Sunday was my third and final day of the juice fast, and needless to say, I was pretty excited to eat again. But before I talk about all that, a friend reminded me that I never talked about my juicer; what kind I have, how I picked it out etc.
This little beast is named the Juiceman Jr. When I picked him out, I probably wasn't wearing my "good consumer" hat. The reality of the situation was this: I didn't want a large bridal registry full of things I didn't need, but then I got flack for not having very much on it at all. I'd forgotten I wanted a juicer, so this guy was a late-in-the-game addition to the registry (and my now-mother-in-law graciously picked it up for us!) I only read reviews on a few, but the one other in this price range had a lot of reviews saying it died within a year.
So I guess my biggest qualification for getting this juicer was that it not die within the year. I'm doing my part, trying to take very good care of it, but man is this thing a lot to clean up after. It separates into eight pieces. The worst part is this piece: the part that does the juicing:
Sooo many tiny crevices!
But I'd imagine that's the same for any juicer, and at least it came with a brush (which I did not realize the first time I tried to clean it). As far as actual juice extraction, I don't have anything to compare it to, but it seemed pretty fair. You still waste a lot in the pulp, but that's the point of juicing. Anyway, if someone is looking for a brand recommendation, I'd say give this one a try! The price was pretty reasonable, and it came from Bed, Bath, and Beyond. (Quick note: I don't know what this thing is the "Jr" of, but don't let the name fool you, it's actually quite large!)
So, day three of the juice fast was fine. It was funny, each day I drank from various juices all day long so I never felt hungry. at the end of the night, right before bed, was the only time I felt a twinge of hunger. But when I would wake up the next morning, I wouldn't feel hungry or want any juice til almost 10am. I wonder what that means about my body's digestive patterns. The whole time, though, I felt alert and energetic all day long.
Overall, I'd say I liked the experience, but it wasn't without its drawbacks: I wasn't hungry, but I did miss eating. And I thought about food a lot. Also, juicing took up enough time in the morning that I didn't get to work out at all. Right now, I'm torn as to whether I want to ever do an all-juice fast again, but having one every once in a while is something that I definitely want to incorporate.
So how did I break my fast? I wanted to keep it healthy but also have something really hearty, since I hadn't had solid food in three days. Vegan chili was just the ticket!
I've been playing around with chili a lot since I first made it waaay back in September, and It looks completely different now! I've learned that chili as best as an off-the-cuff food--add as much chili powder as it takes, as much cumin as you want. And as far as what you can put into it? Anything goes there as well. Right now, the most far-out ingredient featuring in my chili is zucchini. Erica loves it, and I know she's not just being nice, because she asks me to make it all the time, and she bogarts the leftovers. I'm sure other people would like it too. I should really try to write this recipe down.
And speaking of recipes! I plan to share my favorite juicing recipes. Look for that soon.
So what's next for us? Well, we joined a CSA, which is basically like buying a share in a local farm and getting a portion of their produce. First harvest is at the end of this week, and I'm super excited. I won't get to write again until the beginning of next week, but expect to hear a lot more about the CSA!
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