The Best Juice Cleanses
We love food at goop, to the extent that we spend our days trying new restaurants and test-driving recipes. Every once in a while, we like to give our digestive systems a break and do a good old-fashioned detox or juice cleanse. This is not about weight loss (though it’s quite possible you’ll shed a few pounds), but rather a way to reset and restart.
The Goop Rules To Juice Cleansing
COLD-PRESSED
This method of extraction doesn’t oxidize or degrade the ingredients and keeps nutrients and enzymes more intact.
ORGANIC
For obvious reasons, fruits and veggies should be free of pesticides.
RAW & UNPASTEURIZED
Raw pressed veggies that haven’t been heated maximizes the nutrients.
WHENEVER POSSIBLE, NO HPP
High Pressure Pascalization (HPP) is a method for preserving food without using heat. Bigger cold-pressed juice companies will use this to extend the shelf life of juices, allowing them to distribute to grocery stores and ship them. It’s not always possible, but we prefer juices without HPP.
HOW WE PREP:
It’s impossible to jump right into a cleanse without some diet clean-up first. The week before, we start eliminating caffeine, sugar, dairy, and meat: These goop Make’s are full of helpful recipes for easing in and out of the week: Detox; It’s All Good; Winter Detox; Lunch Bowls. Of course, juice detoxing may not be for everyone. If you’re a novice or have any questions, you should check with a physician before starting a juice cleanse.
HOW WE GET THROUGH IT:
We always start each cleanse morning with a glass of warm lemon water. Throughout the day (depending on how many juices we need to get through), we supplement with herbal teas, hot water with lemon or ginger, and room temperature water. We find light exercise and colonics help things along as you’re shedding toxins from your system. It’s also very useful to have a cleanse buddy and to stay scheduled and busy, particularly around meal-times.
Juice Cleanse Cheat Sheet: While you’re really not supposed to eat while juicing, if you’re in a bind, try some cucumber or celery slices with lemon and a touch of Maldon sea salt, or a bowl of warm vegetable broth (especially good if you’re cleansing in cold weather).
LA: Local + International Delivery (Based on Cleanse)
This is one of GP’s main go-tos for her twice-yearly cleanse—it makes her feel high and amazing. That said, it had the opposite effect on a novice goop cleanser, and probably shouldn’t be attempted unless you do a pre-cleanse the week before, or are proficient in the art of detoxification. It’s unlike other options in that their Signature calls for about double the amount of drinks per day: 13 in total (it’s a lot to get down) many of which are brewed from esoteric ingredients like reishi mushroom and fermented chlorella. The package also includes laxatives and liver cleansing antioxidants, making it all a bit more intense. They’ve recently launched a nicely-priced supplement set which they can ship overseas—it just involves mixing or buying your own juices. Meanwhile, the price of the juice cleanses just went down by about 30%.
LA: Pick-Up + Local Delivery
West Hollywood | 8366 W. 3rd St. | 323.944.0409
Pasadena | 57 E. Holly St. | 626.578.0101
This the perfect juice gateway drug for cleanse newbies: Beyond their most popular drink, Green Milk, which is like having dessert for dinner, the Charcoal Lemonade is delicious, despite the suspiciousness of drinking montmorillonite clay and activated charcoal (in contrast, the jalapeño-laced beet juice is tough to swallow). You can also add in extras to ease the process: We opted for the raw soup (a carrot-based gazpacho) and the coconut superfood bar (nice when you miss the sensation of chewing). All that aside, it was really love at first sight when we saw the milk bottle carton packaging and the branding, like the DO ME (FIRST, 02, 03, 04, 05, LAST) directions on the caps.
LA: Pick-Up Only
Venice | 507 Rose Ave. | 310.399.2929
Silver Lake | 2839 West Sunset Blvd. | 213.908.5407
With two L.A. locations, Moon Juice comes complete with a side order of New Age healing, in the best possible way. Each juice lists ingredients by their therapeutic value: Goodness Greens is alkalizing, healing, stimulating, and mood-lifting, while Turmeric Gold is stated to be painkilling, metabolism-boosting, and antioxidizing. We tried their Green Cleanse, which is no joke, as they don’t temper the earthiness of the greens—even the end-of-day Almond Milk is unsweetened, which is rare. The lack of sugar and caffeine led to a slight headache midday, which is a normal detox side effect. That said, after just a couple of days, we were feeling super clean and clear-headed (and actually kind of high).
LA: Local Delivery
Admittedly delicious, the Signature Cleanse here hardly feels like a sacrifice, making this ideal for novices: These are definitely the most delicious cleanse-based juices we’ve tried. The Signature includes six drinks per day, favorites being the Rawkstar Smoothie (almond milk, mango, kale, cinnamon, and stevia) and the Baja Mint Cooler (pineapple, cucumber, mint, and jalapeno). Each juice employs some sort of sweetener, so if you aren’t used to sugar, it might feel like a slight overload—but will undoubtedly give you a lot of energy during the day. On the third day, we opted for the Juice Till Sunset, which included four juices, a chia seed pudding, and a hearty salad (which tasted insanely good after a couple of days of no chewing). Red Carpet Cleanse uses HPP, but we like their juices so much we put them on the list anyway.
