As founder and co-owner of Chef V, I’ve offered my Cleanses and organic Green Drink to thousands of clients over the last ten years. In this blog, you will find over 300 articles and recipes. In this section we cover cleansing.
As we delve into the world of cleansing, my articles look at the good and the bad – from flushing out toxins to boosting energy levels and enhancing mental clarity to the changes you can expect.
Vital! – Chef V cleanses are backed by clinical research, with clinical research showing weight loss, reduced inflammation, reduced sugar levels, and improvements in mood and energy.
Chef V's Tip: Both ginger and turmeric are two powerful spices that have anti-oxidant anti-inflammatory properties and aid digestion and liver cleansing.
Steep tea for 3 minutes. Add spices, vinegar, and a squeeze of the lemon wedge. Enjoy warm!
Valerie describes her Chef V Cleanse Success
Oh man did I ever need this! After getting married last summer I let myself “rest” a little too much, I fell off the wagon with exercising regularly and my eating was becoming disastrous. I was feeling tired and bloated. My cellulite was out of control. I was chugging coffee to stay alert. My weight was up to 158 which was a number I hadn’t seen on the scale in a long time… I needed something to kick start my system.
I had tried your green drink (which I loved!) a few years ago and remembered that you had cleanses. I wanted to do the 5 day but had some time conflicts so decided to start off just with the 3 to see how I did, and for sure next time I’m going to do a longer one!
I went to pick up my order at the Borden Street location because of the timing of Independence Day. All the elements of the cleanse were delicious and packed so nicely for me to cart around the rest of my day during a heat wave 🙂 I knew I loved the green drink but I adored the shakes (that cinnamon spice one? yum!), and the soups as well! I also drank the top end of the recommended water, and enjoyed the detox tea in the mornings. No days of the cleanse were really all that hard! I was a bit peckish but usually only around the times where I was due for one of the drinks, and experienced minimal other symptoms except for a bit of “fuzzy” mouth (not sure how else to put it) and a few zits. Unfortunately I had to cheat (a 4th of July BBQ where friends were judging me!) and on dinner of Day 3 ate corn on the cob, salad, and a bunless burger… and then continued the next morning. Now I am 2 days out from the cleanse and had my last big of green drink this morning.
I feel AMAZING. My cellulite is basically gone. My bloat is much improved (wish I could have done longer!). My skin feels luscious and soft. And I am a whole new weight… from precleanse (first picture) to 2 days postcleanse (2nd picture) I am now down to 149. I lost almost 10lbs! This not only made me feel physically amazing but lots of mental clarity as well. Really can’t wait for my next cleanse!
Agnes W. – First Three Day Cleanse and Feeling Amazing!
Hello,I wanted to share my success with Chev V. I did the three day cleanse and OMG!!!, I feel Amazing.
I was introduced to Chef V thru my daughter, who has been using your product for quite sometime now. I’m constantly talking about being healthy. At 70 yrs old, I think it’s important to take care of your body. So with that said, I took advantage of your 50% off deal. Glad that I did this.
The first day was very very hard.!!, yet I was determined to stick it out. Day 2 was somewhat easier, yet still hard for me working in an Office that receives Lunches everyday from the Drug Rep companies. Hard fighting that and not being tempted.. “Still determined” to complete my cleanse…
I must admit Day 3 was so EASY….. I feel great, Lots of energy.. my skin is clear… Just feeling Cleansed. The Best Part, I’ve Lost 51/2 lbs.
YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS…
Thank you Chef V……… I will be doing another cleanse in a month or two… Thank You.
– Agnes W.
Time is of the essence. A perfect looking piece of green kale—one of the 7 leafy greens in Organic Green Drink—has just been plucked from the ground. As soon as produce leaves the mineral-rich cozy confines of healthy soil, it starts losing nutritional value.
In this article, Chef V explains the optimal shelf life of juices made from dark, leafy greens—and the most nutritious method to make green drinks. Think your store-bought juice is healthy? You may be in for a surprise!
above, commercial centrifugal juicer
Centrifugal Juicers
Centrifugal juicers extract juice at super fast speeds. Where’s the harm in that? After all, if you have thousands of customers, you need fast production. The problem with warp-speed juicing is that the high velocity of the juicer creates a tremendous amount of heat in the juicing blades.
When it comes to cooking oils and produce, there’s no greater nutritional killer than heat. The heat generated in the metal blades of conventional centrifugal juicers destroys some of the enzymes in the oranges (and green leafy veggies, in the case of mega corporation green juices).
Another problem with juicing produce is that the high heat causes oxidation. Oxidation is the chemical reaction that turns a partially-eaten apple that’s left out into a brown, unappetizing, rancid-looking piece of rubbish.
Cold-Blended Green Drinks
When I decided to take the plunge as an entrepreneur over a decade ago, I was committed to providing the most nutritious green drink available. And what I discovered was there was indeed a healthier way to turn a bunch of the healthiest dark, leafy green veggies into a juice—without losing any of the nutritional value.
You don’t have to have a degree in chemistry to figure out that cold-blending is a technique that involves no heat. Therefore, all the enzymes, nutrients and phytochemicals in the leafy greens are preserved. Cold-blended juice is basically as close as you can possibly get to having a salad with the same leafy greens.
Yes, speed is sacrificed with the cold-blended process. But my motto with Chef V isn’t “Over 1 billion Green Drinks served.” I may not be able to whip up a juice at 10,000 revolutions per minute like a conventional chain juice bar. But taking only a few seconds to achieve salad-level nutritional quality will most likely never be a reality, at least not in my lifetime.
Thankfully, however, juicing technology has come a long way. Here at Chef V headquarters, we have some of the biggest and most powerful industrial juicers available. The powerful technology of modern blenders allows us to make your Green Drink fresh—without any nutrient-zapping heat!
Raw Vs Pasteurized Juice
The other raging debate in the world of juicing involves unpasteurized (raw) versus pasteurized juice. Now don’t get me wrong. I think Louis Pasteur was a genius for the invention of his eponymously-named method to rid food of harmful bacteria. But pasteurization was introduced in 1863—long before modern refrigeration greatly eliminated the threat of becoming ill because of food-borne microbes.
Juice sold in supermarkets has to be pasteurized by law. But pasteurization kills the beneficial bacteria in the dark, leafy greens. When you purchase veggies from a supermarket, they are not pasteurized. So why would you want to consume pasteurized kale, chard, collard greens, lettuce, parsley, and dandelion greens?
The pasteurization process also denatures some of the natural enzymes. But hey, if you like your bottle of juice to be able to sit in your fridge for several weeks, go ahead and purchase pasteurized juice.
Some juice brands proudly claim that they use flash-pasteurization. This is an ultra-fast method of killing microbes. But the truth is that all types of pasteurization involve nutrient-killing heat. Yes, there is also something called cold pasteurization, but I don’t know any juice companies that use this method. But according to this research article, even cold pasteurization leads to the inactivation of enzymes in the food and extends the shelf life.
How Long Should Green Drink Last?
How natural does it seem to you that a bottle of juice can stay preserved for weeks? Do you think that’s how Mother Nature intended us to eat? Sure, refrigeration is a modern convenience, a miracle really. But no nutrient-dense green juice should be viable for weeks.
Cold-blended ORGANIC GREEN DRINK stays fresh for up to 7 days. You can think of CHEF V GREEN DRINKS as direct to consumer. When you buy brand-name juice, you’re most likely consuming a high-sugar, nutritionally-dead food. (Well, if not totally dead, then nutritionally in a coma.)
Pure and Clean Ingredients
With CHEF V ORGANIC GREEN DRINK, there are no preservatives, fillers or GMO ingredients. It was my mission when I launched my company—and will always be—to provide the seven leafy greens as close to their nutritional value that Mother Nature provides.
What’s in your juice?
To your health,
Chef V
In addition to our Green Drinks there are other great ways to enhance your detox. Some of them can be done – with precautions – at a day spa, at private appointments, or at home. Here are a few of Chef V’s favorites….
Embarking on a 21 day detox will be one of the most transforming journeys of your life.
If it’s a struggle for you to stick to a healthy eating plan, our cleanses and 21 Day Detox will motivate you to eat healthy long after your cleanse is over.
If you’re reading this because you tried every gimmick under the sun that only had short-term success at best, like the Master Cleanse Detox diet, I understand your cynicism.
But please read on….
I, along with the Chef V team, will be with you every step of the way to support you.
My mission is to make it as easy as possible for you to breeze through. Whether it’s the 3-day intro cleanse or the 21 Day Detox Obsessive.
Our Green Drinks, Protein Shakes, Detox Soups, meal plans, and recipe book will nourish and guide you.
But there are other things you can do to support and enhance your cleanse.
Let’s take a look at some tips for a better cleanse. (They’re certainly more enjoyable than a strict master cleanse detox.)
To be sure, if you don’t follow any of these tips, you will still see great results from following our Cleanse and Detox programs.
Enhance Your Detox: Colon Hydrotherapy
I’ll admit something. For those unfamiliar with colon hydrotherapy, the idea might sound not so, well, appetizing.
