Adventures in Juicing: Week 4

Beyond Juice
Week 1 Week 2 Week 3
I have so enjoyed this series on juicing from SPUD.ca. In previous posts I have shared how awesome our juicer is, and all the delicious, fresh, organic juice I have been making. But this week I wanted to touch a little bit on how versatile the juicer is. Sure, it makes delicious juice, but it is also a useful kitchen appliance and is much more versatile than you may think. 
The juicer I own (Hurom Slow Juicer) works like a mortar and pestle to crush the produce, so it doesn't have blades or generate any heat (which can destroy some nutrients). When you juice, you are left with a nice big pile of pulp from the produce you have squeezed dry. It's perfect for the composter if you have one. But, there are other, useful things you can do with all that fibre! You can run steamed veggies and fruits through the juicer and combine the pulp and juice to make your own baby food or even soup! You can use the pulp to make your own marmalade, or you can add it to baking to boost the recipe's fibre. 
Because my juicer is not a blender, I can juice anything I can chew. You can even use the juicer to make almond or soy milk! And juicing greens is no problem. Since they aren't getting pulverized by blades, there is no gross stringy texture to deal with in the juice either. 
I am really excited to use it for baby food once this new little guy is ready. For now, my favourite thing is to use the pulp in baking. Here is my favourite recipe. Peanut loves it, and I love that it's super simple to make, and pretty healthy to boot. Of course, I like to heat it up and slather it in butter, so there goes the health factor for me! ;) 

Whole Wheat Carrot Raisin Bread

Makes 1 loaf Prep time: approx 5 mins Bake time: 1 hour
3 medium carrots 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour 1/3 cup unsweetened apple sauce 1/3 cup vegetable oil 1/2 cup - 1 cup of honey  (original recipe calls for a whole cup, but that is a lot. It's tasty, but I have made it with 1/2 a cup without sacrificing much taste.) 2 eggs 1/2 cup raisins 1 tsp cinnamon 1 tsp baking soda 1 tsp salt
Preheat oven to 325F. Run the carrots through the juicer and save the pulp.  (Also, if you are like me and very rarely have fresh, juicy raisins on hand, soak your old, wrinkly raisins in some warm water for a bit to re-plump them a bit.)
Combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in a large bowl. 
In a separate bowl, mix the apple sauce, oil, eggs and honey together. Then stir in the pulp and the raisins. 
Add the wet mixture to the flour mixture and stir until well blended. The batter should be very moist. If you have reduced the honey you may want to add some of the juice from the carrot into the batter if it is too dry. 
Pour batter into a greased loaf pan. 
Bake for approximately 1 hour until it passes the toothpick test. 

So there you have it...the juicer is a versatile creature! It has so much more to offer than juice.
I hope you have enjoyed this series as much as I have. It has been such a great, healthful journey for me and my family. 
If you are interested in getting a juicer for your family, I highly recommend SPUD's juicing program. Not only do you have the option to purchase the juicer in small, manageable weekly payments, but you also have access to delicious, fresh organic produce for your juicer delivered right to your door. I can honestly not say enough about SPUD. Beyond the service they provide, they also have the best customer service I have encountered in a long time. It means a lot to be treated like a valued customer in this day and age, let me tell you! And the convenience can't be beat. SPUD is my worst-kept secret. ;) 
*Please note that this series is sponsored by SPUD.ca, as they provided the juicer and the organic juicing produce in order to facilitate this series. But all content and opinions are completely my own (as usual!). 

