On March 1st we started a Juice-a-Day Jamboree, to challenge ourselves (and our readers) to include more fresh juice into our diets. We knew we weren't ready for an all-out juice feast, but a juice a day seemed like something we could commit to in our daily lives. So, the Juice-a-Day Jamboree was born. We've been posting periodic updates on our original post about the Jamboree, but figured we'd post periodic juice updates in the main part of our blog, as well, to encourage others to add some more fresh juice to your diets, as well.
We've missed one day of juice since we started the Jamboree. Our original goal was to have our juice first thing in the morning, but we weren't always successful with that. So, we told ourselves that any time of the day is fine, but if we can start the day with a juice we'd prefer it that way. The changes we've been feeling are more pronounced when we begin the day with fresh juice, rather than when we have our juice later in the day.
The changes were obvious right away, but their intensity keep increasing. By just drinking one glass of fresh juice a day we have been noticing more energy and, most of all, even more focus during the day. We're drinking approximately two cups of fresh juice a day, not nearly as much as juice feasters are consuming per meal. However, just the small amount of juice is doing something. I can see maybe someday working up to even more fresh juice in my diet. For now, however, a juice-a-day is good for us here at Pure Jeevan.
KDcat is drinking the juice along with Jim and I on most days. She's also consuming a lot of cooked foods and a bit of packaged "junk" food from time-to-time. She hasn't noticed as large a change in her energy or focus. That could be, in part, because she isn't drinking the juice when it's freshly prepared. She likes to sleep in (teenagers!) most mornings, so her juice isn't consumed until at least three hours after it has been made. Many times she'll even wait to drink it until after her lunch. So, I don't know if her lack of extra energy and focus are because she's eating cooked foods or because the juice isn't fresh when she's consuming it.
We've mostly been sticking with the apple, carrot, celery, lemon juice recipe. Once we added some green juice to it and once we drank fresh orange juice for our daily drink. Overall, we are liking this challenge. The more we do it, the less of a chore it seems to be.
For the rest of you who are juicing, how are things going for you? Have you made any amazing juices that you'd like others to try out, as well?
Original Comments
Below, we have included the original comments from this blog post. Additional comments may be made via Facebook, below.
On March 12, 2009, wrote:
I am unable to download your 2 free ebooks. Please help. I am on your email list already.Thanks.
On March 12, 2009, wrote:
Oh, shoot! I wrote a really long comment, and then I logged in, and my comment erased. Bummer. Here goes again (maybe a slightly shorter version...)
Today I had carrot, orange and cilantro juice for breakfast, at lunch I had celery, apple, Romaine lettuce and a carrot (Ella requested the carrot), and then at dinner Ella wanted some fresh apple juice, so we had that. I love juicing!
Thanks for keeping us updated on what you're doing...I love keeping up with you three on the blog.
xoxo
~ Melissa
On March 12, 2009, wrote:
I have a thought for your daughter...I am the 25+years am juicing person. Sprinkle some vit c crystals in the juice so her juice doesn't oxidize as fast. You can also freeze the juice and defrost in frig when you use the vit c. It doesn't taste as fresh, but it is better than none if you are on vacation and freeze like a week's worth up front.
For the toughened adults...try: 2 smaller carrots, 1/2 lg beet, 2 leaves swiss chard, small handful of dandelion, small bunch of spinach, slice of ginger, 1/2 cucumber, and 2 celery stalks. Mix in 1 tsp powdered greens (I use revitaphi from elements for life), 1 tsp udo's oil, and rejeuvelac if you have some on hand. This is very alkaline. Grapefruit and orange does not leave an alkaline ash according to my naturopath, who noticed my blood being slightly acidic after juicing citrus for 2 weeks...wow!!
Also, if you lay out 21 paper towels for the three of you and lay out the greens, the beets...etc and when you stuff the bag with the veggies, the towel will act as a moisture wick. Then each of you can juice when you are ready and the last to juice gets stuck with washing out the juicer. That's how it works in my house!!
I lucked out and recently inherited most of a Norwalk Juicer. I purchased what else I needed to run the juicer, and I must say, I use 1/2 the produce to make the same amount of juice...and it juices wheat grass which I now regularly grow. The juice clearly tastes so much more vibrant that all the other juicers I have ever used and they say it does not oxidize as quickly and is good for 2+ hours, as I recall.
Good luck...
On March 12, 2009, wrote:
As I am reading, I'm enjoying watermelon juice. So yummy! Earlier today, I tried apple, lemon and ginger. There was a lot of ginger in there and it really warmed me up. I'm going to try to remember that in the winters. I stayed warm from it for a while! What a great idea to make a juice a day. It's a life practice I want to embrace this year.
