Sorry, true believers. I’m not
talking about chocolate.
A few months ago I came across a movie,
“Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead.” This described me pretty well so I
decided to watch it. Here was a guy from Australia, with a rare
auto-immune disorder, documenting a two month juice fast. He talked
about the science behind it, why he needed it, and showed his
results. Starting out rather chubby, he ended up looking really good
by the end of the movie. I was intrigued.
About halfway through, he encountered a
guy about twice his size at a truck stop who had the same auto-immune
disorder he was suffering from. This guy was bigger than me. These
days, that’s saying something. He had a tough time at first, but in
the end he was looking trim, fit, and happy. I was impressed.
Eventually, I got my wife to watch it with me and we decided to try
it, sort of.
Researching various juice fast sites
and plans, we settled on a compromise plan. Instead of just having
juice and water all day, this one lets us eat dinner with our kids.
I’m a firm believer in the benefits of eating dinner at the table
with your family, regularly. I didn’t want to miss that if I didn’t
have to.
This plan recommends only vegetables
for dinner. That’s not going to happen. I might inflict weird
dietary rules on myself, but I’m not going to force my family to
follow me. I’m also not going to sit at the table with a glass of
juice while the rest of my family is
After three days I’ve not lost much
weight, but weird things are happening. For starters, my daily diet
cola has lost is savor. Most soda has, actually. I don’t feel as
well when I drink them and I actually get a headache. I tried eating
tater tots one night and I felt like I had a lump of clay in my gut.
No more tater tots. Yuck.
Overall my desire for certain kinds of
food is waning. I find myself more interested in vegetables than
other kinds of food, now. I think this is a good thing. It’s made
me more willing to buy a wider variety of vegetables, even those that
seem more expensive.
Which brings me to my next point: the
finances of it are interesting. Juicing all day isn’t all that
cheap, but it’s not actually that expensive (unless you go
completely organic). It’s made me realize that vegetables aren’t
as expensive as some of them seem. Those that seem expensive, like
kale, beets, parsnips or leeks, are certainly more money than lettuce
and celery, but not really any more than other kinds of foods we were
buying. Certainly they’re less expensive, and better for you, than
most process foods.
I’ve dedicated myself to trying this
for at least 5 days. After that, we’ll see. With only two days to
go, I’m suspicious I will continue for a while longer. Even if I
don’t continue with the juice fast, though, juicing in general has
become part of my life. More vegetables and legumes will be hitting
my table. Pigs and cows everywhere will rejoice. Vegetables are fruit
will live in fear. The Mormon Foodie has shifted his palette.
2 comments:
Look into blending vs juicing, both have their pros and cons, but both are awesome. I like blending because it's easier to do (and easier to clean), it actually leaves you feeling full, and it doesn't cost as much as juicing.
Juicing isn't a complete food, but green smoothies are, plus you keep the fiber which is good for cleaning the heart arteries & removing toxins from the body.
Here's a very simple but good tasting green smoothie: 2 cups kale, 2 cups frozen strawberries, 1 apple, 1 banana, and 3/4 cup water.
Another great thing about blending, is it can last 24-48+ in the fridge (so you can make extra for later). With juicing, you have to drink that immediately (under 10 minutes) before it starts oxidation!
Get a vitamix, they are expensive but last a long time and will be worth it (look for a used one if necessary). Good luck!
The point about fiber content is well taken and some of the juice mix recipes from the program are blender based, not juicer based. My understanding, from the program, is that while you do lose much of the fiber content (not all, as the small amount of particulate matter in some of my juices can attest), you gain more in the way of micro-nutrients. It's a simple matter of volume. It would be nearly impossible to eat, solid or blended, the amount of food needed to get as many micro-nutrients as you do when juicing. Having said that, most of the time when I do more fruit than veg in the recipe, I'll use the blender. Some fruits can't be juiced well.
As for a blender, I have a mid-range model Ninja and I'm quite happy with it, although what I've heard about the Vita-mix is great.
Thanks for sharing the recipe! We're at the end of strawberry season here, so this will be perfect.
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