As many of you know, I started a journey over a month ago and have been living meat free since that time. Yes, there are times that I do miss fried chicken and or a good old fashioned cheese burger but now that I have a better understanding of the treatment of the animals that I used to eat...all I can say is, pass me some soy! I’m not trying to convert anyone and I still hang out with my meat eating counterparts. This is something that you have to want to do on your own for your own reasons so I’ll leave all the meatless rallying up to other folks. I am NOT a vegan nor am I shooting to be one. The proper definition of a vegan is someone who does not consume anything that has parents and they also don't support animal-harming industries. I still like and eat eggs and fish. If you want to get technical, you can call me a lacto/ovo vegetarian because I don't eat meat but I do eat dairy and fish (I could eat chicken and still be considered this but I'll pass on the yard bird too). Personally, I'm not all into the labels, I'm just a chick that will pass on meat :o) Plus, I don’t like for people to give me that, “the poor thing can’t eat meat” look when it’s time to break bread. I CAN eat meat, I simply CHOOSE not to.
One of my new staples is natural veggie/juiced drinks in the form of smoothies. The type of device that I use is the Healthmaster (Montel). The darn thing is pricey but has turned out to be an awesome investment. I started my juicing journey with a juicer that would kick out the skin and only give off the juice in my fruits and veggies. Still a good device but the digestible fiber is found in the skin of fruits and veggies and that is such an awesome addition to the mix of the drink itself. *pardon the pun* So, the search began for a juicer/blender that could whip me up some tasty juice drinks AND include the digestible fiber; if you have constipation issues the digestible fiber will set you straight. One of the main reasons that I started juicing is because, as odd as this may sound coming from a newly found “vegetarian”, I don’t like to eat very many fruits and vegetables. I know, crazy right? Just to make it more interesting, the veggies that I DO like, I only like them raw. Truth be told, most of the veggies that we eat lose their vitamins when you cook them.Juicing has been a win/win for me because I can drink the very same veggies that I would NEVER eat. Beets, brussel sprouts, mushrooms, peppers…all the good stuff is now happily a part of my daily intake. I don’t really follow a specific recipe book, although I have been fortunate enough to find a free smoothie book on B&N.com and added it to my Nook. My goal is to make the most vitamin packed drinks I possibly can, most times this means it ain’t the tastiest thing in the world and it sure don’t look very appealing either. Enter the stainless steel water bottles. I made the mistake of putting my juiced goodies in my fabulous see thru pink water bottles and allllllllllllllllllllll day I had folks asking me, “What the heck it that?!” All of my drinks contain some kind of organic greens; spinach, arugula, kale, greens, broccoli…no matter what I mix with it, the drink is always green in color and people just don’t drink green colored drinks. I don’t mind sharing my lifestyle but most times it’s more trouble than it’s worth (most well meaning people try to convince me how I NEED to eat meat…it’s really sweet!) so now my goods are concealed in stainless steel bottles.
I’m going to try to make an effort to post some of my juiced drinks for those of you interested in juicing but don’t really have an idea of what to drink. It’s really fun to come up with the recipes, especially when it actually tastes half way decent! Please keep in mind that the goal is not to have a super sweet drink that lacks many vitamins. The one thing I recommend you to ALWAYS have in your drinks as a base is, some kind of greens i.e. spinach, kale, broccoli etc. I also prefer frozen organic fruits over fresh. It’s easier to buy and store in bulk and the frozen fruits makes the drinks cold which eliminates the need to use ice, which in my opinion, waters down the drink. Make sure to drink your juice as soon as possible, the longer it sits, the more nutrients it loses.
I hope this has shed some light on the subject for those of you considering juicing. There is no right or wrong way to do it, just get a good device that does what YOU need it to, get some fruits/veggies and whip up something tasty!
P.S. You can mix vitamins in your drinks! I add vitamin C powder to my drinks daily.