Red Carpet recently lowered the price of their signature cleanse from $90 to $72 per day, but are offering an additional 10% off to goop readers. Use code ‘goop10’ at checkout. Offer valid one month from today.
LA: Local Delivery Only
Sirona specializes in longer-term alkaline cleanse retreats in Mexico (and four times a year in LA), which include whole foods, broths, and supplements. They are known for their “Cleanse & Flush” program, where the idea is to give the body the essential vitamins, nutrients, and fiber through a combination of whole foods and juicing to fortify, detox, and promote evacuation. Though it seems easier as there’s food involved, it’s a minimum five-day commitment, and Sirona recommends you actually spend 15. They also now deliver their five-day cleanses locally in LA at a designated time each month if you’d rather not travel.
10% to goop readers with code GP5. Valid one month from today.
London: Delivery Throughout the UK
Cold-pressed juice can be hard to come by in London, especially of the pure green variety: The raw, organic cleanses from Plenish are the best we’ve tried across the pond. For one, they vary in intensity (many are sweetened by a touch of apple or pear), and for two, it’s a great schedule. On the Level 2 cleanse, we always look forward to the pineapple juice around 11am (after the morning green), and the spicy lemonade at 3pm. We often skip the green in the afternoon and go straight from the lemonade to the cashew milk, which is some of the best we’ve tried. It’s subtly sweetened with dates, and includes a dash of Himalayan sea salt for contrast. Plenish uses HPP, but we still think they’re London’s best juice cleanse option.
20% off of all cleanses for goop readers with code ‘PLENISHGOOP’ at checkout. Offer valid one month from today.
NYC: Pick-Up + Local Delivery
West Village | 496 Sixth Ave. | 212.229.2221
This Winter Reboot cleanse from the new organic café, Feel Food, in NYC’s West Village includes warm components for those still freezing their a**es off on the East Coast. The day begins with a Bee Pollen alkaline water, followed by green juice. At lunch, you warm up a veggie puree, which you can eat from a bowl with a spoon (making it feel like you’re not skipping lunch). More alkaline water, a green juice, and an echinacea/goldenseal infusion are accompanied by a hot (in temperature and spice) cold-busting, energy-boosting mixture to drink midday. We warmed up the potassium-packed Mushroom Tonic around dinnertime and ate it from a bowl as well. You make up for the comforting warm broths by skipping a higher-fat nut milk (which many cleanses offer) in the evening, which left us feeling light, but satisfied.
NYC: Pick-Up + Local Delivery
Financial District | 102 Fulton St. | 646.454.0680
We discovered this small vegan café/juicery in the Financial District when it opened just a year ago, as it’s one of the only places in the area to offer 100% organic, raw, cold-pressed juice—all made fresh in-house daily. We like the Fearless Cleanse, a line-up of six juices. Though they all have a green component, they’re varied enough to make it interesting: In addition to the standard kale/spinach mixes, there’s one with wheatgrass and one with E3Live. Even on the first day, we were feeling the effects of the detox, most notably in a runny nose and an energetic euphoria around 3pm.
Williamsburg: Pick-Up + Local Delivery
142 N. 6th St. | 718.599.5575
This juice comes with a side of hipster edge. Marked by a neon green sign, this clean, minimal shop is filled with juices, raw snacks, and green plants. The cleanse begins each morning with a nice jolt: Orange, grapefruit and a shot of cayenne. After that, it’s an all-star line-up of delicious green juices, a root juice, and a creamy almond milk to finish the day.
Minneapolis: Pick-Up Only
1428 W. 32nd St. | 612.825.1684
This brand-new, cold-pressed boutique juice operation—co-founded by Blaire Molitor, who recently moved to Minnesota from Southern California—offers two levels. The juice is made on-site every day (you can watch it being pressed through a large window overlooking the kitchen), and it’s admittedly delicious. The chocolate almond milk is insane, and they include a bit of apple in their root and green juices to sweeten them up, making either cleanse fairly painless.
20% off any purchase if you mention ‘goop’ with your in-store order. Offer valid one month from today.
Toronto: Pick-Up Only
5 Macpherson Ave. | 416.546.1719
Situated in a greenhouse-inspired space in Toronto, this small-scale juice company makes just a few batches of raw, organic, cold-pressed juices and nut milks a day. In addition to traditional boosters, each cleanse also comes with waters. We began each day with a Clean-zing water with maple syrup and cayenne (master-cleanse style), followed by a green juice, an E3 Live booster, more green juice, an almond milk, a raw aloe booster in the afternoon, a root juice, and then a chia seed water to finish. The variation keeps this cleanse interesting and actually fun: We were never bored or struggling with that, “I can’t drink another juice” lag. It’s not included in the cleanse, but you have to try their insane Pink and Green Milks: Almond milk blended with either beets or spinach for a creamy, delicious veggie milkshake.
Mention goop for 20% off of the standard, one-day cleanse package. Offer valid for the 14 days following today’s date.
Next to Try:
Juice Truck, Vancouver
Juice Shop Cleanse, San Francisco
Harvest Juicery, Chicago
Juice, Nashville
The Juice Laundry, Charlottesville, VA
Juice Press, New York
Urban Remedy, Marin
