Today: Give us this day our daily juice.
[tweetmeme source=”elizabethev” only_single=false]I bought a juicer a year ago, or so. I used it a number of times, almost lost a finger once, got sick of cleaning up after myself, and then hid the whole thing away. It lived under our sink with 9,000 reusable Whole Foods bags (I’m more likely to buy a few new ones that the store than endure the shame of requesting paper) and various other rarely used appliances until last week. Nick and I have been going balls to the wall, proverbially speaking, with juicing as of late. A man who will give you the choice of first shower or firing up the juicer? I’ve got myself a keeper. After a few weeks of struggling to get up and out the door on time, our new little juice ritual is working wonders. Perhaps this #hulkjuice is turning me into the Incredible Elizabeth?
Drinking fresh vegetable and fruit juice in the morning is sort of like exercising at the start of the day. It’s an insurance policy against all the naughty choices I might make later on, and great motivation to keep on the straight and narrow. Whatever that means. Even after just a single week of morning juice, I feel a difference. I have more energy and fewer random cravings. I don’t need to sneak Diet Coke. I’ve made better choices at lunch and dinner (namely: more vegetables, in non-liquid form). I haven’t given anyone the finger during my commute. Did I mention my skin is glowing? Oh. Maybe that’s just the fluorescent overhead lighting.
It turns out the juicer is very easy to clean if you tend to it right away. I am sure that was somewhere in the directions (why read them when you can promptly recycle them?). It still takes up considerable counter space (the juicer isn’t getting any smaller, and our condo isn’t getting any larger), but we’re making do. For people like me who have trouble following recipes, winging it is perfectly acceptable when juicing. After making multiple trips to procure more kale, I finally just started grabbing whatever was in our refrigerator or on the counter. A few combinations that have worked well:
- 1 bunch of kale, 2 cups of spinach, 1 lemon, 1/2 cucumber, 3 stalks of celery, 1 inch of fresh ginger, 1 apple, 1 handful of parsley
- 3 cups of spinach, 2 apples, 2 carrots, 1 lemon
- 2 cups of spinach, 3 stalks of celery, 1 lemon, 1 apple, 1 orange, 1 medium cucumber, 1 cup of raspberries
Each batch perfectly fills two tall glasses. Next adventure: make use of all that pulp. And make fewer trips to the market.
Also On Tap for Today:
- Crossfit… bring on the burpees!
- #getafterit Twitter chat tonight with Reebok and FitFluential (9PM EST)
- Working on our wedding playlist 🙂
What does your morning routine look like?
Comments (6)
alex eats green
October 5, 2012 at 9:40 am
I have been meaning to dust off my juicer and give it some morning love. This is just the inspiration I needed! Thanks for the combos too – I feel like I always end up juicing the same stuff so it will be nice to try some new fruits + veggies. Three cheers for green stuff!
Becki @Fight4Wellness
October 9, 2012 at 2:20 pm
My juicer is gathering a little bit of dust right now too, primarily because it is so dang loud. I love it though and I think I just may have to get back into juicing. I love using the pulp to make veggie burgers.
Today: An interview with Emily Mistretta of the Boston Ballet. « On Tap for Today
October 16, 2012 at 11:48 am
[…] are some of your favorite foods for fueling your routine? EM: I recently discovered the joy of juicing, it’s fantastic! In the morning I like to make juices with fresh fruit and vegetables, […]
Jayne
November 4, 2012 at 12:03 am
Try to use vegetables that are organic and not grown with pesticides as much as possible in your juices. Organic vegetables will provide the best health benefit for you and your family. Try to buy celery, carrots, cucumber and leafy greens at a local organic farms as these vegetables tend to be grown with a lot of pesticides.
Alec Tritton
November 8, 2012 at 6:00 am
For the extra kick of flavor, consider adding a little ginger to your healthy vegetable juice blend. Ginger will add a nice, unique flavor to your juice and cover the taste of strong vegetables. Also, research has shown that ginger can help to reduce blood pressure, prevent atherosclerosis and have other cardiovascular benefits.
Jason
August 16, 2013 at 9:51 am
It tasted delicious! Now I need to find a way not to spend so much on fruit & veg!!