Gettin' Juiced: An Organic Fresh Juice Adventure

The morning started out great. I awoke at 9:30am and made my way down to the farmers market. I purchased a loaf of fresh baked organic garlic bread, and 2.5 pounds of fresh fruit. It was my first time to this farmer's market because I just moved to a new town. I was sadly disappointed in the selection of organic produce and had to make my way over to a health food store to gather my greens. There I picked up the following: bananas, a pineapple, a bag of apples, a bag of lemons, a bag of limes; a bunch(one bundle of each) dandelion, kale, red beets (with greens), cilantro, parsley, and celery. I then picked up two avocados, three tomatos, and a red onion. My cart was as packed full of nutrients as my body is right now! My tummy is gurgling away after drinking the above tasty liquid meals. 

The photos you see illustrate some of the things that happened during my procession of the morning. I first laid everything out and took a good look at my week+ of organic produce. I imagined all of the juices I would create and the soups I am going to simmer. I stared down the avocados thinking, "You will be my guacamole in no time!" I love my fruits and veggies with a passion. 

I've always paid $1-$2 a shot for wheatgrass (1 ounce) and thought that was ridiculous. So when I saw a whole flat of organic wheatgrass only costs ten bucks, I had to get it. I juiced up a shot, put a side of orange juice like the juice bars do for you (the nice ones) and had my way with it. Breakfast number one, a shot of wheatgrass. Let's get this detoxification on the road. 

The first drink I made was a fruity one. I had to go with my hunger and put some carbs in that machine. I placed 

*1 cup chopped pineapple (estimating here)

*a white peach

*half a cucumber

*handful of carrots

*half a red bell pepper

*a ripe pluot 

*handful of sliced apples

*juice of half a lemon

and let it juice together, alternating the ingredients so they would mix well.  It came out as an orange yummy fruity drink. I was like, "Yay! It's good!" Then I got daring. 

I knew I had to juice these greens. I normally take part in drinking this thing called "Paradise Protein Greens" which is an array of 55+ green veggies and pea protein. I mix it with apple juice and it's not too bad. Fresh green juice is a different story. 

I placed a handful of kale (about 5 leaves, or a whole bowl chopped), a handful of parsley, a few apple slices (about one apple) and all the tops I chopped off from the celery. Normally I throw those away but I knew juicing them would be very beneficial. Celery has a natural salt, so I figured it would add some savory flavors to my drink. I definitely need to work on making the green drinks taste better... It tasted like the wheatgrass shot toned down. I had to use a straw and drink it fairly quickly. By the end of the glass I was able to take a gulp and bare the bitterness. I never really liked kale in the first place. The only reason I'm eating it is because I can juice it now so I don't have to sit there and chew on it. The nutrient content is insane, so I just do it for my body. After a whole glass of green drink, and few sips from the fruit one, I am surprisingly full. It's like I want to eat a piece of toast or something, but I really don't think my body can handle it. 

Immediately after about half the glass of green juice is in my stomach, I felt a gurgling sensation. Right now I have energy like I drank a cup of coffee, yet feel kinda dizzy and euphoric. What is going on in there? I read about this in the Martha's Vineyard Detox book (21pounds in 21days) that some bodies can't even handle a shot of wheatgrass. Well the wheatgrass went down fine, it's just now I feel so weird after all that kale and celery. My body is actively cleaning out cells, filling in nutrients, and having a party at the same time. Who knew that fresh juicing could be so beneficial? (Besides Jack Lalanne, Dr. Roni, and all the other people selling books on it.) 

Buying a juicer has caused more than just fresh juice to enter my body. It has planted new inspiration to my mind. I've been eating organic and healthy for a long time now, but fresh juice seems to be a whole new playing field. People usually detox for a period of time once a year and go back to their normal western diet. I'm attempting to drink live fresh juices almost daily to keep the detoxification process going. I'm sure my whole body will benefit: hair, nails, skin, energy, spirit, mood, weight, and more. That drink was probably very little calories, yet I can't imagine trying to stuff down a nice hot sandwich right now. I'm going to look up some soup recipes for my other greens as soon as I get my appetite back. 

I hope I can inspire others to hop on my bandwagon and live the healthy adventure along my side (or at least vicariously through this blog). Cheers!

*All of these vegetables costed $27.89. A flat of wheatgrass (a couple weeks worth of shots) was $10. Divide that all by 7 and get $5.41per day for fresh organic produce for two people. Now that's what I'm talking about!