Recently I’ve renewed my commitment to juicing. And we’re not talking drugs here, people–we’re talking vegetables. (I was only recently informed that juicing can also be a term for imbibing steroids. Or does one inject those things? Anyway.)
Why this fresh zest for juicing? (heh heh–forgive the pun–couldn’t resist) Well, in part because I heard my friend Traci’s inspiring story again about how juicing sent her rheumatoid arthritis into remission, and in part because my friend Sarah decided to do a juice cleanse. And did it. And it was awesome (more on that soon!).
There’s nothing like the honest testimony of a trusted girlfriend to get me in motion. With all this motivation, I really wanted to make juicing part of our routine–so I did. And I’m in week 5 now, going steady, holding the course. In case you’re interested in having some tasty, energizing, veggie juice for breakfast to get your day started out right, here’s how I do it:
1) On Sunday when we grocery shop for the week, I purchase a big bag of veggies, to wit:
-5 lbs carrots
-5 cucumbers
-A large, large knobbly knob of ginger
-The biggest bag of spinach I can locate
-1 bunch of celery
And I should clarify, this is just for me (though I do pour a small glass for my husband). I can hardly believe I go through all that in a week’s time considering it’s just my breakfast, but that’s the miracle of juicing, friends.
2) As soon as I get home from the grocery store, all the veggies destined for liquification get washed, prepped, and put into ziplocs for the week. That way, when I wake up and get my sleepy butt into the kitchen, everything is ready. There’s no horsing around with a knife needed, which is great since all my faculties are not yet present.
I also get pre-washed spinach, which saves a good amount of time.
3) Before going to bed (and while my husband sets the coffee maker), I assemble the juicer and put it on the counter so that it’s ready to go.
I figure any extra fussing about in the morning should be avoided, because that could just be used as an excuse to choose the lazy way out. I need to leave everything set up for myself so that practically no effort in the morning is required.
4) Final trick: lining the juicer’s ‘waste’ bin with a trash bag so that all the vegetable refuse can simply be gathered up and tossed.
Saves some washing time! Straight into the trash with you.
5) In the morning, make the juice! I use a big handful of spinach to start . . .
. . . followed by a thumbsized piece of ginger, a whole cucumber . . .
. . . a couple stalks of celery, and 6-8 carrots.
With the pre-washed and pre-cut veggies, it’s easy to pop them into the juicer and cococt a greeney-orangey beverage that will start my day on the right foot and load up my body with micronutrients.
And I have to say, I’m not hungry in the least after that big glass of juice. It fills me up, but doesn’t give that bloated feeling that bread products sometimes bring. And I think it tastes great! (the more carrots the better it seems to taste–there’s nothing like that sweet, earthy flavor)
It even takes away almost all of my urge for coffee. I usually sip at a coffee while doing my morning devotional right afterwards (it’s a habit that’s hard to break–a hot beverage is so perfect for helping me enter a contemplative state), but I usually only get halfway through the mug, and have no desire for coffee again until the following morning.
How about you–does that picture of green juice make you salivate, or make your stomach churn and turn?
Tomorrow, my friend Sarah will be guest posting here about her February juice cleanse. Just reading about her experience makes me want to do one too. Come back on by and read about her experience tomorrow morning!
Huh. Funny you should post about juicing and have been doing it for 5 weeks already, that’s about when I started contemplating starting juicing. My mom sent me a juicer but didn’t include the manual, so I have no idea how it works. But this post has got me thinking I’ll fiddle around and figure it out and start doing this!
I’ve really been wanting to get a juicer!! Do you think it’s worth the investment to add to my kitchen toy repertoire??
Personally, I think so! I got my juicer for free, but it’s about a $60-70 value, and I use it on a very regular basis, which makes it worth the space it takes up in the kitchen. So if you know you like fresh juice (esp. veggie juice) I say go for it and just make juicing a part of your routine so that the juicer doesn’t accumulate dust. =)
Such a crazy but true story, about an hour after your post my roommate came home with a brand new juicer!! He’s been trying to do a Vegan diet and using his friends juicer so he bought one for us! So excited to try some of your recipes for yummy fruit and veggie juices!
Whitney, that’s awesome! Very, very cool–and you’re going to LOVE juicing. I just know it.
mmmm…morning juices are so wonderful. 🙂 i hear you on the coffee part too. i usually have a glass of water and a shake Luke makes (is more fruit with a little spinach) and hardly ever want coffee.
Glad to hear that your juicing is of the vegetable variety. I have to be honest and say that the tall glass does not call to me. But I’m pretty much devoted to my steel cut oats in the morning.
I’m looking forward Sarah’s guest post tomorrow! : )
I think I’d rather eat raw veggies and dip for breakfast 😉 That drink scares me. It’s good for you and I’m glad I just don’t think I could do it! On a totally different note, I see the glass is from Cedar Point, one of my favorite places 🙂
My grandfather is a big believer in juicing veggies, much more so than fruit, which he advocates eating whole. He even bought us a juicer for it and our favorite thing to juice was carrots too. But I totally forgot we even had it until RIGHT NOW! I was like, “hey do we still have that juicer, honey?” “Huh? I don’t think so.” “I don’t remember getting rid of it.” So I got up and checked the last place I remember it being-in the cart under the microwave and lo and behold, it’s hiding behind all manner of cleaning products! I’m not feeling the urge to start juicing with it, but maybe by the time I read Tracy’s post I will. I do love me some carrot juice. Your concoction had more of a “yummy!” effect on me than an “ew” effect, but I’m weird. 😉
Ummm, not sure where I came up with the name Tracy. Make that Sarah. 🙂
Oh, OK, i”m not completely crazy, there is a Traci mentioned. Phew!
Inspiring!!! Thank you!!!!
That green juice you’ve concocted looks pretty good, Jenna! My preference would be to eat the veggies whole, though — I would miss chewing. 🙂
You’re going to inspire me to do this…in a few months. 🙂
That looks awesome. And I love the idea of wash and prep everything to just throw in.
I love juice. Although my favorite breakfast is probably some kind of hot cereal. Hmmm…I wonder if there’s a way to make veggie juice without the juicer. Maybe food processor and then strain?
The food processor/strainer sounds almost like more trouble that it would be worth . . . but if you try it, let me know! Now I’m curious. =)
You could try replace cucumber with other green leafy vegie, like kale, even broccoli to reduce bloating. I find cucumber gave me really uncomfortable tummy.
Thanks Amber! Great idea.
I like how you prepare everything in bags so it can be ready to use when you wake up. Also the trick with the trash bag is priceless! Will implement it in my routine for sure.