I've been experimenting with different juices. I've had a juicer for a long time, a pretty nice one, and I've almost never used it for its intended purpose of regular juicing. I've used it to make pasta, to juice apples for freezing or cooking, to make instant sorbet, and occasionally to make nut butter, but I've rarely used it for juices to drink. And I've never used it for vegetable juices, which is ironic because I did a lot of research before choosing this juicer for its ability to juice vegetables very well.
I've made the tentative decision to undertake a juice feast. There is a difference between juice "fasting" and juice "feasting" and by their definitions I'll be "feasting," but I feel like an asshole using that term so I usually just say that I'll be fasting.
The difference is that with fasting you are restricting calories, while with feasting you are generally supposed to be obtaining sufficient calories. On a juice fast, you might only be drinking a few cups of juice a day, but on a feast you drink at least a gallon of fresh juice a day.
Because of the issues of energy loss and detoxification side effects, most people today cannot undertake the ancient practice of water fasting for extended periods of time. Most of us must continue to go to work and take care of our families, so wandering off into the desert for weeks at a time is impractical, and these activities require a centered state of mind and a functional body.
Juice fasting is increasing in popularity for these reasons. Just a few glasses of fresh juice a day can provide enough calories to sustain a person for short periods. The occasional weekend fast is an excellent practice to include in a healthy lifestyle, not only because it allows your body to rest, but because it provides a good opportunity to attend to your personal needs and environment. This is especially important for people in high-stress professions or relationships, who often have a hard time taking care of themselves as they attend to the needs and desires of everyone around them.
Juice feasting is another beast altogether. Juice feasting is supposed to replace most or all of your daily calories with fresh vegetable juices. Selective low-sugar fruit juices and herbal teas may also be consumed. Juice feasting allows a person to undertake an extended fasting period. Some people feast for a weekend, or a week, or ten days, or 30 days, or 45 days - up to 100 days.
I've been thinking of doing this myself - not specifically for health reasons, although I do hope it would have some positive physical benefits. My reasons for doing this are very personal; they would be hard to articulate. Angela Stokes gives some great information about juice feasting and also shares her own experience with a 92-day juice feast. Steve Pavlina also blogged about juice feasting, and YouTube has numerous video blogs about the process - I definitely recommend Philip McCluskey's videos.
Right now I am experimenting with juicing and also increasing my intake of raw foods in preparation for what I hope will be an extended juice "feast." My primary purpose with this experimentation is to find out how much it's going to cost. If it's going to be bust our food budget then I won't be able to try it.
There are two general guidelines for feasting intake. The first is that you drink a head of celery juice every day, because it's a good source of natural sodium. And the second is that you drink the juice of about 2 lb. of dark leafy greens a day, which are the best source of calcium and other minerals. Otherwise, you can drink whatever you want. One head of organic celery runs about $2 - $3, and 2 lb. of dark leafy greens will cost $4 - $6.
Many cost-conscious feasters start out their day with melon juice. A melon can cost anywhere from $2 - $15, depending on the size and the season. Right now, I regularly find organic melons for $2 or $3. After juicing a melon myself, I understand why they're so popular. Half of this honeydew melon, for example, made well over a quart of juice - about a quarter of a feaster's intake.
And they taste great.
Yesterday I made some green juice for the first time. I didn't take a picture because it was not pretty. I used 3 stalks of celery, 2 leaves of red chard, 1 green apple, half of a lemon, and half of a cucumber. It tasted pretty good (despite being ugly) and made about a pint (2 cups, half a quart) of juice. I was surprised it made so much juice, and that made me hopeful that we could afford this process.
Of course, another major cost for feasters is various popular supplements, which can cost more than all the produce they're eating. I don't plan to use these myself, except MSM, which is affordable and something I've used already, and nutritional oils, which I use anyway.
I'm planning to take the next month to eat more raw food, experiment with juices, and figure out how to keep my cost down. If it seems it will work out, I might start a "feast" next month. I don't have a set finishing date. I think it would be amazing if I lasted 90 days, but I'm planning to listen to my body and just stop when it feels right. During this period I'll continue to post recipes of dishes I'm making for my family, but I was just wondering...
