Just the Juice~

I was a Vegetarian for a few years, back when I was in my early 20s and lived with my dear friend, Ada who was a total Vegetarian. Bit by bit, I've gone back to my Omnivore ways. Now I've hit Menopause and the middle age spread. I'm creaky, a bit chubby (altho, Harry loves my shape totally), Harry has high blood pressure and also needs to lose a few pounds.

I bought a juicer for my New Year's treat and took it on vacation, making this gig trip to Florida  "The Juicy Tour". Since then, and from my blogging and Face Book posts, I've been getting some requests to chat about the Juicing that I'm doing on this current trip, and how it's going.

The new juicer that I got is just a simple Black & Decker model, about $35 to purchase. I made Harry come in with me to pick one out and we decided to get one that was not the cheapest, nor the top of the line, but more a middle of the road one. If I were to upgrade, I'd get one with a bigger feeder shoot.

We are really happy with this juicer and it's been really fun to play with!

I've made juice every day but one on this trip for our morning meal. I've made juice while in our hotel room on the way down to Florida. I've made juice for the folks we've been staying with. Everyone who tries whatever concoction I make, seems to really enjoy the new flavors and tastes.

The juice itself, comes out really creamy and frothy. Kinda like a milkshake consistency. YUMMYDO!

Here are some combos that I've concocted. (No real "recipes" or measurements...just start with combinations) 
I bought a couple big hunks of fresh ginger and usually put in a 1" piece or so, if I use it. 
I LOVE Ginger!

Orange/Pineapple/Ginger

Apple/Pear/Banana (Harry actually licked out the glass on this one :)

Beet/Apple/Carrot

Carrot/Orange/Apple/Ginger

Apple/Grape/Carrot/Celery/Ginger

Strawberry/Cantaloupe/Banana

Chard/Celery/Carrot/Spinach

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Today I'm going to try making my version of a "Flu Shot"

6 Kale Leaves
1/2 Bunch of Parsley
1 Cucumber
4 Celery Ribs
5 Small Apple
1/2 Lemon

(except I don't have any kale...I have spinach-
and instead of lemon, I have Key limes while here in Florida.... and I'm sure it will be good anyway!) 

We are trying to eat whatever is grown around us.

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A couple of things I have learned is this:

1) Bananas and Avocado make more of a puree than juice (but still delish)

2) Key Limes are tasty but they act like a damn ricocheting BULLET inside the juicer. And it doesn't matter if I cut them into slices, wedges or whole. The hard skin just "pings" it around inside. So careful when you put in these little guys. They are like ammo!

3) Clean up the juicer as soon as possible. I like to do it before I savor my juice, so I can sit and enjoy it.

4)  The juice is very "Grounding". As in, when we drink it, we tend to be in the moment and really savor it.    I usually sip it and take the time to enjoy it. 

5) The juice has made me more aware of what I'm putting in my body. I'm not really around my scale or my blood pressure cuff, but I feel "lighter".  Harry says I feel thinner.


Harry & I have also been making a lot more Vegetarian and Vegan choices while we've been on vacation since watching a couple of documentaries on Netflix. I would HIGHLY recommend you watch these: 

"Sick, Fat & Nearly Dead" (about a guy with a physical condition who cured himself with a juice fast while traveling across America) A really fun and interesting movie!

Vegucated (about 3 people who were challenged to become Vegans for 6 weeks). This one was eye opening.


Really excellent movies and it will challenge you to think of what you eat, how it affects you and how your choices affect the world.

Harry and I were raised as farm kids, and have seen the process of birth, life and death. We were not "sheltered" by any means to the process of what eating meat meant, overall. We were also really under the false notion that things in the agribusiness are how we remembered them from our experiences with small farms. It is not so. We were both totally disgusted to see what Agribusiness is like, how it treats animals (like non-entities) and the practices that are common to today's industries. Even how milk and eggs are harvested. Don't get me wrong. I love eating meat. I love eggs and cheese. I adore seafood. We had previously made plans to go to a sushi restaurant while down here, and we did enjoy it. But we chose our selections with gratefulness and with more care this time. We now feel that overall, the way that meat, fish, dairy, eggs are created, harvested and processed in big business is just atrocious. We can't, in good conscience, participate as blindly as we once did before. 

I have just made arrangements to get local eggs from a friend who raises a few chickens with love and care. We are currently avoiding buying beef and chicken and pork for the time being. Neither are we choosing it when dining out, but trying to make Vegetarian and Vegan choices as a game for fun.  I've really always hated how the dairy industry rips calves away from the mother cows at birth and immediately reinseminates her and turns her into a pumping, calving baby making machine. It's really bothersome to my psyche. I even wrote a poem about it years ago. 

                       COWcentration Camp     by Merlyn

                   

                 (Inspired after seeing a dairy farm in Moravia very late at night)

Cows

Cows in the amber light

Winter

Spring

Summer

& Fall

Never Midnight

Never Noon

Babies taken away from you...

way too soon

Cows

Cows in the Amber Light

So we are changing some of our automatic buying responses. And hey, if we lose a few pounds, our aches and pains go away and we gain good skin and a brighter happy attitude, well, what's not to like?

Happy Juicing!!