Me on a juice fast??

Yes, me on a juice fast.

It all started when my daughter told me about a documentary called Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead. (You can read her take on the film and juicing here, here, and here). I watched it on Netflix's instant play.

The documentary was inspiring and even, at times, moving. To see Phil--morbidly obese, dependent on medications, lethargic, and depressed and despairing because of his poor overall health--transformed into an energetic, healthy person who no longer needs medication is quite compelling.  No, I don't have his health problems or his weight problem, but most of us could use a little boost from time to time, and if a side benefit is to shave off a few pounds, so much the better.

I've often thought of buying a juicer, but the expense put me off, as well as the worry that if I did spend the money, I wouldn't actually use the machine. But at the website connected to the film I found a juicer that's actually quite affordable, and I thought to myself that I could do a juice fast every so often throughout the year just to drop some pounds and some toxins and perhaps revitalize myself. That's called a "reboot" by the filmmaker. And it appealed to me. Making fresh fruit and vegetable juices part of my regular diet also appealed to me.

The juicer I went with isn't the best kind of juicer, but it didn't cost hundreds of dollars and it's going to suit me just fine. I'm not even going to get into the types of juicers available; you can Google that yourself if you're interested.

My Breville juicer arrived yesterday, so the spouse and I made a trip to the supermarket for produce. We bought a slew of it: oranges, limes, apples, pears, cherries, carrots, spinach, kale, ginger, parsley, cilantro, carrots, tomatoes, radishes, beets, celery, cucumbers, bell peppers, and a watermelon (I'm probably forgetting something). My husband is not joining me on the juice fast, but I have a feeling he will benefit considerably just from having so many veggies around. I told him I'd cook for him but it would be mostly vegetables accompanied by simply prepared protein of some sort. He's cool with that.

I started off this morning with fruit juice. (There's a juice constantly in evidence in Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead known as "Mean Green," but I'm working my way up to that one.) Breakfast  was juice made from an apple, a pear, haf a lime, and about a dozen cherries. It was delicious. Midmorning I had a carrot-kale-spinach-apple-ginger concoction and it too was tasty. It's something of a jolt to put all that bulk into the machine and end up with only two cups of juice. Makes you understand that the only way to get lots of phytonutrients and significant protein is by juicing, as no one could eat enough of the raw, fiber-filled veggies to ingest the amounts concentrated in the juice.

I'll be writing about my experience--the first time I've tried any kind of fast--here and cross-posting to View from the Loft. If you're at all interested, at least you can see how one person's juice fast goes.  

Comments

[Tia G]

Juice fasts are hard for me, but I've never felt better after I complete one!

[Host Papa]

Juice Fasts ROCK! Clean you out and give you energy!

[italian dinnerware]

A juice made from bell peppers? How does it tastes? I often go with fruit juices oftentimes and veggies once or twice, but I never tried peppers. What did you add to make it more "consumable"?

[Kris]

I usually mix vegetables. I love the taste of bell peppers with tomato, a bit of onion, and a dash of hot sauce. Carrot also makes a good addition.