Better-Than-Candy Beet Juice

A few months ago, Jay and I watched a documentary called "Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead" on Netflix. In the film, the narrator, Joe Cross, is able to entirely regain his heath and cure himself of a rare autoimmune disease by drinking nothing but fresh fruit and vegetable juice for 60 days! While that situation is a bit extreme, the transformation that he goes through is nothing short of amazing. It is definitely a must-watch!

Of course, Jay and I were psyched about juicing after watching the film. While experts agree that you should not rely on juicing as your only source of fruits and vegetables, it is definitely a healthy way to add tons of vitamins, minerals and plant chemicals (phytonutrients) to your diet. We got on Amazon right away to look at juicers, and we found a slightly smaller version of the Breville juicer that was used in the film for only $99. It got great reviews and was one of the most reasonably priced by a long shot. We figured that, even if we didn't use it all the time, it would still pay for itself in no time. After all, buying fresh juices from a health store or juice bar is expensive!

We have really enjoyed the juicer so far and have used it quite a bit.  It is super powerful and instantly liquefies big chunks of fruits and veggies with ease.  My only complaint is that, like any juicer, there are quite a few pieces to drag out of the cabinet and, while it is not difficult, it does take a few minutes to clean.  Most of the parts can be quickly rinsed off, but I still find juicing to be too much of an ordeal to do on a rushed weekday morning.  But then again, I am really lazy when it comes to cleaning appliances and avoid using blenders, food processors, and just about anything with a motor for that reason.

So, we have been aiming to juice about once a week or so, and right now I am happy with that frequency.  I prep the fruits and veggies and Jay does the cleaning, so it works out well.  We have found that it is really hard to make a bad juice.  As long as you include a bit of something sweet, like an apple, you can throw in all the spinach, kale, cerlery, etc. you want and it will still be delicious.

Last week, we put a creative spin on our usual recipe and accidentally created a masterpiece!  At the beginning of summer, my cousin and his wife gave us a stevia plant as a gift.  We planted it in our garden, and it has since taken off like a weed.

The leaves are really sweet and delicious, but I haven't used it a whole lot because I never knew exactly how to get the sweet out of the leaves and into whatever I was making.  We decided to see what would happen if we put a handful in the juicer, and I am so glad we did - the juice came out tasting like a delicious candy dessert!  Here is what we used:

(Serves 2)

• 1 large red beet, peeled (beets make lots of juice and last forever in the fridge, so we try to always keep one on hand)
• 1 small handful stevia 
• 1/2 large cucumber
• 2-3 stalks celery
• 1 apple, core removed
• 3 large carrots, or a big handful of baby carrots
• 1 large handful of spinach

I was craving this juice so much after writing this post, we made it again today...I may even be willing to break out the juicer on a weekday - it is that good!

The Wheat Grass Miracle

A little while back, my mom came home with a tray of fresh wheat grass that she found at the local farmers market.  The owner of the booth, Jon Faulconer, had told her all about the fantastic health benefits of wheat grass, and my mom was super excited to pass along the information to Jay and me.  Apparently wheat grass has all of the following magic powers:

• potent detoxifier
• high in multiple different enzymes
• improves digestion
• is a complete protein (20% protein)
• restores alkalinity to the blood and cleanses and builds the blood
• clears skin and reduces body odor
• helps treatments and prevents cancer
• helps with weight loss
• increases energy levels
• slows down the aging process
• improves blood sugar disorders

Needless to say, we were impressed!  I always knew wheat grass was supposed to be good for you, but I had no idea it could do all that!  

We started looking into the best ways to juice the grass, and we were disappointed to learn that you cannot effectively juice wheat grass in a regular electric juicer.  Rather, you have to use a masticating juicer (most of which involve cranking by hand).  All of the ones I was finding online were around $100, so I was about ready to give up on our new hobby.  But then I stumbled across this find on Amazon for under $40 bucks with great reviews!  Score!

It has worked great for us so far, but it does take a bit of time and effort.  Since we knew that realistically there was no way we would pull this juicer out and go through the process everyday, we decided to grow big trays of grass at a time, juice them all at once, and save the extra shots in ice cube trays in the freezer.  Then, whenever we want a wheat grass shot, we just defrost a cube and it's ready to go!

Our system has been working great so far.  Jay even built a special shelf in front of the window in our garage that allows him to keep three trays of seeds at different stages in rotation at all times. He's been buying the seeds on Amazon and also invested in an "easy sprouter" to get them going and some special liquid kelp organic seaweed fertilizer.  Needless to say, he is way into wheat grass!  

If you are interested in learning more about the process, here is a good how-to video that goes into more detail. 

Cheers to chlorophyll!