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Today, I want to espouse the benefits of juicing.
3 weeks ago, I purchased a new Breville IKON juicer and began a 15-day, Reboot Your Life vegan cleansing fast. Nothing but juiced fruits and vegetables and cooked fruits and vegetables. Nothing fried, of course, but small amounts of olive oil and soy sauce were ok, so I did one light stirfry at night. My husband participated with me for 12 of the days. Then, he had to go out of state to teach his fall term, so graduated (no pun intended) to just basic healthy eating habits.
The program has all kinds of juice recipes. However, I found myself juicing anything and everything organic that looked fresh and seasonal. Each day, I would go to New Season's Market and look over the produce section. One day, I would juice kale, chard, broccoli, apples, pears, ginger, lemon...and the next day, it would be something else. Regardless of what other fruits and veggies I may use in a batch of juice, I always add at least one apple, one lemon and a big chunk of fresh ginger. That makes the juice very palatable.
In the evenings, I would either bake a yam, open it, and place salad on top of it, or I would make the aforementioned stir fry. Always delicious. Every single time. One of the many benefits of doing this cleanse is that it awakens the taste buds and makes one begin to appreciate the wonderful flavors of organic produce, like never before. I have avoided white potatoes, except yesterday, when I had them at Papa G's vegan restaurant, with wild mushroom gravy. I could not help myself. In addition to the dinner, we would split a big heirloom tomato and an avocado, arranging them beautifully on plates and putting a couple of twists of smoked sea salt on top.
Yum-o! The tomatoes were incredible this year. We compared them to what a carnivore would probably compare steak to something. The avocados were also very good this year, and the oil in them was essential to our diets.
All told, my husband lost 14 pounds, and I have lost 16. I am still juicing, eating other foods occasionally, and supplementing. Each day, I drop another pound or two. It's really great!
I feel good. My complexion and hair are glowing, and all is well.
I did try to do a gaspacho juice one day....fresh, organic tomatoes, celery, fresh horseradish, a small onion, cilantro....and it sounded good in theory...but it was not. Not at all! The onion and horseradish really upset my stomach. Other than that, however, each day's juice has been a real surprisingly good treat.
You HAVE to watch this film! Fat, Sick and Almost Dead. Mind you, I was none of those things when I began this whole juicing thing...but I did, instinctually gravitate toward it. Amazing film. Absolutely amazing!
More another day...
