Punch Detox review + Pure Swell

While I accept I am not everyone's go-to for detoxes, this time I may be able to help. While you were all partying through December, I, like a true martyr was busy researching for Mango Menus and put my body through a (possibly well needed) 3 day juice detox from Punch Detox. 18 juices were delivered to my door one bleak Monday evening, for consumption over the next 3 days, with NIL ELSE BY MOUTH. This did not come naturally to me, as if you can't tell from this website, I LOVE MY FOOD! I gave it a go however...

Luckily, the fruit and veg combos are creatively tasty rather than just plain weird. Kicking off the day with the lemon, ginger, agave & cayenne concoction has become part of my morning routine post cleanse as well as during (well a few times anyway...). The afternoon "Fruit Punch" could possibly be improved with a shot of vodka, but refreshing too as a sweet mocktail. The red punch was definitely dominated by beetroot but very drinkable. And I happen to adore gazpacho so the evening soup was a hit. The "Salad" punch was a slightly tougher call, as it literally felt like drinking a bowl of leaves, albeit flavoursome ones. Continuously reminding myself of the deeply detoxifying properties of romaine, spinach and choi sum was about the only way I got through that bottle. I found the other green one, containing kale, celery, parsley, apple as well as the proteinous freshwater algae, spirulina, to be far more palatable. As for the bedtime "mylk" drinks, these are ever so slightly filling and off the record, can be enhanced with a drop of vanilla extract.

I certainly felt some of the detox symptoms. I was slightly shakey (depriving myself of caffeine for the first time since trying to conceive...), headachey and grumpy as hell from the lack of the food. But, the "gazpuncho" was a saviour in making my body feel like it was eating, and I did notice the whites of eyes whiten and my stomach flatten (a little).

Did a morsel of food pass my lips over the 3 days? Well, thankfully my witnesses are under the age of 3. Whatever the truth, it certainly propelled me into eating and drinking more raw foods going forward and learning more about the superhuman properties of kale and spirulina, which had been on my "to do" list for a while. For every 3 day cleanse, the company will donate 18 meals to a child in need. Check out Punchdetox.com.

Finally, our latest obsession is Pure Swell, a HK based raw, vegan drinks maker whose superfood smoothies are not intended to replace meals but complement a healthy lifestyle. My favourite is "Refuel", best described as a a velvety blend of chocolatey bananas, containing cacao as as well as sprouting almonds & spinach. This makes a fabulous bircher muesli, which until then had just been "soggy oats" to me. Each bottle is a reasonable $45 and can be bought online at Pure Swell.