Juicing. Getting rid of the yuck factor!

If I can juice, anyone can.

I was a picky eater when younger.

Fast forward to my thirties and fourties, and I am making ice cream & yogurt from raw milk, loving quacamole, juicing but still hating oatmeal. I always imagined those that juiced to be the sort that grew wheatgrass in trays under special lights in their basement, off the grid, who lived this hippy sort of life with chickens running all over...everywhere, shoeless kids in overalls running after them while mom picks their entire dinner from the garden while homeschooling all 12 children. Not that any of that is bad, but you get the stereotype.

Struggling with a skin disorder isn't fun.

For years I have struggled with a genetic skin disorder. My grandpa had it and so does my aunt. It isn't fun. Refusing to take steroids and other meds left me scouring the web for natural remedies. As well as applying the right healthy ingredients topically (SPOT), one of the keys, I learned is that alkalizing my body gives my body the power to heal itself. This in turn, allows my body to go and fight my genetic skin disease and essentially keep it healthy.

What I was looking for in a juicer

1. Ease of cleaning - if it took forever to clean it would be merely a fad not a routine.

2. It should leave the juice in a healthy state - not heat up the juice so as to break down the nutrients, afterall that was the point of juicing in the first place.

3. It should store easily - I do not like things sitting on my counter so we have a large pantry where appliances are stored. It needed to be easily accessible and moveable.

All my dreams (for a juicer) were realized when I found these videos on YOUtube.

Discountjuicers.com (I am not an affiliate. I just like their stuff) had the best videos with comparisons and info. Check it out.

I picked the Omega 8006 juicer. It is all that I was looking for in a juicer.

Experimenting with Juicing and a growing a middle.

So I tried juicing, adding romaine lettuce, kale, but mostly apples, carrots & lemon so I wouldn't gag. Surprisingly, it tasted really good! Then I began to notice that I was gaining weight in my middle. When I asked my wonderful naturopath he said that when your body processes only the juices of veggie and fruit, the sugar goes directly to fat stores. If I were to Vitamix (it is a verb in our home) the same ingredients, the fiber from the fruits and veggies would help process the sugars, thus not going directly to fat stores. This was great news because gaining weight from ice cream and donuts is expected. Gaining weight from juicing is just plain ridiculous.

With that in mind, I found this amazing woman, (affectionately known as "The Juice Lady." She taught me all about juicing the healthy way. She encouraged me to ONLY juice low sugar veggies and no fruit. Out went my apples and carrots. But, remember for me it had to taste good in order to make it part of my routine.

Here are the veggies I juice (using ALL organic veggies):

The above combo was just the ticket and we were in love.

Every time I downed my green juice, I would feel like Popeye when he ate his spinach. O.K. so my muscles didn't bulge out but I felt like my body was being strengthened and that I could hear my body healing itself! Plus, I no longer gained weight in my middle!

Juicing can be a time-consuming job but so is making healthy food. Find your rhythm of juicing and watch your body get stronger and begin to heal itself. Juicing has been a game-changer in my overall health. Now, don't get the idea I do this every single day. I go in spurts. Some seasons have me doing it less, some more.

A word on VITAMIX and juicing vs blending.

My VITAMIX gets tons of use in my house. Because fruits are the best for smoothies, I throw in a banana, frozen berries (blueberries make the smoothie perfectly purple which disguises the green from the spinach), coconut milk (enough to make it blend), some lemon juice (again, kills the earthy flavor from greens), plus tons of spinach and no one even knows. Chia seeds are great to add although I recommend consuming right away or the gelatinous properties of Chia make the smoothie a jello-like smoothie which isn't super appetizing. Remember, I do NOT like slimy textures.

Learn about juicing, fit it into your lifestyle and pass it on to the next generation. Bring your kids to the farmers market or grow your own veggies to juice and involve them, have them pick what to juice today.

Because we can't do it all, I always say "do your best, forget the rest." Happy Juicing!

Have any juicing or smoothie recipes to share?