Here’s basically how colon hydrotherapy (also known as colon irrigation) works:
Save You lie on your side in the fetal position. A colon hydrotherapist ever so gently inserts a tube into your colon. Don’t worry, it’s not painful. Next, you sit up with your feet flat on the table. Then, gallons of water gush into your colon. The water navigates up towards your intestines.
After a short while, you will feel pressure. Before it becomes unbearable, the hydrotherapist will pull out the tube. Then, the detox flush occurs.
You can actually watch your toxic waste pass through the tube. This process repeats a few times during the average hydrotherapy session, which lasts about an hour.
I wholeheartedly believe in doing occasional colon hydrotherapy. Especially if you struggle with constipation, bloating, low energy or skin problems.
Your colon is a muscle and it needs to work out every day. So if you’re only going #2 every few days, the muscles of the colon wall weaken.
And as you can imagine, when you don’t poop regularly, toxins accumulate.
Keep in mind that staying hydrated is vital when doing a hydrotherapy session. Your therapist will likely discuss with you how much to drink (at least a half gallon) before the session. In addition, you’ll also need to fast for at least a few hours before.
Moreover, you’ll need to watch what you eat before your session. In the days leading up to and after your hydrotherapy session, you gotta eat clean. It’s the same with a Chef V cleanse or detox.
Although you may think that’s obvious, consider this unbelievable fact: I know people who actually ate a bacon cheeseburger the same day as their hydrotherapy session!
Enhance Your Detox: Sweat Your Butt Off in a Sauna
Ah, shvitzing in a sauna … sounds more relaxing than having a tube stuck up your bum, huh? Though personally, I’d rather have a colonic instead of doing a master cleanser detox diet.
Indeed, soaking in a sauna is not only relaxing, it can also help you detox.
Byproducts of metabolism seep out your sweat pores in a sauna. This dietary waste includes lactic acid and uric acid. Your body also stores fat in the toxins. When you profusely sweat, toxins deep down under the skin move up closer to the skin surface. Keep sweating and some of these toxins escape to the nearest exit, which is out of your skin.
Sitting in a sauna also improves your blood circulation. And when your blood flows better, toxins can move the elimination organs more effectively. In fact, if your blood flow is stagnant, it’s not that different from a sluggish colon imitating a backed-up septic system.
Enhance Your Detox: Open your Pores With Steam
Spending about 20 minutes or so in a steam room is another satisfying spa routine for detoxing.
Who says cleansing has to be a pain in the butt (no pun intended)?
Steam rooms for detoxing works for the same reason that saunas help purify your body. The main difference between sauna and steam is humidity. Saunas produce dry heat while steam rooms feel like a tropical, well, steam bath.
Here is how a steam room can help you detox. The hot steam can increase your metabolism even if it’s temporary. And once you start sweating, this means that toxins are coming out your pores.
In addition, there’s another benefit of steam rooms. They open your mucous membranes. This is a great thing if you battle with congestion frequently.
Another benefit of steam rooms is you’ll lose weight. However, it will be all water weight.
As a side not about weight loss, remember this: when you step on a scale, your weight is not telling you the whole story. What you want to feel is lighter and thinner and more energetic.
However, if you’ve got a wedding or event for which you want to squeeze into a tight-fitting dress, losing a few pounds is a bonus. Just remember to rehydrate!
Enhance Your Detox: treat yourself to a facial
Spending about 20 minutes or so in a steam room is another satisfying spa routine for detoxing.
Who says cleansing has to be a pain in the butt (no pun intended)?
Steam rooms for detoxing works for the same reason that saunas help purify your body. The main difference between sauna and steam is humidity. Saunas produce dry heat while steam rooms feel like a tropical, well, steam bath.
Here is how a steam room can help you detox. The hot steam can increase your metabolism even if it’s temporary. And once you start sweating, this means that toxins are coming out your pores.
In addition, there’s another benefit of steam rooms. They open your mucous membranes. This is a great thing if you battle with congestion frequently.
Another benefit of steam rooms is you’ll lose weight. However, it will be all water weight.
As a side not about weight loss, remember this: when you step on a scale, your weight is not telling you the whole story. What you want to feel is lighter and thinner and more energetic.
However, if you’ve got a wedding or event for which you want to squeeze into a tight-fitting dress, losing a few pounds is a bonus. Just remember to rehydrate!
Enhance Your Detox: treat yourself to a massage
How can I almost forget enhancing your cleanse by getting a massage! It’s yet another oh so satisfying way to detox. I recommend it at least once a month if you can budget for it. Getting a massage releases metabolic waste from your tissues and improves your blood circulation.
Got any other tips for a better detox? Do you think these detox tips are better than the master cleanse detox? Got any detox cleanse recipes you’d like to share? Contact us below or post a comment on our Facebook page.
To your health!
Chef V
If your belly feels like you’re in the first trimester of pregnancy after a meal, don’t get down, just get bitter, digestive bitters that is. Chef V highlights a handful of her favorite bitters.
I’ve been bitter these days. No, it’s not because of the new scary variant (“scariant”?) or anything like that. I’ve hopped on the bitter bandwagon because lots of my lady customers are of a certain age that let’s just say brings changes.
And when the changes come, one of the first symptoms to manifest is compromised digestion. When your hormones are out of whack, it gets more difficult for the body to detox. It also becomes more difficult to lose weight and keep it off.
That’s why I recommend digestive bitters for any age really, but especially for mature ladies.
image above is of Gentian, an edible bitter herb
What Are Bitters?
Out of the roughly 10,000 taste buds tickling your tongue, you’re probably only getting a steady dose of sweet and salty. Unfortunately, that’s the American Standard Diet for you.
Maybe if you eat a little yogurt, your sour taste buds will spring into action. But out of the five tastes our tongues can detect—savory is fourth—if it’s a slimmer belly and weight loss you want, seek out the fifth taste: bitter.
There’s a good reason why the back of your tongue is reserved for bitter taste. If your bitter buds were in the front of your tongue, you’d have a perpetual bitter beer face. (Remember that funny commercial?) In fact, the four other tastes are peppered throughout the tongue. But it’s only bitters that are relegated to the back of the tongue, which, fun fact, is technically considered a digestive organ.
We have an innate recoil response towards bitter food. Would you stuff your face with a head of the radicchio or an endive? No. But that doesn’t mean we should avoid bitters. Digestive bitters are bitter-tasting herbs that people have been using for thousands of years for bloated bellies and other digestive upsets.
Chef V’s Favorite Bitters
Kale and dandelion are a couple of my favorite bitters. That’s just one of many reasons they are staple ingredients in CHEF V ORGANIC GREEN DRINK.
Now, my next favorite bitters aren’t necessarily meant for weight loss, but they do have a part in a balanced diet: dark chocolate/raw cacao and red wine. Isn’t it nice to know that if a little square of dark chocolate and a glass of red wine is your only indulgence, it’s actually a very healthy one?
If you want to experiment with digestive bitters, the best ones for bile production and metabolism that I recommend are:
● Citrus peel
● Ginger root
● Milk thistle (You can buy this as a supplement; take it if you drink alcohol because it’s great for liver detox!)
● Gentian root
● Chicory root
● Wormwood
Oh, and how can I forget the most widely-used plant-based bitter on the planet: coffee? Personally, I don’t drink coffee, but I’m certainly not going to judge you if you do. I don’t think coffee is good to drink when you’re trying to cleanse. But if you have a cup or two every day, it may even do your body some good. But I recommend cold-brew coffee instead of hot as it’s 60% less acidic and is much easier on your esophagus and digestive system.
In fact, women who drink coffee have lower rates of cardiovascular disease than women who don’t drink it.
Conclusion
If you’re having trouble with weight management and no matter what you’ve tried, nothing seems to work, try adding more digestive bitters to your diet. There are several others, from broccoli to grapefruit, arugula and lots more.
So don’t worry and don’t get mad if your digestion is off. Just get bitter.
People are talking about Chef V!
We love testimonials at Chef V! Because it works! We get thousands of emails a year telling us how successful our cleanse was and/or how someone’s life has been changed by realizing how easy it is to be healthy. Get 50% off on a cleanse.
If you aren’t into cleansing, do as I do and just have a Chef V Green Drink everyday for breakfast. It’s life changing. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day but yet no one has anything healthy for breakfast. Try Chef V first thing in the am and see how different your life is!
At my Women’s Wellness Retreat in Carlsbad, CA, new and long established Green Drink customers (in the photo above) took a break from the day’s activities to talk about how Green Drink makes living healthier easier – my motto!
People are saying…
Shawna F – “Excellent customer service. Great product! I did the 5 day and it came with everything I needed and clear instructions.”
Becky S,: “The juice taste so good and it makes me feel so good too!”
Claudia P. “Great customer service! Chef V followed up with me before picking up my order and they rearranged pick up date to accommodate my needs. Definitely would do 3 day Brunch again, and of course I recommend for anyone looking for a cleanse and get a kick start to their weight loss!”
Hannah: “Response from customer service was prompt, helpful, friendly, and straight to the point. Food was delicious especially the soups and the tropical green drink. I was afraid that it would be harsh and make me go to the bathroom constantly, but none of that occurred. I felt lighter and had more energy. My second concern was I would be hungry. Surprisingly I was full and satisfied throughout.”
