Long-time juicer, entrepreneur, author and the founder of PLENISH (a cold-pressed raw juice cleanse service), Kara Rosen is a walking advert for a wholesome, plant-based diet. While looking for an alternative solution to ongoing health issues, Kara discovered the benefits of plant-based nutrition and juicing as ways to heal the body.
With her infectiously positive energy, glowing complexion and wealth of experience, who could be better to advise us on how to get 2015 off to the healthiest start possible?
What is your top tip for kick-starting the New Year in good health?
Start as you wish to continue. The toughest part is starting! Choose a day (Mondays always work for me) and make a commitment to yourself to do the same healthy thing for one week (exercise, drink a green juice, drink more water, cut out processed foods, or ideally all of the above!). I find Sundays a great day to prepare for the week ahead, so make a batch of a healthy salad or soup you love that you can have for dinner (and lunch the next day).
How do you suggest people maintain good habits throughout the year as opposed to letting them go once January is over?
Think of January as the start of your new lifestyle rather than treating a detox as the binge. If you do a cleanse in January, make the commitment that it's not JUST a debit/ credit system of undoing the festive season indulgence, but instead imagine your cleanse is wiping the slate clean, rebooting your system and giving you the opportunity to make long lasting, sustainable changes to your diet. A cleanse or detox is a great way to start that behaviour, but introducing a healthy lifestyle is the ultimate goal.
What would you say to people considering doing a juice cleanse for the first time?
It's easier than you think. A juice cleanse is not a fast, like most people think. On a PLENISH cleanse, you will be drinking 6 (500ml) juices and nut milks per day. Given we cold press nearly 2kg of organic produce into one bottle of one green juice, you can start to imagine the high level of vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients and goodness each bottle delivers. This goodness nourishes your cells, helps aid the detoxification process and most surprisingly will leave you feeling satiated. A cleanse does take a few days of discipline (chewing is fun), but the after-effects of a cleanse are so motivating that you will be inspired to make longer lasting changes. Many of our clients find that cutting out inflammatory foods like dairy, most meat and processed foods, and increasing plant based foods leaves them feeling and looking more energised, lighter and brighter.
Tell us a little about how your new book came to be…
I founded PLENISH 2.5 years ago, and have worked with thousands of cleansers over that period. People come to us because they want to feel better. Many clients want to kickstart a healthy regime or lose a few kilos - but for the most part, many clients worked with us and our nutrition team because they were trying to overcome a certain ailment, or symptoms. I've seen so many people transform their health through cold pressed juices and incorporating a plant based diet that I wanted to share all of the information we've gathered over the years and make juicing and cleansing accessible. I worked with some of our most trusted experts from Naturopathic Doctors to dieticians and nutritional therapists to tackle common ailments and develop a juicing and eating plan to support these. After overcoming my own health issues in my twenties through changing my diet, I wanted to share all of this knowledge from my journey, and the journey of our cleansers to make juicing accessible at home.
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| Kara's new book, out today |
What is your favourite juice recipe from your new book?
I'm really into savoury juices at the moment with a bit of kick for heat, so the Mexican Mamacita is on repeat in my house! It's lots of green veg, tomato with some red onion and chilli. Sounds totally out there, but tastes like gazpacho and is wildly delicious. I like it in the afternoon as a snack.
Apart from juicing, what other daily rituals do you ensure to include in your routine and why? Every morning I take a few moments as I walk out my front door to be mindful about what I'm grateful for. Like the rest of us, I'm really busy running a business, being a mum and it's easy to get caught up in the to-do list. Our overall wellbeing is really the sum of our mind and body health, so taking care of your mental space is really important. I also love to have warm water and the juice of half of a lemon when I wake up. In winter, I sometimes use a grater to add some ginger in for a bit of inner heat. It's super alkalising, helps to boost immunity and keeps me from craving a coffee first thing.
Where do you gain health and wellbeing inspiration?
I am lucky enough to travel to New York, LA and Australia often (I'm American and married to an Aussie) and love to research all of the new health happenings in each of these forward thinking cities. I am also drawn to other people who are interested in healthy living, many of my friends are in the nutrition field and and we swap tips! There is a place called Wakeman Road in Queens Park who are pretty cutting edge in terms of their practitioners, and Emma Sinclair who runs it has her finger on the healthy pulse.
Kara's book PLENISH: Juices to boost, cleanse and heal is published by Octopus and is out today.
