I know that juice cleanses can be a controversial topic amongst the health industry and I’m definitely not an expert on the pros and cons or apparent health benefits. However, I do know that for the last week or so I have been eating some meals that I wouldn’t normally eat and I have noticed the difference in how I feel massively!
 
Indulging in a few pieces of pizza and then a creamy carbonara a few nights later was all fun at the time but now I don’t feel good at all. Feeling bloated, sluggish and tired are not normal for me and I’m really not enjoying these feelings at all. These feelings are what prompted me to try a single day juice cleanse.
 
I know I can just go back to my normal, clean diet, but I feel like trying a single day juice cleanse will help me to start the week fresh with no toxins or left over yucky stuff in my tummy. I will openly admit that I love a placebo and this may have a placebo effect on me but I see this as a positive – as long as I feel better and get out of the bad habit I’ve somehow started in the last week.
 
So I will break my day down into what juices I’ve had, what time I’ve had them and how I’m feeling. Please note that I’m not following a certain juice cleanse or any particular rules, I have never done a juice cleanse before so I’m making this up as I go.
 
7:45am
Green tea – I’m not sure if I can have green teas on a juice cleanse since it’s not juice, but I love green tea so I’m still having my morning tea.
 
8:10am
First juice of the day: Green smoothie – this smoothie has kale, cucumber, celery, parsley, ginger, one small apple, ice and water. I made enough for two smoothies so I’ll have this one now, then another later.
 
11am
Second juice of the day: Green smoothie – I’m actually not that hungry but I felt like I should have this smoothie now before I do get hungry.

With Valentine’s Day having been and gone for another year, I started to think more about self-love. Sure, Valentine’s Day is a nice excuse to show someone how much you love them, and there’s no denying that it is nice having this feeling reciprocated. But why don’t we show ourselves that we love ourselves?

I read a quote on Instagram that really stood out to me…
 
‘If I were to ask you to list the things you love, how long would it take for you to say yourself?’
 
When I actually thought about what my answer would be to this question, I was horrified to admit that I wouldn’t even think to say ‘myself’ if someone asked me that. I would be listing things like sunny days, sushi, my dog, flowers and my boyfriend.
 
How is it that we don’t think of ourselves as someone/something to love, even though we are someone else’s someone to love?

​I decided to change this for myself. Every day since Valentines Day I have started my morning with my usual routine; yoga, a short meditation, a cup of green tea or a glass of kombucha and a healthy breakfast. But I’ve added something that has improved each day immensely. I’ve added in some ‘self-love mantra’s’.

Just quickly, if you haven’t already, read part one of my kombucha making journey so this post makes sense…
 
Talk about a roller-coaster of a first batch of kombucha! I tasted my kombucha on day seven and liked the flavor, however I was away for the next few days (bad planning on my part – sorry kombucha) so I couldn’t stop the first fermenting process at that time.
 
Fast forward to day twelve and I tried it again. I did like the flavor, but this time my kombucha was a lot more bitter… actually, it tasted more vinegary than bitter (not bad, just not ideal for my taste buds). This week being a bit of a shamble for me I was only able to stop the first fermenting process and start flavouring on day fourteen – my flavours of choice were ginger for one bottle and mint and lime for the other.

Did I mention my kombucha grew a baby SCOBY?! Proud mother moment over here. Check out my babies in the photo below (if you’ve never seen a SCOBY don’t freak out, I swear they’re meant to look like slimy little alien mushrooms). In the second photo: The dark one on the right is the mother that I bought from someone off Gumtree and the round one is the baby that grew to the size of my brewing jar.

Let me start by saying rice paper rolls are one of my absolute favourite things to put in my tummy. The crunchy-ness of the vegetables, the Asian flavours, the herbs, getting creative and trying new fillings, making them with friends, literally everything about rice paper rolls I love.
 
They make for a fun and healthy dinner or lunch to make with others or on your own. People seem to think they’re hard to make but honestly, they’re so easy to whip up.
 
As you’re reading this blog I assume you’re already convinced (or at least partly convinced) that rice paper rolls are a good idea so let’s get into the good stuff.
 
I’ve listed my standard go-to recipe for vegetarian and non-vegetarian rice paper rolls, as well as a list of other fillings you can add and my Asian inspired dipping sauce.

Vegetarian Rolls

Ingredients

• Red cabbage, finely sliced
• Beans (chopped into 3-4cm pieces)
• Carrots (julienne)
• Cucumber (julienne)
• Vermicelli (cooked in boiling water)
• Coriander or mint
• Fried onion (optional)

 
You can add any crunchy vegetables like bean sprouts, capsicum, snow peas, sugar snap peas... even avocado. Depending on what you feel like.  
 
Now to the fun part; rolling them!
Step one:
Fill a round dish/saucepan (big enough to fit a sheet of rice paper in) with two-centimeters of water
Step two:
Set up your rolling station with all pre-cut vegetables, cooked vermicelli, round dish/sauce pan, a wooden chopping board and a plate to put your finished rice paper rolls on. NOTE: to ensure your rice paper doesn’t stick to the surface you are rolling it on (the wooden chopping board), either wet the chopping board with some water or wet a clean tea-towel and place this on top of the board.

Step three:
Soak one sheet of rice paper for 15-20 seconds
Step four:
Place the soaked rice paper on the wet board/tea-towel and add fillings to about one third of the rice paper, towards the center and with the sides free (see photo’s). Make sure you don’t overfill as this can cause the rice paper to split.
Step five:
Tightly roll the rice paper over the fillings, then fold each side in and roll – see photo’s.
Step six:
Continue steps three to five to make more rice paper rolls until you’re all rolled out.
Step seven:
Enjoy your freshly made, vegetarian rice paper rolls (see dipping sauce ideas below)!