Adventures in Juicing: Week 3

1. It's an easy way to bump up our daily recommended intake of fruits and veggies. Instead of making sure we prepare and eat enough fruits and veg, we usually get at least 1/2 of our recommended intake from one glass of juice in the morning! Of course we still eat fruits and vegetables throughout the day (like apples...I am currently addicted to Jonagold apples and could probably eat like 5 a day! Oh pregnancy...). And it's important that we do, as we still need the fibre, etc. from eating the skins, etc. But it sure is nice to know that I have all those vitamins and minerals covered now without thinking of creative ways to shove them in our diet!
2. We are using a much wider range of vegetables than we did before we started juicing. I admit I am pretty picky when it comes to vegetables. As an example, I would never eat kale, beets or cucumbers (despite my years in Thailand, where cucumbers accompany every meal it seems, I still don't like them!) whole, or even use them in a dish. But when you add it to a cup of juice, the flavours mix so nicely, that I actually enjoy them! And for someone who has issues with textures (like me!), it's perfect because I don't have to worry about the texture when it's in a cup of juice. 
3. I am wasting so much less produce. Sometimes fruits mysteriously never ripen. They go straight from green and unripe to shrivelled and pretty tasteless in a day (mango...I'm looking at YOU!). This drives me batty, as it's not appetizing on either end of the spectrum. So you are stuck with either eating a gross mango, or tossing it out, which is a huge waste. I no longer have this dilemma as I can just juice it. Whether it's still a little unripe or a little past it's prime, once it's thrown in the juicer it's as tasty as can be. Greens that have lost their crunch are still tasty when juiced, even if they would be dreadful in a salad. For this reason alone I am hooked on making juice. And the other thing is that you can use the pulp that is leftover from the juice for baking, etc. Tossing some carrot and apple pulp into muffins is a great way to boost the fibre in the muffins, and to reduce the waste.
4. It's fun! Coming up with new combinations to juice is a lot of fun. It's interesting to try to meld different flavours and see what you can come up with. I haven't really experimented much with adding anything to the juice (I saw a recipe that used coconut water with fresh juice...it's on the plan for this week!), but this is a whole other delicious world that I am excited to try. There are just so many possibilities and so many things to try, that it never gets boring. 
5. It's a healthy choice for my family. Because the produce I use to juice is from SPUD.ca, it is organic, and local (when possible). So I am eliminating a lot of the pesticides and chemicals from imported produce. And because I am controlling what I put in to each glass of juice, I am eliminating any added sugars and preservatives that come with many store-purchased juices. And there is no packaging to recycle, or throw out either. The best part of all though is that it is so convenient. I mean, all I do is put my tupperware bin out on my doorstep and then collect it in the evening, and it's full of fresh, organic produce. I shop from my couch. It's awesome. And as an aside, I have to say it is the best produce I have ever purchased. It is always in great shape, and is so incredibly tasty. Sure, the apples are not the size of a baseball, but honestly? Apples that big creep me out. Produce should look like it's been grown, not created in a lab! I love knowing which farm my produce has come from and that I am supporting local farmers. 
*Please note that this series is sponsored by SPUD.ca, as they provided the juicer and the organic juicing produce in order to facilitate this series. But all content and opinions are completely my own (as usual!). 

Adventures in Juicing: Week 2

You can check out week 1 here.
We've had our juicer for almost 2 weeks now, and I have to say that we are loving it! I was a little wary about having another kitchen appliance...I have a bit of an addiction it seems. And usually we use whatever new gadget a couple of times and then it gets banished to the Cupboard of Doom where we only try and dig it out once every 10 months and when we do we have to pull absolutely everything out of the cupboard to reach it...you know what I mean, right?!
Anyway, the juicer hasn't left our counter since we got it. We make at least 1 glass of juice a day with it. It's almost addicting, actually. Once I apprehensively started putting fruits and veggies in very strict combinations according to set recipes, I was hooked. I started thinking of all the different things I could juice, and all the different combinations of juices I could make. JUICE ALL THE THINGS!!!!
We have a couple recipes that came with our weekly SPUD delivery that we love, and they are in our standard rotation. For veggies, I am more of a kale girl, and Hubby is in love with the beets. 
My fave is the Morning Nourish Juice:

1 pear 1 handful of kale 1 apple 2 stalks of celery

Usually I make some juice in the morning and I give a little to Peanut diluted with water. As scared as I was of juicing veggies, it's actually not that bad! So I always make sure to have some veggies in it if Peanut is having some. He loooooooves it. His favourite? Kale. Who would have ever guessed? I normally don't really give Peanut juice, but I feel confident about giving him fresh, organic, homemade juice where I control what goes in, and with no extra sugar. 
For the adults in the house, we love that we can "eat our veggies" without actually eating them! It's awesome to get the nutrients from fresh fruits and veg without having to prepare them. I get so bored of trying to invent new ways to serve carrots. Well, nothing is easier than tossing them in the juicer! Of course we still eat actual fruits and vegetables as well, as we need the fiber and other goodness, but it's nice to know that we are getting our daily dose of vitamins and minerals so easily. 
Hubby's fave is ABC Juice:

2 apples 2 carrots 1 beet
but he always adds some citrus as well, usually by adding 1 grapefruit. 
But my absolute favourite recipe that I have made so far was a tropical-inspired cup of deliciousness!
1 mango 3 spears of pineapple 2 oranges
I could see this being a very delcious adult-beverage in the summer time with the addition of a little coconut rum. Yum yum! I didn't get a picture because I basically downed it the second it came out of the juicer. 
I really get excited every Thursday to get our SPUD delivery. It's always fun to see all the fresh organic fruit and veg just sitting there, unsuspecting that in the next day or so they are going to be crushed into delicious juiciness! One of my other favourite things about juicing is that I have so much less waste of produce. If something is a little under- or over-ripe I just toss it in the juicer with a few apples and it is salvaged. 

