Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Let's Get Juicy!

I got Ryan a juicer a few months ago for a late birthday gift.

I’m not sure who is loving it more (I think it’s me!)

Juicing is often criticized for not providing an adequate source of fiber, but it is a good way to get in a lot of the nutrients in fruits and vegetables if you don’t enjoy eating them.  It also is a great way to get the vitamins and minerals that you may not normally absorb because it gives your digestive system a rest from having to break down the fiber.

After watching a movie called “Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead”, I became very interested in juicing.  The movie profiles a man who does nothing but juice for 30 day.  He benefited with a large drop in weight, normalization of blood pressure and the cessation of a skin condition from which he had suffered from in years.  While I have none of these issues, I was intrigued by how GOOD these people felt while juicing.  I try to eat fruits and vegetables, but usually don’t have more than 2-3 servings a day.  Juicing is a great way for me to get those nutrients.  The movie is very eye opening....it provides a great example of how pills/medication are not always the only answer.  Diet is *so* important!




There are a TON of recipes for juices online, but I have had a lot of fun creating my own.

I recently made our *favorite*, which I call “good morning sunshine”.
This batch contains:

A bag of frozen mangoes

A bag of frozen peaches

¾ of a pineapple

8 carrots

A couple of large handfuls of strawberries (about 20 this time)


This juice is very fruit heavy and can also be high in calories, but it is *so* good!  Typically, mixing about 50% fruit to 50% vegetables is really the way to go to help cut down on calories and fructose sugar.


Our evening cocktails

Pineapple and mangoes have been known to decrease inflammation, which is good for a runner.  All of the ingredients are full of antioxidants.  For me, it’s a win.

Other juices I have made are pretty much anything and everything I have on hand.  I throw in spinach, kale, chard, beets, blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, carrots.  A garden in a glass!  I’ve read a lot of research on beets and how they increase energy-they are full of iron.   I should be full of energy in a few weeks, because I have a bumper crop of beets that will be ready soon (enough beets for a couple dozen people – I went crazy on the beets!).

 that's *a lot* of beets!


Garden in a glass ingredients - basically whatever I have that makes juice!

Finished Product

Another "myth" about juicing is that it is expensive.  The good morning sunshine juice cost about $11 for 3-5 LARGE servings.  This is MUCH less than a Starbucks coffee every morning and *so* much better for you!  By storing juice you can lose some of the nutrients and enzymes that are available immediately after juicing, but the way I figure it, getting some of the nutrients are better than getting none!  We have a slow masticating juicer (the Omega 8606) which helps maintain nutrient levels.  Storage in an airtight container also helps. 

Besides energy and just feeling better, my skin looks great when I juice!  Bonus!

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