A green juice to try... from Food Babe

Foodbabe.com is a great source for all natural research, and for juice recipes.  I came across this Cabbage Patch Kids juice while researching some recipes.  It's on our list to try. 

Juicing without a juicer...

We own a Vitamix blender, high power, high speed, blends almost anything into nothing [well, not nothing!].  It was a two-year-long "impulse" buy.  After a bit of buyers remorse and LOTS of blended goodness in our life, we gave it a break.  [FYI, no more buyers remorse, in fact, quite the opposite, we LOVE the Vitamix].

Once we watched Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead we knew that we wanted to give the juice fast a try.  And then I started researching juicers.  But even at $150 for a moderate juicer it seemed silly to buy another machine when we had the Vitamix that we have used for smoothies - all kinds of smoothies - and many other things!  There is obviously a difference between the results of a juicer and a blender, but how much and would it really matter?  I started reading reviews, community boards, and found that most people with juicers do not like the 20+ minutes of juicing and the big mess to clean up.

The fiber/pulp in the blended "juice" was not needed/wanted/recommended for the juice fast, however I ran across many people who had both machines, and preferred the time and clean up factor of the Vitamix, and then just strained the juice.  They also got a larger amount of juice from blending rather than juicing the fruits and veggies.

So rather than invest more money in another machine I have ordered More Than a Nut Milk Bag [for straining the juice], a 6-pack of Aquasana 18 Oz. Glass Bottles [for work, running errands, etc], and the rest will go towards our fruits and veggies.  Right now we are researching, reading, planning our juices [and our shopping list!], and will be starting our juice fast on October 3rd or 4th.  We decided that we could start on a Friday so that we have the weekend to adapt, adjust, test juices, and so on, so that by Monday we will, at the very least, have a better idea of what we need to take to work, and how to manage any hunger issues that arise.

Looking forward to it!

JUICER UPDATE: We caved!  3 days in, a combined 13 pounds lost and we bought a juicer!  I will post about that soon, but I'm glad we did!

Cleansing Juice to try

I found this recipe on Dr Oz's site for his 48 hour weekend cleanse.  Although I disagree that a juicer is required, it looks worth a shot!  We will report back once we try it.  Have you tried it?

Kale, Pineapple and Ginger Detox Drink (Juicer required)This purifying beverage contains kale to cleanse the kidneys; pineapple, which has bromelain to aid digestion; and ginger to help stimulate bile flow in your gall bladder.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup pineapple
2 large cucumbers
1 bunch kale without stems (4 cups chopped)
1/2 lemon, squeezed
1/4 inch of ginger
1 bunch of mint (1/2 cup)

Try this Revved Up Red Juice

Came across this Revved Up Red Juice, from Dr. Oz.  It's on our Juice Recipes to Try list, so I will report back when we try it.  Have you tried it?

Ingredients
(Makes 3 1/2 servings)

1/2 cup chopped peeled red beets
1/2 red pepper, seed & stem removed, chopped
2 cups watermelon cubes
1 cup hulled strawberries
1 cup peeled cucumber cubes
1 tsp grated ginger
Juice of 1/2 lime
1/2 cup ice

Combine all in blender, serve and enjoy

Breakfast Juices to try...

Here are some juices I have collected from other sources and ideas from others.  As I try them I will move them to a standalone post with feedback, labelled as a recipe.  

1. Juice for Breakfast and snack was, 2 apples, 2 big handfuls of kale, 1 cucumber, 3 carrots, 7 strawberries [from the Reboot with Joe community boards]

Welcome!