On March 12, 2009, wrote:
Im sorta new to juicing. About 4 wks. I juice once a day. And since I read your advice Wendi about juicing in the morning I really got hooked. I make room for the morning ritual no matter what. I go to the Y about 6 days a week to work out. (weight training) Im 64 years old. Ive always added Astaxanthin, brown rice protein powder, bee pollen, etc. on my list for a good work out. But nothing compares with the morning juicing. I just love the driving force behind it. Every time I go to the market I purchase a new veggie or fruit addition that I havent tried and mix it along with what ever else I have. I drink a 16 oz. glass of fruit juice, and to make use of the juicer before I clean it I make a 16 oz. glass of vegetable juice and drink it. The funny thing is the vegetable juice in taste isnt that appealing to me as the fruit juice, but just the same I love drinking it because I know the real treat lies in store after its gone down the hatch. Probobaly the most unique drink so far for me is with mustard greens. It took me a while to down that one even with at least 4 other vegetable additives. I cant remember what the iother vegetables were because I dont ever make the same drink twice. After I got it down things were just marvelous. Im now thinking about another vegetable drink for lunch. I dont mix fruits with vegetables, or vegetables with fruit, I like them in their own category. But I do try to combine at least 4 different kinds for every glass I drink. If Im doing any thing wrong with my system, or there is any thing I should be doing and am not aware I would certainly appreciate any information on the subject. I totally appreciate the blogging oppurtunities here on Pure Jeevan and the information included with your newsletter. Ive been the last 3 years working my self up to this point to regain my health that I ignored for most of my life. The further along I get the more pleased I get with my self. Thanks for all of the valuable thoughts that I have been collecting here at Pure Jeevan as I add them to my daily ritual. PS- Yes organics are the answer. The more of us that stand by this theme the cheaper the items become. I live in Oregon and the extra price for organics is really agreeable.
On March 13, 2009, wrote:
Hi Wendi,
I have an idea for your daughter, to keep the juice fresh. I did a 40-day juice feast last year and found that it was much easier to use the vita-mix than the juicer to make the juice and it yielded much more. Basically, how it works, you blend all your ingredients together in the vita-mix and then pour into glass jars. I then vacuum sealed them for longer life. Just before you are ready to drink your juice your strain the ingredients through a juice bag. (I used organic cotton ones) I have a video demo of how I did it on my website at www.reneoswald.com (click on Free Videos and scroll down to # 31) The way I figured this out was that I had to be away from home for the weekend one time in the middle of my juice feast and I made all my juices for the weekend to take with me. I was very disappointed in how they tasted, so knowing the green smoothies nutrients are retained by the fiber, I thought this may work (I think my husband came up with the idea) The next time I had to be away I tried it and I was amazed how fresh the juice tasted when doing it this way and how much faster it was and so much easier to clean up. From that day on I blended my juices in the vita-mix for the entire day, first thing in the morning and just squeezed them through the juice bag when I was ready for them. I went from spending 45 every 2-3 hours (for a total of 4 1/2 hours a day) to just spending about 1 1/2 hours blending in the morning for the entire day. (When I juice feasted I needed about 5 quarts a day.) It was so great having them ready all day long, so that when I was hungry I didn t have to wait another 45 minutes to drink, and no more cleaning the kitchen all day long! Hope this helps your daughter and others too! Happy Juicing!
On March 13, 2009, wrote:
Frieda,
Thanks for signing up for the free eBooks! Please email me with your
sign-in information (name and email that you used) and I'll ask Jim to
look into it for you.
Thanks!
Lots of love to you,
Wendi
XOXOXO
WendiDee [at} PureJeevan.com
On March 13, 2009, wrote:
Melissa,
That's no fun losing what you've typed. It happens to me, too. Many times
I copy before submitting any responses, just in case. It seems the be the
times I *don't* copy are the times I lose the original text. ;-)
It's always nice to hear from you. You were going to let me know what
day/time is good for you to go ice skating. Do you have time next week
You've been doing great with your juicing!! How are you feeling
Lots of love to you,
Wendi
XOXOXO
On March 13, 2009, wrote:
Thanks for sharing, Lori! I think that's a great suggestion. :-) On a
positive note, she announced that she wants to start waking up at a more
"normal" hour. Today she was up not long after the juice was prepared.
She's been happy and dancing around all morning, too.
That's definitely some advanced juicing you are doing. I think I could do
it (as in force myself to drink it) without the green powder, oil, and
rejuvelac. LOL
So, you are saying that citrus *is* causing acid in your system? If so, do
you think the citrus fruits weren't truly ripe
Congrats on inheriting an awesome juicer! It sounds like it found the
right home, since you are definitely a juice enthusiast! :-)
Thanks for all the great tips and suggestions!
