So What Should You Buy For A Juice Fast?

So you’ve decided to go on a juice fast.

You’re ready to kickstart your healthy lifestyle and leave your body’s aches and pains behind. To use the power of medicine that’s provided by mother nature.

That’s great!

And juice fasting is a good way to start this process….if you do it correctly.

It’s not rocket science, but it does take a little bit of execution.

And one of the most important questions that needs to be answered is….what should I buy?

The list isn’t super long, but of course having a good shopping list always helps.

Here’s a rundown of what you ought to purchase before going on your fasts.

1). Juicer

Obvious, yes….but expensive and very important to your success. So you need to get it right.

In general, it’s a good idea to get the best juicer you can. I know people’s budgets will vary, so here are my recommendations based on price points:

If you don’t care about price and just want the best then go with the Breville 800JEXL

If you want to go one level down then go with the Breville JE98XL

At close to $100 the best you can get is the Breville BJE200XL, it costs $124.95 on Amazon.

What about mini-juicers?

There are some pint-sized juicers that sell for about $40-$50, like the Black & Decker JE2200XB. These are good for what  they’re supposed to do….but it’s not juice fasting. They’re designed to make a cup or two of juice at a time.

I have used these sorts of juicers for juice fasts before, but if you are using one of these you should be realistic about your options.

It’ll be hard to go more than 2-3 days before the labor becomes egregious, and you run a higher chance of your juicer  breaking due to overuse. You’ll also need to stock up on the foods that are easiest to juice, like apples, carrots, celery, etc.

They don’t really have the horsepower to juice the softer vegetables that have a lower water content.

2). Grocery List

Lots of people have confusion over what to buy on their first juice fast, but the truth is it’s not that complicated.

The shortest possible answer is you can juice just about anything that is firm and has water in it.

But that’s not good enough for our purposes.

The base for most juices should consist of the following:

• Apples
• Carrots
• Beets
• Oranges

These fruits are inexpensive, they juice very well, and can be bought in bulk. You should buy these first and foremost, and add other fruits and vegetables as compliments.

So if you’re going to go on a 3 day fast, you’ll want to buy something like this:

• 1-2 5 lb. bags of carrots
• 1-2 3 lb. bags of apples
• 1-2 5 lb. bags of oranges
• 1 bunch of beets (beets are more expensive and have a strong flavor so you don’t need as much).

This should cost about $15-$20, and should be able to supply you for the bulk of your juicing!

The “long tail” of extra ingredients is really up to your imagination, but here’s a good start:

ginger (inexpensive, really good for you, and juices extremely well. Be aware that it has a very strong flavor though).

leafy greens (obviously very good for you, but they don’t juice all that well. I’d recommend getting as much as you can, but understand that it’ll make your recipes more expensive and labor intensive).

celery

tomatoes (good for homemade bloody mary’s)
wheatgrass (great for detoxification, but you need a masticated juicer to juice it)
cranberries
lemons and limes
melons (big, inexpensive, and juice fairly well…..especially watermelon)

That’s a good list, but please, feel free to experiment with what you find in your produce section.

3). Supplements

You don’t have to have any supplements when juice fasting, but if you’re going on a prolonged fast I think it’s a good idea to go with a superfoods powder. I’ve written extensively about these before, so if you’re curious read my superfood powder buying guide, and my individual reviews of different superfood powders.

I also make my own greens powder called Incredible Greens. If you’d like to try it out for a special price please contact me.

Superfood powders are useful because they help fill in the gaps of different nutrients you might not be getting on a prolonged fast, and they help soften your stools, which can help if you’re going on a detox diet.

There’s nothing wrong with using a supplement on a shorter fast, but in my opinion it’s not necessary.

And really….that’s about it.

Not too complicated. In fact, one of the easier things about going on a fast is that food shopping becomes fairly easy.

Just go to the produce section and have at it!