Juicing Day 1

Other than a few people I see daily, I haven’t really told people that: 1. I’m juicing and for how long I’m juicing and 2. I’m going to be following a plant-based diet afterwards.  First of all, it’s not really anyone’s business (not that I have issue with sharing any part of my life with anyone), but more importantly, I don’t feel like hearing why THEY think I’m wrong. Don’t get me wrong, I love getting advice, but I’m a grown woman, I’ve done research, and while I appreciate peoples care for me, I don’t appreciate people trying to talk me out of things.

Just last night, I told my uncle (well, it kinda came out) that I’d be juicing. My mother had told him about the vegan thing, and he proceeded to tell me why I’m wrong. Thankfully, I was able to speak with him about it and he didn’t push. That conversation didn’t go as well with my father.

Its tough telling people close to you about big changes you’re going to make in your life, but if you do research before hand and are well informed, it likely won’t phase you. You’ll know how to respond to every point they think they’re making. Also, you won’t be thrown any curve balls you hadn’t thought about if you do the research first – before you go around telling people about whatever changes you are planning to make. I feel good about the changes I’m making and I’m not worried about anybody’s’ opinion! Okay, enough about that!

I have a Jack La Lanne juicer, it works well and I love it!
Notice my Tang glass pitcher! 

Today was the first day I was full-time on my juice cleanse. I was a little hungry early in the day, but I was busy with students and tried to fill up on water so I was able to ignore it. Then I came home and I couldn’t look passed my hunger. I’ve spent a large portion of the afternoon/evening hungry, thinking about the apple I saw on the counter… maybe I can just smell that strawberry… I’ll just eat one grape… cucumbers are so full of water- I can eat that, right?  Everyone I talked with told me that the first three days are the worst, and now with Snowpocalypse 2015, I’ll be home and around food more. Although the nice thing is that I can hide out in my bedroom away from food. As difficult as this feels right now, I’m still planning on doing 10 days! A colleague told me he does a 30 days reboot every summer and mentioned Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead, telling me I should watch it, but I told him I had! We talked about juicing recipes and juicing it was a good conversation.

Which brings me to a big point in juicing: Recipes. If you Google juicing, I bet half the sites, if not more, are websites with recipes. Does the recipe matter? No, well, not really. But people seem to make a big deal about it. The important thing is that you make a mix of veggies you like and you’re picking vegetables that will give you some benefit. Personally, I’m juicing for overall health, so for me, it doesn’t matter. If I had diabetes or high blood pressure, it might matter more. I’d want to make sure more of my juices had the elements that would help my ailment.  If you’re looking for overall health, just find what veggies you have in the fridge and go! I’ve been reading about which vegetables help what ailment, and a stand out piece of information: potatoes juiced with the skin are great for arthritis! Who would have thought?

Today's breakfast, snack and lunch,
juiced and ready for my belly!

Do you have a juice recipe you love? What do you normally put in your juicer? What about big changes in your life? Have you had pushback from friends or family? I’d love to hear how you dealt with it!

Until next time!