Lots of love to you,
Wendi
XOXOXO
On March 13, 2009, wrote:
Barbara,
You must be in a warmer climate. I haven't seen any watermelon in the
stores, yet, in Pittsburgh. That must be so refreshing and hydrating!
I love apple, lemon, and ginger together--I used to drink that mixture
years ago.
Yes, I want to make it a habit to have a juice a day, too. It seems so
good for my body!
Lots of love to you,
Wendi
XOXOXO
On March 13, 2009, wrote:
Orlin,
It sounds like you are doing great! Thanks for your comment. It doesn't
sound like you're doing anything wrong to me, but I'm not a juicing
expert. If you are following your intuition on what you want to
drink/juice, I think that's the best guidance you can ask for! ;-)
I'm happy you are enjoying our blog and the mailings we send out. I love
helping people and inspiring them to embrace life even more!
Thanks for sharing!
Lots of love to you,
Wendi
XOXOXO
On March 13, 2009, wrote:
I am continuing to have my wheatgrass, apple, carrot and ginger juice in the morning. I make the same for my husband but without the wheatgrass. I can't seem to grow enough wheatgrass to keep up!
The juice takes me through a couple of hours before I feel hungry and then I do my usual green smoothie. I love this stuff!
On March 13, 2009, wrote:
Lois, it sounds like it's working out great for you! So, you've been
mixing the wheatgrass with your juice. I'll let Jim know. He was once a
big fan of wheatgrass juice, so maybe he'd like to add some to his morning
juices sometime in the future.
I, too, feel hungry about two hours after drinking the juice. Today I had
mashed cauliflower with a bit of oil and salt (that's what I've been
wanting a lot these days).
Thanks for sharing!
Lots of love to you,
Wendi
XOXOXO
On March 13, 2009, wrote:
What a great idea a juice a day.
I have been try to get a smoothie a day in each morning.
but I have always loved to juice, I will start this weekend!
thanks for the apple, lemon, ginger sounds yummy:)
On March 13, 2009, wrote:
What a delicious sounding juice recipe! I don't do a lot of juicing, except for 2 large oranges or 1 large grapefruit every single day for my husband and I (so twice that). I realized that we consume approximately 100 oranges a month. That's a lot! I love it though, I have it about 1 hour after drinking a 20 oz green smoothie. Sometimes I'll juice carrots, because my husband loves carrot juice. I like to mix mine with cucumber juice as well. :)
On March 13, 2009, wrote:
Yay, another person trying it! Please come back from time-to-time and
leave a comment on the Juice-a-Day Jamboree post (you can find an easy
link to it on the right side of the blog), to let me know how it makes you
feel, Rhonda!
Lots of love to you,
Wendi
XOXOXO
On March 13, 2009, wrote:
Joanna,
I think it's wonderful that you are juicing that much!! Do you feel like
it gives you and your husband extra energy and focus
I'm thinking I'm going to do something with cucumber soon in my juices.
The sweetness of the apple, celery, carrot, lemon isn't so nice lately.
I'm not liking sweets as much. Cucumber juice has been sounding good to
me!
Lots of love to you,
Wendi
XOXOXO
On March 14, 2009, wrote:
I do think it is a positive addition to my diet, If I don't have the green smoothie, I at least need the juice, and vice versa. I can't have a purely cooked breakfast anymore, it makes me feel... dehydrated, if that makes any sense. I'm sure it does to you!
I'm not a big fan of sweets either, I've always been a "salt" person myself. I find cucumber juice to add a nice softness, or smoothness, to carrot juice. My husband doesn't like it, he likes pure carrot, but he's big on sweets. :)
On March 16, 2009, wrote:
Joanna,
I can completely understand about cooked making you feel dehydrated! That
*is* in fact what happens when we eat cooked foods (since the water has
been cooked out of them). ;-)
I tried a nonsweet juice and didn't care for it. I'll experiment from
time-to-time to find one that I like, though.
Lots of love to you,
Wendi
XOXOXO
On March 19, 2009, wrote:
I have been having a deep green juice (about 1 quart) for breakfast every morning and then a green smoothie for lunch for about 2 weeks now. Before that I was just having a green smoothie with fruit for breakfast every day (for several months). I love the smoothies with fruit but I'm finding that the greens only (with cucumber, celery, lime/lemon and ginger added) is really making a difference in how I feel.
Eyes are brighter, more energy, hot flashes gone, definate improvement in my bones....now if I could only start losing weight!!!
Love your blog!
On March 21, 2009, wrote:
Wow, Esther!! That's some intense green juicing you've been doing! I tried
just cucumber and celery the other day and didn't like it much. You are
getting such great results with all those greens!
As for losing weight, are you getting enough calories ??
I'm so pleased that you love our blog!!
Lots of love to you,
Wendi
XOXOXO