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.

Juicing Day 1

  Breakfast this morning was a carrot/orange/grapefruit/beet/ginger juice, which has been very tasty.  It's a little bitter, which I'm guessing is from the 2 white grapefruits that I juiced.  Note to self: use ruby red grapefruits next time.  They are sweeter.  This juice is fantastic, and I haven't really been hungry at all.  Ok, I lie, I drank 8 oz of the juice at 8, and I was really hungry around 11.  Apparently I'm supposed to be drinking at least 16 oz of juice per sitting...oops.  I'm currently sipping the second 8 oz jar that I have & I'm feeling a lot better.

I've also made a juice for later on with strawberries, rhubarb, kale, carrots, and beets, which I'm excited to try.  I used an entire stalk of rhubarb and a pint of strawberries, so I'd imagine it's going to be a whole lot like drinking a strawberry rhubarb pie...yum.


I have also noticed that I'm very cold.  I'm so cold that I've got goosebumps and everything from my toes to my nose is cold, which usually doesn't happen to me unless it's the dead of winter.  I'm not exactly sure why I'm feeling cold, but I suspect that only drinking cold juices has got to lower your body temperature or something.  I've been told that people who are transitioning to a raw diet experience similar feelings, so I find comfort in the fact that I'm not an anomaly here.

Other than the constant cold feeling, so far, so good.


Cheers,

Dorothy

PS if you're as out of your mind as I am and are thinking about embarking on a lengthy juice fast (or even just a weekend juice fast), here are a few tips:

* Please juice as organic and local as you can.  When you juice fruits and veggies, you're essentially concentrating all the nutrients and pesticides that are in the produce.  I recommend printing out (or at least saving in a handy place) the Environmental Working Group's 2012 dirty dozen (& clean 15) list of veggies and fruits that is categorized by pesticide level.  It's a great quick guide to help determine what's ok to buy conventional and what you should steer clear of when you're grocery shopping for the juice fast and beyond.

* If you're more of a night owl than a morning person (like me) and are planning on juicing the night before so that you can savor a few more hours of sleep, invest in 8 oz. wide mouth mason jars to store the juice that you've made.  Make sure to fill them to the top so as to slow down the oxidation process.

* It is best, of course, to consume your juice right after you make it, but that's not always an option.  Juice usually keeps for about 24 hours, so you will have to make more at least once a day.

* Invest in a good quality juicer.  This doesn't mean that you have to blow this month's rent on the most expensive one, but look around at reviews and ask friends for suggestions.  I've got the Breville Ikon juicer, which I picked up for about $180 (normally $200, but I had a Bed Bath & Beyond coupon), which isn't terrible.  I'm told that Breville is a great juicer brand though.