the early bird likes her greens, that is for sure. and yesterday was a big day for the green and yellow packer nation. handily putting the chicago bears to bed for the season, green bay is going all the way. and so it's only fitting to make today's post green.
in honor of the big event, i decided to throw caution to the wind, put my fears aside, and take the plunge. i juiced. for the first time. and it was amazing.
the early bird is no stranger to the wonders of juice and i have long been enjoying them - in new york i developed a pretty serious thing for liquiteria and bequ juice - but never before have i had juicer and veggies in hand and done the dirty deed myself. lucky for the bird, the tiger has a very nice juicer, that he doesn't use and is willing to share. and even luckier for the bird, berkeley bowl has all one's veggie needs, fresh and cheap, so that it actually makes economical sense to roll up your sleeves and get into juicing. by new york standards, you will pay anywhere upwards of $8 for a fresh green juice. today i juiced at home with produce that cost less than $4 all together, which yielded enough juice for 2 juices today and enough for another 2 with the leftover veggies i will use tomorrow. so, for under $4, i made 4 green juices. yes, the juicers are a bit of a labor of love to clean. but cleaning the produce and cleaning the juicer is actually not that labor intensive and it most certainly is worth bringing the cost of green juice down to about $1/juice.
okay. so green juice. what do i put in it? i used kale, romaine, celery, cucumber, parsley, and green apple. i could have also used ginger and lemon. why do i drink it? well it's pretty simple - the healing elements that are found in green leafy vegetables are so powerful and synergistic, that there is no synthetic equivalent. there is no synthetic medicine or supplement that can do what raw, fresh green leafy vegetables can do. and doctors, nutritionists and dietitians all recommend that we get 3 to 5 servings of these green leafy vegetables every day. juice is an excellent way to get these servings. it is also ideal because they are still raw and their nutritional values have not been compromised at all as a result of heat or preparation.
yeah, kermit, it's not easy being green, it's AWESOME! why?
well, the five main benefits of the ingredients in green juice are:
- chlorophyll
- trace minerals (potassium, magnesium, calcium, chromium and selenium)
- vegetable protein
- enzymes
- alkalizing abilities
these components give the immune system and muscles the building blocks they need, bring oxygen to our blood and tissues, prevent disease, and help balance the alkalinity of our blood, in turn, helping us flush out the build up of lactic acid in our joints and muscles. a green juice a day will keep the doctor away, at least in a more positive way than say no health insurance keeps the doctor away.
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