juice-head (not related to anything from jersey shore)...

i've recently become obsessed with juicing!

i eat pretty healthy (MOST of the time!), but i really don't eat enough veggies. it's not that i don't like them, i think i'm just lazy. i like broccoli, cauliflower, bell peppers. LOVE asparagus... but that's about all i eat. even though i love squash, i rarely make it. i don't think i've ever made spinach, EVER (except when it's in the veggie lasagna i make). i needed a way to get all the great nutrients from things like spinach, without cooking and/or eating it :) haha.

enter jack lalanne power juicer!!

it's a few years old, but it's gotten more of a workout the past couple months than it has the past few years combined. surprisingly the juices don't taste too bad either. some take awhile to get used to, but if you just chug 'em you're fine. (random thought... they should make a tiny beer-bong-like contraption made specifically for veggie juice). i do appreciate the juice though. i remind myself what i'm putting into my body and how it will benefit me. i also remind myself how much more horrible it would be if i had to EAT all of the veggies i've just drank! ugh! here are some recipes i've tried:

the great eight:

3 carrots, 1/2 potato, 3 broccoli florettes, 1/2 beet, 1/4 red bell pepper, 1 tomato, 1/2 cucumber.

"This impressive vegetable juice drink is a great all round tonic. It is good for strengthening the blood, cancer prevention, promoting healthy skin, boosting the immune system and a whole lot more!"

1/2 potato, RAW? ewww, right?! 1/2 beet?! i've never eaten a beet in my whole life!

this is NOT my favorite recipe, but i did drink the entire thing. i felt like it tasted a bit like dirt. i think it was the raw broccoli and beet.

alkaline juice:

1 cup spinach, 1/2 cucumber, 2 stalks celery including leaves, 3 carrots, 1/2 apple.

"Juicing Tip: Juice cucumbers with their skins on. The dark green skin is a great source of chlorophyll, a phytochemical that can help build red blood cells. Cucumbers also contain silica, a mineral that is good for the skin. Make sure to wash them before making cucumber homemade juice recipes"

i actually really enjoyed this juice! 

there are a lot of websites with tons and tons of juice recipes. i've started combining what i love and making my own recipes. other than the 1st recipe i posted, i've had spinach in EVERY juice i've made. i love spinach and carrots mixed!!!! that's my 'go-to' juice that i've made the most often. you can also add cucumber (sooooo good, and smells soooooo good!) or add an apple. or just go plain spinach and carrot. try it! trust me!

i love the colors you see come from the juicer too. such bright, natural beauty - dark green, bright orange, deep beet red, etc.

green goodness! pure spinach juice.

here comes the carrots!

my favorite part of cleanup. the beautiful 'veggie confetti' ;)
seriously i took a pic of it the 1st time and sent it to henry.

 clean-up tip! put a plastic produce bag inside of the pulp container. 1 less dish to wash! :)

i came up with that myself.

2 cups of 'alkaline juice'!

the 'great eight juice'. so pretty, huh?!

do you juice? do you have any recipes you'd like to share?