Who says fruits and vegetables have to be boring?  Need a change to the servings of fresh-cut fruits or roasted, sautéed, baked, and broiled vegetables?  Need something refreshing to drink?

I answered “yes” to all of those questions!

My solution to mix up my fruit/veggie intake: Juicing!

Juicing is fun; however, be prepared: it is an adventure!  Juicing is a commitment, but once you start, you will enjoy the benefits!

Let me take you through my juicing escapade:

The Decision to Juice

After my cancer diagnosis, I wanted to make changes to my eating habits. Less meat, sugar, and dairy and more fruits and vegetables. While the meat, dairy, and sugar elimination comes with its challenges, I found it more challenging to add variety to fruits and veggies.  

Having a salad every day got old: real quick!  I had fruit every day in its natural state.  I even branched out and tried some fruits outside of my norm (dragonfruit, kiwi, graviola).  The fruits were good, but I needed some variety.  

Additionally, I wanted to drink something other than water!

I shared my struggle with a survivor friend who recommended I try juicing.

The Benefits of Juicing

After some research, I found juicing to have benefits that I felt could jump-start me in the right direction, including: 

• A concentrated boost of nutrients: Drinking your fruits and veggies allows the nutrients to go to work in your body quickly.
• A fruit/veggie combo can “mask” taste:  I. do. not. like. beets.  Period. However, juicing beets with bold fruits (like pineapple and/or mango) creates an exotic, tasty drink.
• You can drink more than you can eat: Have you ever tried to eat four oranges, four apples, a pineapple, and a bunch of carrots in one sitting? Well, when you juice them together, you can!  
• Juicing creates naturally sweet drinks: And I know it’s fresh because I made it!

Choosing a Juicer

My first ah-ha moment: Juicers and blenders offer different benefits! 

• Blenders provide more fiber in smoothies, which means people typically stay fuller for a longer period of time
• Juicers provide less fiber in drinks but are thought to capture more nutrients in a liquid format. This process allows the nutrients to electrify the body’s cells!   

As a self-proclaimed internet researcher (and help from my best friend Google), I searched for information about different types of juicers.

Juicers come in many sizes and many prices! After a Google search and talking with my juicing friends, I landed on the Breville Juice Fountain Compact.

Preparing to Juice

Now it’s time to start juicing.  Discussions with my juicing friends led to conversations about all kinds of juicing cocktails.  There are many books and websites that offer juicing recipes that help with many ailments.  While the juicing recipes I tried were good, I stick with recipes that focus on reducing inflammation and improving heart health. 

Next stop: Farmer’s Market! I go to an International Farmers Market that offers a plethora of fruit and vegetable options. Personally, I go for organic options, especially for strawberries, grapes, peaches, kale, collards, and garlic.

Now that I am armed with a juicer and a countertop stacked with fruits and vegetables, it’s time to cut up the produce!  

Honestly, I was not ready for the labor of peeling and chopping! It takes time (a lot of time!) to ensure the items are cut up in pieces that are easy to be chopped.

And the cleanup! Oh boy! 

I like to clean the juicer after every juice cocktail I create. I want to make sure the colors of the final product do not blend (yeah, it may be a bit much, but it sits well with me ☺)

For me, juicing is sometimes like mental gymnastics. I have to be mentally prepared for the entire process. The time it takes me to create 2-3 juice recipes (with clean up in between) can be over an hour. There are times when I purchase my produce on Friday and wait to make the juice on Monday. I have to “get my mind right” for what I know is going to be time-consuming (yet, beneficial) project. When the time is right, I find a social media DJ mixing some gold ‘Ol school music (R&B and Hip Hop for me), crank up the volume, and start mixing some juice!

I Got That Juice!

After an hour of cutting, chopping, juicing, and canning, I got juice, ya’ll!  The best part about it: I can name (and pronounce) every item in my juice.

I Got Beets
Fresh beets (including the leaves)
Pineapple
Carrots
Ginger
Key Lime
2-3 Oranges
2-3 Apples
Cut all of the ingredients in a bowl.  Start your juicer and drop the ingredients in.

I never ate beets before and, I have heard different variations of how beets taste (I’ll leave that for a different discussion). However, the fruits and the ginger are bold and powerful enough to leave a nice flavor on the palette.

Since I like my juice really cold, I put my Mason jar juice in the refrigerator for at least an hour. When it’s time, I pour myself a tall glass of juice, garnish with mint or lemon, and sip on my juice while I am listening to some good music!

My Lesson

Juicing is a process. 

It requires patience, determination, and perseverance.

After my cancer diagnosis, I wanted to make changes in my diet. Juicing has been a positive choice for me. While juicing can be an adventure, it has led me on a journey I want to travel for a long time.