Juicing

Day 11

Yesterday was a very good day! A better day than I have had in literally months. At times I made it hour by hour....but in the end it was positive! I refused to allow my mind to vacation anywhere but the present and I kept the present focused. Yay me!

I guess it is time to let the cat out of the bag. I have found a new love! It is my Nutribullet! I have wanted a juicer for years. I used to love watching the Jack La Lanne juicing commercials and would wish I had one. Of course they were way above my budget and even pretty far above my justification budget. So I dreamed!

I have a friend who is beautiful and gorgeous always but in the last year or so, she made it her mission to lose weight and get healthy. She was far from overweight when she started but she was uncomfortable and she didn't feel healthy. She has grown children and spends her days chasing after grandchildren. She knew she wasn't at her best. She started watching what she ate, changing up recipes and working out with a kettle bell. Within just a few months she had lost the weight, toned up and felt so much better. Of course....she was even more beautiful afterwards and she looked about 15 years younger. It was both impressive and motivating. One of her tricks to all of this was that she found a juicer at a garage sale and she started using it!

If you look at Pinterest, facebook or pretty much anywhere anymore you will see and hear about juicing. You take raw fruits and veggies and make healthy juices and smoothies. There are green ones, yellow ones, orange ones and purple ones. It just depends what you like and what you want to get out of your juice. The great thing about juicing is that if done right (juicing skin and all) you are getting nutrients and healthful benefits from your foods that you might not be getting otherwise. A regular blender while handy to make certain kinds of smoothies is not a juicer. It cannot handle the skin and veggies that a juicer can.

This summer before I got my Nutribullet, I saw a recipe on Pinterest for healthy smoothies. It called for frozen fruit and Crystal Light mixed in a blender. Now I know many of you are not artificial sweetener fans and CL does have it but I would mix a cup to a cup and a half of fruit with 1/3 cup CL. If it was too thick I would add a little water. My kids loved it. Now my kids are not picky when it comes to fruits and veggies, but if your kid is....this is a great way to add some to their diet without them complaining. Also you could switch the CL for Koolaid or you could make it with just water. For myself I would occasionally add a few spinach leaves or kale and the fruit would keep them from being too overpowering.

Now that I have the NB I have started playing with different fruits and veggies and I am doing a little reading on what helps what. For starters....fruits and veggies, especially with the skin on, are great as far a fiber goes. Fiber is necessary to keep our bodies functioning properly and also helps in the prevention of some colon issues and colon cancer. Every fruit and vegetable has its own nutrients and aids in the prevention of something from heart health to eye issues. Mixing fruits and vegetables helps both the taste and adds to the health benefits. It is also surprisingly filling. You don't feel weighed down and yes....there is even more energy involved.

If weight loss is your goal, then you will hear a lot about too many daily fruits prohibiting weight loss because of their natural sugars. I think there is truth in this as when Weight Watchers changed their points system around a few years ago and fruits became lesser or zero points.....people started consuming more and there was a noticeable difference in the amount of weight people were losing. Some quit losing and some even gained a pound or two. This is why three fruit servings are all that is recommended daily. Some fruits like grapes and bananas are only suggested weekly because of their higher sugar content. However fruits like strawberries, blueberries and apples can be eaten daily and along with their tremendous health benefits, they are a great addition to any juice or smoothy you make.

Since my Nutribullet is still pretty new and it didn't come with any directions (still scratching my head over that), I don't have all the kinks worked out yet. I do know that it tears through a raw sweet potato, beets and apples like nobodies business but the consistency even with added water is pretty thick. I know this is not suppose to happen or at least I don't think so and I am really thinking I need to go online and read the instructions. What I have been doing is a trick my beautiful ^ friend taught me. I strain the juice from the pulp and then I freeze the pulp in ice cube trays. Later I will use those ice cubes for flavor in soups, stews or other delicacies I decide to make. It's all good.

Okay.... I figure now that I am moving forward and health is my biggest goal, then juicing at a meal or as an in between meal snack is the way to go. While fruits are a bit higher in calories than veggies, as an add in with with carrots, beets or sweet potatoes....it makes an amazing healthful and filling snack.

So I raise my glass of juice to the Nutribullet, juicing and my beautiful friend for pointing me in the right direction!