I've been experimenting with different juices. I've had a juicer for a long time, a pretty nice one, and I've almost never used it for its intended purpose of regular juicing. I've used it to make pasta, to juice apples for freezing or cooking, to make instant sorbet, and occasionally to make nut butter, but I've rarely used it for juices to drink. And I've never used it for vegetable juices, which is ironic because I did a lot of research before choosing this juicer for its ability to juice vegetables very well.
I've made the tentative decision to undertake a juice feast. There is a difference between juice "fasting" and juice "feasting" and by their definitions I'll be "feasting," but I feel like an asshole using that term so I usually just say that I'll be fasting.
The difference is that with fasting you are restricting calories, while with feasting you are generally supposed to be obtaining sufficient calories. On a juice fast, you might only be drinking a few cups of juice a day, but on a feast you drink at least a gallon of fresh juice a day.
Because of the issues of energy loss and detoxification side effects, most people today cannot undertake the ancient practice of water fasting for extended periods of time. Most of us must continue to go to work and take care of our families, so wandering off into the desert for weeks at a time is impractical, and these activities require a centered state of mind and a functional body.
Juice fasting is increasing in popularity for these reasons. Just a few glasses of fresh juice a day can provide enough calories to sustain a person for short periods. The occasional weekend fast is an excellent practice to include in a healthy lifestyle, not only because it allows your body to rest, but because it provides a good opportunity to attend to your personal needs and environment. This is especially important for people in high-stress professions or relationships, who often have a hard time taking care of themselves as they attend to the needs and desires of everyone around them.
Juice feasting is another beast altogether. Juice feasting is supposed to replace most or all of your daily calories with fresh vegetable juices. Selective low-sugar fruit juices and herbal teas may also be consumed. Juice feasting allows a person to undertake an extended fasting period. Some people feast for a weekend, or a week, or ten days, or 30 days, or 45 days - up to 100 days.
I've been thinking of doing this myself - not specifically for health reasons, although I do hope it would have some positive physical benefits. My reasons for doing this are very personal; they would be hard to articulate. Angela Stokes gives some great information about juice feasting and also shares her own experience with a 92-day juice feast. Steve Pavlina also blogged about juice feasting, and YouTube has numerous video blogs about the process - I definitely recommend Philip McCluskey's videos.
Right now I am experimenting with juicing and also increasing my intake of raw foods in preparation for what I hope will be an extended juice "feast." My primary purpose with this experimentation is to find out how much it's going to cost. If it's going to be bust our food budget then I won't be able to try it.
There are two general guidelines for feasting intake. The first is that you drink a head of celery juice every day, because it's a good source of natural sodium. And the second is that you drink the juice of about 2 lb. of dark leafy greens a day, which are the best source of calcium and other minerals. Otherwise, you can drink whatever you want. One head of organic celery runs about $2 - $3, and 2 lb. of dark leafy greens will cost $4 - $6.
Many cost-conscious feasters start out their day with melon juice. A melon can cost anywhere from $2 - $15, depending on the size and the season. Right now, I regularly find organic melons for $2 or $3. After juicing a melon myself, I understand why they're so popular. Half of this honeydew melon, for example, made well over a quart of juice - about a quarter of a feaster's intake.
And they taste great.
Yesterday I made some green juice for the first time. I didn't take a picture because it was not pretty. I used 3 stalks of celery, 2 leaves of red chard, 1 green apple, half of a lemon, and half of a cucumber. It tasted pretty good (despite being ugly) and made about a pint (2 cups, half a quart) of juice. I was surprised it made so much juice, and that made me hopeful that we could afford this process.
Of course, another major cost for feasters is various popular supplements, which can cost more than all the produce they're eating. I don't plan to use these myself, except MSM, which is affordable and something I've used already, and nutritional oils, which I use anyway.
I'm planning to take the next month to eat more raw food, experiment with juices, and figure out how to keep my cost down. If it seems it will work out, I might start a "feast" next month. I don't have a set finishing date. I think it would be amazing if I lasted 90 days, but I'm planning to listen to my body and just stop when it feels right. During this period I'll continue to post recipes of dishes I'm making for my family, but I was just wondering...
Thanks for reading.