– Thanks for the kind words! ‘ Veronica Wheat, Chef V
It’s easy to do a cleanse in August, or RAWGUST, as Chef V calls it. When it’s warm, eating lots of light, raw foods like salad seems so satisfying and appropriate for the season. But in mid-winter, what are you supposed to do if you’re looking to give your digestive system and liver a fresh start? Chef V dishes out the tips for winter cleansing…
It will probably come to you as no surprise that most of my customers begin a CHEF V CLEANSE or 21 DAY DETOX in the summer. When it’s so hot you don’t even feel like eating and certainly not cranking up the oven to 425 degrees, it’s simple to go raw.
But how can you give your digestive system a reboot and stay warm in the winter? This is the time of year when we crave starchy carbs like mashed potatoes, pasta and bread.
For carnivores, the dilemma gets even more complicated. Freezing cold weather leads to cravings for red meat. But if your elimination is sluggish, eating a steak is like throwing more toilet paper into a backed-up toilet.
The good news is that you can gently detox your digestive system with these smart winter cleansing hacks…
Winter Detox Tip #1: Warm Yourself Up From The Inside Out
When you’re following a cleanse program like this one, it’s a good idea not to exercise too hard. That’s because you’re going to be consuming less calories than you ordinarily would. So it’s best to take it easy whether you’re just doing a 1 day cleanse or a 3-day or 5-day one.
But that doesn’t mean you can’t crank up your internal thermostat without hardcore exercise.
One of the easiest ways to quickly go from frozen to toasty warm without moving your body all that much is through kundalini breath of fire exercises. Just do a search for kundalini breath of fire for beginners on YouTube and you’ll come across several free videos.
These breathing exercises involve short and powerful inhalations and exhalations and as a bonus, your abs get a workout. Practicing the breath of fire pattern for a few minutes will heat your body up and you might even feel tingly all over.
You can also do a light yoga posture flow going from cat/cow to downward dog or full sun salutations for 5-10 minutes.
Another simple tip for staying warm while doing a cleanse/detox in the winter is sipping hot beverages throughout the day. Duh, right? But not just any plain hot tea or water will do. To generate internal warmth, add a dash of fresh-squeezed lemon juice, cayenne pepper and ginger to herbal tea or water.
And what to do about sipping on Organic GREEN DRINK? After all, on a CHEF V CLEANSE, you drink four of these refrigerated drinks on each day that you’re cleansing. If you’re lucky enough to have central heating in your home, maybe it’s not a problem to drink cold GREEN DRINK.
But even if your cozy comfy home is set to 72 degrees, just knowing that it’s frigid outside might not put you in the mood for a GREEN DRINK straight from the refrigerator.
So here’s what I do. In the morning after I wake up, one of the first things I do is pour myself a glass of green drink. I pour it in a mason jar and seal it with a lid to reduce oxidation. I let the jar of GREEN DRINK sit at room temperature for about an hour so it’s not so cold.
Important side note: Make sure you put the bottle of GREEN DRINK you’re not using back in the fridge right away. Each GREEN DRINK is made fresh and because it’s raw to preserve all the phytonutrients, it has a shelf life of 7 days unlike dead, pasteurized commercial juice that never goes bad.
Winter Detox Tip #2: We’ve Got The Beet
Beet juice is not a staple in a CHEF V CLEANSE. (You get 4 Green Drinks, 2 vegan protein shakes and 1 Detox Soup with your juice cleanse.) But I feature beets in many of my recipes including red beet hummus. For my customers who want a longer program to reset their metabolism, my 21 Day Detox features some of these recipes with beets.
So why are beets one of the best winter cleansing foods? The answer is that because of the winter holidays, many people overindulge in added sugars. The excess sugar gets stored as body fat by the liver. If the liver is already overworked, this is bad news. Beets are a cleansing superhero because they protect the liver (this study shows).
Sure, you can eat beets any time of year. You can add them to summer salads. But in winter, you can add them to a veggie soup.
Tip #3: Sip On Bone Broth
Now, with my guided cleanses, I recommend going meat-free for the duration of the 1, 3 or 5 day cleanse and the 21 Day Detox. But if you’re following all my other instructions to the “V” I think it’s perfectly ok to add some chicken bone broth that you can sip on during the day to stay warm.
If you want to learn how to make your own chicken bone broth, check out my video recipe here.
Tip #4: Drink Your Greens & Cook Your Greens
In order to support my digestive system, I make ORGANIC GREEN DRINK a part of my daily routine 365 days a year. Even when I travel, I take GREEN DRINKS with me. But in the winter, I also make sure to eat a ton of cooked leafy greens. I sautee the leafy greens in a cast iron skillet with avocado oil. To feel full, I’ll add a scoop or two of healthy grains like quinoa or wild rice.
Again, the CHEF V CLEANSE includes 4 Green Drinks, 2 vegan Protein Shakes and 1 Detox Soup per day. But you don’t have to do an official Chef V cleanse to give your digestive system some cleaner fuel.
(But if you do want the quickest transformation then follow a CHEF V CLEANSE…)
Eat a few servings of cooked leafy or cruciferous greens every single day in the winter. The healthy fats in the avocado oil and the clean-burning carbs from the quinoa, brown rice or quinoa will keep your tummy satisfied and give your digestive system a break from all those Christmas cookies and eggnog.
To your health,
Chef V
Thinking about doing a cleanse because you haven’t been eating healthy lately? If so, what’s the best way to get your daily dose of veggies: through juice or a greens powder? Here’s what the experts say….
Veggie Juice vs Greens Powder: Which Is Better For Your Health?
If you’re thinking about doing a cleanse or just want an easy way to get more veggies in your diet, both veggie juices and green powders have become very popular. But if you have to pick one, which is better?
I’m not going to string you along and have you wait with bated breath until the end to reveal the answer.
Nope, the clear-cut better solution for getting your daily dose of disease-fighting and weight-loss kick-starting nutrients is…. (A tiny bit of anticipation here….)
Veggie juice.
Especially cold-blended Organic Green Drinks.
Here’s why veggie juice beats powdered Greens….
Poisonous Powder
For starters, some powders may be poisonous. According to ConsumerLab.com, which is an independent research group that tests supplements for purity and labeling accuracy, some brands are tainted with heavy metals. Heavy metal is great if you want to do some head-banging while doing a CrossFit workout. But heavy metals are something you definitely don’t want in your veggies. ConsumerLab, in 2016, found that at least 3 brands were contaminated with heavy metal. Barlean’s Greens is one of the most well-known veggie powders on the market. ConsumerLab revealed that it contained 6 mcg (micrograms) of lead in each 8 gram serving.
If you were to purchase a powder called, “Greens Organics + Superfood Raw” you’d probably feel pretty confident that it’s a safe, healthy product. However, ConsumerLab found that this product contained even more lead than Barlean’s (6.5 mcg per serving). The third product that tested positive for heavy metals was HealthForce SuperFoods Vitamineral Green. With that mouthful of a product name, you also get 3.6 mcg of lead and 13 mcg arsenic.
One more brand of powder tested positive for poison: Naturo Science Green Food – Berry Flavored, which had almost 4 mcg of lead per scoop.
While these test results were from 2016, I don’t know about you, but personally, I’d be very skeptical about trusting these brands again.
Let’s give the benefit of the doubt to green powders and assume that the vast majority of them are not contaminated with heavy metals. Take that little inconvenient fact away and is it a toss up whether veggie juices or powders are better? Nope. Veggie drinks still come way out ahead….
Actually, if I may, a final word on contaminated powders: the problem might be worse. A recent U.S. News and World Report article says that one third of greens powders marketed as “healthy, healthy, healthy” were found to be contaminated with heavy metals. Yikes.
Fresh Is Best!
When you buy green powder, who knows how old the veggies are?
Some brands of powders freeze-dry the veggies. I don’t know about you but I never ever put any fresh veggies in the freezer, do you? So why would you want a powder of freeze-dried veggies. Can you imagine a restaurant in Italy serving pasta with freeze-dried tomatoes? Freeze-drying might be great for wild salmon. But freeze-drying veggies kills both the taste and the nutritional content.
To get a powder to taste palatable, some brands will add sugar to it. And many times, fillers such as soy lecithin or rice bran get added to powders to bulk them up. If you’re trying to lose weight and detox, the last thing you need is any bulking agents.
And according to this article on GQ’s website, some powders include in the ingredients, “propriety blend.” Why is this a problem? The article explains that this is a loophole for the company to not have to list specific ingredients, such as a food coloring or other additive. Don’t you want to know exactly what you’re putting in your body?
But when you buy veggie juice from a reputable brand (ahem, like Chef V) that uses veggies from their own organic farm (like we have) or buys fresh produce from an organic farmer (like I do) and cold-blends the juice on site (such as in our new store in suburban NYC), thus preserving the nutrients (yup, check … we do that), you know it’s a healthy product….
Juice Cleanse Comparison: How Chef V Compares
Not all green powders are created equal. That’s certainly true of green juices as well. In fact, the healthiest green powder is better than the worst juice cleanse. That’s because many juice cleanses out there hardly contain any veggies; they are mostly all fruit juice. As Consumer Reports explains, there’s a major problem with many juice cleanse programs. First and foremost, the sugar content of many juice brands is sky high. See how Organic Green Drink–only 3 grams of sugar per serving–compares with the competition here.
