DIY Blueprint Cleanse
It’s cleanse season! This time around, I’ve ditched the nasty powdery mix and have tried to reproduce the popular and expensive Blueprint Cleanse.
The main purpose of the Blueprint Cleanse isn’t losing weight, it’s detoxification. However, since I don’t smoke, drink alcohol, or use drugs, I think I’m more or less a toxin-free zone. What I do need help with are some PCOS-related symptoms that make me very uncomfortable. Additionally, I also have the desire to develop more self-control when it comes to food. Don’t we all?
Luckily for frugalistas everywhere, BPC lists the ingredients of each part of their cleanse on their bottles:
After procuring some recipes, I got started on my three-day DIY BPC minus the red juice because I forgot to buy the ingredients for it.
Side note: It’s tough to get an exact measurement of ingredients when a recipe calls for “a handful of romaine” and I ended up getting a bit more than I needed. I also made double of the green juice to compensate for the forgotten red juice.
Here’s what I got:
- 24 small Granny Smith apples – $10
- 1 box of romaine lettuce – $4
- 3 bags of celery – $7.50
- 6 English cucumbers (these are longer than the normal ones and was all they had) – $15
- 1 bunch of kale – $1.50
- 1 bunch of parsley – $3
- 2 bags of spinach leaves – $6
- 1 pineapple – $2
- A few sprigs of mint – $1.75
- 8 large lemons – $6
- 16 ounce box of cashews – $10
- Small bottle of vanilla extract – $6
- Cayenne pepper $5
- 24-pack of Nestle bottled water – $4
I bought the cheapest of everything. There’s a reason why this cleanse is $70 per day – the ingredients are pricey.
Here’s what that all looks like after your husband hauls it out of the car for you. Minus the bottled water – he had to go back for that. Thank you, ST. 
Making these juices was a DEBACLE. First of all, you don’t need a fancy juicer. I used our non-fancy Cuisinart blender and a strainer. The strainer is key.
Before Juicing
- Prep your cashews. Before you start doing anything, dump the cashews into a large bowl. Pour enough bottled water into the bowl so that all the nuts are covered by at least an inch of water. This prepares the cashews for the cashew milk. Some people recommend soaking for 8-10 hours. I soaked mine for about 2 hours and they turned out just fine.
- Line your sink. Get one or two large trash bags and place them in your sink. Doing so will prevent from having to unclog and clean up this result:
Begin with the green juice. It’s the most labor-intensive and messy.
Green Juice
Each 16 ounce bottle of green juice requires:
- 5 stalks of celery
- 1 cucumber
- 2 green apples
- 3 kale leaves
- 1 ounce of lemon juice
- 1 handful of parsley
- 3 romaine leaves
- 1 handful of spinach
- 1 bottle of water
You can adjust the ingredients depending on your reference. I will scale back on the celery next time.
Directions
- Wash and cut up the celery and apples. Don’t bother peeling the apples – it just wastes time. The strainer will take care of the skins.
- Peel, wash, and cut up the cucumber.
- Wash and tear up the kale, parsley, romaine, and spinach.
- Add these to your blender – the order does not matter.
- Add lemon juice and bottle of water.
- Puree for a minute.
- Put your strainer over a large bowl and pour the contents of the blender into it. If you have a small bowl, you will have to do this in stages. The straining takes a while, so prep your next ingredients while you wait.
- Press out the last bit of juices with a spoon. Discard the pulp and pour the juice into the empty water bottle.
I was pleasantly surprised when our blender combined the ingredients so smoothly.
Pour out the contents in batches into your strainer. There was such a large quantity of green juice that I eventually had to fill our crock pot, which is the largest pot we have.
Straining takes f-o-r-e-v-e-r… Expedite the process by pressing on the pulp with a spoon.
Repeat, repeat, repeat.
The green juice was the most time-consuming part. The other juices are actually kind of fun.
Pineapple Apple Mint
This one is delicious! Here’s what you need for three 16 ounce bottles:
- 1 pineapple
- 5 Granny Smith apples
- Juice from half a lemon
- 2-3 sprigs of mint, depending on how much you like
- About 2 bottles of water
Spicy Lemonade
This drink is just a filler. It does its job. Here’s what you need for three 16 ounce bottles:
- 3-4 lemons, depending on how sour your like your lemonade
- 4 tablespoons Agave nectar (or less, depending on how sweet you like your drinks). Side note: I didn’t add this to the grocery list because I already had it.
