Making Roughies

 We've been juicing for about five months and have been feeling guilty about throwing away all the roughage that accumulates from all the fresh fruit and vegetables. We know we are missing all the fiber from the peels. So, yesterday I decided to experiment with using all of the roughage and adding some cranberries and a strawberry. I used our blender, but I could have used our food processor. There are so many parts to clean on the food processor and I wasn't sure I wanted to deal with that.

The texture was a bit thick, so I added some Pomegranate juice as well as a splash of orange juice.

The end result was a bit thicker than I had hoped and I ended up eating it with a spoon and freezing half of it for a later date, but the flavor was very good. I don't think I will do this every time I juice, which is everyday, but I will do it at least once a week.

Juicing with Supplements

I was drinking my breakfast this morning and taking my supplements and as I glanced at my heap of pills I started thinking of the way I used to eat.
I've been a vegetarian now for almost two years. In my past I ate a lot of fast food and processed foods because I was working full time and it was easier. Over the past three or four years the way my husband and I cook has changed radically. We now buy organic whenever possible, frequent Farmer's Markets and actually read labels. We stopped going to fast food restaurants several years ago.
Since I no longer eat meat and rarely eat fish, I feel the need to take supplements. I've always shared my list with my Dr's. and they have been impressed with my blood test results. I am fortunate that at age 55 I am not taking any type of medicine at all, it's all natural supplements.
Ron recently had his yearly blood tests and everything came back in the normal range. I'd like to attribute a lot of that to juicing and healthy eating. He has cut back drastically on the amount of animal fat he consumes.
We are loving juicing and encourage anyone who is thinking of doing this to do it!

Pucker Power Juice!

Red grapefruit is not something I normally eat, but the taste mingles well with other fruits and vegetables. Ron won't eat it at all. This morning I added it to my mix and surprisingly I liked the juice a lot. I'm still amazed at how many fruits and vegetables we consume by juicing. We realize we are not getting the fiber because it all ends up in the roughage container, but we get plenty of that anyway.
Speaking of the roughage . . . we are going to start composting as soon as Home Depot gets their shipment in. It seems a waste to throw all those nutrients down the garbage disposal when we have plants that could use the fertilizer. We will keep you up to date when we start composting, which will be real soon.

Shirlee's Produce: Apple, pear, carrot, celery, ginger root and red grapefruit

Shirlee's Juice

Ron's Produce: Apple, Pear, orange, strawberries and pineapple

Ron's Juice

Radishes and Strawberries Don't Mix!

Everyday we learn something new about juicing. This morning it was radishes and strawberries don't mix! I'll take Ron's word for it. His post-it note on the camera usually sums it up pretty well.
There's a fine line between having variety in produce and going overboard. The reason we throw in radishes and jalapeno is because they are good for clearing up sinuses. Not only that, we like a little kick in our juice and both provide that little extra punch.The other day Ron made a juice with a whole jalapeno pepper. We think a serrano pepper snuck into the wrong bin at the grocery store because he can take heat and this one pepper totally overpowered his juice. He drank it all, but not as fast as normal.

I've been hooked on blueberries and strawberries lately and can't wait until they are in season. Ahhh and the Georgia peach season . . . .

Ron's juice: Apple, zucchinni, celery, strawberries, green grapes, radishes, carrot and broccoli stem

YUM! Strawberries Added to the Juice!

I didn't buy strawberries at first because I'm still not sure if I'm allergic to them. But they looked so good and I was hungry when I went shopping (bad idea) so I got them anyway. I had them this morning and so far so good. They added a TON of flavor to the juice and makes the juice pleasant to look at too.
Ron used them this morning too and noted the strawberry flavor dominating the juice. I totally agree and I loved my juice. Once again we almost made the same thing even though we have lots of fruits and vegetables to choose from. I'm definitely hooked on juicing. I feel great!
P.S. I had a million things to do this morning so I neglected to take a photo of my produce before I juiced. Oops! Mine had an apple, pear, blueberries, strawberries, green grapes, pineapple and a small slice of ginger.

Shirlee's Juice

Ron's Produce: Apple, strawberries, green grapes, blueberries and pineapple

Unusual Combinations in Juicing

Someone asked me how we decide what we are going to juice. It made me stop and think. We do have The Juicing Bible, which is a great resource, but mainly it's just what we feel like that morning. Sometimes I feel like something sweet and sometimes I want to kick it up a notch . . . or two.
I'm always interested to see what Ron concocted before heading off to work. This morning it was almost identical to mine. We have a wide variety of produce in the fridge, so it's not like we didn't have much to choose from. I try to go to the grocery store every three days to keep the produce fresh and make sure we have a variety.
Ron's post-it note this morning said "Very good. May have been prettier with green grapes."
My juice was delicious. It was a little sweeter than normal, but I put in three pineapple rings!

Ron's Produce: Apple, pear, celery, radish, pineapple, grapes

Shirlee's Produce: Apple, carrot, celery, tomato, jalapeno, zucchini, grapes, pineapple, cucumber

Shirlee's Juice

 

 

Citrus Juice with a Serious Kick

This morning I made a yellow juice consisting mainly of citrus. I threw in a jalapeno pepper and a small hunk of ginger to help clear my sinuses. It was good. I like the yellow color and it was sweet and sour.
Yesterday morning we went to one of our favorite breakfast restaurants and we didn't make juice at all. I have to admit I prefer juicing to eggs and potatoes. Today I made up for it and made a vegetable juice for lunch too.
When peeling the orange and grapefruit I tried to leave on as much pith (the white stuff) as I could as they contain nutrients that help absorb vitamin C.

Grapefruit, orange, pineapple, ginger and jalapeno

My first yellow juice!