And if you’re looking to do a cleanse, there’s something else you should keep in mind….
Even if the veggie juice is super healthy, you’re going to need more than juice to keep you going. It doesn’t matter if it’s as little as a 3-day cleanse. Just having juice for 3 days will likely make you feel famished. You also need protein and real food to satisfy your belly.
That’s why on each day while you’re on the Chef V Cleanse, in addition to getting 4 servings of Green Drink, you also get:
Speaking of powder vs. fresh, there are some other cleanse programs out there that include soup. But some of the ones I’ve seen are powdered soup mix. I’ll put my homemade Detox Soup against powdered soup in a taste test any day!
As for fresh protein vs. powdered, protein powder as a supplement is a different story. After all, besides adding a raw egg to your homemade smoothie or Chef V Green Drink, it’s the only way to get a major protein source. (When you’re doing a cleanse, I don’t recommend consuming raw eggs.)
Look, I get it, powdered greens you can buy at a supermarket might seem like an easy way to get your daily dose of veggies. But powdered veggies is nowhere as near as beneficial for you as fresh, organic, whole food veggies. And besides, if it’s convenience you want, convenience you shall have. I’ll deliver Organic Green Drinks, Vegan Protein Shakes and Detox Soups right to your front door (not personally, although it would be awesome to meet you).
Learn more about Chef V Cleanses here: https://www.blog.blog.chefv.com/cleanses/
Keep it fresh!
Love,
Veronica (aka Chef V)
Blended veggies vs juicing fruits … whether it’s to lose weight or detox, or just for overall better health, which one is better for you?
Here’s a question I get a lot from people who are new to cleanses and detoxes:
What’s better for losing weight, blended vegetables or juicing fruits?
Spoiler alert: the answer by far is blended vegetables.
Here’s why.
Juicing fruits is a good way to get nutrients in a concentrated amount.
But if you’re trying to lose weight, there are two main problems with a juice diet.
Juicing Fruits Problem #1: Too Much Fructose
First, the amount of fructose (fruit sugar) in fruit juice in some cases is almost as high as regular soda. That’s bad if you’re trying to keep your blood sugar level steady. If you want to be able to study all day or function at work, you need to eat and drink things that will keep your blood sugar rock steady.
And juice diets can make your blood sugar fluctuate.
It’s true that the fructose in whole fruit doesn’t skyrocket your blood sugar like regular soda. However, when you’re juicing fruits, you tend to consume more fruit than is necessary.
If you crave fruit, just eat a handful of berries. Later in the day, you can eat an organic green apple. Both these examples equal one serving of fruit.
Without a doubt, fruit plays an important role in helping prevent chronic diseases like cancer. However, you only need to eat about 4 or 5 servings a day to get the benefits of fruit’s phytochemicals (disease-fighting nutrients).
The problem with juice diets is you get too much fruit sugar. Think about how many oranges it takes to produce a fresh squeezed glass of OJ. Instead of that large glass of OJ at brunch, just eat a whole orange. (Though I admit to enjoying the occasional mimosa at brunch.)
In short, you might be getting adequate vitamins from the juice fruit, but you’re also consuming too much fruit sugar in one sitting. And if you consume sugar at a meal, there better be a nutrient to slow down your digestion to prevent energy crashes and weight gain. This missing nutrient leads us to the second problem with juicing fruits….
Juicing Fruits Problem #2: No Fiber
When you juice fruit, you’re missing out on fiber. There are a few huge benefits of fiber for weight loss and detox.
First, fiber helps you feel full. Blending veggies, especially cold-blending them like our Green Drinks preserves the fiber content.
On the contrary, when you juice fruit, even if it’s organic, it lacks fiber. And when you don’t have fiber to slow the blood sugar rush, you will likely feel hungry soon after drinking the fruit juice. If you’re doing a 7 day juice cleanse, it’s going to be a hellish week for you. You’re going to likely feel cranky, irritable, and moody.
Furthermore, when you feel hungry after a blood sugar crash, you might crave foods with lots of carbs like pasta or bread.
I admit I hear people claiming weight loss and detox success by juicing fruits, even on a 7 day juice cleanse. But I really don’t recommend it. As a nutritional therapist and healthy chef, I encourage you to lose weight and detox by consuming foods and drinks with fiber. And juicing fruits provides zero fiber.
Here’s another reason fiber is so important. It’s vital for overall health and a strong digestive system. The 7 certified organic veggies in our Green Drinks contain insoluble fiber. Insoluble fiber adds bulk to your stool. This helps you detox because the bulk activates your elimination. (In other words, it helps you go #2 and when you go #2 you are detoxing!)
Juicing fruits doesn’t help you in the detox/elimination department. In fact, if you’re doing a 7 day juice cleanse, there’s a good chance your elimination will be sluggish. That’s because of the lack of fiber in a juice diet.
To be clear, cold-blended fruit juice does contain some soluble fiber. Soluble fiber dissolves in water. In addition, soluble fiber slows your digestion. This is a good thing because when your digestion slows down, you don’t get hungry as often or quickly. Which means you won’t have cravings.
However, as I mentioned above, there’s a better way to get your soluble fiber from fruit. And that’s eating a whole piece of fruit a few times a day or blending it in a drink or smoothie.
Blended vegetables vs. juicing fruits: the winner is….
Clearly, blended vegetables are healthier than juicing fruits. This is true for overall health, detox, and weight loss.
Cold-blending both veggies and fruits provide antioxidants. If you need a snack, that’s a perfect time for having a piece of whole organic fruit.
But when it comes to drinking your antioxidants, make it blended vegetables.
We’re here to do the dirty work for you. All the veggies in our Green Drinks are grown locally and certified organic. Instead of shopping, washing, chopping, blending, and cleaning up, let us deliver your healthy blended Green Drinks.
The great thing is it costs about the same price as shopping for all these organic veggies yourself. But we save you time and money by delivering Green Drinks to you overnight!
I am delighted to introduce Chef V customer Nikki Aguilar. Nikki is a true renaissance woman with far reaching interests. She’s a self-described “former fatty turned fitty, California hippie with jersey girl roots, cupcake lover, former college cheerleader, rocker chick, hiker, beach bum, pole dancer, and avid writer”. During the day, she works as a producer of movie trailers, navigating life’s ups and down so successfully that she started her blog to document the advice she finds herself giving friends and colleagues.
Nikki recently challenged herself to a Chef V 5 Day Cleanse. Here’s how she describes her decision:
“A hardcore reset! ‘I’m going to do a juice cleanse’! It’ll help with inflammation, kickstart my metabolism again, and help me stop craving sugar. This sounds fucking amazing! Yessss, let’s do it! Detoxify meeeeee!!! I ordered a 5 Day Cleanse from Chef V. I chose this one because other than 4 16oz juices a day, it included 2 protein shakes and a soup per day as well. A little more sustenance than your traditional juice cleanse, so I was sold… fuck. my. life.”
Nikki sums up her philosophy of health and wellbeing: “Health doesn’t mean sucking kale through a straw and suffering through 2-hour workouts each day. Your optimal health is achieved from small changes in nutrition, movement, and self-love. The worst things to do are deprive yourself, overwork yourself, and hate yourself. ” To that end she helps people eat healthy and exercise while nurturing themselves. and loving their bodies.
Her before and after photo shows the results – she looks great!
Chef V Juice Cleanse: Mixed Feelings
Nikki recently posted an article on her experience with cleansing using a 5 day Chef V Cleanse. Titled “Conclusion: Juice Cleanses are for People Who Hate Themselves & Like to Suffer for their Food Sins” she has a distinctly mixed feeling about the experience. In summary, results: Yes! The path: not so wonderful.
For someone whose blog’s About page features the phrase “life is too short to pass up a cupcake”, Nikki took on a real challenge, my Five Day Cleanse. I love her perseverance and the candid opinions in her blog posts.
In summary, Nikki says: “While the cleanse was un-fucking-pleasant to say the least, I did notice quite a few perks and positives. I was less bloated. I had more energy. I wasn’t craving sugar. I was sleeping better. My skin was clearer and my hair didn’t feel as dry. I also knew what it was like to be uber hydrated. So, yes, while I didn’t follow all the directions to a T, I reaped the benefits. All of Chef V’s juice, protein shakes, and soups tasted amazing though. I don’t want to discredit her products because they were honestly great… but I did find out that I’m not LA enough to ever do a juice cleanse again. I’d rather be raw vegan than ever drink that much liquid again. 5 days of an angry body is just too much for this girl.”
I say Go girl! You look great and I am here for you when you try your next Cleanse! – Here’s to your health – Chef V, Veronica Wheat
Strolling through the supermarket and loading up your cart with fruits and veggies might seem healthy. But eating certain produce this time of year can actually cause an imbalance in your well-being. In this post, Chef V uses ancient wisdom from the Far East to determine the healthiest foods to eat in winter.
It’s really amazing if you think about it. We have access to an amazing abundance and variety of all kinds of foods throughout the year. Blueberries in winter? No problem, thanks to it being summertime in Chile this time of year. Because of the global supply chain—a little sluggish at the moment but we won’t get into that—and hydroponics (growing produce without soil), we have at our disposal all kinds of produce and grains, no matter the season.
