carrot juice

My knowledge of all things healthy eating are vast. My execution of preparing and eating all those things healthy is often limited.
Our family joke to this day is that we grew up eating “sticks, twigs and roots.” If it surrounded whole and raw foods, my mom was on top of it, and that included drinking my daily glass of carrot juice..
Honestly, my memories of that are less than stellar, but with my nearly “legally blind” sight status, my mom knew that carrot juice was considered a miracle juice. With the benefits of absorbing all those vitamins right into my system, it would be gold mine for my body, not to mention that she actually improved her eye site over the years by drinking carrot juice every day.
The benefits of juicing are numerous. We’ve been told for years to eat our five fruits and veggies a day, but it rarely happens. With juicing, you can achieve that easily, plus the vitamins and minerals are absorbed immediately and you do not need to wait for the digestive process, thereby losing many of the important vitamins and enzymes in route. Enzymes are destroyed by heat. That’s why it is so crucial to cook at temps less than 114 degrees, because all enzymes are destroyed above that temperature.Since fruits and veggies are juiced raw, every single enzyme and nutrient is viable and absorbed when you drink the juice.
So yes, I now understand why my mom made me drink it, even though it’s a memory I have suppressed. 🙂
Last year, I picked up a brand new, never seen the light of day, juicer at a yard sale. This Juiceman  Juicer brand runs $69-79 in the store and I knew that I wanted to experiment before I invested in another one (which I highly suggest…many different health benefits based on the juicer you choose.)

juiceman junor juicer

I was thrilled with how well it worked, but I realized one aspect immediately, juicing is really expensive. If you order fresh juice at a “fancy juice bar,” do not complain. I can attest to the fact that the cost is extreme, but fortunately,  I had just purchased about 200 pounds of wholesale produce (post to come).
While carrot juice is relatively affordable (ten pound bag of organic carrots runs around $6), my kids do not want to drink straight carrot juice. (And since this brings me back to my childhood, I stop at forcing a few gulps on them.) But get this, when I juice carrots, broccoli, pears, and apples all together, they gulp it down.
I can’t even begin to tell you how heavenly it is, but again, just to get one glass, I needed ALL of that produce times two because…..

pulp from carrot juice

there is SO MUCH WASTE from the pulp that is being left behind.
This is where I go back and forth on the Pros and Cons of juicing – the cost.
Did you know that a lot of the nutrients are trapped in indigestible fiber that our body can not assimilate?
For example when you eat carrots raw, only 1% of the available beta carotene is assimilated because many of the nutrients are trapped in the fiber when you eat a raw carrot, but when it’s juiced, removing the fiber, nearly 100% of it can be assimilated.
Yet, besides the cost, maybe it’s having all these kids, or maybe it’s because I am not eating all the raw fruits and veggies that I need, but I NEED that fiber to help me in other areas…(although now the chickens are getting it, so in the long run, I’ll get it too.)
My conclusion?
I am convinced on the benefits of juicing. I’m HIGHLY convinced and have been contemplating a juice cleanse for awhile now to eliminate a lot of the toxins that  have built up in my system (we all have them, by the way.) But, I can not wait to invest in my Vitamix or Blendtec either because I will get a lot of the health benefits without a lot of the pulp waste. Now, they are do different health birds –  Juicing vs smoothies, but both have their role to play in getting our family back on track with our raw fruits and veggies.
So for now, I am going to go enjoy my glass of carrot/orange juice, and realize mothers always know best…and yes,  it is really, really good.
What about you…Have you contemplated juicing before? How do you get your five servings of fruits and veggies every day?

juicing carrots

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