Juicing and Me

I recently bought one of Jack Lalanne's juicers because I grew up watching my mother exercise to Jack Lalanne, and there was never a minute when my mother wasn't fit and trim with glowing skin looking fabulous!

So, I approached my Jack LaLanne juicer with a certain reverence. I slid it out of the box carefully and washed it well. It was bigger than I expected and rather imposing. I didn't know whether I should bow down to it so I did a little silent "Thank you wonderful Jack Lalanne, guardian angel, keeper of the juicer memory and inventor of the spandex jumpsuit!" acknowledgement. I think he would have approved.

I wasn't sure which juicing item to offer unto it first. So, I decided that the revered apple would be best. I quartered the apple, took out the stem after the obligatory twirl and counted the letters all the way to D to see the name of my future husband, which I have been doing since elementary school (some habits die hard). Into the chute it went.

I put celery in next and wondered about the stringy thingies but the machine took it with grace and poise. I switched back to fruit with some pears and delighted in slicing some fresh smelling cucumbers, which slid down the juicing shute like an athlete on the luge, after which I had a frothy looking green apple colored juice ready to taste. And taste I did. Yummy time! It couldn't have been more delicious. Thus began my almost daily habit of juicing.

I've juiced everything that grows and everything seems to go with everything else. Fruits go with vegetables and vegetables go with other vegetables. Herbs fit right in as do fresh ginger, garlic, and onions. Coconut milk combines with pineapple and banana in ways that will inspire you to come up with names like coconut delight, mean green fighting machine, or cuke rebuke depending on what you're juicing. You can ever grow your own vegetables to juice!

It's a concentrated vitamin cocktail that can serve as a pick me up and a source of good nutrition. You might even get your whole daily lot of fruits and vegetables in one glass of juice! So, however you slice it, juicing is not a bad habit to develop. Clean-up is a little messy and if this bothers you, visit a neighborhood juice bar instead or alternate your juice visits.

Juice bars seem to be popping up all over the place as people turn from caffeine to vitamins. Be adventurous and try things like beets mixed with apples, mangoes with black currants, figs with spinach, and try the recipes in Green Smoothie Revolution. Wherever you get your thrills, enjoy! A votre sant, chin chin, bottoms up! Excuse me while I go juice! I'm craving kale!

photo credit: Patricia Rust