Veggie Juice at Whole Foods- and you can customize it!

In the middle of Day 23.  Did a nice grocery shopping this morning before church, so I'm set for a few days!

Yesterday was one of those days when the groceries are running scarce around the house, and you have a 1,000 projects in action.  I have avoided as much as possible buying juice out, but in the early evening I acquiesced and stopped by Whole Foods, the natural grocery store.

Whole Foods has a fresh juice bar, which includes a great assortment of veggies:  kale, spinach, parsley, ginger, celery, garlic, beets, carrots; and a few others I cannot recall.   They have a few mixes of their own on the menu, but the "real deal" is they let you customize your own, and it's all one price.  The 16oz is $6.99 ~ kinda hefta in terms of a glass full of veggie juice, but a lot less than eating out, which I have not been doing, and it kept me on track in terms of my green juice needs.


So, now we have Robeks and Whole Foods, who will juice veggies or fruit for you; and Jamba Juice and Smoothie King, with fruit juices and minimal veggie options.  

All offer wheatgrass shots, and Whole Foods will sell you a tray of wheatgrass for $15.

Starting Day 18

Here's my weight loss as of this morning:  16 lbs!

Day 16... Down 15 pounds! And 3 new recipes

I'm quite pleased.

It's been a busy week for me.  I wasn't sure how the juice fast would go, but at the end of everyday I look at what's in the fridge, make sure what I need is there, and think about how much longer I can or want to do this.  


After finishing 2 full weeks, I can see myself completing a month, or 30 days.  I'm not certain I will, so for now, I'm aiming for 21 days.


I feel OK.  I kinda miss coffee. Yesterday I was around a lot of Diet Coke, and I missed it, but was OK with a caffeine-free Passion Tea from Starbucks.

RECIPE NEWS!

Today I added a banana to my morning juice.  My older children were out of town for a couple weeks, and when they returned they watched "Fat Sick and Nearly Dead" with me, and now are converts. As they are teenagers, fasting is not advised for them, but they are interested in drinking juices with me!  That's 5 out of 5, my friends!

DON'T PUT A BANANA IN YOUR JUICER!  

Here's how you incorporate a banana into your fresh juice: 

1. Juice all of your prepared fruits and/or vegetables.
2. Peel your banana.
3. Using an immersion blender:  Add banana to juice pitcher.  If not enough room, pour off some of the juice into a cup to avoid overflow.  Pulse/blend a few times to liquify banana.  Or: A regular blender:  Pour prepared juice into blender pitcher.  Add banana, run for about a minute to fully process banana.

I highly recommend an immersion blender, if you do not already have one. I use my all the time. I've had two: a Cuisinart, which lasted about 8 years, and now a Waring. I use it when making sauces, soups, and now adding "non-juicer" friendly stuff to my juice-fast drinks. Here are a 2 examples. Click on the photos below for more info:  

Waring Professional Immersion Blender $37-$40

Cuisinart 200 watt SmartStick Blender About $28-$30

It even comes in Pink and Turquoise!

ANYWAY, here are 3 new recipes that I made yesterday and this morning:

Summer Sweet Breakfast Invigorating and Refreshing

1 big handful of spinach leaves 1 clementine orange 5 nectarines 4 large Granny Smith apples 1 lemon, including skin 1 thumb-size piece of ginger 100 ml coconut water (at the end to rinse all remaining juice out of the juicer) Yield: 1100 ml (2 servings) I added a small dash of nutmeg to mine.   Household Votes: I liked it, my two teen daughters loved it, and my 10-year old hated it.

Day's End Juice Easy Drinking Mild Blend

This was a very mild, almost bland mix.  I actually liked it, as a break from some of the bold green flavors.  1 big handful of spinach leaves 2 Kale leaves 1/2 cucumber 1 small apple, Gala 4 small carrots 2 stalks celery 1 big handful of parsley 1 large chunk of ginger 100 ml coconut water (at the end to rinse all remaining juice out of the juicer) Yield: 600 ml (1 serving) I added a small dash of cumin and salt to mine.

