This post was originally published on February 14, 2015.

Two words to describe the Bloody Cleanse: truly amazing. So I kind of messed up the post timing on this one as I wanted to post it last night so it would be ready for Valentine’s Day morning– but hey, wake your sweetie up on Sunday with the Bloody Cleanse instead. As Valentine’s Day weekend is still happening, what better way to surprise your Bloody Mary-loving significant other than with a replenishing and detoxifying boozy breakfast in bed? If you are sans significant other, whip up the Bloody Cleanse for your best friend or your mother… or even just for your damn self!

The detoxifying, replenishing, and cleansing ingredients in the Bloody Cleanse include cucumbers, mint leaves, fresh lemon juice, fresh lime juice, olive oil, habanero pepper, cayenne, ginger root, tomato, turmeric, garlic, brussels sprouts, and avocado. Wake up and treat yourself~ feel refreshed after a long night of drinking. So what is it about these ingredients that cleanses your system, most importantly your liver? I will list the beneficial properties below.

Tomatoes: Tomatoes contain a lot of glutathione, which is a great detoxifier for the liver.
Lemon & Lime: Both of these citrus fruits have lots of vitamin C, which helps stimulate the liver’s functions and aids in the synthesization of toxic materials into substances that can be absorbed by water.
Olive Oil: Olive oil is great support for the liver because it provides the body with a liquid base that can a suck up harmful toxins. A study was conducted on rats that also suggests that olive oil protects the liver from oxidative stress.
Mint: Mint promotes digestion by relaxing the muscles in the digestive tract and it activates the salivary glands and digestive enzymes.
Cucumber: Cucumbers are great sources of vitamin A & C and beta-carotene, which are anti-oxidants. Cucumbers regulate the body’s pH by neutralizing the body’s acidity. Cucumbers also help in the dissolution of kidney stones because they are a diuretic. Lastly, they reduce water retention because they restore hydration of body cells.
Habanero: Habaneros have a high concentration of capsaicin, which is an anti-inflammatory agent. Habaneros also have lots of vitamin C (even more than lemons and limes!).
Ginger Root: Ginger is an antioxidant and helps alleviate symptoms of gastrointestinal distress.
Cayenne: Cayenne helps ease an upset stomach, diarrhea, and irritating coughs, along with breaking up and moving mucus. Cayenne is also good for headache prevention, stimulating the digestive tract,and aiding the body’s ability to metabolize toxins and food. As cayenne is a circulatory stimulant, it heats the body and streamlines the natural process of detoxification while causing the body to sweat.
Turmeric: Turmeric helps boost liver detoxification by assisting enzymes that actively flush out dietary carcinogens.
Garlic: Garlic activates liver enzymes, thus helping the liver flush out toxins. Garlic contains high amounts of allicin and selenium, which aid in liver cleansing.
Brussels Sprouts: Brussels sprouts contain glucosinolate, which is an antioxidant that forces the liver to release enzymes that block damage from environmental and dietary toxins.
Avocado: Avocados help the body produce glutathione, which is a great liver detoxifier.

Ingredients

Mix

4 ½ cups (36 oz) tomato juice
½ lemon squeezed
⅓ lime squeezed
1 tbs olive oil
1 tsp Worcesteshire sauce
10 fresh mint leaves
½ cucumber sliced into half circles
1 habanero pepper sliced
3 slices of fresh ginger root
½ tbs cayenne pepper
1 tbs turmeric
½ tbs celery flakes
½ tbs garlic pepper

Garnish

1 brussels sprouts
1 avocado chunk
1 manzanilla olive
1 pepperoncini
1 lime wedge
1 piece of bacon
1 cucumber slice (sliced long ways)
garlic salt (to rim the glass)

Directions

Day One

Preparing the mix

Pour the tomato juice in a sealable container.
Add the lemon and lime juice, olive oil, and Worcestershire sauce. Mix altogether.
Toss in all of the spices– the cayenne, turmeric, celery flakes, and garlic pepper. Mix altogether.
Add the mint leaves, cucumber slices, habanero slices, and ginger root. Mix well.
Seal the decanter and let sit in the fridge for one or two days.

Day Two/Three

Constructing the Bloody Cleanse

Fry the bacon.
Place the manzanilla olive, avocado chunk, pepperoncini, brussels sprouts, and slice of bacon on a cocktail pick.
Move a lemon or lime around the rim of the glass.
Rim the glass with garlic salt.
Fill a highball glass half full with ice.
Pour 1.5-2 oz vodka in the glass.
Place a strainer over the glass and pour the mix from the decanter through the strainer and into the glass. This will ensure the mint leaves, cucumber slices, habanero slices, and ginger root are not poured into the actual Bloody Mary.
Place the cocktail pick with all of the garnishes horizontally on top of the glass.
Place the cucumber slice into the glass to use as a stirrer.
Have a Bloody Good Valentine’s Day weekend!! Enjoy your Bloody Cleanse ~