It’s the first day after your juice cleanse. You’ve taken a pretty big step towards improving your health. You’re feeling proud but more importantly, you’re feeling hungry. Just the thought of getting back to solid foods is making you salivate.
It can be tempting to indulge in some french fries or your favorite takeout meal. But on the other hand, you want to hang onto the health benefits of juicing and actually turn them into long term benefits.
The good news is you don’t have to choose. You can enjoy the process of healthy eating while learning what to eat after a juice cleanse. It’s just as important to prepare for your post cleanse eating as it is to prepare before your cleanse.
Curious about what to expect before and during your juice cleanse? I did Raw Generation’s 3 day lower sugar juice cleanse and documented the results.
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Foods to Eat After A Juice Cleanse
Juice cleanses are a great way to reset how you approach your diet as a whole. The simplest way to think about it is to focus on whole foods.
After your juice cleanse, stock up on fresh fruits and vegetables, grains, healthy fats, and protein. I’m sure we all know what foods fall into those categories.
For some inspiration, here is what I usually buy when I go grocery shopping.
Fruits and Vegetables
I don’t buy all of these items every time I go grocery shopping. Whatever’s on sale is what I usually end up buying. It also depends on what’s in season.
Protein
I eat mostly plant based but will occasionally buy beef.
If you eat meat more often, stick with meat that is minimally processed such as beef or chicken. Salmon, tilapia, and shrimp are great choices too if you like seafood.
When you’re just coming off of a juice cleanse, it’s a good idea to save bacon, sausage, hot dogs and other processed foods for later. And by later, I mean an occasional meal.
Grains
Healthy Fats
Foods to Avoid After a Juice Cleanse
In general, if you focus on cooking from scratch using whole foods, you’ll be just fine. Avoid any fried foods, anything with refined sugars (especially if you’re watching your sugar intake), and anything overly processed.
If you’re just coming off of a juice cleanse, carbonated drinks might also be a problem for you. You most likely got rid of any bloating during the cleanse. Plus, carbonated drinks are usually filled with sugar. The last thing you want to do is start off by dumping a ton of added sugars into your digestive system.
Now this isn’t to say that you should never eat processed foods again. Heck, I still eat processed foods. But the vast majority of your meals should be made up of healthy, whole foods.
What I Ate After My Juice Cleanse
If you’re looking for a little bit of inspiration, here’s what I ate the day after my juice cleanse.
Breakfast
Farro topped w/ mango, apples, walnuts, raisins and hemp seeds; almond milk
8 oz black coffee
Lunch
Black eyed peas w/ rice
Cabbage cooked w/ onions, garlic, tomatoes, and green pepper
8 oz black coffee
Snack
Siggi’s plant based vanilla yogurt
Topped w/ cherries, toasted pecans, & hemp seeds
Dinner
Tofu scramble w/ broccoli
Coconut ginger rice cooked w/ turmeric
Tips for Getting Back to Eating Solid Foods
The cleanse I did was only 3 days. So I didn’t have any issues getting back to eating solid foods. Although I didn’t measure anything (I usually don’t), I ate my normal amount. I’m definitely “team eye-ball everything” over here.
If you have any concerns about your gut health or any other digestive system issues, start out with smaller meals. Eat slowly and really pay attention to how your body reacts. Everybody is different. Plus, how long you did your cleanse could also affect how your body handles solid food.
Also, don’t forget to drink plenty of water. I drink about 96-128 oz of water every day. If you need help deciding how much water is right for you, start with half your body weight in ounces.
How to Make Your Eating Habits Healthier
Chances are if you’ve already decided to do a juice cleanse, you’re looking for ways to continue to reap the benefits.
You probably don’t want the juice cleanse and your post cleanse meals to be a one-and-done type of situation. Plus, whether you’re looking to lose weight or simply to feel more energized, you’ll need to have some healthy, delicious meals in your back pocket.
Remember how before your juice cleanse you (hopefully) had some healthy snacks around the house? That same rule can be applied for your regular, day-to-day eating.
You’re much more likely to eat fresh vegetables if you’ve already got your kale washed and chopped. Or if your carrot sticks are washed and ready for when that 3pm slump hits.
The quickest way to quit something whether that’s exercise or eating healthier is to make it unpleasant. If you don’t like something, why bother eating it? There are so many different fruits and vegetables, whole grains and other foods out there that you really don’t need to corner yourself into eating any one thing.
It doesn’t matter if every influencer swears by lemon juice squeezed into a warm glass of water. Or if you’re constantly told to eat boring lean chicken with steamed vegetables.
If you don’t like it, keep experimenting until you find something you do like.
A Few More Thoughts…
To put it simply, the best foods to eat after a juice cleanse are whole foods. So think: complex carbohydrates (white or sweet potatoes or white or brown rice), fruits and vegetables, proteins, and fats.
Listen to your body and eat small portions at first, if you need to.
Also, stay hydrated. You don’t need to avoid coffee unless you find that you’re negatively impacted by caffeine. (I didn’t stop drinking my coffee even while on my juice cleanse. Because coffee is life).
Herbal teas are a great caffeine-free substitute if you just enjoy having a hot drink.
When it comes to achieving your health goals, a juice cleanse can help you start fresh with making healthy choices.
Use your juice cleanse as a time to reflect on what food you’ve been eating lately that’s made your body feel good. And also what’s made your body feel not-so-good.
Make a list of the foods you’ve enjoyed AND made your body feel good. That’s what you can stock your fridge with once your juice cleanse is over.
The path to leading a vibrant, healthy life doesn’t have to be miserable. Now that ending your juice cleanse doesn’t sound quite so complicated, are you ready to try Raw Generation’s lower sugar juice cleanse?
