give those cells that oxygen and sweet nutrients directly!

Rather than using energy to digest, your body will be able to focus on:

  • cell rejuvenation and restoration
  • alkalinizing
  • reducing inflammation
  • enhancing your immune system
  • replenishing the micro-biome (9/10 of our cells are bacteria, 1/10 are human. Since most bacterial cells live in the gut/micro-biome, we need to keep them happy by providing their home with phytonutrients and micronutrients)
  • balancing hormones (leading to a better mood)
  • clearing up skin issues
  • detoxifying the liver
  • reducing cravings
  • showing you what allergies and sensitivities you have
  • getting in tune hunger signs and teaching you how to eat intuitively
  • lowering blood pressure
  • increasing blood circulation
  • decreasing blood fat
  • decreasing athertosclerosis (plaque build up)
  • pulling toxins from your cells and your liver
  • breaking down stored, circulating chemicals
  • creating new essential substances in your liver

Other benefits you may feel:

  • motivation to get sh#t done
  • an urge for change
  • a better understanding of the connection between your body and the food you fuel it with
  • clarity – easier to make big decisions without being masked by food distraction and digestion
  • you will drop a few pounds, but this will be temporary. The long term affect of easier weight maintenance comes with the digestive system and micro-flora replenishing benefits you’ll get!

What to expect?

It’s not all rainbows and butterflies. There’s a good chance you’re going to feel some symptoms during the detox period, especially if you’re coming from a diet with animal products, lots of caffeine, sugar, or alcohol. But, stay strong! They will pass and you’ll feel better than ever. It may take longer than a 3 day cleanse, but any kind of short term cleanse can act as a jump-start you to making healthier choices and crave better things (like whole plant foods).

Cravings can be physical additions (especially when it comes to refined sugar and dairy). But, sometimes it’s your body telling you that you need a certain micronutrient that you’re low in. A juice cleanse does wonders for combatting cravings of any kind. Detoxifying from these foods will take will power, but you may just come out on the other side as a free bird!

Detox symptoms:

If you feel any of these, they should only last a 1-2 days if you have them. If you do a longer cleanse and on day 4 these symptoms continue to worsen, stop the cleanse and start introducing whole plant foods again.

  • hunger (when you’re hungry, try to get in touch with yourself and ask ‘what am I hungry for?’, then try to distract yourself from the kitchen callings)
  • bad breath
  • congestion
  • digestive upset and farts
  • crazy dreams from your body releasing poisons overnight
  • headaches
  • low energy
  • break outs
  • diahrea
  • fogginess/light-headedness
  • fatigue
  • cravings
  • white coat on tongue

Sounds nice right? Have no fear… maybe you won’t experience any of this at all. But if you do, it won’t last and unfortunately, it’s necessary. Just like you clean up your closet, your body is cleaning up it’s business.

Warning: all the juice may turn you green…or create the urge to give yourself more self care (take a bath, do a face mask, oil your hair)

How to:

  • Use a straw (for teeth protection)
  • Sip, don’t chug
  • Minimal exercise (light jogs/walk/yoga), or keep to your regular but add in strained, homemade nut or seed milk.
  • Drink water all day… a lot of it
  • Drink herbal tea
  • If you need something to chew on, go for something easily digestible (add chia or hemp seeds into your juice, eat a fresh fruit or veggie – cucumber is best)
  • If you feel the need for something creamy, or if you continue to work out in some way, make your own nut milk to sip on
  • If you’re up for it, get a colonic or enema while you’re at it! Your colon (23 feet long) can hold old fecal matter for years. Juicing will help dislodge toxins and build up, but an enema will help bring them out of you…leaving a colon that is able to absorb nutrients again. It’s important to drink a lot of water, or do colon hydrotherapy to get rid of those toxins before your colon absorbs them back into the system.
  • Keep yourself distracted if you feel the urge to reach for the cookie jar (go for a walk, tea with friends, work on your passion project, hobby it up, take a bath, clean out your closet, go see a movie, meditate, call your grams…)
  • Take a sauna or get a massage to help along the detoxification process
  • Optional supplements:
    • milk thistle – helps liver detoxify and repair
    • niacin – helps detox from chemicals in your system
    • B12 – every day
    • spirulina and/or chlorella – microalgae for extra detox
  • Get yourself a tongue scraper! Not only for the juice cleanse, but every morning. It just scrapes off the build up on your tongue first thing in the morning. This stuff is bacteria and waste built up from the night of detoxifying.
  • Get your self a dry skin brush. This is another way of detoxing. Your skin is your biggest organ and it is continuously detoxifying and shedding old skin. Get that stuff off so it can do it’s job more efficiently. Dry brushing also increasing lymph flow (your lymph is what is pumped when you work out and sweat, but this is another way of triggering it to work it’s magic for your immunity, fat loss and detoxification!)

