Juicing: How We Got Started

I have recently received quite a few emails and messages asking questions about juicing. I thought I would share some of what we have learned in the past three weeks. All of these points that I will make are completely based on personal experiences.

 **I am NOT a certified nutritionist. 

**I HIGHLY recommend you talking to someone certified before you take any of my advice. 

This is my little spot online, so I thought I would share. I hope you enjoy and maybe learn something new! Also, feel free to contact me with any other questions. I love answering them! I am also warning you that I am using MY pictures for lack of desire to search and give credit. Hope you love my random iPhone taking skills. (Not really, they are terrible!)

As everyone already knows, in this household we take our vitamins seriously. We LOVE AdvoCare. We don’t drink sodas, we love Spark. I love the Rehydrate, and the vitamins are just amazing. I also LOVE the herbal cleanse and I love the ‘restart’ it gives my body. I feel the absolute best when I am taking the probiotics.  We eat clean 85% of the time, but sometimes, it is just impossible to get all the recommended fruits and veggies that you need. We are also quite guilty of eating out too much just because of our extremely busy schedules. I learned that this was the problem with lots of folks. I watched the documentary “Fat, Sick, and NearlyDead.” Wow! Although I knew what we eat is slowly killing us, I never really thought about the facts. This guy shows you the real hardcore truth. I loved it. Check it out!

The man started using the juicer to juice all of his fruits and vegetables. He juiced three meals for 90 days. His body went through a TOTALLY transformation. It was inspiring.

 Then I decided to check out, “The Juicing Bible.” 

This book is jammmmmmed packed with fruits and vegetables that I have never heard of and the sicknesses and diseases that they can help prevent. I HATE going to the doctor, and I HATE being sick and easily being prescribed meds. It just makes sense to eat right to keep the need for medicines down low. Coach was in the hospital last spring while antibiotics didn’t work, and also has asthma. Did you know that there are drinks that can be made to help prevent things like asthma? You can look up any sickness and find fruits and vegetables that are natural fighters for such problems. (I am not totally against medicines, hello, I am on one now… but I just feel like why??? WHY do we always just take an antibiotic?)  This book is filled with fruit recipes, veggie recipes, fruit and vegetable juices, smoothies, and also recipes to use with the pulp. Pretty much the best $14 I’ve spent on Amazon. (This is saying a lot since I have a small book obsession.) 

I had a guy once tell me, “I don’t need supplements; I just try to get them in all the food I eat.” Well, yeah, so do I… but my friend Danielle (who introduced me to Advocare, hooked me on running, and is my absolute inspiration in more ways than she will ever know) wrote this amazing post on why you actually do need supplements. So, AdvoCare is still a MAIN part in our lives, juicing is just how we handle eating. Errrrr…. Drinking…. You know. 

First, I spent a few weeks reading about juicing machines. I read reviews, articles, blogs, and manufacture’s reviews and claims. (Here is another perk about being a reader; I don’t mind reading the most random things.) I also asked around because I knew I had several friends that were already into juicing. We decided to spend $100 on a juicer. You can spend $50-$500 on a juicing machine. When Coach and I were discussing the price range we wanted, I decided that if I bought the cheapest machine, then I may not get the full experience. (Some reviews mentioned that. They thought they may have liked the process more if they had bought a nicer machine that worked better.) I also did not want to spend too much money, because HEY… what if this wasn’t for us? I ended up getting the same machine that was used in the documentary, a Breville. It had great reviews, and was also on sale on Amazon. (I bought it in January, so lots of “heath raves” were on sale.) It came with a book of recipes, and also very informative instructions. I am VERY pleased with our purchase. I am actually using this machine more than my Kitchen Aid. GASP! 

Another struggle that I have heard LOTS of is the price of eating healthy. Yes, we spend an average of $80 a week on nothing but fruits, vegetables, milk, organic chicken, and fish. (In fact we went to Kroger today and spend right at $90 and that was with a buggy over flowing! Also, really the majority of that was on meat since I love organic chicken. That mess is $$$. Those that know me know I go on some serious rants about chicken!)  However, think about it: This is for 2 people, three meals a day. When I was buying cokes, ice cream, cookies, and junk I know I was spending more than that. Also, if I ate a school lunch at $3 a day for both of us, that would add up quickly! When you eat junk you are tearing up your body, and then you have to spend $$$$ to repair it, right? I feel no guilt when I spend money on healthy foods. I may have to skip a pedicure…. Gasp again… but hey… I am making the right choice! (Who am I kidding? This chick aint missing a pedicure! Kidding… maybe.) 

Another popular complaint is the time it takes. I won’t lie when I say it does take some time. Every night I go ahead and bag or meals. Four bags, four meals. I have everything washed, cut, (although with our juicer, you don’t cut much fruit. It can go in whole.) and ready to go. When Coach gets up, all he does is juice each bag, and bottle them up. It is also important to wash the juicer as soon as you are done. If not, the pulp can be hard to wash off. So, all in all about an hour a day is spent in prep and cleaning. Not too bad in my opinion. Sure, it isn’t a frozen pizza that is easy to throw in the oven, but soooo much better for you. Totally worth it to me! 

