My dad used to have a juicer, it was enormous and we
probably used it for about three months and then went back to Jumex. I do
remember me and my sisters were really amazed of how easily juices were made
and delighted on our concoctions. It wasn’t until now, about 13 years later
that I rediscovered the power of the juicer.
Why?
1) My laziness got to a point where my priorities were
shaken. I wanted to do stuff but my body and brain would convince me day after
day to take another little nap. My mother advised me to take more vitamins, so
I figured I would, I would drink these vitamins through juice.
2) I am always trying to down as many fruits and vegetables
as possible, and in a household where I am the only vegetable eater, it is hard
to reach that 5 a day goal sometimes. With juices, you can easily double, if
not triple, your intake. You will be amazed at how much good stuff goes in your
body.
3) Sadly, I have come to acknowledge the fact that I will
always be on a diet. I don’t always follow it, but I try to stick to eating
less and eating better. Weight loss wasn’t my real goal, but would definitely
be a big plus.
So, I decided to incorporate juicing into my life! I found
my beautiful Jack LaLane power juicer online for 30 bucks (its owner swore to
have lost 60 pounds thanks to it, and was now buying a ridiculously expensive
one).
I researched thousands of recipes and came to the fact that
f*** recipes, in juicing you just juice what you have and what you want. There
are some very important rules though, like:
-Never try to juice a banana. (I probably would’ve tried
just to see what would happen)
-Never add liquids to it. (I actually did this once, nothing
happened but apparently its really bad)
-The smaller you cut your ingredients, the more juice you
will get.
-Do not force your food through, you will get more juice if
you just put the stopper and let gravity do its work.
-Put your squishy items first, then your hard ones.
-Do NOT juice garlic. (more about this later)
-Drink your juice fast! Its nutritional power will decrease
by the seconds and it tends to settle and look pretty unattractive.
-The taste of the juice may be too much for you at first, so
try adding water. This should also be applied to children and toddlers, whose stomachs
may not be able to manage a powerful juice.
The first weeks with my juicer I bought pounds upon pounds
of produce, I tried to juice everything I could and resulted with mostly good
recipes, and some very bad. Garlic, its supposed to do wonders to your digestive
system but it tastes like an Italian ogre’s piss once it is juiced.
I never went on a full on juice diet. I gave it a try one
day and was ok with it, but I do love my solid food too much. I try and
incorporate a juice a day, usually breakfast or after a workout, whenever I
feel like washing dishes for a bit. This is the only negative thing I could
find, the need to wash your juicer ASAP is a great one. If you don’t, it gets
rusty, stained and you will be washing that thing for hours later.
I got very positive results, more energy, better skin,
feeling thinner (I never weigh myself), and the best part was that I got my
boyfriend to eat a lot better. He would refuse drinking them with veggies,
saying they overpowered, but I make plenty of fruit concoctions that make his
fruit intake a real one.
Here are some of my favorite juices:
Green Hulk- this is probably the greenest, healthiest juice.
Celery is good for asthma, cucumber for PMS, kale for detox and ginger for
digestive health. (I incorporate ginger to all my juices because I love its
spicy flavor and it helps my stomach be a champ)
-about half a cucumber
-1 green apple (seeds and all, its ok!)
-4 kale leaves (destemmed)
-2 stalks celery
-half a lemon
-an inch of ginger (or
less if you cant handle spicy)
Basic- these ingredients are probably going to be found in
your fridge and will make a pretty sweet juice that most will manage. Carrots
help create a good tan and keep your eyes young.
-2 apples
-3 celery stalks
-3 carrots
- piece of ginger
Fruity fruit- this is one of the sweetest juices. It makes a
beautifully colored juice. Grapes are anti oxidants, apricots keep a healthy
skin, pineapples are great for your oral health and plums aid the digestive
system.
-a dozen grapes
-3 apricots
-2 slices of pineapple
-1 plum
Another great juice benefit is the pulp that remains.
Depending on your juicer, you will be left with either a moist or dry pulp; dry
pulp is pretty much only good for compost, but moist pulp opens possibilities
of cooking! Carrot pulp is perfect for carrot cake, cucumber for tzaziki and
kale to mix in your salad.
So make room in your kitchen cabinets, or bust out the rusty
juicer and juice yourself a healthier life. Just remember to keep the garlic in your
garlic bread.
