How I Juice...

It's been almost a week since I stopped juicing, and I'm already missing the great energy it had given me.  I think I might go back to drinking a green juice in the morning.  Lord knows I need the energy now that I'm in nearly my last month of school.... ever!

On one of my posts about juicing (this one), I received a comment from The Kraals:

"Thanks for posting! I think I will love the juice, we are planning to start a 10 day juice fast. We are hoping to loose some more weight. We have been on the nutritarian diet and it has been great! What a ride. Just seeing to pounds melting away. I almost felt guilty for it. Guess I have been guilty about eating most of my life so I need something to be guilty about. Lol. I want to find how I can juice for 10 days. Do you have that somewhere on your blog? I will try to find it. THKNS"

I thought I would respond to the Kraals so that anyone wanting to know more about the details of juicing can find them here, and so that the Kraals can get a broader range of advice from my readers as well.  (Please note, I am not a doctor, nor an authority on juicing/detoxing/dieting.  I am just a nutritarian food blogger that is sharing my experiences and giving some basic advice based on those experiences.)

To The Kraals:

Thanks for reading, and I would love to answer any questions you have about juicing!  Congratulations on the progress you have been making with a nutritarian lifestyle, it really does feel great to see progress you can measure.  I used to have the same guilty feelings about food (not a healthy mind-set for myself), but have found that nutritarian eating has not only made my body feel great, but I also feel great mentally about what I eat.

As for juicing, the best direction I can give you is to go to jointhereboot.com.  This is where I got started.  This website is associated with the documentary called Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead.  If you have a Netflix Instant Watch account, you can watch the movie at this link.  I found the movie to be extremely inspirational, and the little extra kick to keep me going mid-juice fast.  Today just so happens to be the one year anniversary of the movie.  Here is a video from some appreciative and inspiring rebooters:

On the Reboot website, there is information for a variety of different detoxing plans.  The most common is fifteen day juice fast, known as the Classic Reboot.  This is the plan that I usually follow, which includes "5 days of eating and juicing; followed by 5 days of just juicing; followed by 5 days of eating and juicing."  I adjust the amounts of days that I only juice from 5 to 10 on this plan depending on how much detoxing I feel that I need to do.  Join the Reboot suggests that you have at least a week or two of a plant-based diet before you start juicing, so good news for you nutritarians, you can start whenever you want!

You will, of course, want to buy a juicer.  The juicer that I use is a Juiceman that you can find easily at your local Walmart or Target.  My juicer collects the fruit and vegetable pulp within the machine, closer to the blade so I have to spend extra time cleaning for large batches of juice.  If you are making juice for more than a single person, it might be worth it to get a juicer that has an exterior pulp bin, like this one.  When it comes time to juice your fruits and vegetables, make sure to run your pulp through at least two extra times.  This gets a lot more juice out of the produce you use, and will save you money!

This is what my loot looks like when I juice, and a picture of my juicer.

Once you buy a juicer, your next step will be to go on a very big grocery shopping trip.  Here is a quick breakdown of some of the groceries I get when juicing:

Greens:  I usually like to have two choices of dark greens and two choices of lighter greens on hand at all times.  Some leafy greens juice better than others, for example, you will get more juice out of spinach than you will most kale leaves.

• Dark greens: kale, swiss chard, collard greens, spinach, beet greens
• Light greens: romaine lettuce, butter lettuce, cabbage (red or green), escarole, iceburg lettuce

Vegetables:  Some of my favorite vegetables to juice are the more fleshy types that yield a lot of juice and often a lot of flavor.  I try to have a bit of each of these on hand so I can make different combos, but there are certain vegetables that I go through faster than others.

• Gone quickly: tomatoes, carrots, celery, bell peppers, cucumbers
• Have a few: beets, broccoli,  fennel, pumpkin, zucchini, sweet potato/yams

Fruits:  I absolutely love the fruit juices!  I like to stalk up on all types of fruits when I'm juicing.  But, beware, fruits are what is going to cost you the most depending on what you want to buy and what is in season.  Some fruits are a must (for me at least), while others are just fun to have. (NOTE: BANANAS DO NOT JUICE!)

• Must fruits:  granny smith apples, lemons, oranges, sweet apple, grapefruit, strawberries, pears
• Fun fruits: pineapple, mango, watermelon, cantelope, honeydew melon, limes, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, grapes, papaya, peaches, nectarines, pluots, pomegranate

Flavor Filled:  It is always nice to have interesting flavors in your juices.  Some of my favorite flavors to juice come from herbs, onions, or citrus fruits (I add lemon to just about everything)

• Herbs:  basil, parsley, cilantro, mint, ginger
• Onions: red onion, green onion, sweet onion, leeks

My daily juice schedule:

Once your fridge, pantry, kitchen table, counters, and everything is stocked (literally, produce will overrun your kitchen!), you need to get a schedule down for how you want to juice.  Here is a basic schedule of how I liked to enjoy my juice throughout the day:

• Breakfast: large fruit only juice (2 glassfuls)
• Lunch: large greens and vegetable based juice with little fruit (2-3 glassfuls)
• Snack: 1 juice packet of pure coconut water (I liked this brand found at Costco)
• Dinner: large vegetable based juice, not necessarily with greens, and no fruit (2-3 glassfuls)
• Dessert: small fruit only juice (1 glassful)

I like to drink juice continually throughout the day, so I have a few re-useable to-go jars and bottles to carry around as I go about my day.  This seems like a lot of liquid, and it is, but when I juice, I also try to drink a big glass of water in the morning and before bed.  (Prepare to use the bathroom a lot when you are juicing!)

When you first start juicing, you may not feel the best, at least for the first few days.  This feeling is your body detoxing, which is a good thing.  Try as hard as you can not to take any medicine (other than physician prescribed).  Other no-no's include drinking coffee, teas, or anything with caffeine; you also must avoid processed foods before and after your juicing.

Good luck to the Kraals!  I'd love to hear about your progress during your juicing.

What advice do you have for the Kraals?  Is there anything I forgot to mention that would be helpful to them?