As we find ourselves early into the new year many of us have likely made resolutions or set goals that revolve around our health, weight or fitness. The new year is a fresh start and gives us a chance to hit reset on our routines and work towards a healthier lifestyle post-holiday. The holidays are a time when it's easy to get off track of healthy habits. Family gatherings, parties with friends and busy schedules which lead to less cooking (for me anyways! lol) mean that it's very easy to stop taking care of your body by feeding it properly.

Last year I did a juice cleanse that totally rocked my world in the best way possible. I was having some issues with feeling crappy all the time, low on energy, and just feeling a general overall feeling of "blah". I hit pause on the madness, did a cleanse for three days and felt like a new woman. The cleanse actually affected my cooking and eating habits for months afterwards and I pretty much felt like a rockstar in the health department. Fast forward to a year later and I found myself back in the same place.

An incredibly busy schedule and a few stressful months really took it's toll on me. I was back to being lethargic, feeling gross and groggy and not taking care of myself by cooking healthy meals and eating properly. It's a cycle that's incredibly easy to fall into and can be tough to get out of. So this year I decided to try a different type of cleanse - a raw food cleanse, to help me kickstart my healthy eating habits for the new year!

Yes, you heard me- a cleanse where you can eat food! haha I loved the juice cleanse I did but as you might remember, I found myself "mentally hungry" often so the idea of a raw food cleanse really intrigued me. Thankfully Glow Juicery, who I already love and adore for their yummy juices, has a raw food cleanse so I signed up for three days with no idea what to expect.

When I picked up my cleanse I was handed three bags of food, one for each day. Each bag contained a breakfast, lunch, dinner and snack and several juices/nut milks for each day.

The breakfasts in the cleanse included tasty overnight oats, a tropical chia pudding with dried coconut and fruit and a yummy granola with the almond milk that is seriously the most delicious drink I've maybe ever had ever! For reals - Glow adds dates to their almond milk which is a major game changer.

Lunches and dinners rotated between soups and salads each day. The soups were probably my favorite meals of the whole cleanse. The borscht was so tasty I'd have never guessed in a million years that it was raw and vegan! I also had a delicious squash soup and a gazpacho that had me nearly licking the bowl it was so good!

The salads were surprisingly filling and of course, also really delicious. One was a quinoa veggie bowl with a yummy creamy dressing, another was a lighter salad with lots of greens and veggies and topped with squash and seeds and the third salad had kelp noodles and a ton of veggies. It surprised me that when I took my time to eat slower and savour my foods instead of devouring them like the beast I usually am (true story), I felt full and satisfied which was my main concern going into the cleanse.

For snacks each day there were at least two juices/almond milks and either a glow bar or energy bites to keep you going throughout the day. To my surprise, I never found myself physically hungry during this cleanse. The raw food menu is designed to give you exactly what you need to fuel yourself throughout the day and I had alarms set for when to eat that usually went off before I even realized it was time for the next meal or snack.

Overall, I am thrilled with my experience. I ended the three day cleanse feeling energized, happier and healthier. I did lose almost 10lbs - although I definitely want to mention that weight loss was not my goal and that I'm pretty sure it was bloat that most likely will slowly creep back on without me even noticing haha

I know for a fact that I will 100% be doing this raw cleanse again. In fact, I'd quite like glow's chef to just move in and prepare my food daily! If you're looking to get a head start on some of your health related goals in the new year I'd absolutely recommend looking into Glow's raw food cleanse as a healthy way to kick start good habits for the new year!

Glow Into the New Year