Last March I decided to eat “clean.” To jumpstart a new lifestyle, I dabbled into the ever popular world of juice cleansing. Beginning as an extension of the natural and holistic healing trend, juice cleansing has since been popularized into mainstream use by models, bloggers and celebrities. A juice cleanse is often comprised of six juices per day and two booster shots (that contain vitamins, minerals and protein to compensate for the lack of solid food intake) for a minimum of three days. In my case these rules seemed more like suggestions, being my coffee addict self, I didn’t follow the pre-cleanse directions as listed in the Raw Juice  manual and continued consuming absurd amounts of caffeine, happily. In turn, I only lasted for 36 hours out of the proposed 72  before things took a turn for the worse. I ended up with huge headaches and fatigue from being suddenly deprived of my usual caffeine levels. So with that, there is a lesson to be learned: always follow cleanse rules. While cold pressed juices are now a food staple for me, everything works best in moderation and cleansing should only be done once per month by beginners.

For extra motivation during my own cleanses  I listen to “Fast Car” by Tracy Chapman (Lucas Türschmann Remix.)

The second endeavor in my pursuit of a healthier lifestyle was to try acai bowls. In essence acai bowls have two parts:

1.     The acai fruit base (acai is a super fruit from the amazon available in markets like Trader Joes and Whole Foods)
2.  Secondary topping of your choice: fruit, shaved coconut, nut butters, honey etc.

As weird as it may seem, chowing down on an acai bowl feels like taking bites of spring or summer. With that said, buying one can cost between $8-$10, but making them at home can be much more cost-friendly in the long run. You can even order frozen acai packets to your house and whip up many other combinations.

Here are a two of my favorite recipes that you can try at home:

Basic Acai Bowl

•    1 Acai packet
•    1 c blueberries
•    1/2 banana
•    2 tbsp vanilla protein powder
•    1 tbsp chia seeds
•    .5 tbsp coconut butter
•    1.5 c almond milk
•   0.5 c water

When I cook with all the bright colors of fruits and berries I listen to “Budapest” by George Ezra to set the mood.

Purple Bliss Acai Bowl

•      1 Acai packet
•      1 cup almond milk
•      1 tbsp honey
•      1/2 banana
•      1/2 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen)
•      7 mango chunks, frozen
•      7 pineapple chunks, frozen
•      7 strawberries, frozen

If you’re curious to try a cold press juice or acai bowl before try to make one yourself, here are a few places in Palm Beach country to try out:

Raw Juice

2200 Glades Rd, Boca Raton, FL 33431

Bee Organics

123 Datura St, WPB, FL 33401

3 Natives

251 U.S. 1, Tequesta, FL 33469