Orange Zing by Food Thinkers
A few weeks ago, I finally got around to watching the documentary "Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead," about a dude with an autoimmune disease who heals his illness and loses weight by going on a juice cleanse. Fast-forward a few weeks and I'm ordering a juicer* and a book of 450 vegetable and fruit juice recipes.
{*I redeemed some credit card points for Amazon gift cards and ended up spending only $30 on the juicer and recipe book. Baller. I was proud of myself for that one.}
Even though I've been thinking about a juicer since around the time I read Crazy Sexy Diet earlier this year, I still feel like such a cliche -- I've heard dozens of similar stories from people who have viewed the documentary and have been affected by what they saw. Some stories sound overly optimistic, as if people think they've found the magic bullet for vibrant living in this one machine or hope to duplicate Joe's journey from the film. {Part of me wonders if Joe has stock investments in Breville...}
I have a bit of a more balanced perspective -- I know that juicing won't suddenly change my well-being, and I actually think that Joe's 60-day juice cleanse was awfully extreme because I know how important the fiber from fruits and vegetables is {which is removed in the juicing process}. I view juicing as just another tool in a healthy-living/whole foods regimen and a great way to get a high dose of vitamins, minerals and nutrients. I do not plan to partake in any sort of cleanse {edited to add: a cleanse might be a fine choice for someone else, but for my own wellness and health considerations that I don't need to divulge, I do not think it is a sound option}.
Besides, with my new Kitchenaid mixer tempting me to bake all sorts of yummy baked treats, I think this new gadget will help balance out the occasional indulgence. I also cannot promise that the fresh juice won't sometimes be used to concoct evening cocktails ;)
I'm excited to get my Amazon order and start experimenting with different juices, especially since receiving our final CSA box with an overload of fresh fruits (apples, cranberries, oranges, etc) and a few veggies (kale, carrots, etc). My favorite mix from the juice bar has been a carrot-apple-ginger-beet juice, so I'll definitely be replicating that one at home.
Have any of you tried juicing at home? Any recipes or other resources I must check out? I'd love to find a combination with celery that isn't
Pssst, last chance to enter the Sadie Designs giveaway! I'll be drawing and announcing a winner later tonight.
We just sold some electronics and got this juicer last weekend! We have used it for 5 days and I love it. I first saw it on Martha about a year ago during one of her detox shows. She had on the "Clean Diet". It has a pretty gentle detox that involves food. The "Goop" website has 7 days all planned out and some great juice recipes if you are interested. (Search "Clean" on the website for more info and "detox" for the menu planner). Can't wait to hear if you like it! Now all I need is to get a dehydrator and turn all the leftover fiber bits into crackers :D
ReplyDelete@Stephanie ~ Awesome! Thanks for the info about Goop. Have you heard about dehydrating in the oven (or a toaster oven) on a super low setting if you don't have a dehydrator? I haven't done it but I might try it out so that I can use up the good pulp!
ReplyDeleteA good rule of thumb for juicing or green smoothies is to start 60% fruit to 40% veggies. As your taste buds adapt, you will want to slowly reverse that. 60 Days is a bit extreme, for a first timer, but many people who are experienced juicers try it. Start with a one day juice cleanse. Even that will make a huge difference. Then next time you could do 3 days, then a week, 30 days, etc. I am more a green smoothie gal myself, but mostly because making the juice is a pain in the booty. If someone makes if for me I'm all good. :) Good luck and have fun with it!
ReplyDelete@Shanna ~ Thank you for your input! I've had several fresh juices before and I'm pretty accustomed to green smoothies, so I'm not too worried about the proportions right now (except for the celery issue; never been a fan).
ReplyDeleteAs for the cleanse comment, I'm still not interested in any sort of cleanse, be it 1 day or 60, and I don't think it's something that should be advocated across the board without knowing the health history of a person.
I did read about using the oven and even your car! Originally, I was going to make fruit roll ups but it took 8 hours on low temp! I think the crackers are 4 hrs. Much easier. So, maybe I will revisit the idea. There is a LOT of pulp. Right now I am composting it. Using it for crackers to have with soups and spreads would be way better.
ReplyDeleteYour car?? I hadn't heard that one! Crazy :)
ReplyDeleteI wish I had a way to compost here. I'm in a condo, and while I know I could use an indoor composter, I have no yard, no outdoor space of my own at all. I have no idea what I'd do with the soil. The building talked about a shared compost bin, but the few guys on the board decided they were too worried about it attracting bugs and animals.
Evan and I have been wanting to get a juicer ever since we had some fresh juice from a juicer at our friends house! We haven't committed yet, especially because all winter, good fruits and veggies are REALLY hard to come by in our area. And you can't get a lot of produce here anyway, no matter the season. Kale?? Never! Too exotic, apparently!
ReplyDeleteI did just locate one CSA farmer that isn't too far from us so I'm definitely signing up once spring approaches! By then we'll have to get the juicer!
Can't wait for you to share all your yummy recipes so I can bookmark them!
Juicing is awesome, but I'll admit I always feel weird about all the leftover pulp. It sometimes feels like a waste or something. But I will admit that after drinking a green juice you definitely feel a little energy buzz! One quick and easy recipe I've used before is for Kale 'Lemonade'. You juice a few large pieces of kale, filling maybe the bottom quarter of a glass. Then fill the other 3/4 or so with water and then add a teaspoon of agave and the juice of a lemon. It is actually quite tasty and didn't have any of the grit that some green drinks do. Also cucumber is really awesome, sweetens the juice up a lot! Good luck :)
ReplyDelete