My 3-day experience:

Day 1:

  • Feels: Slight head-ache around 2pm. A bit foggy while working away. Went for a super easy jog, drank another juice and felt better.
  • Digestion: great! No fogginess or lows from digesting.
  • Exercise: 5 minute yoga and 15 minutes of exercises on the VibraFit (oscillating/vibrating machine that’s amazing for blood flow, muscle contractions, detoxing)
  • Hunger: Wasn’t hungry. Missed the chewing though.
  • Tummy: a bit loud as I was falling asleep, with all the liquids moving around
  • Added home made hemp milk to the day (about a cup in total to my herbal teas), partly because I wanted something creamy, and also because I ran today. It’s ok to add a bit of protein from milked nuts or seeds on while you cleanse.

Day 2:

  • Feels: Woke up naturally at 6:30 with clarity, energy, motivation. 5 minute meditation (trying to do this more consistently…). Minimal congestion, some white on the tongue. Flat tummy! I usually wake up with a bit of bloat from dinner still, which is why I always start with a big mason jar of water and wait a couple hours to eat breakfast. No head ache. A bit of puffiness under the eyes still, first thing.
  • Hunger: only when I was making food for Davey. It’s the smell and being around it! Otherwise, I would be content and energized enough from the juice noots (nutrients)
  • Digestion: smooth. Not too many trips to the bathroom. No burps or gas.
  • Exercise: HIIT in the AM, 1.5 hour skate ski in the afternoon. Felt fatigued near the end (more than normal)
  • Had homemade hemp milk in my bengal spice tea throughout the day again

Day 3:

  • Feels: Woke up easily at 6:30 again. Slept great (I usually do). Barely any morning congestion! Flat tummy.
  • Afternoon/evening: A bit of a head ache. Sooooo tempting to cave to the craving of crunchiness.
  • Hunger: Getting in tune with my hunger pangs. Realizing how much food cravings are emotional/comforting/for happiness over just plain hunger. Once I have a juice, the hunger signs are gone. The body just wants nutrients to live off! I did feel a bit ‘floaty’, but kept myself busy and out of the kitchen/house.
  • Digestion: smooth sailings. No bloating or digestive fatigue.
  • Exercise: 15 minute HIIT.
  • Realization: asking myself “what am I hungry for” when I feel like I want to eat. Usually it’s not actual hunger, but that comforting feeling of eating a meal, chewing, enjoying food with people. Instead of having that to look forward to, I think of other things that can give me joy and keep me busy. This is why I feel more productive on juice cleanses. I keep myself busy with stuff I’ve been putting off for a while… Cleaning the truck, cleaning the closet out, writing more. But, this also makes me appreciate food even more, and how grateful we need to be for each meal (can’t wait to get back into the kitchen to create).

Day 4 – introducing food back into ma life (Keep it light-what to eat to break the fast): 

  • Feels: Woke up again at 6:30 easily, with a bit of congestion this time (body eliminating toxins). Flat tummy again.
  • Exercise: Morning HIIT for 15 minutes + 7 minute yoga flow before breakfast. 45 minute before lunch.
  • Food on the day of re-introducing food should be simple, easily digestible and full of plant nutrients.
  • Breakfast: Simple smoothie bowl to re-introduce fibre! Kale, Spinach, Carrot, Ginger, Banana, Blueberries, Spirulina, Maca, Water. Loud tummy!
  • 2nd Breakfast: Small portion of Jules Fuel blueberry cacao overnight buckwheat oats + banana with hemp milk. Turmeric hemp milk latte
  • Lunch: Green Moustache Superfood salad
  • Dinner: Butternut Mac + Peas, with a mega salad
  • Dessert: Apple + 2 medjool dates

Want to try a juice cleanse out? 

The ‘Chief’ juice cleanse I did was made by Be Fresh. 6 juices a day for 3 days (there is a 1 day option, too).

Order it right to your door from Spud Vancouver!

Use this code at the check out for 20$ off: CRVAN-MURJUB.

 

Let me know if you do it! Tag me @hookedonplants on instagram to connect if you need support;)