Juicing

Over a month ago I started juicing.
I had been thinking about it and researching it  for over a year.
I noticed a friend looking really good back in August and I asked what she was doing. She said she was juicing.
I asked her more because there is a theory circulating out there claiming those of us with auto-immune problems might benefit from having our food as smaller particles. My particular problem is every time I eat, my immune system turns  crazy and attacks my body. The idea is if the food is in smaller bits, some of it might get by my crazed immune system and actually give me nutrients.

Also - I have been sort-of, not-quite, kinda, laid off. Instead of working six days a week with split shifts every day, I am now only working three days a week.
My drawback was the price of a juicer. If it didn't work out, I didn't want to have thrown a few hundred dollars down the compost pile.
She said she bought the off-brand juicer at Bi-mart for twenty dollars.
Really?

Late August is prime time for green stuff in your garden or my favorite store or your farmer's market. With nothing to lose, I started out with two times a day.
This machine is so easy to clean. After all, you are using it multiple times a day.
I had occasion to go over to Redmond this summer and the friend I was visiting  had a Jack LaLanne juicer. It did have a bigger motor but it was a bear to clean. I can see why a person would give up on juicing using some of these expensive juicers on the market.
Doing some research for this post, I find I got a huge deal at Bi-Mart ($20). Other stores have this Nesco model for $50 - $75.

My husband asks what my favorite is and my response? I don't really have a  favorite - they all taste like drinking your vegetables. I suppose, the one I make the most often is with a Granny Smith apple, 3 stalks of celery and zucchini. This one is easy to make in the morning. 

Much harder to make is with broccoli or collard greens. Actually, I don't believe I have ever eaten collard greens before this year. I've eaten swiss chard and beet greens but somehow I saved myself from collard greens. God forbid that a rutabaga ever turns up in this house though.
Now I am eating bok choy, savoy cabbages, any green vegy I can get my hands on.

I don't juice for every meal nor every day but I am sustaining it because  --
1. My eyes are clearer. They don't look so yellow - like my liver is sick.
2. I am eating at least twice as many veggies as I used to and believe me - I eat veggies.
3. With my particular auto-immune, I am actually in a starvation diet mode because every time I eat, I get sick. Getting me to eat more is one of my goals. Because--
4. I have more energy
5. I feel like walking for exercise. Because I generally don't eat enough calories, I have trouble with managing my energy levels. Wanting to walk is a big thing for me.
6. Drinking my celery is very tasty. I eat celery and apples every day. Believe me, you can get very tired of eating the same old thing. But these two things never give me immune reactions. Drinking them is novel.

You cannot juice everything. Broccoli just gums up the juicer. Better to cook it first. I know most of the nutrients are there right away and soon dissipate - but I steam my broccoli, throw some greens on top (collard, beet, whatever is dark green), then I use the blender that came with the juicer. First I make an apple, zucchini, celery mixture in the juicer.  I then attach the blender and throw my steamed veggies in and use the juice I just made to help liquify the other veggies. Pears are better in the blender. It's rather an experiment in progress.

I am trying for two juicings a day. I see some benefits. The blendering uses up most of the veggies while juicing creates pulp for the compost. You could throw the pulp into your 'smoothie' if you wanted.

I find I have to have an apple or pear or it really tastes like drinking your vegetables. The tartness of the granny smith apple works quite well.

I haven't made it to three juicings a day yet. I haven't lost weight with this either but I feel better. On a couple of days this week when I wasn't eating the best, I was not juicing. So - juicing does help me - both with energy and mood.



On the subject of apples - I eat them everyday. Every single day.  July and August are the apple desert months. Thank God for New Zealand and their Jazz apples during the summer (their winter). My particular favorites are the early Galas. They go mushy fast so eat them as soon as they appear. Right now? Honey Crisp is big on my grocery list. After those go, Fuji's become my winter standby.
For the first time, I am liking Granny Smiths because of the tartness. They play well with other veggies in the juicer.