My powerful friend. Kevin once said we could juice a spoon if we wanted to. He was quite impressed with the motor in my juicer.
I used to make fun of my sisters for juicing. I remember hearing them talk about making juice out of carrots and celery and spinach and I'd roll my eyes and think GAG! Who wants to drink their carrots? And with celery and spinach? Did we really have the same mom?? After Emma was born, I became much more concerned with my health and with hers. When she was almost 6 months old, I got really sick with some weird stuff. I had stomach pains, insomnia, fatigue, and Emma wasn't getting enough milk from me. Long story short, I saw a few doctors who told me there was nothing wrong with me except maybe depression. Frustrated, I finally called a natural health doctor in Oklahoma who put my mind at ease. He explained what he thought was going on with my body (lack of nutrients due to pregnancy, childbirth and breastfeeding) and suggested I take care of my health. He recommended juicing at least twice a day along with drinking a lot of water and exercising, all of which I hadn't been doing. He also recommended lots of prayer. I borrowed a juicer from a friend and swallowed all the words I'd every said negatively about juicing. I even considered juicing our spoons!! So many people were praying for me. I was praying for me. My health didn't change overnight, but in less than two weeks, I felt like a different woman! So that's how I became a believer. Oh, and adding a few apples to the carrot juice really sweetened it and it was delicious! I began looking forward to my vegetable juice twice a day! Since I wasn't breastfeeding anymore, I wanted Emma to be getting quality nutrients, so when she was 6 months old, she started drinking the orange stuff too.
After several weeks of juicing every day, I decided I didn't want to spend so much time in the kitchen. Someone recommended freezing the juice for later use, so I did it! I had plenty of Lansinoh freezing bags leftover and they were perfect for freezing the juice. Instead of juicing every day, I would juice once a week and freeze extra for the whole week. Sometimes I'd juice enough for two weeks. It became a normal part of my life and I loved that I was doing something really healthy for myself and my family. When we moved here, we lived in the hotel for almost three months without our belongings, including my juicer. It's taken me almost a year to get back into the habit of juicing, but I think I'm back! One thing I love about juicing here is that produce is so incredibly cheap! So, I'm being healthy and wise with our money!!
Last week I bought about 8 pounds of carrots (for about $2), 2-3 pounds of apples (about $0.50), a bunch of celery ($1), and some spinach (about $0.50). Saturday morning I made fresh apple juice for the three of us. It's almost impossible to find 100% juice here, so we all just drink a lot of water. The juice tasted exactly like the Simply Apple juice I used to buy in the States! I'm pretty sure I'm going to have to start making that more often! Saturday afternoon, I cleaned all the produce, lined up the fruit and veggies and juiced away! I had about a gallon and a half of fresh juice when I was finished!!
Fortunately, my friend Holly happened to have the exact Lansinoh bags I used to use to freeze juice. She didn't need them anymore so she gave them to me. I felt like I had just received an amazing gift!! It's so nice to be able to use familiar products and know that I can depend on them to work.
I still think it's funny that these pretty orange bags say, "my mommy's milk" on them!
I lay the bags flat when I freeze them so they thaw quicker. They're also easier to store in the freezer afterward.
This time I even froze a few pints for Kevin and me!
Mmmm. . . suco de cenoura!
I love being healthy. Eh hem, pretend you can't see the pint of Hershey's Kisses and the pint of chocolate chips on the bottom shelf. Those are just for decoration:)
