Thirsty Thursday

Juicing comes down to evaluating cost and convenience. I know I would LOVE to juice everyday but I simply cannot seem to find the time. Instead of beating myself up over not doing it everyday, I set realistic goals, such as trying for once or twice a week or just on the weekends.

Cost vs. convenience is something that people struggle to figure out in their healthy eating journey. Whether it be buying only organic products and expensive supplements, vegan protein powders, raw vitamins, etc. Whatever it may be, juicing tends to be part of the “costly and inconvenience” side of things!

Even as I stay working from home with my two little girls I still struggle to balance time between my family, relationships, work, teaching classes, my own fitness time, cleaning, meal-planning, grocery shopping and food prepping! Juicing is one of those things I don’t do as often as I would like to – well because let’s face it Mamas, it’s a lot of preparation (washing the veggies) and the clean-up is far worse than the prep. In addition, the amount of veggies required is somewhat astronomical to buy organic in my part of the country during the winter months. This is quite opposite during the summer months when I keep my juicer on the counter and juice daily! So with all of this said, I have to remind myself to set realistic goals regarding juicing! If you start out trying to do it everyday most likely it is too big of a change to stick too and you will most likely stop after a short period of time.

If you have access to a health food store such as Trader Joes or Whole Foods they sell cold pressed juices! Ranging in price from a few dollars to twelve dollars a bottle (yes my sister-in-law pays $12 for a juice!) or more. Target stores sell a good brand in most stores: Suja Juice. It is rather affordable for a bottle, but price may vary by store locations.

I love green juice, beet juice, carrot apple juice, cucumber lemon, etc. When I juice at home here is my favorite juice:

* Remember to use organic produce concerning the Dirty Dozen list! All should be bought organic except the lemon, beets and carrots here!

Sarah’s Staple “Detox Juice”

• Beets (1 medium sized)

• Cucumber (1 medium sized)

• Carrot (1-2 whole sticks)

• Green Apple (1 medium sized)

• Kale (a small-medium bunch)

• Celery (a few stalks)

• Lemon (1/2 lemon

• *Optional (ginger root, using a piece about the size of your thumb- this will add a bit of bitterness, but excellent detox properties!)

* If you have access to purchase bottled fresh cold-pressed juice that is a great option! Juicers can cost anywhere between a couple hundred to over a thousand dollars (depending on the size and model.) If you can try one at a friends house before buying one I would highly recommend that!

Also if you want to get motivated to juice please watch "Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead" and "Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead, 2" these short movies will motivate you to be healthier and drink juice! Both available on Netflix.

Enjoy your juice! ~Sarah