Chef V Organic Detox Cleanse, A Rave Review!

I’ve spent the better half of the last decade trying out every diet, cleanse, detox, herbal supplement, essential oil, holistic treatment, you name it…. and the Chef V cleanse is by far one of my favorites.

Why? It’s organic, affordable and effective. AND delicious!!

I’ve never seen an organic cleanse with a price tag this low. Especially not one that puts so much care into every single last detail of the program.  From a pre-cleanse recommended diet to adding fiber to the juice drinks, to a bpa-free bottle, to meeting recommended daily protein needs, this cleanse is a tried and true science.  I never advise anyone to go on a straight juice cleanses… they are normally loaded with sugar, devoid of fiber and lacking in protein. Cold Press Juicery has 180 grams of sugar a day on their plans. One-Hundred and Eighty Grams.  Why not just eat an entire cake for God’s sake.  Plus, I am a strong believer (and living proof) that deprivation causes more harm than good to your organs and well being.

This is not that.  This is a calculated detox employing green drinks, plant protein, tea and one of the more delicious soups I have ever eaten.  And again, EVERYTHING IS ORGANIC.  At an unbeatable price.  With free delivery.  It’s safe to say that my mind is blown.

Okay let’s walk through the cleanse, shall we?

WHY I SIGNED UP:

I don’t necessarily need to lose weight… but I am getting married in four months, and I’ve been doing a wee bit of binge eating cheese and drinking wine while I pull basically all nighters planning this damn extravaganza.  For the past few months, I’ve noticed some rather unpleasant…. puff… around my mid section and inner thighs.  I also needed a break.  The process of grocery shopping daily, deciding what to cook or where to eat out, preparing food, doing dishes, waiting in line at the smoothie bar, the whole daily ordeal of eating can be exhausting when you don’t have enough hours in the day.   Lastly, my stomach and intestines are often at war with me, and I’ve never been able to quite pinpoint why.  I’m sure the wine and cheese doesn’t help, but it seems symptoms are exasperated when I’m stressed.  And oh my God am I financially stressed right now.  Like… yikes.  News flash: weddings are a black hole for your savings.  Not to mention I’m juggling real estate & acting among a slew of other freelance jobs.  Let’s just say my hearts been beating a bit faster lately, and it takes a noticeable toll on my digestion.  Which leads to bloating, rosacea, and… more stress.   I was excited to do the Chef V cleanse to give my body a vacation from the daily taxation so I could return to a healthy baseline.  After the cleanse, my hope was to slowly reintroduce food groups to identify any triggers.

HOW I SIGNED UP:

Easy enough. Went to the website, selected 2 day cleanse and paid.  In hindsight, I wish I did a 5 or 7 day cleanse, but I was skeptical about the process, so went with two days. The scheduled delivery day for my area was Monday and they gave me a window of anytime between 4 AM – 9 AM.

 **How you’re going to sign up: Use the code TRAVELINGFIG for 55% any order!**

PRE-CLEANSE DIET:

The recommended pre-cleanse diet is simple and straightforward.  No dairy, gluten, peanuts, soy, refined sugar, artificial flavoring, canola oil, processed meat, alcohol or caffeine. These are all ones I try to stick to in my normal day-to-day life, so not a problem.  However, I was surprised to see oranges, bananas, strawberries, tomatoes, grapes, eggplant and shellfish on the forbidden foods list!  Two days before the cleanse I did pretty good, but did have a few bites of eggs.  The day before the cleanse I was doing great until leaving a flea market with a girlfriend and we decided to go out for acai bowls before making the drive home.  Perfect healthy choice right? Well, not really since it was topped with granola and bananas.  I feel like I did myself a bit of a disservice for deviating from the plan… if only a bit.  Next detox I do I’m going to stick to the pre-cleanse diet for at least 3-4 days! I mean, why not get the most bang for your buck, right?

IT’S HERE! IT’S HERE!

My insulated Chef V bag arrived at 6 AM.  I only know because the delivery person texted me a picture of it on my front doors.  When I woke up an hour later I felt like it was Christmas morning.  I grabbed the bag and brought all the contents to the refrigerator.  Inside there was:

