Let's Juice

Happy Saturday!  Hope your weekend is off to a great start!  Mine sure is!  I made a big batch of green juice this morning and thought I would share some step by step photos.  I know making green juice is not complicated and also that no one really gives a damn about the step by step process, but I took these pictures and they need to be shared! So come along, let's make some juice! 

I started by picking up my groceries on this cold, dreary, foggy, rainy Saturday morning. Before I put the produce away, I dumped the whole lot into the kitchen sink with some water and vinegar and let them soak for a few minutes.  I would walk by occasionally and swish things around while I put away the rest of my groceries.  They soaked for maybe 10 minutes. 

After the soak, I rinsed everything off really well and laid it out to dry. 

I grabbed what I needed for my morning juice and put the rest in the fridge. I chopped all of my selections into pieces that would fit in my juicer.  

This morning, I juiced a whole apple, a whole cucumber, a whole tangerine (peeled), half of a lemon (peel on - no idea why I take some peel off and leave some on. I make no sense - even to myself.), two one inch pieces of ginger, a big handful of kale and about four celery stalks.  

I usually do the really juicy things first, because sometimes they clog up the juicer and I need the dry things like kale and celery to unclog things and move them along. The juiciest thing I had today was the tangerine, so that went in first.  Look at that beautiful orange color. Smelled so good. Like a little fruit orchard in my kitchen.

Next up, I juiced the lemon and ginger.  Also great smell. Not much change in color. 

Then I juiced the apple. A little foamy, but still a nice orange color. 

Then I juiced the cucumber...it did clog things up a little, but I just kept feeding it in because I knew the kale and celery were coming up next to clear things. Isn't it interesting how the green stays so separate from the orange.  I am not stirring or shaking anything at this point. Looks like two green eyes! 

Next up is the kale. You can see at the bottom how the orange and green stay separate. Also, the kale did its job and helped the rest of the cucumber make its way through the juicer. Thanks kale. 

Finally, I juiced all the celery. Look how pretty! 

Here is a picture of all the pulp that results from the juicing of this batch of fruits and veggies. Sometimes I compost the pulp - but it is so gross out this morning that I just trashed it today. 

Look at this goodness! I measured the container and this is about 20 ounces of juice. 

I stirred it up and poured it over ice and got to drinking! It is so good! So refreshing. I wish you all could taste it. It tastes like the earth and health and goodness! I usually try to drink it all within about 30 minutes of juicing for optimal nutrition. It is not hard to do.

Clean up of the juicer parts is really easy if you do it right away - everything rinses right off.  If you leave it sitting in the sink for a while, it gets a little harder because little bits of fruit and veggie get stuck and dried on to the juicer parts. Do not recommend. But sometimes, it happens and it really just takes a little soak and some elbow grease to get everything cleaned up. 

Now, I know there are lots of arguments out there for eating fruits and veggies whole instead of juicing or blending - but in my personal experience, juicing gives me a big dose of concentrated, easily digestible nutrients that make me feel fantastic. If I tried to eat that big pile of fruits and veggies I would be bloated and miserable. Also, I just wouldn't do it. You do miss the fiber of the fresh produce when juicing, but for me personally I eat enough plants and fiber that I don't miss it. I poop like a champ! 

Just so we don't end on my pooping capabilities, let me share the other fun things I have been up to this morning. 

I have two batches of bread rising. A whole wheat version made with regular yeast that I have added garlic, rosemary and salt.  And a plain all purpose flour version made with quick rise yeast. I will keep you posted! 

Finally, I have seen several videos of a Japanese rolled egg omelet - I think officially called Tamagoyaki that were made with green onions. I have been wanting to try the method and decided to give it a whirl today using plant based Just Eggs.  

You pour a very thin layer of egg into the pan, let it set and then roll it up. You do three or four layers. 

It wasn't shaped perfectly - but it tasted great!  I need more practice! Texture was soft and fluffy and I was pleased with the Just Egg. I cut it in half and added some Mother In Law's Gochujang fermented chili paste to one with some sesame seeds to have a spicy and a plain version. I liked them both and was kind of glad I had both!  

Here is the jar if fermented chili paste is something you would like to try! 

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the rest of your day!  I will fill you in on my bread adventure in my next post!