How to DIY Blueprint Cleanse at Home for Cheap!

After getting home from Hawaii, I needed a cleanse and a reason to use my Omega juicer. After eating pancakes everyday, I felt super bloated and wanted to start fresh. Not only that, I wanted to rejuvenate myself after my Chiari Malformation diagnosis. I had heard that juice fasts can not only reboot your system, but help with detoxifying and ridding your body of inflammation as well. I did not do this cleanse for weight loss purposes, but to gain energy and to feel BETTER.

I browsed the Blueprint Cleanse site and checked out what they had. Since my husband wanted to do this with me, I knew I would be ordering for the two of us! I decided on The BluePrint OG which is their original cleanse and the perfect one for first timers such as us.

The kit contains Kale it Up (2), Pineapple Power, Lemon Reset, Beet Blast, & Nut & Bolt per cleanse and you drink the juices in this order:

1. Kale It Up
2. Pineapple Power
3. Kale It Up
4. Lemon Reset
5. Beet Blast
6. Nut & Bolt

I added two 3-day cleanses to my cart and it totaled $400. I was like what?? That was insane to me. I own a juicer so I figured I would take aim at just making my own and saving a buck or two. I browsed the site, looked at the ingredients of each juice, and wrote it down on my grocery list.

Here is the ingredients of each juice:

Kale It Up Ingredients:

Organic apple juice, organic romaine juice, organic celery juice,
organic cucumber juice, organic lemon juice, organic kale juice, organic spinach juice, organic Parsley juice, organic ginger juice. 100% juice

Beet Blast Ingredients:

Organic apple juice, organic carrot juice, organic beet juice,
water, organic lemon juice, organic ginger juice. 88% juice.

Lemon Reset Ingredients:

Water, organic lemon juice, organic agave syrup, organic
pepper extract blend. 8% juice.

Pineapple Power Ingredients:

Organic pineapple juice, organic apple juice, water,
organic mint juice. 81% juice.

Nut & Bolt Ingredients:

Organic cashew milk (water, organic cashews), organic dates, organic vanilla
extract, organic cinnamon.

Though I had the ingredients listing of each juice, I did not have an actual recipe or measurement of each ingredient so this is where I got creative and simply guessed. Most of you guys are probably making the juices for yourself and not for two people, so I have created a little shopping list based off of a 3 day cleanse for just 1 person. (Please note these are guestimates)

DIY Blueprint Cleanse Shopping List

• 2 bags of apples (you may use any kind-I like Gala-should be 12-14 apples)
• 2 packages celery
• 1 bag romaine** since this was out of stock due to the recall, I used watercress instead!
• 1 bag spinach
• 3 small bunches of kale
• 6 cucumbers
• 1 small bunch parsley
• 12 lemons
• 6 beets
• 2 bags of carrots
• 1 ginger root (medium sized)
• 1 pineapple
• fresh mint leaves
• 2 cups fresh cashews
• 1 small package of dates (you will need at least 4 dates)
• ground cayenne pepper
• agave nectar (I subbed for honey)
• ground cinnamon
• sea salt
• vanilla extract

After grocery shopping and buying the ingredients, we actually spent about $150 total for our juices! So it is like we saved $250 than if we had bought the pre-made juices!!

To store the juices, I bought a box of 16 oz mason jars. You will want at least 18 jars if you plan on making them all in advance. If not, the 12 pack will be just fine. The mason jars allowed me to store the juice to keep it fresh for the entire cleanse. The air tight jars allow no air to get in and the jars help prevent oxidation!

Here are the recipes that I used and please note that they are all one serving only so if you want to make ahead, you will have to triple the recipe. You may end up with a little more/little less depending on the juicer you own and how big your produce is, but that is not a problem!

Kale It Up Recipe (you will need 6 servings total for the entire cleanse):

• 1 apple
• 1/3 bag of watercress (or romaine)
• 2-3 ribs celery
• 2 cucumbers
• 1/2 lemon
• 1 bunch of kale
• 1/3 bag spinach
• 1 sprig of fresh parsley
• quarter sized piece of ginger root

Pineapple Power Recipe:

• 1/3 pineapple
• 1 apple
• 3 mint leaves
• 1 cup water

Lemon Reset Recipe:

• 2 lemons
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp agave or honey
• 1.5 cups water

Beet Blast Recipe:

• 2 beets
• 1 apple
• 4 carrots
• 1 quarter sized ginger piece
• 1/2 lemon

Nut & Bolt Recipe (this recipe should last you the 3 days):

• 2 cups cashews, soaked overnight, drained
• 4 dates
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 4 cups water* keep adding to your consistency of liking. (add more water if you want thinner milk, add less if you want thicker milk)

*To make the cashew milk, you will need a high powered blender such as a Ninja or Blendtec. If you do not own a blender, you can purchase cashew milk at the store for the time being.

DAY ONE:

The first day of the cleanse was the hardest. I love food and sometimes I dream about it so taking it out of the equation really was a challenge. I started getting hungry around noon and by the evening, I was super hangry. I quickly discovered that the Pineapple drink was my favorite along with the Cashew Milk. My least favorite was the Lemon reset! If I was going to cave, this would have been the day so if it is your first day, push through and do not give up-it gets easier!

DAY TWO:

When I woke up on day two, I felt different,  but good. This entire day went extremely well and I did not get a headache once. I woke up feeling more energetic than usual. So energetic that I could barely sleep that night which is strange for me. I did not get as hungry on day two as I did on day one and was looking forward to each juice. My belly bloating had gone done tremendously and I felt very lively.

DAY THREE:

This day was the easiest as my body had finally gotten used to the juicing. However, one thing I noticed upon waking up is that I had NO joint pain. I had been suffering from joint pains for weeks and usually wake up with it. I do not want to go out on a limb and claim it is the juice-perhaps it was a good day, but was it a coincidence or not? I also did not get any headaches this day and had more energy. To be honest, I was sad to end my juicing because it made me feel amazing. Therefore, I will be adding juices into my diet as a supplementation to my new anti-inflammatory diet regimen.

CONCLUSION:

If you are considering doing a juice fast, go for it. I would check with your doctor first of course, but there’s usually no contraindications because after all it is just veggies and fruits. 3 days is a perfect amount for a beginner, but if you are really nervous, just try one and go from there.

My entire reasoning for juicing was to help me jumpstart my new diet to combat my symptoms from my Chiari brain condition. I had been feeling terrible with headaches, muscle weakness, and joint pains for months so it was nice to truly give my body what it deserved during the fast.

Something I learned during this cleanse was how much we tend to rely on food. We rely on food for happiness, fulfillment, and as something to do when food should be our medicine. We often live to eat instead of eating to live. By stepping back away from food, I realized most of us have an unhealthy relationship with it whether we are eating too much, too little, or simply the wrong choices.

Your trainer and friend,