Ginger...oh my!

I have never been a big fan of ginger.  I prefer fake ginger ales to the kinds that taste like the real deal.  Candied ginger? No thanks!!!  However, I do love a fine piece of gingerbread any day of the week.

So tonight, I was inspired to try adding ginger to a juice.  I chose a plain apple and carrot juice to start with, thinking it would pair nicely.  Afterwards, I added some cinnamon and some chia seeds.  The rest of the family agreed...SKIP the chia seeds next time!  But the spiciness of this juice was perfect.

The first two slivers of ginger I cut were too small, and zipped right into the waste container.  I cut a slightly larger piece and it was a perfect amount.  It yielded maybe 3-4 drops of juice into the container.  I would definitely make this juice again!

2 Granny Smith Apples
4 Carrots
1/8th" Ginger
Dash Cinnamon
(4 Tablespoons of Chia seeds to be omitted next time ;) )
Served over ice

This recipe was a combination of my own ideas with inspiration from "The Complete Book of Juicing" by Michael T. Murray.

20 Ounces of Apple-Carrot-Ginger-Cinnamon-Chia goodness!

This Tastes....ummm...Healthy!

Yes, that's the response I got at dinner tonight when serving up a veggie juice to my family.  Don't feel too bad for them, though...we served it up beside take-out pizza.  Lydia said hers was "okay" and finished it up.  Kate gave it a solid thumbs down, and only drank about 4 or 5 sips before saying she had ENOUGH.  That's okay though...nothing forced, just tried with a good attitude. That's all I ask.

Tonight, I did a 5K on the treadmill for exercise.  Ran 2 miles before knee pain, so the last mile was alternating walking and running.

Tonight's juice included what was left in the refrigerator:

8 pearl Tomatoes
6 Carrots
5 Celery
1 Cucumber
Handful Parsley
3/4 Lemon
Dash Worcestershire Sauce

I loved it, but that's no surprise. ;)

As for yesterday, I finally succumbed to the big yuck.  I was soo sick in bed, all day so no juicing or exercise got done.  It feels GREAT to be back in the land of the living and sunshine today!

There will be no juice tomorrow unless I hit the grocery store. ;)

Oh The Irony....

As I was making a juice for lunch, today, I was struck with amusement that I, of ALL PEOPLE, have a juicer in the house....and maybe a twinge of guilt at being a hypocrite.  'Why?', you might well ask.  Because I was the biggest juice hater on the planet.  My kids never walked around the house with a bottle full of apple or orange juice.  Orange juice is bought for the rare sore throat....apple juice is bought for the rare case of constipation.    I hate the thought of my kids getting all that sugar, filling up on empty-ish calories.  My kids drink water or milk only, and oh how I would preach on the evils of juice, (and soda and hot chocolate).

But this juice machine, on the other hand makes juice of goodness.  I feel like the sugar content of the juice (apple and orange) is being cut down by the added vegetable juice (spinach, kale, cucumbers, carrots,celery).  Also, I feel like the vitamin content of fresh made juicers are likely to be much higher than the pre-made juices that sat on the grocery shelves with expiration dates that last for weeks.

Today's lunch juice was a quest to use up what I had in the refrigerator.  The celery and spinach are gone, so it was a combination of:

Cilantro
Kale
Cucumber
Carrots
Apple
Lemon
Beet
Poured over Ice

Sweet and tangy and refreshing.

On another note, today is day #7.  This last week has flown by, and I haven't yet made a concoction that was undrinkable.  I am still inspired, and looking forward to another week.  I have some ideas on different vegetables/fruits to buy to keep things interesting.  Like chia seeds. And fresh ginger.  And concord grapes.  This journey certainly has been fun so far!

Dessert Juice

We had scrambled eggs for dinner (thanks for making them, Markus!) tonight and I decided to make a dessert juice to go alongside of them.  Wow, it was sooo good.

4 Oranges
8 Carrots
1 cup frozen Strawberries, thawed
1/2 Banana

It was the perfect amount of banana to add a hint of flavor without it being overpowering.  The whole family LOVED this juice!

As far as my energy level goes, my nights are still crappy.  However, I still have not napped even once this week.  This is soo unusual...I still laid down and read a book for an hour; but I never get overcome with that must-sleep-right-now feeling.  I missed working out yesterday (was too sicky) but went right back to it today for 40 minutes.

I got another juicing book from the library today...Hopefully tonight I will have time to sit and peruse, and get inspired!

Could-a Had a V8!

Today's lunch inspiration comes from the popular V8 juice that you get in the grocery store.  I loooove an icy cold V8, but how cool would it be to re-create it?  I started by googling what ingredients were in the store-bought version, followed by several Pinterest recipes.  I found a bunch of great tips (from stewing the tomatoes first)....to adding lots of different things (green peppers, onions) etc.  In the end, I decided to combine a few different recipes, and come up with my own.

The girls and I took off for Harris Teeter for a couple of things including Watercress.  Many moons ago, I worked in a grocery store and had the PLU for watercress memorized, but that is the extent of my knowledge of this vegetable.  And apparently, that is even more than the guy who was stocking the produce shelves at HT!  He looked at me like I was looking for a green alien when I asked him about it, and told me he had never heard of it, and was fairly sure they didn't stock it there.  Okay, scratch the watercress.....for today.

My homemade V8 concoction:

1/2 Small Beet (the flavor is so powerful, it really only takes a little)
2 Stalks of Celery
2 large Carrots
Handful fresh Parsley
Handful of Spinach
3 medium Tomatoes
1/2 Lemon
I added a dash of Worcestershire sauce and poured over ice.

It was delicious!!  Not quite the same as the store bought....not even really similar.  BUT, I loved it, and would definitely try this again.  I would just cut down the beet to 1/4 or less.

Just Say Mmmmmmm!

I was a little late coming in for lunch because the neighbor came over to talk to me for a little while.  Markus had already started lunch for the girls, and I had to make the decision whether to make a juice or skip until later.  I decided to go ahead and concoct something on the spot because I didn't have a recipe ready.  I opened the refrigerator and chose out:

1 Lime
2 Celery stalks
Handful of Cilantro
Handful of Spinach
4 Carrots
1 Cucumber
1 Apple
Poured over Ice

It was so.good. So, so, so GOOD.  I couldn't believe the refreshing flavors...sweet, tangy, zippy, and smooth.  Just so good.

I need to figuer out how to better peel a lime next time.  Lime juice on dry skin is so very uncomfortable. Just sayin'.

Yesterday, I got 30 minutes in on the treadmill.  I am hoping to get out on this gorgeous 60 degree day and take a brisk walk around the neighborhood.

I'm loving this juicing challenge!

Good Morning, Sunshine

Ugh! I slept dreadfully last night, and moved out to the couch around 2 in the morning.  I slept in until 9 and woke up with a sore throat. Blah!  I definitely was in the mood to try a breakfast juice, so I got right to work.  I didn't have an actual recipe to go from so decided to just wing it:

1 Orange
1/2 Cucumber
1 Cup of frozen strawberries, thawed
Kale
Spinach
Fresh Cranberries
Poured over crushed ice.

The color of the juice was anything but appealing, but the flavor was okay.  I think the Cranberries kind of took over the flavor, so maybe less of them next time.

For today, I want to go to Trader Joe's to pick up some more fruits and vegetables.  I always say that "True love doesn't allow one's spouse to shop at Trader Joe's on the weekends"....but I might just make an exception to that for today.  I also want to be sure and get my 30 minutes of exercise in since it didn't happen on day #1.

Happy Saturday, peoples!!

xoxo