Do You Juice?

 

We recently watched a documentary about juicing, “Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead.”  I was so impressed with the information that I knew I wanted to juice.

I’ve always been the “chubby” kid.  I know part is genetics, part learned and part just laziness.  However, for over a year I have been trying to make better decisions about what I eat and to have more self discipline.  

So, I thought I would try this juicing.  We had a juicer, we’ve made apple/carrot juice.  I liked it, but never thought of juicing as a diet alternative.  So, I thought, maybe I would juice for breakfast (later I learned that it is best to drink your juice on an empty stomach), eat a salad for lunch and enjoy my regular dinner. 

To my surprise, I did NOT feel deprived and guess what I actually lost 5# last week.  I would NEVER think I could give up my coffee in the morning – I wasn’t even planning on doing that.  However, after I drink my juice, I don’t even want coffee – I’m so full.

As my regular followers know, I “buy out” estates for resale.  One recent farm estate gave me this minty gift – a vintage juicer – made in PA and stainless steel – works super!!!

 

From the documentary, I knew I would have to add greens to the juice.  Have you priced good greens at the store?  It was expensive.  So, I had an idea to stop in one of our many Asian food stores.  We have a large population of Hmong in my area.  WOW was I surprised at all the deals. 

I didn’t know what some of the greens were, as they were in bags labeled “greens.”  I am a gardener, but some of the greens I couldn’t identify.  I had fun with the little ladies in the store….”hey, what is this” I asked them….they giggled at me and said “you never had that…”  I think they had fun following me around and my asking them all the vegetables, greens and even fruit.  I would say “what is it like, eggplant, a radish” or whatever I thought the veggie looked like.  They would tell me the name they had for it and then tell me how they cooked it.  Many of the greens were “tops” to plants – you know the stuff we throw to our chickens or put in the compost pile.  I bought pea vines and broccoli tops, watercress, papaya, guava and a variety of other stuff I still haven’t tried.  I actually had a lot of fun and made some new friends.  If you haven’t gone to an Asian food store – I encourage you to go, especially if you want to save some money.

So this is what I juiced today:  kale, broccoli tops, pea vines, apples, Asian pear, carrot, beet, orange and guava.

Look at that color – it has to be good for you right?

Look at the pulp….our rabbits and chickens have had some good treats this past week!

I’m not one of those “health nuts” (I mean that in the nicest way….really I do), so if I can do this – anyone can do this!

If you juice and have some juicing recipes, I would appreciate your comment. 

Blessings from Wisconsin.

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