260 278
HEALTH&FITNESS
260
April15
REJUICENATE REVIEWED
Our cleanse:
The beginner’s Rejuicenation Cleanse, 5 days,
$500 per person. Juices include Mean Green, Pineapple Punch
and Coconut H20.
Amy:
I was pretty apprehensive about the thought of a five-day
cleanse with no solid food. I’m known for getting extremely
grumpy if I’m hungry, and I find it hard to go for three days straight
without a glass of wine. But I was hopeful that this cleanse would
reset these inner issues.
The first and last days, when I wasn’t in the office, were the
hardest, particularly when I was with the kids. I enjoyed almost
all of the juices, particularly the evening Liquid Dessert, which
I poured into a glass and drank with a spoon to make it feel
more like a meal.
The sense of achievement afterwards was amazing; I felt
stronger, and more able to make sensible decisions about my
food habits. I’m drinking more herbal tea than coffee, and I lost
a little bit of weight too.
James:
Overall, the cleanse was
a great experience. It was tough at
times, but I felt incredible the day
after it ended, both mentally and
physically: it was the best I’d felt for
a long time.
My favourite juices were the
Liquid Dessert and the Red Label
Smoothie. The hardest part was
the caffeine withdrawal, as I usually
drink a lot of tea; but I would
definitely do this cleanse again.
What’s Next?
Rejuicenate has recently started
making dehydrated snack products,
including coconut jerky and banana
almond bread, which are available
online at
rejuicenate.net
. The
company is branching into catering
and is now making healthy meals
for selected Pure Fitness outlets. It
is also planning a programme that
pairs food with cold-pressed juices,
and is working on nutrition-labelling
that will provide information on the
calories, protein and carbohydrates
in its products.
There’s been negative press regarding
cleansing, focusing on whether the
purported detoxification benefits actually
work. What do you say to that?
Okay, I’m not a doctor; I’m a chef. And we work
really hard to make sure these juices have enough
nutrition within them that your insulin doesn’t spike.
It’s not a miracle cure; our cleanses are more aimed
at giving your body a rest and pressing the reset
button. I liken it to a car: if you don’t change your oil
in your car it starts to run poorly. Drinking only these
juices for three or five days is not an easy thing to
do, so there’s an added sense of accomplishment
after you’ve finished.
Why should someone choose to use your
products rather than juice at home?
What we offer is convenience and taste. Yes, you
could do this at home, but a three-day cleanse
requires 18 bottles, and that’s roughly ten kilos of
fruit and vegetables. That’s a lot of chopping, and a
lot of processing. Also, our juices are blended and
quality-tested by myself or my talented sous chef
before they go out, to make sure they are perfectly
balanced. I make the juices with the same care and
passion as I do my food.
What makes you different from other
juicing companies?
For one, we are the only juice company that is
helmed by chefs. As a trained chef, I only source
the best possible ingredients and have sought out
partners and suppliers who can provide us with the
highest quality produce and fruit. We also have a
strong relationship with many local farmers; we
have a farmer who grows a particular type of kale
for us, for instance.