VeggiePatti: Hot Off the Grill

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Juice Fast Day 4

So it's the beginning of day 4. A few things I'm noticing:

I think I could really use another juicer! The juicer I have is great to get the most nutrients out of greens, but it takes a long time and doesn't juice all fruits as well. When you're hungry and you need something fast, it's not the juicer to go to! This morning my body was saying "you need food now" and it took a half hour to prepare a simple juice. So with this juicer, it's best to do a bulk batch in advance, and not first thing in the morning!

The first 3 days weren't as bad as I thought. I did lose 5 pounds in the first 2 days but nothing yesterday, so we'll just have to wait and see on the weight loss aspect. Some sources say you should lose at least a pound a day on a juice fast but I'm sure it's variable for everyone. (And yes, yes...I know you can average...)

Juicing is also very clean in the sense that your elimination channels aren't on overload. There's very little perspiration or odor for that matter, unless you have lots of ginger then it kicks it up a notch! Don't expect to go to the bathroom like normal either - you pee a lot more but don't have bowel movements as often.

Water is also extremely important! Juice does not replace water and you have to make sure you're drinking a lot of water. I try to change between juice and water, with some coconut water thrown in to help make sure electrolytes are balanced.

My juicy breakfast this morning was 2 small colanders of spinach, 2 pears, and a ginger "thumb". It's actually pretty good. Normally I can't taste the ginger but it's very evident here! I'd make this one again but maybe add parsley. I did want to make my standard cucumber/celery for the day, but that takes an hour and my body needed something right away so I whipped up this one - although this still took a half hour as I mentioned.

I'll be making the rest of the day's juice a little later - BEFORE I get hungry!

I'm also very tempted to try tomato juice at this point although I've never liked it in the past. I'll just tell myself it's tomato soup! Maybe tomorrow!

Until then,
Wishing you peas and good health,

VeggiePatti

Monday, July 2, 2012

Juice Fast Day 3

So day 3 of the juice fast went mostly smoothly until the end of the day...then the hunger set it! Coconut water to the rescue! Also the detoxing emotional side effects started to come out...hope that's over with!

So today I had more of the usual green juice but decided to have a fruity drink in the middle of the day - a virgin pina colada (fresh pineapple juice mixed with coconut water).

Once I made the decision to do the juice fast it hasn't been as hard as I thought it would be, but I don't want to speak too soon! I still have a ways to go!

Wishing you peas and good health,

VeggiePatti

Sunday, July 1, 2012

Juice Fast Day 2

So I made it through the first day of juice fasting which has always been the hardest for me in the past. And in case you're wondering, yes, I drank all of the juice I made! I went to a graduation party in the middle of the day and the smell of food was just so tempting...but I survived.

This morning I decided to use up some cartons of berries I had before they went bad. So in went blueberries and most of the blackberries, but sadly the raspberries couldn't be saved. :( Note to self: Juicing blackberries produces a sludge so do it last! There wasn't much output so I added an apple, some ginger, and some fresh mint. It was pretty good, but there was not a whole lot so I knew I'd be hungry later.

Later in the day I made the regular green drink: 6 cucumbers, 2 stalks celery, and ginger. The celery made a lot more juice than normal so it threw off the taste a bit and I added a kiwi, which really didn't have much effect. That's what I'll be drinking for the rest of the day (and some coconut water!).

I've done some more research and everything says once you get past day 3 it gets a lot easier! Day 2 hasn't been too bad, so let's hope day 3 is the same!

Oh I also stocked up on raw coconut water to help with the electrolyte balancing in case I feel I need it.

I'll post more tomorrow about how Day 3 goes!

Wishing you peas and good health,

VeggiePatti

Saturday, June 30, 2012

Juice Fast anyone?

I am so horrible at blogging! It's one of those habits that needs some work!

So I FINALLY watched Fat, Sick, & Nearly Dead - it was really inspiring. There is a corresponding website - all free - www.jointhereboot.com. I was surprised because there was so much fruit juicing going on! I've always been told to juice with mostly greens. But, I also realize you can't do a 60-day juice fast on just the same thing! (Although I'm sure some people do that - especially with wheat grass.)

So I've been putting off juicing for quite some time for several reasons. I think it's not going to be fun is probably number 1...lol But I was so worried about doing it correctly - getting the right juicer, doing the right program, etc. that I realized if I kept worrying about doing it perfectly I would never do it!

So here's to trying! I'm going to start a juice fast. How long will I go? I guess as long as I need to.

I'm starting with the green juices as I have been told those are necessary for maximum detoxing, but I'm not going to be so vigilant about it that I can't have fruit juice now and then.

Here's how I started my morning...

It took me an HOUR to make this much juice! It's not the juicing part per se, it's all the prep work! This juice contains about 1-2 cups of spinach (what was leftover), 6 very large cucumbers, 2 stalks of celery (the whole thing, not individual stalks), and some ginger. So I'll see how long it lasts! I've had 2 big glasses already and will just keep drinking it until I'm not hungry!

I've heard the first 3 days are the hardest, so hopefully I can get through that and it's smooth sailing!

If anyone wants to join me on my juice fast, just drop me a line and we can be juicing buddies!

Wishing you peas and good health,

VeggiePatti

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Update on juicing

So I've been juicing away with the green juice. I just have to wonder...why does the juice from the raw food restaurants taste so much better? LOL I'm thinking I better keep experimenting with the amount of each veggie to put in! Anyone have any good recipes to suggest?

Also, I have some exciting changes to VeggiePatti.com coming soon - I will be making an announcement this week! Stay tuned!

In peas and good health,

VeggiePatti