Green Juicing

A couple weeks ago, I started paying more attention again to what I eat ... and how much I eat (once more trying to focus upon quality rather than quantity). I love food, so I find myself 'falling off the wagon' repeatedly. I started focusing on healthy eating habits about 7 or 8 years ago (before that, don't ask), but have to repeatedly bring myself back to an aware state. Like many people, after I hit my 40s the weight gain was more rapid, and the subsequent weight loss much slower. After being stick-thin most of my life, this was a shock! Egads, you mean I have to actually pay attention to what I'm eating?! Crap.

Anyway, I have a healthy system established for losing the weight at a moderate pace, and it works well for me. But there was something that I had been wanting to try for a couple years to see if it would assist in healthy weight loss. And that would be Green Juicing. Not Fruit Juicing, although fruits can be a percentage of the juice, but rather maximizing the source of tremendous nutrients we can obtain through green foods. I like vegetables both raw and cooked, but with our soils depleted of nutrients, I wondered if juicing might not be a good way to obtain significant amounts of micronutrients. Because of my training, I was pleased to find that many Ayurveda practitioners were supportive of juicing within boundaries--like knowing your body type, your tendencies, and how to maintain balance within them. See Juicing in Ayurveda.

Enter our new Breville Juice Plus, as seen on the inspirational movie Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead (I highly recommend this movie and it's available through Netflix); a friend had suggested the movie and shared her recent experiences with juicing on her blog - Annette's Asylum.

Now, Ron and I didn't want to go to the extremes that the two men in the movie did. But we did want to try a 3-day juice fast to kick-start healthier eating habits, and get us on our way with some inspiring results up front. And it provided that this weekend. Yay! We don't intend to get obsessive about juicing, but we are very pleased we bought a juicer. Every bit helps, don't you think? :-)

Here's to happy, healthy eating along with compassionate, peaceful lifestyle!