My new love: my juicer

My sister got me a Black and Decker juicer for my birthday back in November. 

Partially because I was intimidated, partially because I misplaced the owner's manual and couldn't figure out how to disassemble to prewash the darn thing, & partially because I didn't have a juicing recipe book (I know, I'm lame), I didn't juice until this week.

So when Santa Claus brought me The Big Book of Juices, I was ready to try my hand at juicing.

This thing is insanely heavy...must be the type of paper they used.  At any rate, I've made 3 or 4 juices from it and they've all been really good.  Granted, I'm doing the beginner juicer's plan so it's been mostly fruit juices.  Today I made one with 1/4 cucumber...interesting, but still tasty.  Tomorrow calls for 1/2 of a pineapple (I'm just going to use some frozen chunks I have), 1 apple, 1 celery stalk, & 3 carrots.  Definitely a little more adventurous.

The reasons I like this book: tons of recipes, breakdown of what the juices help with (digestion, skin, immunity etc.), information on different fruits/veggies and how they should be prepared (they recommend citrus be pressed rather than juiced), and in the back there's some plans...like the beginner's plan I mentioned, juicing plan if you've been sick a lot lately, weekend fasting plan, etc.  They also list juices that help with lots of different ailments like acne, anemia, etc.  Those are the only two I can think of right now.  :)   

The thing I've been leery about is upping my pesticide consumption.  If I had all the money in the world & lived next to a whole foods grocery store, I'd buy organic.  When I was buying the items for my juices this week I was confronted with my first dilemma: organic cucumber for $3-$4 or the non-organic for mere cents.  I went non-organic. 

Because of my fears, I decided I'd make a fruit & veggie wash I had heard of.  1 cup water, 1 cup white vinegar, 1 tablespoon baking soda, & the juice of half a lemon.  You spray it on, leave it for 5 minutes, and then wash your fruit or vegetable.  I have NO IDEA if it actually works, but it certainly calms my mind a little.

I'll leave with this tip to keep in mind: If you decide to make this wash, remember that vinegar + baking soda = BIG MESS!  I forgot until it was too late.