When I was out with author Penny Watson in Salem, MA, we visited a coffee/juice bar.
Since it was a coffee/juice bar I figured I should get a coffee/juice. Everyone is always saying juicing is so good for you, like it can cure warts and hangovers and heart disease and impotence and basically gift you with immortality.
I’ve tried juicing before and found it pretty much gagalicious— but I decided, for the sake of convenience and immortality, to try it again.
To go with my cinnamon cappuccino, I ordered the juice of the day - carrot, kale, celery, beet.
Yes ma’am. I tried, I really really tried. Over the next 12 hours I managed to choke down maybe a half ounce of that twelve ounce cup of fresh juice.
Now I like carrots. I love beets and celery is great stuff, especially because celery has negative calories. Takes more calories to chew celery than it possesses. I have mixed feelings about kale. I like it in soups. Don’t much care for it on its own. It’s very high in Vitamin K and not a bad source of calcium although the calcium is bound up with other stuff so it’s not necessarily bio-available.
And yes, I do know kale is considered one of the new superfoods.
The moral of the story? Who knows?
Up until a year ago I was a vegetarian, more or less. Although I began as a vegan when I was fourteen, I gradually added some dairy products, eggs and some fish to my diet. And now some occasional grass-fed beef. It’s tough to be a purist when you have kids.
But even at my most rigid I hated juicing, just like I pretty much hate tofu in most of its incarnations. Maybe that’s the moral of the story— don’t eat stuff you don’t like. I have a cousin who believes in juicing juicing juicing. Doesn’t even eat anymore, just juices. Ewwww.
Sheesh, what a poor veggi you were, not liking juicing…. You’re so fickle
Have to say I actually did like to do it , but it was all the kerfuffle around it and the mess to clear up that put me off. Even had one of these expensive juicers that you put the whole fruit in, oranges, rind and all, and it separated it, but it was so big and heavy and became a chore just to get a decent glass of juice and of course you need to buy so much fresh fruit, which ain’t cheap these days that it is quicker, easier and cheaper, just to buy a carton of it from the supermarket
A cinnamon cappuccino with a juice chaser? Yuck! You are crazy.
I can’t juice either. I like all the ingredients in your drink, well maybe not Kale, but I can’t eat..I mean drink them together. yuck.
I love veggies! I have Naked juice every day which has about every fruit and veggie in it. At least the kids don’t try to steal it
My husband and I were once kick-ass athletes and we INVESTED in a high-quality (re: expensive) juicer. We made our first glass of juice and learned two things: a) it takes six oranges to get one cup of juice and b) all this really great-for-you stuff came flying out the back of the juicer into the discard chute…it’s called FIBER. We no longer juice.
I noticed in Manhattan that there were juice and cleansing bars all over the place. My thoughts:
When you consume the cleansing juice do you have time to get home before the cleansing begins?
Doesn’t the cleansing work better with fiber?
And, they should liberally sprinkle colonoscopy clinics nearby. (whenever i type “colonscopy” my computers spell chck tries to get me to change it to “endoscopy.” I think it’s a cultural issue.)
The point of kale is the fiber and the nutty flavor. I like to think of it as a a scrub brush for the intestines.
I do like tomato juice tho’ and I believe that’s the salt talking!
Yep. My doc told me to forget the juicing and just eat the frickin’ food. No fiber in juice. Plus it takes more calories to chew…
Anny - I agree with you and Stephanie. All the calories and sugars, zero fiber. I’d rather chew my food!
It seems to be the rage again, Steph. It was years ago too. We’re supposed to eat that fiber. One of these days I must try kale chips.
LOL, Lorca! I noticed that for my one cup of juice the guy used 4 carrots, 3 beets, four stalks of celery and I don’t know how much kale! What a waste of fiber!
Now I have to look up Naked Juice, Stacey. I don’t drink much juice but I do eat an awful lot of fruit and veggies. Is it too green for the kids?
It was pretty yucky, Amber. For sure.
Hey Penny, you coulda stopped me, you know. Smacked me upside the head…
Yes Tom, I suspect it takes a five-day supply of fruits and veggies to get one 12 oz. glass of juice and then you have the clean up. Pain in the ass.
Ok veggies and java..Big no no…I will take my java…But I do like fresh juice that you can make on your own.
Savannah - LOL! I do juice oranges for orange juice, but mainly because I dislike the pith and they are a pain to peel. My juicer allows me to keep the pulp.
Actually, I like juicing. Scrub two pounds of fresh carrots, juice’em like crazy, and it’s great if you drink it immediately. I love it, my husband thinks it’s pretty good, our daughter swears it keeps her hair read, and her children think carrot juice with a fresh orange mixed in is great.
But we drink it maybe once a month. Cleaning out the juicer is the problem, that and our skin taking on an orange glow if we drink too much. Years ago when my mom got a big stainless steel juicer (she wanted one for her birthday) the first batch she made was poured into crystal glasses and served to the family like fancy champagne. My dad lifted his and made a toast-”Won’t make you live longer…it’ll just seem like it.”-then gulped it down and smiled.
Oops. It keeps her hair red, not read. I think I need some fresh carrot juice…
I’ve never even heard of ‘juicing’ before (as an expression). We have these types of juices in Australia, but I don’t think it’s a craze.
Living on juice… surely that can’t be healthy? I’ve always been told juice is ‘empty’ calories. Calories but no real benefit to the body, better to drink water. When the juice itself even has no calories, I’m not sure what possible benefit is left…
Delightful read, juicer or otherwise. I’m definitely otherwise. I like to eat far too much.
Marilyn - seems to be a consensus that cleaning a juicer is a pain. I have one little juicer I use for citrus. That’s it. Cute dad story, by the way!
Actually, Ciara, I think juice is the calories without the fiber. It does contain vitamins and minerals but I’d still rather eat my food. I guess, as Steph says, juicing is huge in New York City, used for everything from weight loss to curing cancer. In my years as an RN I’ve never known juicing to cure cancer. It does work for weight loss, temporarily.
Hi Kim! I do like the to eat too. I don’t want to drink my meals.
I see your 12 hours and raise you 24.
Hey Jay - how much did you manage to choke down?