- 2 dashes of cayenne pepper
- About 2 bottles of water
Next time, I will pick up a citrus hand press for this part. Poor ST had to squeeze all the lemons for me. They make everything smell so fresh and clean though – even the trash.
Cashew Milk
Yum! This looks, smells, and tastes delicious. Here’s what you need for three 16 ounce bottles:
- 16 ounces of cashew nuts
- 3 tablespoons of Agave nectar
- 1 tablespoon of ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
- About 2 bottles of water. I used 3 and found that my cashew milk was a bit on the thin side.
Its amazing how creamy it looks without any milk in it.
Four hours of juicing and here’s what I have to show for it:
Three bottles each of pineapple apple mint, spicy lemonade, and cashew milk. Six bottles of green juice + a bunch more I made for a friend. I’m set for the next three days. Hopefully, the results will be worth all the juicing. In a way, all the blood, sweat, and tears motivates me more.
Update
You guys have been asking some really good clarifying questions! I drank the juices in this order: green juice, pineapple apple mint, spicy lemonade, and cashew milk. I didn’t really have a set time for each juice, but rather a time frame. Green juice for breakfast, PAM, green juice, lemonade, and cashew milk. It felt awesome to complete it!
dang woman, how’d u get a pineapple for $2??? and what kind of lemons cost $6?? ok, i am a newbie when it comes to these cleanses. what do u expect them to do and how do they work (e.g., make u go poopy or what??). how about siting in a hot sauna for a cleanse? when i’m feeling sick, i feel better if i’ve sweated buckets. how’d u learn about these cleanses? i’m curious. i’ve learned so much reading your blog!
Well, I’m not an expert either when it comes to cleanses. I’ve fasted with just water, done the powder cleanse, and now I’m doing the juice cleanse. So far, the juice cleanse is my favorite. Their primary purpose is for detoxification but I find it boosts weight loss and just helps you feel a lot better in general. I learned about cleanses from somewhere on the Internet, I’m sure. I like doing them in the summer to kick start bathing suit season.
Oh, this is so interesting! I’ve wanted to do a cleanse for a few years--my sister loves them--but I was always intimidated and doubted that I had enough self-control. They seem so extreme. But the variety of fruits and veggies here seems healthier and more balanced than the other cleanses I’ve seen. Please keep us posted and let us know how it goes, and how you feel!
I’m also impressed that Blueprint has a package that includes classes at an Exhale spa. I LOVE my Exhale Core Fusion workout DVDs, and anything associated with Exhale sounds good to me.
<3 jen @ stuff jen did
Don’t be intimidated. When I feel hungry, I eat water melon and even a handful of almonds. I’m not into the whole starving yourself thing. The main reason I do a cleanse is to give my system a break from all the yucky stuff I’ve been eating as well as kick start some weight loss. Try it for a day and see if you’re into it -- if you have a blender and strainer it doesn’t cost much at all.
Hi! I am currently on Day One of the juice cleanse using your recipes! I was wondering if you ended up straining the cashew milk? Or do you just drink everything after you blended it?
P.S. Thank you very much for posting this whole article up! I got a juicer for Christmas and I had to try this DIY Blueprint Cleanse!
You’re very welcome.
If you have a high-speed blender like a Vitamix or Ninja, then you do not need to strain it. I have a plain ol’ Cuisinart so I had to strain it. I strained everything after I blended it, which is why it took hours to make the juices. Since you have a juicer, this process will be so much easier for you. I hope this helps! Let me know how it goes!
Do you have to strain these or can you just drink if your blender makes them smooth?
Hi Gloria -- If you have a very powerful blender such as a Vitamix or Ninja, a strainer won’t be necessary. However, I have a plain ol’ Cuisinart so it was necessary to strain all the bits out. Hope this helps!
Hi!
I’m so glad I came across this and am going to try this week!
I have a juicer and plan to use instead of blending,
wanted to ask if the ingredients differ for juicing, such as the water
use. Also wondering if you have by chance have a juicing version?
THANK YOU!
Hi! I’m so glad you found this helpful. A juicer would be the ideal way to make the juices. All you need to do is add the same ingredients into the juicer -- no straining necessary. I’d keep the water the same. If you like more concentrated juices, add less water and vice versa. Hope this helps!
What order do i have to drink the juices in?
How should day 1 look?
Thanks! <3
Hi, you can read the bottom of the post -- thanks for the suggestion!
Thanks so much for these!
Have you play around with a recipe for their newest juice, lime/ginger/lemon/agave ?
I haven’t but I’ll check it out soon -- thanks for the tip!