How to Recover from a Crazy Weekend

How'd you spend your Labor Day weekend? I attended a huge, wonderful, joyful wedding in which Mike was a groomsman. For us, then, the wedding was a three-day affair, complete with a rehearsal dinner, the wedding itself, & a day-after brunch at the groom's family farm. We had a great time, but  I was feeling pretty busted come Monday.

So how do you recover from a weekend like that? I created my own little mini self-care ritual to get myself feeling back up to speed, mind, body, spirit, & otherwise. Here's what it entailed:

1. Mind: Post-wedding, I slept for almost 14 hours. I didn't set any alarms, just let my body do its rest & recovery thing. 
2. Skin: After a loooong shower to rinse the weekend away, I did a face mask to purify & rehydrate my skin... especially because I slept in some of my makeup!
3. Hair: I treated my hair to an upgrade with a Shea Moisture rinse that has made my usually straw-like hair nothing but soft & silky. 
4. Body: OK, here's the big one: On Tuesday, I did a juice cleanse to help my body reset itself after a weekend of pizza & booze. That's what this post is really about!

My one-day juice cleanse came from Cleveland-based company Garden of Flavor (#buylocal!) & included six raw, vegan juices per day, labeled with the order in which you should consume them: 

1. Goji Pineapple (pineapple, goji berries,, apple, ginger, mint, lemon)
2. Green Harmony with Probiotic Cultures (cucumber, celery, kale, spinach, romaine, apples, lemon, parsley)
3. Mean Green (cucumber, celery, kale, spinach, romaine, lemon, parsley)
4. Twisted Roots (carrots, beets, lemon)
5. White Knight (cashews, agave, vanilla, cinnamon)
6. Turmeric Tonic with Probiotic Cultures (Hawaiian turmeric root, ginger root, lemon, agave, cayenne, mint)

I worried about how the juices would taste: Would they be gross, or grassy?! The answer was a resounding no. These juices were, across the board, damn delicious. If you have trouble with straight-up, unsweetened green juices, #2 & #3 might be tough for you, but because I often order the Super Green juices from Starbucks, they tasted familiar & refreshing to me. And so healthy!

To my surprise, my favorite juice was Twisted Roots. I don't like beets at all, but somehow, this juice tasted very balanced & not at all earthy, as beets sometimes are. It was sweet & robust, & I was devastated when I spilled the last of it all over my floor (narrowly missing my white rug, thankfully!)

Other concerns I had upon starting: Six juices is a lot of juices in one day, especially for someone with a pea-sized bladder & some weird digestive issues, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that body-wise, it felt like any other day. Another concern was that I'd be hungry all day, but given that six juices is a lot of juices in one day, I was actually so full that it was tough to get through all of them! I did miss food, but that was mostly mental, I think, because I was definitely not actually hungry.

Full disclosure, though: At one point, on autopilot, I dug into cold Indian leftovers - rice, cashews, & yellow curry - & three bites in, I realized my mistake. Luckily, it was a pretty soft, digestible food that I don't think interfered with my cleanse - though my failure initially had me riddled me with guilt. I tried to forgive myself, given that it was my first try cleansing, but I'm still mad that I messed up!

At the end of my cleanse, I felt healthy, rejuvenated, & full. It was a great experience that helped me reset my body for an autumn of better eating. My boyfriend has started making homemade pierogis, which complicates my resolve, but post-cleanse, I'm feeling a lot more committed to fruits, veggies, & my overall health.

Want to try your own cleanse? You can snag Garden of Flavor juices at stores across the country, including Heinen's, Whole Foods, & Giant Eagles throughout Northeast Ohio. You can also find them in cities like Washington, D.C., Chicago, & NYC - so go get your drink on, friends!

Thanks to the kind folks at Garden of Flavor for providing me with a one-day juice cleanse in exchange for my honest review. As always, all opinions are my own. Yes, I actually really loved this juice cleanse.