Juicer Couture

Like many, I have been seduced by products and kitchen gadgets that promised me the world- or at the very least to slice, dice and chop- only to realize I'd been 'had.' Aside from Eastenders, I'm not much of a tv watcher but I will admit to one guilty pleasure. I love infomercials. Given the chance and the ability to strong arm the tv away from my son, I'd watch infomercials all day long. With a smile and shampoo commercial hair, they promise you the world and frankly, I find it all quite mesmerizing. They're going to straighten my hair, tone my abs and vacuum seal my veggies. And if I order in the next 30 seconds, they'll throw in a potato peeler to boot. Hand on heart, I will admit to ordering from infomercials, especially in the middle of the night. I've been disappointed to say the least. The clay pot remained in its box and never saw the light of day let alone an oven. My intentions were good with Core Secrets, however a big woman trying to balance herself on an exercise ball is not a sight to behold. I needed Mike's help to stabilize my body on the ball before I could even begin the exercises. There was also a Pilates program that I ordered only to discover that to do some of those exercises, you had to have a body like the one you wanted. As I write this, a common theme revolving around my purchases emerges. It all has to do with food or exercise. And sometimes straight hair.


However, I became addicted to the Jack LaLanne infomercials pushing his juicers. Now, I'm not a fruit eater as fruit does nothing for me. Give me veggies any day. But the juiced fruit that I saw on tv set my pulse racing. I thought how wonderful it would be to have fresh, juiced fruit every morning instead of orange juice from a tetra pack.


For a good year, I thought about it and watched the infomercial. Alot. About 8 months ago, on a whim, I walked into our local appliance store just to see if they carried any juicers. And what do you think greeted me when I walked into that store? Yep- a stack of juicers and they were on sale! I bought my Phillips juicer on the spot. For 2 months straight, I juiced every morning for the 4 of us. I'd juice apples, oranges, pineapples, kiwi, pears and blueberries and I loved it. But the boys weren't quite sold. They, especially Daniel, preferred the store bought juice.


Recently, I pulled out the juicer again and put it to use. I love juiced fruit. A book by Jason Vale, The Juice Master, 7lbs in 7 days- super juice diet had been included with the juicer but I had thrown it in the drawer. About a month ago, I read it and thought, well, this is only for 7 days, surely I could handle that. In previous posts, I've made it very clear how I feel about dieting.


Today is my third day. And I like it. You juice 5 times a day and that's all you have for a week. Initially, I was concerned about some of the items on the grocery list such as alfalfa sprouts, kale and spinach but after tasting it, I was soon converted.


On the plus side, I do have more energy. Granted, I'm no dynamo but I'm not feeling sluggish 24/7 and wondering when the next nap is happening. I'm not a morning person but I've been getting up earlier than usual. Also, I've found my ankles again. They were beginning to look like an elephant's ankles: all thick and wrinkly. Surprisingly, I'm not hungry and you'd think with drinking only juice for a week you'd be really hungry but you're not. Best of all, I've had no cravings for things like bread, chocolate and other processed carbohydrates. And for that alone, it's worth it.


On the downside, there is the expense and the clean up. It costs alot to buy the fruit and veggies- about 70 euros for the week, but if you're eating nothing else, it probably isn't too bad. Plus there are supplements: spirulina, wheat grass and friendly bacteria. These I purchased from http://www.juicemaster.com. In addition to the juicer, you need a blender. Juicing 5 times a day means cleaning juicer parts 5 times a day. Not for the faint of heart. After the first day, I copped on and now make some of the juices ahead of time, so I'm only cleaning it 2-3 times a day.

Could I do a juice only routine for the rest of my life? No. Too much of a good thing is not a good thing. Would I incorporate some form of juicing into my daily life? Definitely, I enjoy it too much not to.

Happy New Year! I hope that 2010 brings you the best of everything.

I would never be young again. You don't know enough about yourself to live life properly. My juices didn't really begin flowing until I turned 40.

Shirley MacLaine