While we definitely should count our blessings and feel gratitude for this abundance, we shouldn’t absent-mindedly toss just any food into our shopping carts. This is true any time of year but at no other time is this food-shopping philosophy more important than in winter.
The stress of holiday shopping, low-UV sunlight that provides insufficient vitamin D, over-eating at holiday parties and the cold weather that drives us indoors zaps our immune system.
To have a healthy, balanced immune system, eat foods that are in season. That means no blueberries, apricots and other summertime fruits. I’ll share my list of the best foods to eat in winter in just a bit. But first, in addition to eating seasonally, there’s another principle of healthy eating this time of year I’d like to share with you…
Supporting Kidney Function In Winter
I’m a big fan of applying ancient medicinal wisdom into modern diet advice. For instance, according to the 5,000 year old system of traditional Chinese medicine, there’s one organ that’s vital for a balanced immune system in the winter.
Not to be confused with the organs you learned about in science class, traditional Chinese medicine organs involve more than the physical organ. They also include physical energy points (meridians) and directly impact emotional and spiritual well-being.
In ancient Chinese medicine, every organ is associated with a season. Winter is the season of the kidneys. Take care of your kidneys and your kidneys will take care of you. The kidneys in traditional Chinese medicine act as the body’s pilot light. If this light diminishes because of stress and poor diet, your vitality and health will suffer.
Best Foods In Winter To Support Kidney Health
Ok, enough with the Chinese medicine lecture. Let’s cut to the chase. What are the best foods to eat this time of year? Which foods are in season, are warming to the body and keep your kidneys working in balance?
To stay grounded this time of year, we need food that’s pulled from the ground:
Fruits
Are you a fruitarian? Could you live off of fruit all year long? If you want to have a balanced immune system, you’ll increase your chances of staying healthy by eating fruit that’s in season only in winter. The good news is there are a few on the list this time of year that are ripe for the picking:
Grains and Legumes
Unless you’re on a super strict low-carb diet (keto), you don’t have to say no to grains. Eating a couple handfuls of a grain with a lean protein like wild salmon and healthy fats like avocado will help keep you full.
Here’s my list of the best low-starch grains and legumes (which also get a bum rap in the low-carb world) to eat in winter:
Herbs and Spices
When the weather is frightful outside, herbs and spices that “warm the blood” as the ancient Chinese philosophers would say, might not be able to replace a wood-burning fireplace. But sprinkling these on your food or in your tea may support the immune system and actually make you feel a tad bit warmer:
Best Wintertime Veggies
And last but certainly not least, no wintertime food shopping run is complete without these veggies not already mentioned above:
These kidney-supporting foods are in prime season right now. Load up your cart with them and have a healthy winter!
Love,
Chef V
The holidays are stressful enough without a global health crisis. But now that the media blitz is scaring the bejeezus out of many people with a new variant, surviving the holiday season requires extra fortitude. Chef V is here to keep you calm and grounded with these 5 tips for staying sane during the holidays…
The holiday season is a paradox: it’s the best of times and it’s the worst of times. It’s the best of times because everything is so festive and beautiful.
But the holiday season creates anxiety for many people, whether it’s getting together with family that you don’t see eye to eye with or running around all over town buying last minute gifts.
In the cold weather months, you’re more likely to get sick than you are in the summer. Yes, some of that has to do simply with weather; viruses thrive in colder weather and are able to circulate and replicate in stagnant, indoor air. But stress is just as much of a contributing factor, if not more so.
So what can you do to manage your stress this time of year? Follow these 5 tips for surviving the holiday season…
Take Mini Meditation Breaks
Not much of a meditator? Does keeping the mind free of thought seem like an impossible task? The good news is that you don’t need to be a Zen master to quiet your mind. And you also don’t need to meditate for hours upon end to become one with the universe. All it takes is a few minutes of consciously focusing on inhaling and exhaling. Stress managed! It’s really as simple as that.
And if while you are sitting still (a chair is fine; you don’t have to go into deep Lotus pose), thoughts creep in, that’s fine. Just bring your mind back to your breathing. Five long seconds inhaling, and the same on the exhale. Try to inflate your chest and belly like a balloon on the inhale. Deflate on the exhale.
Still thinking about all the bills you have to pay while you’re breathing? It’s fine. Do try and not let those worries consume your thoughts. But just remember the name of the game is not to rid your mind completely of thoughts. Rather, the goal is to focus on your breathing. Because breathing is healing.
Take Mini Exercise Breaks
Some people make the excuse that they don’t have the time to go to a gym or take a class because they’re so busy. But nobody should be so busy that they can’t take the time to take a mini-exercise break.
Something fun I recently started doing is dancing for 3-5 minutes in my home while listening to a song on Pandora or Spotify. I also have a standing desk/desk riser and while I’m pecking away on my laptop, I sashay my hips from side to side. Yes, shaking your groove thing is possible while working.
As the saying goes, sitting is the new smoking. Standing all day while working from home is impossible. And like sitting all day, standing for several hours is also bad for circulation. But alternating between sitting and standing several times a day is ideal for good blood flow and keeping the spirits high.
You can also set a timer and do a three-minute yoga routine every 90-120 minutes. The bottom line is that you don’t need to exercise for a long time in order to manage holiday stress. You can do a few mini movement sessions per day and reap the same benefits.
Eliminate Processed Carbs
This might be the holiday survival tip you dread. If you struggle with eating too many carbs, the good news is that you don’t have to completely quit carbs. I’ll explain in a sec.
But first, let’s take bread as an example. For people who follow a low-carb lifestyle (Keto Diet), bread is a no-no. Eating bread raises blood sugar levels and puts more demand on the pancreas to release insulin.
The more bread and other processed carbs you eat, the more insulin your body needs to keep blood sugar levels steady. If you keep eating bread, bagels, muffins, cereal and other baked goods made with white flour (wheat flour isn’t much better for blood sugar levels), your cells will become resistant to insulin. This places you at a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
But not all bread is created equally bad. About 99% of supermarket breads are empty carbs. But artisanal sourdough bread contains beneficial bacteria for your gut. You can also buy 100% whole rye bread which contains a lot of fiber. When you see that a bread contains at least a few grams of fiber, it means that the blood sugar spike won’t be as high as bread with little or no fiber.
If you’re at brunch and you’re considering getting a stack of pancakes, think of the pancakes as a giant bowl of sugar. Foods prepared with white flour break down very quickly, metabolizing into sugar.
The problem with this is that sugar suppresses the immune system. Eating a tiny piece of cake at a holiday party is no problem. But if you have trouble controlling your portion sizes, it’s better to just say no than to indulge. Studies have shown that consuming sugar puts your body’s infection-fighting white blood cells to sleep for several hours!
So instead of eating refined carbs, eat whole grains like wild rice, farro, emmer wheat and quinoa (technically, quinoa is a seed but let’s not split hairs).
Take A Social Media Detox
If you’re feeling anxious this time of the year simply because it’s the holidays or for whatever other reason, consider putting your phone down.
Make a phone call, text if you have to, but in order to feel more peaceful, I recommend chilling out on social media for a while.
It shouldn’t come as a surprise that recent studies reveal that social media damages teenagers’ mental health. Even if you’re not a teenager anymore, chances are that keeping up with the Joneses or Kardashians on social is negatively impacting your life. Unless you’re using social strictly for work, consider a 3 Day Cleanse. (And if your body needs to physically detox, check out Chef V’s Cleanses.)
In the Dalai Lama’s Art of Happiness book, one of his tips for being happy is not to compare yourself to anybody else. When you’re on social media, it’s hard not to compare yourself to others.
No News Is Good News
Tip #5 for surviving the holiday season is much like my advice to do a social media detox. Unfortunately, news and politics have made us divided and no more is that evident than on social media. In addition to detaching from social media to avoid the news, do the same from cable news, newspapers, talk radio and magazines.
And last but not least, under no circumstances should you discuss news and politics with family who don’t share your point of view. It’s not worth the energy. The more you get triggered, the more stress hormones circulating through your bloodstream. When stress hormones flood the blood, digestion slows down. And when digestion becomes impaired, you’re more likely to pack on the pounds. In light of that metabolic fact, is it really worth arguing about who should be president?
Hopefully these tips will come in handy and make you a happier, healthier person for the holidays…
Love,
Chef V
Move over yogurt, kombucha and DIY sourdough bread. Y’all were so 2020. OK, so those three aren’t going away anytime soon. But what will be the biggest health trends next year? Chef V gazes into her crystal ball and offers her predictions for the biggest natural health trends of 2022.
It’s been a whole year since I made health trend predictions. And I bet you dollars to gluten free, apple-cider-vinegar donuts that 99 out of 100 people wouldn’t remember what I predicted for 2021. Chances are, some of the biggest natural health and food trends of 2022 will be the same as I predicted last year: low-carb diets, prebiotics/postbiotics, mushrooms, vitamin D and adaptogens.
