Juicing

I have a little secret to confess. Don't tell my kids, but I HATE veggies. Not all of them, but most. Spinach? Yuck. Kale? Yuck. Beets? Yuck. And on and on. GASP! I know, I am a mom, I am supposed to push veggies on my kids right? They are healthy for you so you have to eat them.

Since I do know the health benefits I have tried many a veggie and just couldn't choke them down, until I discovered juicing. Last year I had a lymph node in my neck that just wouldn't drain. I wasn't getting anywhere with my doctor so I looked into alternative options. I came across a lymph node health juicing recipe and gave it a try. Within 2 weeks the node was drained and never returned. After the lymph node issue was cleared up, I stopped juicing.

Then, recently, I watched a very inspiring movie on Netflix called Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead. It was about two men that lose weight and cure a skin ailment through juicing. There is also a woman on the show that cures her migraines by juicing. Since I still struggle with other health issues, I decided to give it a try. In the documentary, the three people exclusively fast on juice. I am not fasting but I am eating a lot less. I try to drink 3-16oz servings of juice daily.

Guess what my favorite recipe has in it? Kale, beets, & carrot!! Who knew??
I am also using this book for other recipes and ideas.  













I will say that in this book they use green beans in one of the recipes. I tried it. It was the first juice recipe that I had to toss out! And I actually like green beans in their solid form!!

I also believe that having a good juicer is the key to success. It should be easy to use, easy to clean, and able to handle green leafy veggies. I am very lucky that my mom is loaning me her Champion Juicer. This is a high quality, powerful juicer that I highly recommend.















The one I am using is slightly older, it has a lovely harvest gold tone to it, but it works as if it was new.

Here is my favorite juicing recipe so far.

Aprox. 4 cups of leafy greens (kale, spinach or beet greens)
2 apples (or 1 apple/1 pear)
2 good size carrots
1 beet
2 stalks of celery
1/2 cucumber
1/4 lemon

Juice everything through the juicer. This should make 2-16 oz. servings. Store in an airtight container in the fridge (I use pint size canning jars) and drink within 12hrs if possible. Juice starts to lose nutrients pretty fast so you don't want to store it for too long.

Enjoy!