There is also lots of pulp when juicing. I have researched ideas to use this. Tomorrow night we are having vegetable soup with the pulp from the two days. I can’t wait to see how this will turn out, because we have always used canned veggies for this. This time we will use fresh vegetables! We also have plans to have a small garden this spring. It is great to use the pulp as compost. In our book there are lots of recipes for stews, breads, ice cream, and other great ideas that use the pulp so you aren’t throwing it away. Another popular idea is to juice, then dump the pulp in the blender with the juice and add some protein and have a nice smoothie with lots of hidden goods. I am going to research some more, and also experiment with this idea. I hope to report back on this topic.

So, three weeks ago Coach and I made the promise to juice two meals a day. We juice for breakfast and lunch, and then eat a dinner. I have always heard that you should eat the biggest meal for breakfast and the smallest meal for supper. Well, this doesn’t work for us. It is easier to juice for breakfast and lunch because we can juice it, bottle it, and go. It also stores pretty well for the short amount of time that we are storing it in the fridge. Also, the main reason I feel in love with AdvoCare meal shakes was because I could replace breakfast with a smart healthy choice. I am not a big eater first thing in the morning. Actually, for a LARGE portion of my life I never ate breakfast. It wasn’t until Coach and I started dating that I started taking breakfast so seriously. (He taught me it was the most important meal of the day.) So, juicing a yummy combination of fruit and veggies for breakfast is amazing. I still mix it up sometimes and have a meal shake. (I found it helpful when I was being a girl and needing some chocolate!) We also eat pretty early in the evening when possible. Hey, I am married to a coach… he often gets home pretty late! When planning meals I am also sure to have the cleanest meal possible. No box dinners, no mac and cheese, no junk. It is motivational to keep eating clean for dinner when you worked so hard to juice during the day! 

My favorite question so far is, “Why don’t you just eat the food rather than juice it?” Well, the only answer I have to this is why would I want to eat three jumbo carrots that taste like three jumbo carrots when I can juice them with some spinach and apples and only taste the apples? That is seriously how it works. Lots of veggies, some fruit, and taste the sweet fruit. I love eating veggies, but it is so much easier to drink them! 

Another great thing that I love about juicing is that it is easy to do when you are on the go! We spent 4 days away from home and never skipped a juice! I didn’t even have to carry the juicer to the hotel with us. Grocery stores sell these great juices that are almost like juicing. You can drink them guilt free and also not break your healthy goals, or the bank. Coach actually said, “I think we are saving money buying these instead of eating out!” He was right! We spent $10 on 4 meals. Can you do that at Zaxbys? Probably not! They are so good too! Not quite like juicing my own, but pretty great! 

We also still eat out with friends and family when we make plans. We LOVE social eating! Ha! We just know that we have worked hard and don’t want to waste that work on one meal! It can be done! I promise! (Last night we split a slice of white chocolate raspberry cheesecake. Oh… it was soooo good. Sooo good I know we can’t eat sweets for 2 months!) 

Working out: I still run and do the Can You 24? DVD. I feel great, and never feel “too tired” or “no energy to work out.” I thank my snacking habits for this. (I am mid half marathon training and average 15- 20 miles a week. My plan also calls for stretching, strength building, and cross-fit like exercises.)

Snacks: Ahhhhh…. I think this is the BIGGEST key to juicing. In my house, when someone gets hungry, he goes to look for something sweet. HUGE SWEET TOOTH! At first, I was worried that he was going to get hungry at school, hit the vending machine, and buy that beloved honeybun. (I am reminded daily that he didn’t get one…. Way to go Coach!) So, I made it my goal to pack us both healthy alternative snacks to always have on hand to fight those pesky hunger feelings. It is NEVER a bad thing to feel hungry; it is a bad thing to ignore it. EAT! Just eat that right thing. Again, choices! I started by packing a banana, some cut up fruit, and a half of a pb sandwich. Coach would usually give the sandwich to a kid. I eat hard boiled eggs for more reason than one. First, they are a great snack that is full of protein. Second, I LOVE them and always have. Easter is my favorite holiday… (My mom always boils extras because I am going to eat a few… and give the yolk to the closest dog.  I also often get Mama Bette to boil me a few when I am there, partly because hers are so good, and partly because I love hearing Coach gag. He doesn’t like them at all.) At 3:30 every single day I have been treating myself to a Clif Bar. They are my new obsession. I love them before runs. They are always on sale at Kroger too. Win win. In conclusion, (am I writing a term paper here?!) snacks are just as important as meals. Just always have some healthy choices on hand! (Especially when traveling!) 

These are the questions we asked ourselves before making this commitment:  So, are you ready to feel great? Are you ready to do the best for your body? Are you ready for great skin, great energy, and to FINALLY get all of the recommended fruits and servings? Are you ready to lose some weight that is probably due to toxins? (ummm yuck!) 

We made the choice. We are doing it! We love it! I plan to keep you updated and post some good news at the first of March (that will be one full month of juicing!) 

Love love, 

C^2