Review: Punch Detox

I love food. I love indulging in food and I am also horrible at drinking enough fluids during the day. I swear my body must be severely dehydrated most of the time given that I can easily pour a cup of coffee in the morning and it'll only be half finished by the time it's 6pm. As such, I have always been intrigued by the premise of doing a juice detox. Punch, one of the earliest juicing companies to step foot into HK had offered me a cleanse ages ago but I never took them up on the offer as I was convinced that I would be crabby and turn into a massive bitch which isn't exactly the sort of behaviour that would be acceptable in a client servicing industry. Then I read Choptixfix's post on what she called "The Sh*tscapades" and it just terrified me even more. Nonetheless, since I'm on sabbatical and back from the epic Europe trip, I decided to clear out my calendar for three days and give it a shot. It also helped that my friend decided to do it with me so that we have a buddy system in place.

First things first, unlike the other juice companies, Punch delivers all 18 bottles to you the night before your cleanse starts so make sure you clear our space in your fridge. Prior to starting the cleanse, Punch sends you useful emails telling you what to do pre-detox and helpful tips. When I started on the cleanse, I was pleasantly surprised by how tasty each juice was. I started with the Citrus Punch which comprised lemon, ginger cayenne pepper, agave nectar and filtered water. (Each bottle was conveniently labelled and all you do is drink in order.)

This was the one I was apprehensive about since I am not a fan of celery or bitter melon but it was not as bad as I thought. Think it’s due to copious amounts of cucumber and apple making it rather refreshing.

Red punch was yummy AND matched my nails. To be fair tho, I was getting hangry and rushed home to have this so maybe that also made it even tastier

Fruit punch was just as described except I kept wanting to pour booze into the bottle for the perfect fruity cocktail. It would kinda defeat the purpose of this juice cleanse huh?

Best juice was the Gazpuncho. By this stage, I’ve pinpointed what I’m missing, savory flavors. This juice really hit the spot especially since it wasn’t pure liquid and had a bit of a munch to it. I duly poured it into a bowl as recommended and I guess that also helped with the mindset?

The 6th Nut Punch was a yummy dessert to end the day. Tasted just like almond soup. Good thing I love almonds!

So after three days of drinking juice, what was my state of mind? Well it definitely started getting challenging towards the end but it was more that I was getting bored of tasting the same juices on a daily basis. Once I had figured out that the lack of savory tastes were making it difficult to go through the day, I consulted my cheat sheet and saw that miso soup was on the approved list so started throwing in a miso soup every two juices or so. Did I end up feeling miraculously better, clear headed, lost a ton of weight etc? No, nor did I expect it to. As Punch advised, this was a good way to restart my system and try to achieve a healthier lifestyle.

What I did find (and this is even a couple weeks after the cleanse) was that my desire for fluids have enhanced greatly and I am finally drinking more fluids which is awesome given that I keep forgetting to drink water. One thing to note, the day after the cleanse, my palate reset and every taste was super heightened which was confusing to say the least. I was cooking and didn't season to taste but rather just threw in the usual amounts of spices and the dish came out unbelievable salty (my friend thought it was just fine so it was definitely my palate that was off). This actually made it easier to stay on a healthier lifestyle for the following days given that I found restaurant food way too much for my palate.

Find out more info on Punch Detox here.