Banana Blast Breakfast Sweet and Different

1 big handful of spinach leaves 4 skinny carrots 6 large Granny Smith apples 1 lemon, including skin 1 thumb-size piece of ginger 1 banana (not pictured) 100 ml coconut water (at the end to rinse all remaining juice out of the juicer) Juice everything EXCEPT the banana.  Put the banana into the juice mix, and pulse it a few times with the immersion blender to liquify.  Serve Yield: 1250 ml (2 servings) Household Votes: I liked it, Loved by all.

End of Day 14

Today is the end of day 14 of my juice fast.  I am sticking with it, repeating recipes I've made earlier.

I need to weigh myself and update my stats.  Overall I feel OK, and am unsure how much longer I will fast.

A favorite recipe

6 carrots
2 Granny Smith apples
1 lemon, peel on
1 bunch kale
1 quart strawberries
1 cucumber
½ bunch cilantro

Yield: 1650 ml
Taste: Exceptional



I finally started keeping track of quantity and yield on day 6, and this was the first. I am going to make this again tomorrow, as I really loved this combination.

2 Keepers- an Awesome Juicing Day

When it comes to making "Keeper" recipes... well, it helps when you've just gone to the grocery.

Last night I picked up a variety of ingredients for the next few days.  I learned a lot last week, and made varied choices in limited quantities, to ensure freshness and stave off boredom.

The juices made today were particularly delicious.  My sister and I assembled them together-- think of the old adage "two heads are better than one".  She suggested things that I wouldn't normally do, and I did the same.  The results are these two awesome recipes that I think you will make again and again.

Morning Eye Opener Approx 1/2 Mango couple chunks pineapple handful spinach 3 apples 2 clementine oranges 6 carrots small handful parsley bunch of cilantro stems cinnamon and nutmeg (optional) coconut water Yield: 900 ml juice, 100 ml coconut water: 1000 ml (2 full servings) Particularly delicious blend.

Sunshine in a Glass 'cuz that's what it tastes like I could drink this everyday.

1/2 bunch of kale 4 celery stalks 5 carrots 1 apple ½ small beet 1 lemon, including skin ½ jalapeño ¼ bunch parsley ⅓ bunch cilantro 2 tomatoes, seasoning to taste 100 ml coconut water Yield: 1100 ml (2 servings)

Sweet Saturday! Breakfast Blend & a Juicing Discovery

I made this conglomeration this morning.  It was assembled from loose bits and pieces, with great results.  See the recipe and notes for more:

Summer Tropics Juice Blend

2 nectarines

1 mango

1 clementine orange, peeled

3 carrots

2 stalks celery

a wedge of pineapple

Dash of allspice and cinnamon

1 drop stevia

Coconut Water

NOTES:  drop the mango in juicer first,  don't push it in, let gravity carry it to the blade/strainer.  Add nectarines, pineapple and orange the same way.  Process the rest as usual.  Once all is juiced, slowly pour 4-6 oz. of coconut water in.  It will wash out the remianing juice.  Shake in  2 dashes, cinnamon, 1 dash allspice and 1 drop stevia.

Yield:  20 oz before coconut water, 26 oz after coconut water.

Report:  This juice was good, but would be better by leaving out celery and adding 1 Granny Smith apple.  I am out of apples right now, so I used the celery.  No harm, but next time, definitely a Granny.

MY JUICING DISCOVERY

I am always curious as to how things work, and what can be done to make them work better.  Knowing that a mango and nectarine are soft-fleshed, I knew that the juice would be thick and would sit in the machine unless pushed out by other juice.  I also know that if you push something through too fast, it doesn't always process completely.  

Coconut water is allowed, per the "rules" of the reboot, and it's a good way to wash down any precious drops of good juice.  Pour a little in at the end, to the running juicer.

SOOO... 

-with soft fleshed fruits, like mango or peaches, strawberries etc., drop them into the juicer first, allow to process with pressing down into machine.  Then process the remaining veg or fruit as usual.  Use a little coconut water or water at the end, to expel any remaining juices.