Fit Is The New Black

Remember how a few weeks ago I made a plea to juice cleansing companies to let me try their product? Well, one answered. Kaeng Raeng , to be specific, and I love them for it! Before I give the skinny on what Kaeng Raeng even is, allow me to remind you why I was so keen on doing it.

I’ve been wanting to cleanse ever since the end of May. Trips to the ice cream shop, girls night out, and dinners at my folks had my face itchy, red and blotchy. I wasn’t surprised or anything. My skin always goes on the warpath when I eat crap. But here’s the thing-my skin had declared peace with me for some time; ever since I declared to eat vegan 6 days out of the week. No yogurt, no half & half, no butter. Nada. Zero. Zilch. Not to toot my own horn but toot-toot. When I was a eating the vegan way I looked good. My skin glowed. My energy was higher than a G6. Too bad I became complacent and started taking bites of the meals I make my boyfriend (P.S. Totally not vegan).

It was only a matter of time from there. Before I knew it I had fallen back into bad habits. Potato chips found their way onto my plate. I drowned my salads in dressing. It was awful. I tried to detox on my own, but you know how that went. So that’s why I screamed out for help through cyberspace. And that’s how Kaeng Raeng came into the picture. What is it: Kaeng Raeng is a 3-6 day juice fast program. It’s gluten free, vegan, has no artificial colors, preservatives, sweeteners, laxatives or any other unpleasant thing you don’t want to ingest. [caption id=”attachment_1458” align=”aligncenter” width=”500”]

There are 3 types of programs to chose from: Beginners, veterans, and masters! Obviously, I was a beginner. If you need help figuring out which program would be best for your goals, the site has a short quiz to help you figure that out.

Instead of shipping juice in bottles-the way many juice companies do-Kaeng Raeng sends its clients a box of freeze-dried raw fruit in pouches, and a 24 oz. bottle. Of course directions are included! Each pouch holds more than a full serving of fruit, fiber, 2 billion probiotic cultures, essential amino acids, 15 grams of lean non-gmo protein and daily vitamins. The bottle is for you to put your juice in, but since I drank all my juices at home I never had to use it.

You get 3 pouches per day, which you can blend with water, milk, yogurt, or fruit. You can also eat raw veggies on the cleanse, along with a SMALL serving of raw unsalted nuts. Each pouch is 206 calories, but adding milk or yogurt to the drinks ups the calorie factor.

According to the website, embarking on the cleanse can help relieve bloating, jump start weight loss, decrease sugar and salt cravings, clear up skin, repair damaged hair, remove toxins and chemicals from your system, and improve mood. Sounds pretty good, right? Keep reading to find out how the program worked for me.

My Experience I wasn’t looking to lose weight while on the cleanse, though I was hoping to eliminate some bloating. My biggest goal was to re-tune my taste buds, as they seemed to want nothing but dairy,salt, and fat. And of course, my skin! My skin had to get better. Now granted, my skin had already started to clear up, thanks to me drinking more water and the cortisone cream I was slathering on it. But I still needed it to glow more. I wanted to glow, damn it!

I loved that the program allowed me to actually eat during the 3-days. For once I wasn’t concerned about getting my servings of fruits and veggies. I ate salads filled with mixed greens, carrots, and very ripe avocado. When the going got tough I’d grab a handful of raw nuts. Oddly enough, I found myself very full whenever I did that.

The first pouch I tried was “daybreak” or glai roong. Made from pineapple, mango and peach, this juice was my favorite. At first sip I was very aware that it was lacking the token tablespoon of honey I like to add to my smoothies. Daybreak was sweet but not overwhelmingly so. It was fruity and refreshing, and I realized that maybe my own smoothies could taste like this without additional sweetener.

Next on the menu was ‘joyful’ or reunn, a combination of raspberry, strawberry and pineapple.

The raspberry flavor was not overly strong, which I liked. I generally avoid using the fruit in my shakes because I can’t stand the seeds. But the way Kaeng Raeng makes their product you’d never know those babies had any seeds to speak of. Down my hatch they went! I also, at the permission of my Kaeng Raeng contact person, added a scoop of my vegan protein powder to my juice. Since I don’t drink milk or eat yogurt this was a good and healthy way for me to up the protein factor. I also added some additional pineapple chunks.

The prettiest and final of the drinks is ‘into the blue’ or juu juu. It’s made from blueberry,blackberry and banana. Blueberries are like an antioxidant gold mine. And blackberries? People don’t realize how much fiber those things have. Talk about delicious and nutritious.

I was pretty good with just drinking my meals until dinner time rolled around, hence the salad pictured above. I also had some raw nuts. I had crazy energy. And I’m not just saying that. I woke up around around 7:30 a.m. and didn’t stop moving till close to 11 at night. I wrote, did laundry, did career related stuff, cleaned up the apartment, blogged, and everything else that came into my mind. I was expecting to feel bloated from all the produce, but I actually felt quiet svelte. The drinks kept me fairly satisfied, though I admit, chewing those nuts felt down right heavenly. I was shocked by how little I had to eat to feel full too. It’s like my body sensed I was eating fat and slammed on its satiated button.

The second day was the hardest. Although I didn’t feel very hungry I found myself wanting to chew something. The raw nuts I had eaten the day before were at my parents house. Impulsively I grabbed my boyfriends stash of salted cashews. I had 2.5 Tbs-I know, because I measured it. I immediately regretted it. The salt was totally offensive to my taste buds. I spent the rest of my day drinking an obscene amount of water. I had a salad later, but not a third shake. I already felt satisfied, which is funny when you consider all I had that day was 2 juices, a salad, and 2.5 tablespoons of nuts.

By day 3 I was cruising. I still had lots of energy to burn. My skin wasn’t looking too shabby either.

The bottom line? Kaeng Raeng is worth trying out, especially if you’re looking to relearn how to eat. I missed chewing more than I thought, but that only showed me that I had gotten into the habit of eating out of boredom-not hunger. I wasn’t very hungry during the 3-days. When I did feel hungry I was quickly satisfied by the juices. I also liked that by making vegetables and raw nuts the only thing I could chew, I was ultimately guaranteed to get my daily servings of both fruits and vegetables, and healthy fats. If you’re a frequent reader of my blog you know that this is generally a challenge for me.

In comparison to other juice-detoxes, Kaeng Raeng cost only $69 bucks for a 3-day program. That means it’s healthy and affordable. Most cleansing companies charge something close to $80 dollars per day! So now it’s your turn. Would you try Kaeng Raeng? Have you tried it? What do you do when you need to cleanse, detox or override a crappy diet? Tell me the details. I always answer back.