Don’t get me wrong, I love a good juice cleanse every once in a while and most of them taste pretty good, but they’re difficult to do! I’m usually left starving, even after just the first day, and then I grab the biggest cheeseburger I see when I’m done, which practically defeats the purpose. So, when someone asked me if I wanted to try a soup cleanse, I was hesitant at first, thinking it would just be more of the same with a little bit of a thicker consistency. But, I was so wrong! Soupure was the real deal.
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I decided to try the brand’s 1-day cleanse, which consisted of five soups and two fruit-infused waters (they also offer a 3-day cleanse with a similar regimen). When the soups were delivered, I was immediately excited. The packaging looked modern and fresh and the soups were vibrant in color, which I equated to rich in nutrients since I had read about the ingredients ahead of time. I started the cleanse the next day—here’s how it went:
First thing in the morning, I had the SOOTHE chicken bone miso broth soup (the brand calls this one a “warm morning chaser”), which required boiling on the stove so I could drink it warm. It was delicious and a great way to start the day. I’d liken it to a chicken noodle soup without the chicken or noodles. Also, drinking something like this at the start of your day (hot water with lemon works too), is a great way to kickstart your metabolism.
Next up was the cold SUPERHERO soup, a nuts and seeds blend that you’re supposed to drink for breakfast or after your workout. It was super creamy and full of yummy things like almond milk, dates, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, etc. It was so delicious; I could have drank five!
For lunch, I poured the HEAL soup (zucchini basil) into a bowl and microwaved it. To me, this was a restaurant-quality soup. It was full of flavor and had actual chunks of organic zucchini in it and a great mix of spices.
When late afternoon came around, I wasn’t even feeling hungry, but I knew it was time for my “afternoon snack,” the chilled ENERGIZE soup. The strawberry cashew flavor tasted like a slightly more tart version of a strawberry milkshake—very good—and gave me a nice little boost to get through the rest of my workday.
The cleanse also comes with two alkaline waters (they reminded of spa water—one was infused with cucumber and basil and the other had a pear-yuzu flavor) that you drink in between meals and snacks whenever you feel like you need one. These are designed to assist in the cleansing of your system and keep you hydrated.
Lastly, there was dinner. A thick, warm, RESTORE soup called Japanese sweet potato that was packed with parsnips, leeks, ginger, coconut oil and more. This was the only one that didn’t get me super excited (I didn’t think the flavor profile was as robust as my previous soups), but I still found it to be a hearty, satisfying dinner.
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So you may be asking, why soup? The difference is in the quality of nutrients. Soupure believes that certain whole vegetables need cooking to maximize their nutritional value. When juices are processed or cold-pressed, etc, many experts argue that they lose the bulk of their nutritional content. Also, with souping, I never felt like I was “starving” to rid my body of toxins. I felt great, like I had fed my body what it needed to function efficiently, boost energy and recharge itself.
I slept better than ever that night and I felt more fueled the next morning. It’s neat to see how your body acts when it’s not being loaded down with coffee, afternoon snacking around the office and a late night treat (or two!). No, I don’t think a cleanse is a miracle treatment that gets rid of all the bad and transforms you overnight, but it does show you what it’s like to eat in a nutritionally balanced way, which may make you think twice about what you consume in the future.
Overall, I say bring on the 3-day! Unlike many juice cleanses, I’d actually look forward to it.
