365 Challenge Day 230 – Juice

Okay, another try.  Tonight I made a juice with beets, romaine lettuce, radishes, lots of celery, apple, and carrots.  There is no way I would have been able to drink this combo as a smoothie.  But, it was really too sweet for me.  I probably should have chosen between the apple, carrots and beets, not used all three.  Or, it needed some cucumber or more lettuce, or something to water it down.  Honestly, I don’t know how people drink straight carrot juice, or fruit juice.  I’ve never been able too!!

Well, I’m still experimenting.  I don’t know!!!  These were definitely a lot of nutrients I would not have gotten otherwise.  But also a lot of waste, as I throw all the pulp away.

365 Challenge Day 220 – Juice

Here in New England we got two feet of snow today! I’m really not much of a movie watcher, but I was pretty much stuck inside all day and everything outside was closed, so I watched two documentaries, Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead 2 (I saw the first one several years ago) and Vegucated (which I’ll write about tomorrow.)

They were both very inspiring to eat healthier.

What was inspiring with Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead 2, was hearing the stories of people who turned their lives around, many of whom were able to go completely off of their medication by increasing their health, losing weight, and decreasing the crap they were putting into their bodies.  There was one really inspiring story about a guy who in the first movie had said “I’m going to fat and happy” and seemed completely uninterested in changing his ways, he just wanted to eat what he wanted.  But after the movie came out and he saw himself, and saw the movie, he did a complete turn around.  When they went back to interview him in the second movie had was like a different person, full of energy, healthy and happy!!

I don’t really agree with the idea of long term juice fasts.  I don’t like throwing out all that fiber of the fruits and vegetables.  And reducing calories that drastically for a long period of time can slow down your metabolism.  I also think that’s a lot of sugar for the body to consume, and a lot of sugar that hits the blood stream all at once.  But what does inspire me is the reminder of how good it is to have so much fresh food.  There were stories of people who increased their health just by adding a glass a day of green juice, without doing the fast.  It is true that by juicing you can get a lot more vitamins and nutrients into your system.

Well, I gave my juicer away last year in an effort to declutter, and in favor of green smoothies in made in my Vitamix.  But the person I gave it too still has it and said he never uses it and I can have it back…

 

 

365 Challenge Day 5 – Hydration

I wanted to take a picture of these fresh juices at the breakfast buffet, because I thought they were very pretty!  I think they are mango and watermelon.  But, I actually wouldn’t necessarily recommend drinking them!!

I used to have a juicer.  I didn’t use it very often, but once or twice a year I would do a juice fast for a few days.  There are definitely lots of people who advocate juicing, including a very inspiring movie, Fat, Sick, & Nearly Dead, about a man who completely turns his life around and improves his health through juicing.

I am by no means an expert, but here is what I have (personally) concluded about juicing: I don’t like the idea of removing the fiber from all my fruits and vegetables (fiber is good!); I didn’t find it was that great for digestion/elimination (again, fiber is good!); it made me crazy to see most of my organic kale going into the trash can (okay, last point on fiber!); juicing is fairly expensive and could be considered wasteful; I think that is a lot of sugar to hit your bloodstream at once (even if you mix in vegetables); and finally, juicers are a pain the butt to clean.  On the point of wastefulness: I’m sure many people are organized/motivated enough to bake carrot cake muffins out of their leftover apple and carrot fiber, but I am not one of those people!

So now, I have traded in my juicer for a Vitamix, and I am all about the GREEN SMOOTHIES!!

Green Smoothie Girl is awesome (but just ignore her adoration of BlendTec blenders. Vitamix is WAY better, IMHO : )

I tend to keep mine very simple, I’ll throw in a bag of pre-washed spinach, some frozen strawberries, and a banana.  All organic, of course.  Sometimes I throw in other things as well, but that’s my go to recipe.  Even my kids love green smoothies!! (For them I use more fruit and less greens.)

Wow, I didn’t realize I had so much to say about beverages!!  But really, even the green smoothie is more about nutrients then about hydration, for that, there is nothing better than plain old WATER.  I guess I am lucky, for some unknown reason I am constantly thirsty, so I drink water all day long.  And in the winter when I want something hot, I drink a lot of unsweetened herbal tea.  I’ve been doing this for so long that it is second nature, it never even occurs to me to buy soda or juice.

Check this fact out: “The average American consumes 45 gallons of sugary drinks a year. That’s 39 pounds of sugar — about as much as a 5-year-old child weighs!”  http://www.kickthecan.info/soda-facts

My daughter wouldn’t really drink plain water, and I was trying to encourage her to drink less juice, so we invested in a Soda Stream.  It was a little pricey, but it’s been great.  We love having an unlimited supply of sparkling water, and sometimes I like adding (unsweetened) flavors like orange, or raspberry.  YUM! And it saves having to carry home and then recycle all those bottles.  It was a great purchase.  Sparkling water feels so decadent : )

I drank this entire 1.5 liter bottle at dinner and thought my stomach might explode : )

The other thing I’ve been trying to research and want to invest in is a really good water filter.  I have a steam humidifier that I use in the winter and it is unbelievable the amount of minerals and gunk that are left at the bottom after the water has gone out!  It’s gross!  I would look at the black sludge when  I  rinse and refill it and think, THAT’S what I’ve been drinking??  Plus, the chlorine can’t be good either.  I’ve tried Brita, and PUR, but wasn’t totally happy with them.  So I’d like to get one of the really good quality ones that can be installed in the kitchen sink and connects to the plumbing.

Between my Vitamix, Soda Stream, and future fancy water filter, that’s a lot of money just for beverages!!  But the human body is made up of about 60% water, so it seems a good investment!

Oh gosh, I almost forgot!  I can’t do a post about hydration without linking to my favorite assortment of pictures of Women Struggling to Drink Water!!

You’re welcome : )