So I could have pulled a fast one on you by just rehashing last year’s article. Of course I wouldn’t do something disingenuous like that. But in case you didn’t read last year’s predictions, you can do so here, after reading 2022’s predictions. Without further ado, here’s what I’m seeing for next year’s top trends…
Top Natural Health Trends 2022 #1: Armoring Up
All five predictions I made for 2021 (see above) relate to supporting the immune system. I don’t know about you but I sure miss the days when worrying about the immune system was just a seasonal issue.
But the silver lining today is that if you’re more health conscious than you were before, the global health crisis has probably made your immune system stronger.
Because of the pandemic, more people are focusing on armoring up their immune system. That means eating a zero-added-sugar-diet, doing intermittent fasting, and the other recommendations I made last year.
“Armoring up” also means taking gut-health supplements like probiotics because 70% to 80% of immune cells are in the gastrointestinal tract. Supporting your immune system 365 days a year isn’t cheap. It requires budgeting if you plan on taking immune-support supplements like zinc, vitamin D, quercetin, Chinese herbs, etc.
I’d rather spend a little less money on entertainment and more on things that will support a robust immunity all year. Instead of paying for cable TV, splurge on a yoga retreat and armor up with immune supplements.
#2: Robot Meat
Is lab-produced meat coming soon to your supermarket shelves? The future may be sooner than you think. Today.com says that Artificial Intelligence or AI is helping food companies create things we could have only dreamed of a couple of years ago.
For example, one food technology company is perfecting a vegan dairy doppelganger. In other words, it’s a protein that looks and tastes identical to dairy protein yet 100% plant-based.
AI will likely introduce faux eggs that if we didn’t know it, we’d swear it was from a backyard hen. The company behind the vegan eggs found a way to isolate a protein from mung beans to create the chicken-free eggs.
Today.com also references a company using AI to make a vegan milk that “froths, foams and blends just like dairy.” The plant-based milk is made from pea protein and cabbage juice, and other vegan ingredients.
I’m conflicted about these lab-created foods. On one hand, reducing the number of animals exploited for their meat seems humane. And in comparison to factory farming, fake meat and other engineered vegan food seems at first glance much more environmentally friendly.
But I also believe, even as someone that’s about 97% vegetarian, that animal products provide ecological balance—if the meat and dairy are raised in a way that I predict will be another huge health trend in 2022. See top natural health trends #5, below.
#3: Functional Beverages
People need something more fun to drink than plain, purified water. Even a regular cup of coffee and tea are in need of an upgrade. With more people working from home, experimenting with water, coffee and tea has become an art. And it’s not just the taste people are altering. It’s the nutritional quality. A functional beverage means that it’s a drink with added ingredients that may (or may not) provide extra health benefits.
For example, coffee or tea with mushroom powder. CBD-infused seltzer. Golden Milk.
As for ways to make drinking water more palatable, add cucumber slices and infuse the water with little pieces of strawberry. It’s like drinking spa water. Have you ever been to a spa that offers this first-class treatment? Treat yourself to spa water at home.
And if you want a functional beverage with some of the world’s most nutrient-dense veggies on the planet, try Organic Green Drink. It’s great for breaking your intermittent fasting or replacing breakfast. It gets delivered to your house fresh so you don’t have to shop, chop and clean up.
#4: Veggies From The Sea
If you eat sushi and have a kid who loves roasted seaweed snacks, then eating sea veggies is nothing new for you. But most Americans never eat any sea vegetables such as seaweed and kelp.
And that’s too bad because sea veggies are ounce for ounce the most nutrient-dense substances on the planet. They are super rich in minerals. Because of stress and the typical American diet, most people don’t get enough minerals.
I predict that seaweed snacks will continue to rise in popularity. But I also think that we’ll see more fresh seaweed products featured on supermarket shelves in 2022. For my vegan customers, I highly recommend kelp because it contains phytonutrients that are really hard to get without consuming sea veggies.
#5: Regenerative Agriculture
I’m totally in support of 100% plant-based diets. But I’m also a realist. We will likely never live to see a future where everybody swears off eating meat for good. So we may as well support animal products that are grown in the most environmentally-friendly and humane way possible. And this is what regenerative agriculture is all about.
Already, I’m seeing more vendors at local farmers market advertise their 100% grass-fed beef products as having been produced using regenerative farming practices. In a nutshell, “regenerative ag” increases soil biodiversity and organic matter. This creates healthier soil. The majority of the food that you eat is grown in soil that is lacking in minerals. Healthier soils are better able to resist the detrimental impacts of climate change such as flooding and drought. When we eat any food grown in soil using regenerative agriculture, be it animal- or plant-based, we consume the nutrients from that healthy soil.
I previously wrote about regenerative agriculture here if you want to learn more about it. I predict we’ll be hearing much more about it in 2022.
To a happy, healthy 2022!
Love,
Chef V
The smallest things matter the most and in this case, small changes can make a big difference. Simple ingredient swaps this fall and winter will help you stay on track while eliminating at the feeling of indulgence guilt. Whether it’s an appetizer or a dessert, these easy changes will help you avoid that pesky holiday weight gain we all hate.
And we promise, you won’t even miss the butter or white flour, in fact, a lot of the time these substitutions will enhance the flavors of your favorite dishes. We’re here to help you make being healthy easy and we can’t wait to see what you cook up this holiday season.
The news cycle moves at warp speed so you may not remember that recently I wrote about why I don’t include romaine lettuce in my Organic Green Drinks.
In case you missed it, let me sum up: more than any other green leafy veggie, romaine is the most susceptible to e. coli poisoning.
If you want to keep your gut healthy, don’t buy store bought bagged lettuce. It’s like playing Russian roulette with your immune system. Instead, try growing your own.
But eating contaminated food isn’t the only way you can get sick. In fact, not to freak you out or anything but a recent Consumer Reports article says many people “caught” food poisoning not from the romaine, but from people who ate it.
I wanted to share with you some tips from the article on how not to “catch food poisoning.”
Hand Sanitizer vs Hand Washing: Which Is Better
If you’re on a cruise, definitely use hand sanitizer whenever possible. Norovirus is a disease caused by food contamination. It most often occurs when you’re shacking up in close quarters to other people.
But when you’re on land, hand sanitizers are overrated. They don’t kill all the bad germs. You’re better off just washing your hands with soap and warm water for about 20 seconds.
And definitely don’t ever use antibacterial soap. It weakens your immune system. You see, you want your hands to be clean. But not too clean. You want your immune system to “exercise” by being exposed to and fighting pathogens. Antibacterial soap also kills your good bacteria. Another concern about antibacterial soap is the potentially cancer-causing chemical, triclosan. Triclosan can also make you more vulnerable to developing allergies.
I prefer to use natural products whenever possible. That’s why I use Dr. Bronner’s hand sanitizer. You can also make your own natural hand sanitizer using a blend of essential oils. To make one, you’ll need a carrier oil like coconut or jojoba. A few of the best essential oil sanitizers are lemon, tea tree, and orange. You can also add some aloe vera oil.
But if you do want to protect yourself with commercial sanitizer, get one that’s alcohol-based and contains at least 60 percent alcohol (ethanol or isopropanol). Any less and it won’t kill all the bad germs.
Opening and Closing Doors
Let’s say you’re a good boy or girl and you just went potty in a public bathroom and washed your hands with warm water for 20 seconds.
You’re feeling all high and mighty about your sanitary practices and open the door to go back to your table at the restaurant. But what if the person who just went to the bathroom before you didn’t wash their hands? And what if they have a food-borne illness that’s brewing but not yet fully developed? That person just grabbed the metal door handle and you just touched it.
So whenever you have to open a metal door, even if it’s right after washing your hands, use a paper towel. Even better, to be more environmentally friendly, tear off a small extra piece of toilet paper to open the door. If you have to touch a metal surface like a door handle or railing, make sure you sanitize your hands afterwards and definitely do not touch your eyes or nose with your hands before doing so.
Sorry if it seems like I’m being your mommy. I’m sure you don’t need me to remind you to wash your hands. You’re probably doing that already.
But keep in mind that 2018’s e. coli outbreak was the deadliest in decades. About 200 people got sick and 5 people died.
Some of the people who got sick didn’t eat the contaminated romaine. Rather, they became ill by somehow being in contact with people who ate the bad romaine.
Now I hope you’re not eating while you’re reading this. Because what I’m about to tell you is gross: E. coli can be transmitted through the tiniest piece of poop. All it takes is a trace amount, a microscopic, nano-poop-particle, to both become sick with food poisoning or to infect someone else.
See why I’m preaching hand washing in this post?
True, I might be slightly nagging like a good-intentioned mama. But I do care about my follower’s health and wellness….
Preventing Food Poisoning: Conclusion
Again, sorry if I seem a bit over cautious. I don’t want you to live in fear. Eat, drink and be merry! (In moderation, of course.)
But don’t forget this sage sanitary advice to prevent food poisoning.
Keep in mind the stronger your immune system is, the lower your chance of getting sick from contaminated food. Of course, if you’re on a trip to a foreign country and drink water with bacteria your system isn’t used to, you may get a touch of traveller’s belly. That’s why you should carry a potent probiotic with you.
