Somewhere in the middle of your cleanse, consider taking a day to fast. Fasting can mean a lot of different things – some fast on water only, others have no intake at all, a fast can even be totally eschewing “screen time” or talking for a day.

I’ve always been terrible at fasting. It may have something to do with my low blood pressure, so when my electrolytes get off kilter I can get blurry vision, weak in the knees, and faint. I don’t mind fasting if I am very sick, and I try to eat light on Sundays – but that’s about it.

For my cleanse this year, I’ve decided to integrate 2 “juice fasting” days – meaning only liquids for 48 hours. But a juice fast shouldn’t be torture! It should be your chance to get creative with soups, smoothies, tonics and all-out juicing (if you have a juicer)!

Here’s my go-to classic Yay! Green Smoothies! Recipe – if you’re even slightly wary of “smoothie” and “green” being in the same sentence, one taste of this fabulous drink and you’ll never look back.

Ingredients:

4 Strawberries

3 T nut butter of your choice

1 cup vanilla yogurt

1 cup milk of your choice

1 banana

1/2 avocado

a generous handfull of fresh, dark, leafy greens!

and, just for fun you can add a spoonful of ground flax, chia seeds, Bob’s Red Mill High Fiber Hot Cereal with Flax, wheat germ, or powdered Super Greens (wheat grass, chlorella, spirulina, etc.)

Joyfully toss all ingredients into a blender, sing a song while you blend it to just the right consistency (you may need more or less milk), et voila! A beautiful, healthful, nourishing, cleansing Yay! Green Smoothies! 

Makes approximately 8 4 oz servings. Store in the fridge, enjoy within a week.