see if it would be something I wanted to try. Somewhere along the way I lost
interest, and decided I would just try to eat more fruits and veggies. Well,
here I am a year later and I finally gave into the curiosity. A new coworker
began bringing in “green drinks” and I was instantly intrigued. I sparked up a
conversation about it, and the next day she was nice enough to show up with a
drink for me. The taste was manageable, so I was excited to try to make my own.
That night I picked back up on researching juicing, and watched the documentary
Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead (which my sister won’t stop making fun of me for).
Let’s just say that when I commit to something, I commit 100%.
This included a rather ridiculous amount of research, and a few days later I
made it home with a fancy new (on sale) Omega Juicer, a “Juicing Bible”, and an
absurd amount of produce. I definitely went overboard on the initial amount of
fruits and veggies I bought because I had no idea how much juice it would (or
wouldn’t) make.
The first drink I made was a variation of the ingredients below.
I read enough articles to know that I needed to limit my fruit to vegetable
ratio to avoid excessive sugar, and that you best absorb the nutrients on an
empty stomach. So I washed, cut and juiced my produce just how the youtube video
showed me how :)
The cleanup wasn’t near as bad as I expected. I would strongly
recommend adding a trash bag into the juicer to catch all the “pulp” as it will
greatly reduce the mess. But as long as you clean the juicer immediately after
use you won’t have to spend as much time or frustration on the task. I normally
make enough for two servings, and keep the leftover in an airtight glass
container to drink the next day.
I’ve tried a bunch of different variations, and have worked my
way up to more vegetables (and less fruit) until I found the threshold of what
tastes I can tolerate and what I cannot. But, I have really noticed a difference
in the way I feel since I started juicing. I seem to have more energy, and for
the most part it has been much easier to eat healthy foods. I have found myself
craving more salads and vegetables that I previously used to eat out of
obligation and not by choice.
My standard juice:
3 handfuls of baby spinach
Leafy greens (pick any type of leafy greens—romaine, kale,
mustard greens, collard greens. I usually just grab romaine)
1 large cucumber
1 regular sized zucchini
2 carrots
2 medium green apples (removed the cores)
1 large piece of pineapple
½ lemon