The strain, “Saccharomyces boulardii” is a great one. It’s a tropical species of yeast that’s naturally found in lychee and mangosteen fruit. Buy it and bring it with you for overseas trips. If you get the “D word” (it’s so nasty, I don’t even like spelling it out) from eating or drinking, it can help. I actually recommend taking it as a preventative. You can take it for several months in a row without side effects.
And don’t forget to feed the good bacteria in your gut with “prebiotics.” Prebiotics are non-digestible fibers. They are what the bacteria in your gut love to chomp on.
Know what’s a great source of prebiotic fiber for your gut? Green leafy veggies. My Organic Green Drinks contain 7 green leafy veggies. It’s the perfect way to start the day and make your belly bacteria happy. And a happy belly means a strong immune system.
To your health….
Chef V
Despite the thousands of satisfied Chef V Cleanse customers and incredible transformation stories, we’re never going to have a 100% success rate.
I realize that. But knowing that there’s somebody out there—even if they are the 1 in a thousand that doesn’t have an awesome experience—well, it sort of weighs on me a little bit.
So if you’re thinking about doing a cleanse or just starting out, here are some tips on how to maximize your experience and undergo the health transformation you want to achieve.
Cleanse For Success Tip #1: Set Realistic Expectations
How long has your diet been, well, let’s just say far from perfect?
If you’ve been consuming lots of processed food for many years, you can’t expect miracles from a 5 Day Cleanse. Sure, you can lose up to 20 pounds in 5 days.
But then what?
Are you going to keep the results going? And if you’ve eaten unhealthy for years, is 5 days going to reset your metabolism?
Maybe not.
That’s why in order to keep your success going, you can’t go back to eating the same foods and drinks that cause a toxic metabolism in the first place.
You have to keep the success going my sticking to my Organic Green Drink plan. The plan is simple really. All you have to do is replace a regular breakfast with an 8-16 oz. serving of Green Drink.
Then, eat a sensible lunch and dinner with a healthy snack in between if you have to. Make sure you also give your body 12-16 hours in between your last bite of dinner and your first sip of Green Drink in the morning.
This intermittent fasting will help balance your blood sugar levels and improve detoxification.
Everybody has different reactions to cleansing. For some people, the weight melts right off because the liver and gallbladder are in pretty good shape. These organs can filter out the bad stuff.
But for other people, the liver and gallbladder are so sluggish that it may take more than 5 days to do the trick.
Cleanse For Success Tip #2: Extend The Cleanse
If you’re not satisfied with your cleansing results, you may also need a healthy lifestyle education. That’s where 21 Day Detox comes in.
Many people are straight-up addicted to sugar and think that doing a 1, 3 or even 5 day cleanse will cure all their troubles. This goes back to unrealistic expectations from above. But if your brain has been hijacked by sugar or salt addiction, it’s going to take longer than a 5 Day Cleanse to reset your taste buds.
Three weeks will do the trick!I know 21 days sounds like an eternity. But think how quickly the last 3 weeks have gone by. And really, doing a 21 Day Detox is not that challenging, not when you have me as your guide.
I’ll provide you with healthy eating guides and wellness resources along with dozens of recipes to choose from. Plus, throughout the 21 Day Detox, you’ll get to eat delicious meals and snacks. It’s not a starvation diet; it’s a lifestyle adjustment and Green Drink remains the foundation of the program.
But losing up to 40 pounds in just 21 days is not for everybody.
Cleanse For Success Tip #3: Don’t Quit & Maintain Your Desire To Transform
You have to want it. You have to put in the work. It’s not that difficult. You just need to have some temporary will power in order to put the sugar genie back in the bottle.
And if you can do it for just three weeks out of your life, you can live the rest of your life buzzing with natural energy. Your vibration will be higher. Your skin will look more youthful. In short, you’re going to feel amazing.
Cleanse For Success Tip #3: Adjust The Taste To Your Liking
Some people who don’t get results from my cleanse complain about the taste of Green Drink, of which you get four 16-oz servings each day. Again, that’s because their taste buds have been corrupted by added sugars.
There are seven leafy green veggies in Organic Green Drink and nothing else except for a tiny bit of apple. That’s why there’s only a couple grams of natural sugar in each serving.
If you want to reset your toxic metabolism that has been making your fat cells bigger, one of the most important things you can do is resetting your taste buds.
After resetting your taste buds, eating a handful of berries will taste amazing. You’ll be hooked on “Mother Nature’s candy” instead of empty-calorie food with added sugars.
But you have to be realistic and give Green Drink a chance to exert its metabolic-rebooting potential. You can’t expect Green Drink to taste like a Slurpee.
You can add liquid stevia drops to Green Drink to add some natural sweetness to it without raising your blood sugar levels.
Do you want to know the absolute best way to reset your taste buds and conquer a toxic metabolism?
Your 100% Happiness Is My #1 Concern
I know it sounds cheesy… (Speaking of cheese, if you’re eating a lot of it and want to transform your metabolism, give it up as much as you can after your cleanse is over!)
But it’s true. I’m obsessive about customer satisfaction.
Remember, we’re not perfect. Sometimes shipping errors occur. And sometimes the problems are out of our hands (maybe the UPS delivery person screwed up). But I promise you we will do everything in our power to make it right for you.
I appreciate every bit of customer feedback we get. We must be doing something right when it’s 99% positive feedback. But I always strive for perfection. Maybe that’s a fault who knows. All I do know is that I want you set up for the biggest chance of success possible!
Love,
Chef V
If you're thinking doing a cleanse is too hard, think again. I've got some simple tips that make it super easy to follow.
I want to share one of my favorite recent success stories.
It comes from Brynn J. of Lancaster, CA via her 5-star YELP review.
Here’s her story….
Brynn had all four of her wisdom teeth extracted.
Girl, I feel your pain. I also had mine taken out years ago and it was literally the most painful experience in my life. I can remember the salty waterfall of tears streaming down my cheeks like it was yesterday.
As you can imagine, it’s really hard to eat when your cheeks are puffed-up like a chipmunk, and your mouth throbs with pain.
“It was so painful & bloody! I felt like I was never going to heal from it,” she recalls.
Brynn says that the only thing that she could eat for a week was ice cream and soft fries.
You probably don’t need a lecture from a clinical nutritionist such as myself to remind you how bad just eating ice cream and fries is for you.
Brynn herself realized she needed to get some nutrient-dense calories. But she really couldn’t eat any solid food.
That’s why she decided to do a 5-day low-sugar juice cleanse.
“I completed it today and these are my results.”
That’s awesome, Brynn! You look fantastic. Thanks for sharing your success story….
I wish I would have known about Chef V (or created it) years ago when my wisdom teeth got yanked out.
Brynn admits to sneaking some guilty pleasure ice cream every now and then during the low-sugar cleanse. However, she adds, “But I'm happy to feeling less bloated.”
This brings me to a tip I’d like to share with you about successfully completing a 3-day, 5-day or 7-day cleanse—without cheating or experiencing carb/junk food withdrawal effects….
Easy Tips for an Easy Cleanse Successfully — #1: Follow My Pre-Cleanse Advice to a “V”
Your cleanse success will be determined at least 72 hours in advance of when it starts.
You see, you can’t just go from eating burgers, wings and other fast food to having nothing but Organic Green Drink, Vegan Protein Shakes and Detox Soups.
That may sound obvious. But you’d be surprised how many times I hear people doing that.
“Well, I’m going to drop 10-15 pounds next week doing a cleanse so I might as well enjoy my last couple meals.”
Unfortunately, that mindset is still prevalent. Especially for people who have never done a cleanse before.
What they don’t realize is you have to do a pre-cleanse. It’s really important that you follow my pre-cleanse and healthy eating guidelines, which includes a schedule of exactly when to eat, what to eat, and how much to eat of each category of approved foods.
If you don’t follow this advice to a “V” you might end up breaking the cleanse with ice cream.
I’ll let Brynn slide this time because I can relate to the awful pain she felt. But, Brynn … I really would like you to try another cleanse in the near future. Give yourself up to a full week to do the pre-cleanse.
I can’t emphasize enough how important it is to not only follow my advice about what to eat, but also sticking to the schedule.
When you supply your body with nutrients at the same time each day, you quickly get used to it and you won’t be tempted by cravings or want to have a huge meal, which can negate your weight-loss success.
Easy Tips for Doing a Cleanse (and keeping the success going) — #2: Go Green
And on the flip side of the pre-cleanse, it’s also important not to ruin the progress and success of your cleanse by resuming bad habits when it's over.
Again, this seems like a no-brainer. But some people choose to celebrate the completion of a cleanse by eating a bacon cheeseburger. Doing so defeats the whole purpose of a cleanse.
True cleansing success means keeping the momentum going for several weeks, if not months or years down the road.
But I realize you’re only human. When holiday season rolls around, we are sometimes powerless against indulging. And that’s okay.
That’s why I’m here for you … to keep you on track.
There’s no shame in needing to do more than one low-sugar cleanse a year. In fact, it’s very healthy to reset your digestive system.
Let’s say that you indeed fall off the wagon around the winter holidays….
You’ve indulged in cakes, cookies, cheese, meat, and alcohol.
