Juicing Day 5

A third of the way there, woo!  I feel re-energized...ok, not really, but I am happy with my progress and results, so I'm going to suck it up and stick it out.  Today's juice of the day is apple (2), jicama (1 medium), celery (2 stalks), lime (2 small), and mint (2 cups).  While I have to say that it's a little heavy on the lime, it's quite tasty (and not nearly as minty as I had feared).

For the record, I'm not starving.  I'm not depriving my body of calories (fat is another story), and while I may not be getting 100% of the protein that I "should" be getting every day, 1.) I wasn't eating enough animal protein per day to meet those needs anyways and 2.) not everyone needs a standardized amount of protein in their diet.  I don't live my life according to charts and formulas.  I've found (before and during this juice fast) that listening to your body is critical.  Counting calories will drive you crazy.  Eat when you're hungry (or in this case, drink a raw, fresh pressed juice) and stop when you're full.  Make sure you get enough exercise/movement for the amount of food that you're ingesting.  If you're moving less, then eat less.

I've been catching a lot of criticism for my experiment, everything from joking around to "poor baby" to downright lectures.  Well, you can rest assured that I'm not dying or getting sickly, and I'm certainly not a victim here.  I find it amusing how people tell me what conventional "experts" consider norms (did you know that the mayo clinic discourages people from drinking juices at all?  And if you do drink juice, they suggest you get store bought pasteurized juice...HA), mostly bits and pieces of information without really asking me about the juice fast or researching it on their own.  Juicing, in general, is something that most people should at least incorporate into their daily diets, especially given the fact that the majority of us don't get nearly enough fruits/veggies in our diets.  In each of my juices, I'm getting at least a daily dose of veggies/fruits.  If you are thinking about juicing, just remember to "eat your colors" and juice a wide variety of vegetables and fruits (although, you should probably limit the amount of fruits in your juice...just enough to add a touch of sweetness).  Heck, "eat your colors" should be a daily mantra when it comes to fruits & veggies in general.

Cheers,

Dorothy

PS I promise to update my posts with some pictures as soon as I charge my camera.

PPS I am planning on changing the frequency of these journal style entries.  Since I've transitioned rather well into drinking just juice, I will be just posting some recipes (with photos) of my juice successes.  I'll probably update and summarize at the 15 day mark and then again at the 30 day mark, just for progress sake.

Juicing Day 3

It's only day 3, and I think my stomach is submitting to my will.  I woke up today sans headache and/or cravings.  I haven't been hungrier than normal, and I really like the taste of the mostly veggie juices that I've been making.  Although I've been waiting for the other shoe to drop regarding me feeling so great, but it's yet to happen, so I'm hoping it will not happen.  Today's juice of choice was a carrot, watermelon, lemon juice...super tasty and refreshing.

I also met a friend at a French Market to buy more veggies...ended up with great conversation, a bunch of new spices (including a pickling blend, since I've got cucumbers a plenty in my garden), and some dog treats.  I did purchase a couple of fat cucumbers and some rhubarb, which will make some tasty juice, for sure.

I hit up Caputo's on my way back from the market and was pleasantly surprised by the variety and prices of their fruits & veggies.  I was stoked to find golden beets, so I stocked up on those along with some red beets, jicama, lemons, and ginger root.  I will definitely keep them in mind for my juicing needs, especially since there's one just minutes from my house.  I also stopped at our local Woodman's to bite the bullet and get a bag or two of $7.99 a pound organic apples (if you juice apples, pretty pretty please buy organic.  They are uber sprayed with pesticides that penetrate the skin, so even if you wash them to death and skin the apples, you're still imbibing copious amounts of nasty pesticides).  To my surprise and delight, they have granny smith apples on sale for $4.99 for a 3lb bag...I bought 6 bags cause I'm crazy like that.  If you've got a Woodman's by you, I highly suggest checking them out for their diverse produce selection, including a decently sized organic produce section (they also have a fairly extensive organic & gluten free area of the store, which is pretty cool for a local chain).

I felt like a kid in a candy store as I unloaded bag after bag of juiceable produce when I got home.  As soon as my juicer parts are out of the dishwasher (top shelf, of course), I will be firing it up and making an amazingly delicious (I'm guessing) glass of apple juice, which is something that I've been craving since I saw the documentary, "Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead."  As I've briefly mentioned before, our family eats pretty darn clean as it is.  We've kicked out the majority of processed foods in our house (with the exception of the occasional bag of whole wheat organic pasta and/or loaf of whole grain sprouted bread), we rarely eat out, and veggies make up the bulk of our dinner plate.  This juice fast has been just another way to simplify eating habits and jump start a routine of even better consumption into our daily lives.  Suffice it to say, I'm going to be incorporating raw, fresh juices into my diet when this juice fast is completed.