Two Good Juice Blends- today's production WITH Pics!

OK, playing with time management, ingredient cleanout and management, etc. Here are the fruits of my labor, with relevant details:

My Version of V8 6 Tomatoes 1 Large carrot 1 stalk celery handful of parsley handful of cilantro leaves plus a bunch of cilantro stalks 5 kale leaves 1/2 cucumber small piece of beet 1/2 red chili 1/4 tsp. sea salt few shakes of Tabasco shake of paprika, onion powder, and black pepper 1/6 of a lemon, peeled This was a very tasty blend.  I added just a little water and drank it over ice.  It was refreshing, not too strong or overpowering once I added the water. Yield:  18 oz.

Muddy Water 'cuz that's what it looks like This was surprisingly good.  It definitely benefited from the spices and added flavorings.

3 large carrots 2 stalks celery handful of parsley 7 kale leaves 1/2 cucumber small piece of beet 1/4 tsp. sea salt few shakes of Bragg's Aminos shake of onion powder, and black pepper piece of ginger  1/8 of a lemon, peeled Yield:  18 oz

I hafta like the blends, or I won't drink them: Kale and Beets

Here's a little Commentary about Kale and Beets:   

I like vegetables.  I am trying to think of a vegetable I don't like right now and am having difficulty coming up with one.  Yet there must be one.  It'll come to me.

So, after 7 days of juicing, I have made a couple observations.  For me, I have found that too much raw beet or raw kale is overbearing, and makes my "meals" difficult to drink and enjoy.

 

And it's important that I enjoy the juices I make; otherwise, I won't be able to stick with this plan for as long as I'd like.

I'll be more likely to become discouraged, cheat, or break my juice fast altogether.  I will also be more likely to  buy juices at Robek's or the like, which nutritionally are fine but financially ruinous, compared to make-it-myself.

I consulted my "The Juicing Book" by Stephen Blauer.   Blauer notes that beets are quite powerful kidney and blood cleansers, and that an ounce or two is plenty, and to use moderately.  

What's MORE interesting, however, is that people who are prone to oxylate based kidney stones should carefully monitor their intake of beet juice, as beets are high in oxylate, and high consumption can increase your body's tendency to crystallize minerals.

I find that raw kale and raw beet juice are strong and bitter.  I like 'em both cooked, but too much raw is difficult for me. Carrots make the juice sweeter. Cucumber adds a neutral water flavor.

So today I experimented:  Less beet and kale, more carrot and cucumber.  The result was much better. 

I still can't think of a vegetable that I hate. But I do hate liver.  Good thing it's not allowed on the juicing protocol.

Finishing Day 7. Down 9 pounds!

Happy Dance!

Today was a pretty busy day, so no photos from me, sorry!

Morning Juicing:  Most of 1 pint strawberries; 2 small granny smith apples, 6 carrots; piece of ginger; 1 peach, 1 nectarine,  shake of cinnamon.  Yield:  about 30 ounces.

Afternoon Juicing:  6 large leaves of kale; 1/2 of a baseball-size beet; 1 cucumber, 8 carrots; piece of ginger; 1/3 of a lemon, peeled; handful of cilantro and handful of parsley.  

Yield:  about 32ounces.  This was very palatable, and I'll make it again.

Great Morning Blend to Get You Through the Day

My sister is also sharing pictures and quantities, many of which I will share here.

This morning she juiced:  6 carrots, 2 Granny Smith apples, 1 lemon, 1 bunch kale, ½ bunch cilantro, 1 quart strawberries, 1 cucumber. 

Yield 1.75 quarts, 56 oz, or 1650 ml.  She thought this was one of her best blends ever.

A good blend to share, or to last you until dinner.

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20July2011 6 carrots, 2 Granny Smith apples, 1 lemon, 1 bunch kale, ½ bunch cilantro, 1 quart strawberries, 1 cucumber.

Fine Tuning Recipes & Raw Veg Juice Restaurant Discovery

Robeks!  They have Fresh Vegetable Juice!

 Yesterday I was running a bunch of errands, knowing that I would have to find something for lunch.  I was resigned to going to Jamba Juice, which is fine, but I really wanted to have VEGETABLE juice, not fruit juice.

I got on my handy dandy Motorola Droid2 (love it!), and quickly discovered that Robek's, another juice chain, makes vegetable juice blends!  Yea!

The Robeks veg juice menu is pictured here.  I had a "Green V", add ginger.

Robek's Menu Page & Location Finder Link

My Dinner Veg Combo

Pictured here is the combination of vegetables I made for dinner.  I am getting better at proportions, as my yield was just over 16 ounces.

I used one clementine orange- peeled, a small handful of parsley, 1 cucumber, 3 carrots, and a couple large leaves of kale.  I rolled the parsley up into the kale when processing.  I also added a little sea salt.  The flavor was balanced and not too bitter or strong.  I have found that adding ice and a splash of water makes many seemingly bitter juices taste better.

Down 5 Pounds

Finished 4 days, down 5 pounds!

Tools of the Trade

I found myself using the same tools over and over, and thought I'd post a photo of them.

1- My Juicer- in this case, the Waring Juice Extractor
2- A couple knives- I'm particularly partial to my baby-size Oxo chef's knife , with a 4-inch blade; and I scavenged my navy blue Messermeister Picnic Knife, which is a high quality paring knife in a plastic sheath. 
3- My ergonomically friendly vegetable peeler.  Trudeau is pictured; I also have an Oxo Good Grips.
4- A stainless steel mesh colander for washing stuff.
5- Stainless steel mixing bowl for transporting veg and collecting scraps when I clean 'em up prior to juicing.
6- Cuisinart cutting boards - I LOVE these things!  I've had 'em forever, they go in the dishwasher, they have a lip so if you carry food from one spot to another on them you don't get drips,  they last forever.

That's about it.