To Juice or Not to Juice

I haven't always been a fan of juicing, but over the past few months I have done some extensive research and I'm officially changing my tune.

Growing up as a kid, my Dad got into it. He'd pull his juicer out and then go pick the home grown vegetables out of his garden, bring them to our big red picnic table, clean them up and juice away! I remember how my taste buds would dance with excitement over the many flavors it unleashed! It seemed to be a fad at one time and then sort of fizzled out. If you are as old as I am, 😰 you probably remember the fitness and nutrition guru, Jack LaLane. Very popular back in the 50's and 60's. He was considered "The Godfather of Modern Fitness" and a huge advocate for juicing your veggies and fruits. They even named a juicer after him! (I saw it the other day while I was shopping for mine.)

Chris Wark (you may know him as "Chris Beat Cancer") talks about how he was diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer in 2003. He will tell you that juicing was a huge part of his journey in becoming cancer free. As I listened to the numerous testimonials on his site, I noted how juicing was extremely impactful on each individual's cancer story and their journey to healing. I was beginning to understand the massive impact these life giving nutrients were providing via juicing. My initial thoughts were if you don't eat the entire vegetable, you are missing out on the benefits of the fiber. However, working as a Wellness Coach for an integrative practice for 7 years, I was able to see firsthand how some patients were affected negatively by eating raw vegetables, causing gas, bloat, constipation and/or diarrhea. It was a struggle for some to digest the vegetables. And when they were expected to consume them on a regular daily basis for nutrition, weight loss or healing the gut, it caused some major issues. They were encouraged to "push through" and, at times, that strategy caused other issues and eventually a falling away from seeking better health for themselves. Juicing is a great resource and here's the thing... as you juice and the pulp is separated - you can use the pulp in other ways. Below are some helpful hints for you. I know it can be a little time consuming - it usually takes me 10 minutes from start to finish in the mornings - but even if you did it a few times a week the health benefits are truly amazing - and for some - life saving! I purchased my juicer on Amazon. The prices vary but I ended up getting this model from ??? it was priced around $60.00 and i'm very happy with it????. If you give juicing a shot, let me know what you think and make sure you try out some of these great recipes! And for you avid juicers out there, drop me a line and let me know what your favorite recipe is! HAPPY JUICING!!!