Well, after watching more health documentaries than anyone should ever watch, I have finally decided to try a juice cleanse. Since changing my diet over to 50% vegetables & fruits, 30% beans, legumes, rice, potato, etc. and about 20% protein, I feel even better than I was already feeling. Besides that, I've been unhappy since my foot surgery....since I have very limited mobility and have not been able to do simple tasks for weeks, I've not felt as well. I attribute that to the lack of activity & loss of control in my diet.
I finally decided to try juicing for about a week. I am hoping that it will help to get my body back in balance and maybe help me get a few quick pounds off so I can continue in my downward direction. ;-) I have lost about 40% of the weight that I need to lose to be "done." It's not enough, and after getting the OK from the podiatrist to resume most of my normal activities, I am more than ready to jump back on the wagon.
One of our main concerns with juicing is the expense. Eating organic, local food is EXPENSIVE. Organic meat & dairy is the most expensive, with produce being the next most expensive thing. I decided to spend what I would normally spend in one week on groceries, buy as much fruits & veggies as possible, and see how long it lasts.
I cruised over to Costco today & picked up a juicer for about $90. I got 10 pound bags of oranges, pears, apples, & grapefruit. Then I added 15 pounds of carrots, a large tub of baby spinach, a crate of kiwi, a box of mangoes, 9 cucumbers, a clamshell of nectarines, 2 pineapples, and a large clamshell of blueberries. I stopped at the farmer's market to get 1.5 lbs of ginger root, a bag of lemons, 3 jalapenos, 3 clamshells of strawberries, and 2 large bags of kale (red & green).
We will see how long it lasts. In retrospect I think I need more green veggies but we will see as we go. I had read to start with 75% fruits and work your way up when you can stand the taste of more veggies. I tried that tonight and both of us loved the juices I made. I made just under a half gallon of juice tonight and I still have lots and lots of fruits & veggies.
I'll post regular updates!
First juice recipe
1 pineapple
1 mango
1 lemon
1 orange
2 kiwi
2 pears
2 carrots
2" length ginger knob
4 handfuls spinach
1 cucumber
Delicious!!!! This filled a 28 oz container & I had about 8 oz leftover, so I added 2 more carrots, 2 pears, & an apple to fill up the second 28-oz container.