• 8 Organic Green Juice Drinks: they’re not technically juices because they contain whole foods… meaning there’s a bit of fiber & extra nutrients in each bottle!   They are very slightly sweetened with apple (with low low sugar, 3 grams/serving) and definitely have that green flavor, but it’s not too grass-like.  It’s a mild and refreshing flavor.  Some fiber fragments settle at the bottom, so it’s good to give the drink a nice shake before enjoying!
• 4 Organic Vanilla Pea Protein Packets: So tasty and again very low sugar (1 gram!).  They taste similar to Garden of Life plant based protein powder… which is by far my favorite on the market.  The vanilla flavor is subtle but tasty mixed in water. I really enjoyed these high protein shakes!
• 4 Organic Detox Tea Bags: Decaf and packed with detoxifying herbs like dandelion root and licorice root.  This tea is SO ENJOYABLE.  I would buy this in bulk and enjoy it everyday.  I’m a huge tea drinker and I can’t rave about this fruity and floral flavor enough.
• 2 Containers of Organic Detox Soup: I’m not much a soup eater.  Mostly because they usually contain a preposterous amount of sodium, but I am also usually bored by soups.  Especially purees… they just kind of remind me of baby food.  This soup is not that.  It’s extremely flavorful with heavy notes of lemongrass and spices in a sweet potato and carrot base.  Great warm or cold and not watery in the least, but rather very satiating.
• A BPA Free Shaker: BPA free means so much to me.  It shows that Chef V is concerned with our health on an elevated level and not taking any chances.  This free swag was extremely useful in making sure I drank enough water and was perfect for mixing up the protein shakes!
• Chef V Newsletter: Cuuuuuuute touch.  Little recipes and news updates. Made me feel like I bought into a community and that I wasn’t alone on my detox plight.
• Insulated Zipper Bag: Hello perfect grocery store bag! What a great little cooler that I will use ALL of the time (but realistically to keep my white wine cold at the beach – haha)!  Also comes in handy if you’re going to be gone all day and you want to keep your juice drinks with you in the car.
• Instructions: A fool-proof guide to when and what you should down to the exact hour.

THE DETOX: 

The first day I was so excited  that I followed the timeline down to a science.  I even drank all of the water recommended between drinks.  This kept me full… even uncomfortably full.. and frequenting the restroom every hour at least.  The recommended intake of water is definitely difficult to reach, but it did the job of flushing my system and keeping me full.  I drank 3 of the 4 juices on day one and half the soup. I couldn’t stomach anything else… I was so full on water!   I felt a bit bloated all day from the water and had to get up twice during the night to pee.

Day two I woke up feeling bloat-free and so much slimmer!  I was on the road and in and out of meetings all day so I had difficulty meeting the recommended water intake requirements.  I definitely felt hungrier and a bit more desperate between juices/shakes without the water, but the shakes were so satisfying and filling.  I really looked forward to those! After my soup dinner I was tempted to eat some of my fiance’s dinner, but I resisted and tried to catch up on my water consumption instead.  Sticking to the plan left me feeling incredibly accomplished and proud of myself.  I went to bed with a flat stomach and no bloating! YAY!

POST-DETOX: 

Day 3 I woke up feeling great.  I had two extra juices left over so I had one for breakfast.  I felt a bit lost without my cleanse regimen and sorely regretted not committing to a 5 or 7 day detox program. I ate pretty clean, but felt like I was over eating all day.  The next day I ate a yogurt and granola parfait and felt guilty, but still didn’t get bloated from it.  All together I lost 4 lbs in 2 days on the cleanse and I haven’t gained it back a week later!

Take Away:
My favorite part of ANY cleanse is that it reconnects your mind with your appetite and helps you re-evaluate your eating habits.  Like the fact that I mindlessly gobble 1000-2000 calories of trail mix or granola standing in the same corner of my kitchen every time I’m stressed.  Those kind of habits.  Cleanses shrink your stomach and empower you to make healthier and more conscious food choices.  They also give you a physical and mental break from the taxation of a Western diet.

My favorite part about the Chef V cleanse was that I didn’t want it to end.  That’s never happened before!  Everything was delicious and the plan was simple and straight forward.  I felt more energized and I think a few more days would have significantly hydrated my very dry skin and hair.  And can we talk about all the extra free time I had in my day not worrying about food?!  Most importantly, it’s so helpful to have a clean start in my digestive tract so when I begin to reintroduce foods I can find some rosacea and bloating triggers (usually go hand in hand! sigh.).

I’m so excited to make Chef V a habit. I hope to do a 5 day cleanse once a month until the wedding and sign up for a weekly delivery of a jug of the green juice to start my morning out right.  The 2 day cleanse cut me down 4 lbs of just puffy flub and I’m excited to keep it off!

I really couldn’t recommend this cleanse more.  I’m not the type to ever try any gimicky ‘weight loss drinks’ filled with sugar (or worse artificial flavors and gmos).  And I’m definitely not the type to do a just-juice deprivation diet where I’m assaulting my body with sugar and not feeding it any protein or fiber.  Again, Chef V is not that.  This is a very well researched, tried and true, effective but gentle detox that is perfect for any healthy individual looking to cleanse their body from the inside out.  Side effects include weight loss, increased levels of confidence, and being compelled to write a fanatical blog post. 😉

xo

PS. Use the code TRAVELINGFIG for 55% any order at www.chefv.com!