One lesson I learned very quickly...make sure you go easy on the ginger. A little goes a VERY long way. The first time I used it I made some apple and pear juice and threw in a little knob of ginger. It was probably double what I needed, and I ended up with one very spicy glass of juice! Ack!! If you are interested in trying out juicing, SPUD.ca has extended their very popular juicing promotion until February 7th! You can either buy the juicer in one payment, or pay for it in small weekly installments. When you sign up for their juicing program, you get $140 worth of organic fruits and veg for your juicer delivered right to your door free! You can check it out here: SPUD.ca Juicing Program
*Please note that this series is sponsored by SPUD.ca, as they provided the juicer and the organic juicing produce in order to facilitate this series. But all content and opinions are completely my own (as usual!). 

Adventures in Juicing: Week 1

When you bring up the topic of juicing, my mind immediately turns to that old infomercial of the incredibly fit older man extolling it's virtues. He juices everything imaginable! So I suppose it has always had a sort of gimmicky and old-fashioned image to me. But recently I have seen many a pin on Pinterest, or heard of people who have embraced juice as a way of getting healthier, so it seems it's not just for the "as seen on TV" folks anymore. And when I look at my diet and lifestyle I can tell you 2 things with assurity: I don't get enough vegetables and fruits in my diet, and I can definitely stand to make healthier choices in my life. So, what do I know about juicing? I know that you put fruit or veggies in a machine and it makes juice. That is it. Oh, and I know you drink it. I don't even really know what fresh juice tastes like...isn't that sad? I have only really ever had purchased juice. Beyond freshly squeezed orange juice, I am completely in the dark. 
A few months ago I signed up with a local organic grocery delivery service, SPUD.ca. I was struggling with getting fresh produce in our diet without so much waste. My usual method of grocery shopping is plan for meals throughout the week by picking recipes that appeal to me and then buying the ingredients. Seems like a good plan, but I almost never take into consideration the ingredients I am using, so I usually end up with extra produce not being used in the other recipes. Which means I end up with a lot of waste. Or, I would only stick to the basics (carrots, potatoes, apples and sometimes bananas) and never venture out of the box. So when I heard about SPUD's produce boxes I was intrigued. They basically choose a fresh box of local (when possible) organic produce and deliver it to your door every week. Honestly I wish I would have started this earlier...it is the most convenient thing ever! Going to the grocery store is always an ordeal with a toddler, but since my belly is getting much, much bigger and I move at the pace of a slow waddle at best it's even more of a challenge. Now I only pop in to grab meat and staples (I still grab these from the grocery store for cost reasons...SPUD also has organic meats and grocery items you can get delivered as well. Which is going to come in VERY handy when the new baby arrives!). I have basically been spreading the word to all my mom friends about this service because I can't get over how great it is. Any time you can make something a little bit easier as a mom (not to mention healthier!) I am all over it! 

Our fancy new juicer! (pic taken on
our floor for lighting...and maybe
 so you don't see our messy counters.
Laziness at its finest!

When SPUD contacted me about their juicing program they just rolled out and asked if I was interested in trying it out, I was super eager. I have been a very happy customer of theirs, so I knew it was going to be great. It really can't be any easier: they deliver a juicer to your door (which you can buy outright, or pay for in small, weekly instalments), as well as a fresh box of juicing produce each week so you can have a glass of fresh juice each day. They have 6 different juicing boxes (detox, juicing for kids, etc) depending on what you like, or what your goals are. For someone who knows absolutely nothing, it is perfect. They have recipes online and they include a book on juicing basics with your juicer as well, so it has everything you need to get started.
Our new juicer arrived on Friday night and we immediately opened it up and gleefully made our first glass of juice. It is so much fun. I don't know why I find the act of throwing fruit in a machine and watching it get squashed and separated into juice and pulp so amusing, but it's not just me; Hubby thinks it's awesome too. The result was very tasty, and we are looking forward to experimenting with different fruits and veggies this week. One thing I can tell you I am a little wary of is the whole veggie thing. I like to eat vegetables. Not all of them, but some of them. And I like them prepared in different ways. But, the idea of drinking vegetable juice is a little off-putting for me. I suppose it's because I think that juice should be sweet. I have never had a V8 in my life. I don't like tomato juice. So I am very intrigued to see how it will taste! What I do love is the idea that I can get my daily intake of veggies and fruits much easier. I have a hard time trying to work a ton of veggies into my diet, but I have no problem drinking a ton of juice a day. 
If you are in the Calgary area and are interested in getting started with juicing, SPUD has an amazing promotion on right now, but only until the end of January. If you want to purchase a juicer through SPUD, they will give you 4 free weeks of juicing produce ($140 value!). Or, if you would rather sign up for their 6 month juicing program (weekly organic juicing boxes and you can pay for your juicer in weekly increments) you get a $140 SPUD credit. Pretty great deal! Check out all the details about juicing through SPUD here: Juicing Program This is the first in a series on juicing. Next week I will examine the basics of how to juice, and how we have fit it into our life.
*Please note that this series is sponsored by SPUD.ca, as they provided the juicer and the organic juicing produce in order to facilitate this series. But all content and opinions are completely my own (as usual!).