A couple of weeks ago, my immune system decided it was going to take its own holiday. And it sucked! This usually happens to me only once a year during the spring. So with me having more time at home since my office was on holiday hours, I decided to go natural! Instead of me loading up on over the counter meds, I hopped on Pinterest and researched natural remedies. Other than continually blowing my nose until it was red raw, I loaded up on lemons, teas and essential oils. The top three: thieves, frankincense, and eucalyptus. Thieves worked wonders on my achingly raw throat. I mixed no more than 10 drops of this oil with honey and water. Mix these three together in a (preferred) glass spray bottle and spray towards the back of your throat. When you think of frankincense, you think Gift of the Magi. Without the gold and myrrh, though, frankincense essential oil was simply used to rub on my feet. Why? The oil needs to absorb through your pores. According to organicaromas.com, one of the benefits for the oil is that it's "a respiratory illness reduced. Frankincense essential oil can ease symptoms of bronchial and sinus infections by clearing the airways in the body." Side note: NEVER ingest the oil. Eucalyptus steam bowls and showers were my favorite. Warm water, about 12-15 drops of this lovely aroma, and I just enclosed myself in the steam. The bowl for five minutes and the shower for however long it took me to get clean. For the the bath or shower, make sure you close the door and allow the steam to completely take over the room. The oil is a powerful remedy for sinus congestion and controls coughing. It is also what most vapor rubs contain. So that's why they smell so good! The supporting cast for my get better naturally adventure includes: honey, lemon, Buda Juice's No 11 and Zen Ginger Shot (always drink plenty of liquids), and a tea remedy I found called Spicy Apple Cider Vinegar Tonic. I started feeling better after about nine days. Be patient with your natural remedies and stay persistent. Grab your favorite oversized knit "feel better sweater" and get lots of rest!
0 Comments
"I have no preconceived notions about this juice cleanse." My subconscious says loud and clear as I write this post about a detox juice cleanse I stumbled upon. Of course that statement proved to be harder and harder to believe as I power through the next two days. My curiosity piqued when I saw the small Buda Juice inlet location in the office building that housed my new job. I went in and the rest is... this blog post. I started easy enough. Getting recommendations and a couple of samples from the sales guy, and just testing my way through. Immediately, I was taken with the Blue Lemonade concoction (No 04 on the website menu). It's a simple apple, cucumber and lemon combination. Following my love of No 04, I indulged myself with two of the fan-favorite meal drinks: the Green Juice (No 01) and the Buda Almond Milk (No M1). There are two other meal drinks. The Red Juice (No 02) and the Buda Basilato Soup (No S1). For No 02, I would proceed with caution. It is NOT for everyone, and include me in that "everyone" because I couldn't even get through five sips! This juice combines apple, beet, celery, ginger, and parsley. No S1 is once again is not for everyone. Especially if you have trouble with veggie drinks. However, I had an easier time getting this one down the hatchet. Probably because this one is an actual soup and I treated it thus. Just like a cold tomato basil soup! As I did the two-day detox from Buda, I kept notes about my process. Day 1: Starbucks chai tea: 8 a.m. to 9:15 a.m. I'm addicted and can't (or maybe "wont"?) start my day without this. It's not part of the detox cleanse, but I'm a little afraid of how my day will go if I don't have my sugar-filled, caffeine-infested tea. No 01-Green Juice: 9:40 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. My breakfast. I taste a lot of the cucumber, spinach and ginger in this. It's a true spicy, healthy start. No 04-Blue Lemonade: 11:45 a.m. to noon Drink this one as a mid-morning (or early lunch) refresher snack. Keep drinking water as you drink these. It's recommended to drink lots of water during this. Lunch: 1 p.m. to 2 p.m.
Normally, the cleanse has you lunch off of the No 02 Red Juice, but for those of us whose body can't stand the "beet", you can substitute No 02 for a small healthy salad. I would recommend protein (non-fatty meats, beans and nuts) and add spinach and/or avocado. I prefer to just have lemon squeezed as the dressing. But if that option isn't available, do a lemon vinaigrette variation. No 04-Blue Lemonade: 3:30 p.m to 3:45 p.m. Snack time! I finished this one in record time. Maybe because I'm still really hungry. Keep the water coming! No S1-Soup Dinner: I'm normally not a big "eat dinner" kind of gal. That and breakfast are just naturally not even thought about. Good thing about this cleanse is now, I have to. But I couldn't put away even half of the 16 oz. The expiration on this one lasts a little longer so you can put it away for day two's dinner. Day 2 came - and you guessed it! I started with my regular soy chai latte! No 01 (8 oz.) - 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Being honest: I'm not seeing much of a difference after day one of the cleanse. Most of the blogs I read prior to my start said they did after the first day. Thumbs twirling. No 04 (16 oz.) - 11 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Still haven't really felt the hungry bug yet. Going to the bathroom a lot, though. Guess that's the cleanse flushing me out! Which is one of the affects I was hoping for. Also, I half the 16 oz. instead of purchasing two 8 oz. bottles. Lunch - 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. I ate something called a Pangoa bowl from a place called Freshii. Really good! About 575 calories of goodness. It was my first true meal since the afternoon of Jan 1st. Zen Grapefruit-No 09 (8 oz.) 2:30 p.m. to 2:45 p.m.
I switched my Blue Lemonade afternoon snack for this pretty looking one. I had a pretty high in protein and fiber lunch so I need a nice flush out! Fun fact: it's a keeper. I'll also do my second dose of the Blue Lemonade later, however, I am downing this grapefruit one like it's a Sauvignon Blanc. No 04 (8 oz.) - 5:20 p.m. to 5:35 p.m. The favorite returns as I wait for my train! No S1 - 6:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. I'm home and doing the most damage I've done yet to the Basilato Soup. It's better today! Really! But I am having to toss out more of it than I'd like. Unfortunately the location where I buy my Buda only has 16 oz. ones of this and not a manageable 8 oz. After all this Buda-ing (2 1/2 days), I did actually notice some improvements!
Thanks for joining me on my loquacious juice journey! Hope I didn't bore you too much. |