Ju-ess

I can't even begin to tell you how many nights I have stayed up watching Jack LaLanne entrance me with the wonder, the magic, the power of juice. Oh, how many blissful evenings I have fallen asleep to that infomercial's promise of a whisper quiet motor, and minimal pulp, easy clean-up, and twice as much juice as the "other guys." Dreams of celery and carrots and kale being pulverized into delicious beverages of joy.

So, this past weekend, while I was home visiting with my family and out shopping with my mother, we came across a Jack LaLanne Power Juicer Express. After a few, "But, Mooommm! I NEED IT!"s (this said in exactly the same way that Cartman does to his mother in South Park. Also, I may or may not use the word "need" in a fast and loose manner), this beauty found a new home on my kitchen counter:

I've been juicing for the past three days now. Nothing serious, just testin' her out. I love the idea of throwing whatever I've got lying around the fridge in there to see what comes out.

Let's see...got some tomatoes. And some romaine hearts and some peaches. Okay! Toss in some peas. Maybe a little potato. What the hell?

I think I may have twarted my random experimental phase this afternoon though when I pitched in some romaine hearts, cantaloupe and celery. I'm not entirely sure why that particular concoction was so foul, but it was not good. Not good at all. The more I looked at the brown goop I was drinking, the more ill I became and had to force down the last few drops. Also, carrots, celery, tomato and romaine - or what I like to call, Salad in a Cup - is wretched. I think that perhaps juicing is most effective (at least taste-wise) when keeping like colors together. Kinda like laundry. 

An old friend of mine has been juicing for a while now and has had some real ups and downs with it. I can't say that she necessarily inspired my want of a juicer (as Jack LaLanne takes full, unadulterated credit for that), but she did inspire me to want to try a juice fast. You can read all about her juice journey on her blog. It's actually pretty interesting and she talks a lot about her struggles with food addiction and closet-eating, two topics that hit pretty close to home.

I found this website with a twenty-one day juice fast that I would really like to try, so that's on the docket for the upcoming week. So, cheers to good juice and good health.