If you do a one week pre-cleanse, followed by a 7-day cleanse and stick to my post-cleanse advice, in very little time, your taste buds will reset. You’ll no longer desire foods and drinks with added sugars; you’ll crave all-natural, nutrient-dense foods.
So what’s my post-cleanse advice?
Organic Green Drink is the foundation of it. During your cleanse, you’ll have four 16-oz servings of it per day. After the cleanse, I want you to drink 16 oz of it in the morning. It’s like having a super healthy salad in a bottle, only it gets delivered to you and you don’t have to shop or chop for veggies.
Also critical in keeping the momentum going is following my pre-cleanse eating guide for your post-cleanse meals … at least for a few days after the cleanse; the longer the better. A couple additional resources you can use for sticking to the pre-cleanse eating guide is my Breakfast Guide and Lunch and Dinner Guide.
Jessica’s Chef V Cleanse Success Story
Before I share some more simple tips for cleansing success, here’s another story I’d like to share with you. Jessica T. of Boston, MA (love that city!) followed my advice to a V.
Check out her before and after pic:
You go, Jessica! I’m super stoked for you. Hearing your story reminds me why I have the best job in the world.
Jessica has lost almost 40 pounds in just 10 months. When she posted this review on Yelp she was in the midst of her third cleanse.
“If anyone is looking for a jump start to their healthy lifestyle, I HIGHLY recommend Chef V. I've referred three people and they all say the same thing: ‘I feel light and energetic, and never fatigue.’ ”
Thanks for sharing your success with your friends, Jessica. You know, that is absolutely the best way to inspire your friends and family to lead a healthier lifestyle.
I could talk until I’m blue in the face about the nutrients in the seven organic green-leafy veggies in the Green Drink and what they do for you and blah blah….
But people are moved to act when they see their own friends and colleagues having success.
Easy Tips for Doing a Cleanse — #3: Drink Lots of Water
Many people forget to drink water during the day. Our lives are busy. We have appointments to rush to, bosses breathing down our necks, kids that constantly need our attention….
It’s easy to see why water is an afterthought for many, and why it only moves to the forefront of the mind when we’re thirsty.
But if you only drink water when you’re thirsty, you’re in a state of chronic dehydration. Besides being bad for your skin, “staying thirsty” is not a good idea if you want to lose weight.
In fact, studies prove that drinking water before meals leads to weight loss. Drinking lots of water (I’m talking at least 2-4 cups every few hours) helps you feel full. You’ll eat less calories if you have a couple cups of water about 30 minutes or so before meals.
Also, water helps flush out toxins from your body and gives your skin a healthy glow.
Bonus Tips for Cleansing Success
In this post I wrote about tracking your health progress, I discuss some tips recommended by a close colleague of mine, Charles Clay.
Charles is a holistic health expert. (But if you read the, you’ll discover why he is so much more than that.)
A couple tips for cleansing success that I think carries over to here is writing down goals. One example Charles recommends is having an intention to be active every day. Track your progress by writing down what you did, whether it’s a yoga class or just going for a walk.
This actually brings me to another tip for cleansing success: don’t exercise too hard. No Crossfit classes, no hot yoga, no long-distance running or anything like that. Allow your body to rest during the cleanse (and the first few days post-cleanse.)
Speaking of rest, another tip from Charles from the post: use the SleepCycle app on your phone (in airplane mode).
Getting good sleep is critical for hormones and fat-burning.
And for now, I’ll leave you with one more tip for cleansing success….
Get rid of every product in your home that contains harmful chemicals. If you’re using conventional kitchen cleaners, cosmetics and hair-care products, toss them in the garbage.
You can’t cleanse and detox your body if you keep breathing toxic fumes and having harsh chemicals absorb into your skin.
Not sure if a specific product is harmful? Download the free Skin Deep app from the Environmental Working Group.
What’s Your Story?
Do you have a success story of your own? I would so love to hear about it. If you have a before/after pic, don’t be shy, share it. Before/after photos are the best tool to inspire others to lead a healthier lifestyle.
You can post a review on Yelp or email me directly.
To your health,
Chef V
When you think of a juice cleanse or detox diet, does protein come to mind? If not, it should. But not just any protein. In fact, many protein powders can be toxic to your health. Learn why you need protein if you’re cleansing and what kind is best for your body. Here’s what you need to know.
Doing a Cleanse? Why Protein Powder is important
All animals must eat protein every day to survive. Us wild human animals included. Now I’m not saying you need to eat a 72-ounce T-bone steak every day for health. I’d feel very sorry for your colon if you did that.
You don’t even need a small bite of filet mignon every day. In fact, there’s no proof that you need animal protein for optimal health. Any natural vegan protein will do, including nuts and seeds.
Here’s a fun nutrition fact to chew on: the human body can’t live more than 70 days without eating any protein. Give or take a day. I haven’t personally tested this theory. And I don’t recommend you try either.
But if you’re reading this because you’re researching the best juice cleanse, there’s a very good chance you’re going to kill yourself just a little bit. And thanks to me, I’m going to save you from that. I’ll explain how in just a sec….
You see, if you go ultra low carb like the keto diet, no problem. Some of that dietary fat you’re feasting on will be converted into glucose (sugar) for your brain to feed on. Even protein can be converted into glucose. If you eat that 72-ounce steak, there’s a good possibility some of the cow meat will turn into sugar and get stored as fat.
But your body can’t store excess protein. It also can’t make protein from carbs or fats or anything else. That’s why you need to eat protein everyday for optimal health.
Your lean muscle tissue, hair, skin, and nails all need adequate protein to look healthy.
So if you’re checking out some different cleanse or detox diet options out there, here’s the big problem with them….
Most cleanse programs contain zero protein. Instead, all juice detoxes are is a slick marketing trick for selling you fruit juice with loads of sugar. That’s the opposite of cleansing! (Compare my cleanse program to popular juice cleanses here.)
Think how brittle your hair and nails will look after going several days without protein.
Some people think that it’s not good to have protein during a cleanse. Why? They assume it’s bad for the digestive system. Well, in a way, that’s true. But only if it’s processed meat or unhealthy protein powder.
I’m here to steer you in a healthy direction and recommend a protein powder to take while doing a cleanse.
Vegan Protein Powder For Cleansing
Multi-colored, attractive bottles of juice may be effective for marketing. But they’re not good for health. You see, many commercial juice cleanse programs include about a half dozen different kinds of juice, each a different color of the rainbow. But each containing 20 grams or more of sugar and zero protein.
As far as I’m concerned (as a certified nutritional therapist), you need just one color of juice: green. Green-leafy vegetables are the most nutrient-dense foods and play a critical part in the body’s detoxification process. But even my cold-blended Organic Green Drinks don’t have any protein.
That’s why several years ago, I brainstormed on a protein powder that would be healthy for everybody, including people doing a cleanse. The result is my Organic Vegan Chocolate Protein Shake and my Vegan Cinnamon Protein Shake. With 17 grams of high-absorbance pea protein per packet, brittle nails don’t stand a chance.
You’ll have to trust me (or the 5-star reviews on Yelp) that the chocolate shake tastes great. How does it taste good without adding gobs of sugar? My recipe uses organic cacao powder, stevia, and monk fruit extract. Stevia and monk fruit are natural, calorie-free sweeteners.
Pea protein has become more popular. When I decided to use pea protein a few years ago, I never thought it would be just as effective for the weightlifting community. But check it out. This study shows that it produces the same increase in muscle thickness as whey protein.
There are a couple reasons I don’t use whey in my Protein Shake for my cleanse programs. First, many whey protein powders are contaminated with heavy metals. (Says this Harvard research report.) And also, whey protein is not good for people with lactose intolerance. True, I could have used whey protein isolate, which contains close to zero lactose, but I just don’t trust how whey is manufactured. And I don’t think it’s good for cleansing overall.
What About Soy Protein Powder For Cleansing?
Some people are concerned about soy protein’s effect on women. This is because soy is a phytoestrogen, and if the body has too much estrogen absorbed, it could produce a hormonal cancer such as breast cancer.
Thus far, there are no studies linking soy protein powder to breast cancer. However, I do believe that processed soy is not good for health. Also, I think there is something to the too much estrogen theory. After all, it’s not just the food supply from soybeans that causes estrogen dominance, it’s all the plastics and everyday cleaners that can mimic the effects of estrogen.
I’m excited to introduce our new Ultra Shakes. Where we formerly had a cinnamon hemp and brown rice protein based drink, we have replaced it with a new soft buttery tasting vanilla protein, less gritty than the cinnamon and easier on the digestive system.
Muscle Heads
You don’t need to buy one of those huge tubs of protein powders that huge weightlifters buy for bulging biceps.
If you’re not doing a cleanse, I really don’t think you need any protein powder at all. But if you are going to do a cleanse, you absolutely do need some protein if you don’t want your muscles to waste away and your immune system to get weak.
Dietary protein plays a major role in virtually every thing that happens in your cells. And not only that, protein helps you feel full. If you go even a few days without it, just having juice will make your blood sugars go up and down. You’ll get tired and cranky.
Look, even if you don’t choose one of my cleanses, I do highly encourage you to consume a little high-quality vegan-protein every day (hemp and brown rice are also good choices).
A little protein every day goes a long way for health.
Best wishes and to your health,
Chef V
