Bliss Juicery

There are so many delicious bakeries, coffee shops, fast food restaurants around, that it’s quite tough these days to find somewhere convenient to get something healthy to snack on, something quick that’s not loaded with sugar or salt or a million and one preservatives. I have recently found a delicious and unique solution to my problem, and it’s only 5 minutes away from work!

Bliss Juicery is tucked away in the Colony Shopping Centre in Craighall, Johannesburg, and has been operating from there since the beginning of the year. They started out as a cleanse-only delivery service, which has now upgraded to supplying ready juices, practically on demand. They still offer juice cleanses, and they deliver your order within 15km of the shop.

Juice cleanses from Bliss Juicery involve drinking 6 juices per day, for your choice of 1, 3 or 5 days. They also offer nut milks for some added protein, which seems like it would offer some welcome relief from straight juice for the whole day. Their Vanilla Almond Milk is absolutely incredible – and so fresh as well, it’s amazing.

Bliss guides first-time juicers through the process, pre-warning them about the potential (side) effects. Basically a cleanse is like a detox, so when you go on a cleanse, you may experience similar symptoms as a standard detox, which involves headaches, caffeine withdrawal (is that really a bad thing?), and hunger. Also, “hunger”: we eat out of habit or boredom. I think that would be a big deal for me to overcome…

Their juice recipes are designed based on a combination of flavour and health-benefits, in conjunction with a dietician, so not only does it taste like it’s healthy (especially their broccoli, spinach and courgette juice), but it actually is!

Bliss stocks a range of other healthy snacks as well, for those who feel like they are missing out on fibre or just want something delicious to nosh on. My favourite is their stock of Raw’s Truly vegan and gluten free snacks, especially their truffles. My mind is reeling just thinking about them, I can barely put into words how amazing they are… *zones off into daydreams of the melted “chocolate” and creamy “caramel” centres*

I am really looking forward to this health trend that many new restaurants are picking up on. It really helps when you are trying to maintain a healthy lifestyle. I hope to try a juice cleanse soon – hopefully flush my system of all the other delicious snacks I’m experimenting at the moment.

Those with hidden beginnings are often the ones who are focusing on what is most important.

You could say I’m some kind of hot fox…

… because I’m a serious browser! I love to shop, but when I say “shop” I don’t actually buy anything, so it’s definitely more of an aggressive and distracted browsing…

I came to London, knowing very well that I would be shopping quite a bit, but somehow forgetting that I had experienced a lot more of the Internet than the last time I was here, somehow. I have been in my absolute element, and I have pretty much only scoured Oxford Street in the West End. Below is a collection of some of the funniest and some of the most interesting things I have found so far.

“Dear Santa… I want it all.” So true of my shopping explorations. So many wonderful things!

I nearly bought that dress for a Christmas party, but as you can see there was a little problem, and I didn’t have time to buy heels to make up for it. Why don’t they make short long dresses yet? The PJs would be appreciated by many students at Rhodes, and the panda skirt would be purchased in a heartbeat for a lovely friendle of mine who is mad about pandas. Pity that I come from South Africa, and the Rand is depressingly weak at the moment. Also: leggings absolutely everywhere! I still can’t decide if people should be allowed to wear leggings as pants (it depends if the way I wear them counts as wearing them as pants or not).

An array of drinking chalices

Some of these are appropriate for my four-year-old cousin, some of them she would absolutely love inappropriately. Either way, this is a really fun shop.

Some funky quotes to keep you inspired and motivated on your browsing way

Quotes on posters, quotes on money tins, quotes to buy for your house, and quotes as graffiti. Everywhere you turn there is someone offering up their own piece of wisdom. I guess that’s just the world today, right?

Shoes. OMG shoes. So many weird and wonderful types… I have this problem that even if they are ugly, I want to try them all on! I also have a problem that I don’t actually end up liking any of the nice ones either, so I find the purchasing of shoes to be rather problematic.

It took me ages to find boots! It turns out there were quite a few unanticipated purchases that have been made since arriving…

The best part of the shopping experience: the food of course. So many treats available at every turn, it’s no wonder that high up on my shopping list are a new pair of jeans (in my current size…).

Not to worry about all these sweet things though, I am off to gym today (the first time since I’ve been here, how shameful!), which also means I’ll need new gym gear. I optimistically brought along some running clothes. Unfortunately, it really is cold here, and I don’t much fancy running in this unfamiliar area in the dark. So, gym for me! I will also get the added benefit of attending spinning classes which means I won’t completely die on the 110km cycle race that is the Argus in early March 2014.

I have many more hidden shopping districts to attend to shortly, but for now I have done one of the bigger and more important streets. I’ve got that out the way, now I can learn to be less of a tourist and find all the local spots to save some cash and still look as fabulous as everyone else here does.