Juicy

My husband bought a juicer! Inspired by a few of his workmates, he decided that juicing would solve his "I gag on veggies" problem, all while boosting his health and immunity. Though excited to add an awesome juicer to my kitchen gadget repitore, I fear that his juicing gusto will wane and eventually,the juicer will become a counter space taker upper and yet another effort to eat the way we should will have failed. That being said, we used it for the first time yesterday and I think I'm in love....

We started out light on veggies in an effort to make a more pleasant tasting juice. For a man who smothers anything green in ranch dressing, we have to ease into things you know? Apples, oranges, raspberries, ginger, carrots, rubarb and spinach went in to the first batch and it was delicious. And within minutes, I felt as if I downed one of those sugary energy drinks. I felt fantastic and there was no crash afterwards. And though it is best to drink your juice immediatley, I sealed about eight ounces in the fridge and used it as the liquid in my green smoothie this morning. I worked out long and hard ( I even RAN which I rarely do) and I swear it's because of the juice!

After dropping my daughter at school, my son and I hit the grocery store for more produce. The only drawback I see to juicing is the cost. Making juice, especially from leafy greens,  requires a TON of produce. Things are cooling off here so we will be able to plant greens again and that will help. But man oh man. No wonder you feel so wonderful after drinking good fresh juice. The amount of vitamins you are consuming is astronomical! If I actually sat down and tried to eat the produce I put in my juice, I'd be so full I'd burst!

For example, here's what's up to be juiced tomorrow morning:

1 head of romaine lettuce
1/2 bag baby spinach
1 or 2 kale leaves (they are very bitter so use them sparingly!)
handful of flat leaf parsley
3 carrots
small piece of ginger
3 ribs of celery
a pint of raspberries
1 apple
1orange
1 lemon

Even though this will be split between my husband and I,visualize yourself sitting down at breakfast and eating all that! Juicing gives you all the nutritional benefits without consuming the roughage that fills you up. That being said, unless you are on a juice fast, juice alone will not sustain you. Juice is a wonderful compliment to your routine but shouldn't be used as a meal replacement or as your only source of fruits and vegetables. If I'm not using the juice in a smoothie, I might pair it with a piece of whole grain toast and almond butter so that I have some fat and protein to fuel me until lunch.

Do you juice? What are your favorite recipes? How do you wean from mostly fruit to all veggie juice? We are very new to this so suggestions are welcome!