141 Cold War

Backstory: After the Apple Cleanser my throat started to hurt. I assumed it was of those wonderful detox properties inherent to cleanses. In addition to having a few friends who do various other detoxes, I've done the Master Cleanse for a few days in the past and have read up a lot on juice fasts: one common occurrence is for people to experience headaches and a general sense of pseudo-illness as the toxins are being released from the body. The sore throat, I thought nothing of it. The next day it was still around and this morning I woke up sounding not my best with what felt suspiciously like dripping sinuses.
I had thought of doing a fun juice with all my ingredients possibly something with the pineapple (though two of my oranges were eaten already along with who knows what else). Instead I look to the index to see what's good for a cold. I end up on Cold War as I have the ingredients and it sounds pretty good.

Initial Thoughts Before Tasting: I love oranges, I love carrot juice and I often eat garlic when I'm sick and have learned to enjoy it. Usually sliced up cloves on a bread slathered with butter: it's one of those things I love to hate but I really love it in this masochistic way.

Ingredients:
4 carrots
1 orange (I peeled it and juiced it with the pith instead of the squeezing method)
1/2 inch (1 cm) ginger root
2 cloves garlic

Thoughts After Tasting: O_o
The smell of the ginger and garlic was a bit overwhelming at first. It's taking me a bit of time to get through one glass and I still have another waiting for me. It seems to taste better as time goes on; that or my taste buds are not taking note of them anymore and the orange is coming through a bit. Not very frothy which is nice. I think I'll stick to making this juice when I'm sick.

Natalie Writes:

"If your chest is feeling congested, you could add half an onion."

I didn't. I'm glad I made that choice. Perhaps in the future I might do that. Thankfully my chest isn't really congested and I fear the onion would have been a bit too much for a first go with this.

Cleaning: Nothing really to note. The filter seemed a bit more clogged (possibly the ginger or garlic?) though the rest was especially easy to clean and there was not much leftover pulp.

Star Rating: 3/5

Notes: Pulp/Froth settles on the bottom very THICK toward the bottom of the glass.

012 Apple Cleanser

Backstory: After a trip to the grocery store and picking up ingredients for a few juices that looked interesting, I was left with the choice of what I wanted to actually make. I realized the most of the juices I now had ingredients for were rather challenging. The few things I wasn't able to pick up (guava and papaya being out of season) meant that I had the kale and beets to work with.

Initial Thoughts Before Tasting: I hope I can manage to down everything :/

Ingredients:
2 apples
2 kale leaves
1 stick celery
1/3 long cucumber
1/2 beet (beetroot)

Thoughts After Tasting: WOW. There is a hint of something that I can't place, possibly the kale or the cucumber or even the celery but there was something enticing about the juice. Once it settled a little for a moment I thought I was drinking blueberries mixed in until I remembered what I had put in there.

Natalie Writes:

"The fruitiness of the apples offsets the more challenging taste of the greens ..."

Perhaps it was the "challenging" taste that I really enjoyed as I couldn't really taste the apples very much.

Cleaning: While making the juice it was bright (think nuclear) green with a layer of red after the beets and more green when I finished up the kale and celery. I was expecting the cleaning would be bad. (Note: the juice turned a dark burgundy once I mixed it up and the amazing green disappeared.)
● There wasn't much pulp left over though skin from the cucumber and some other bits (such as that celery again) seemed to be almost whole. Overall a pretty good yield of juice ratio to pulp.
● Quick wash for the main parts but the blade/sieve required a bit more care. I think it was some celery that got a bit too attached. Also some green fuzz was resistant (probably celery again) around the corners where the sieve meets the plastic.

Star Rating: 4/5

131 Capple Basic

Backstory: I was going to make this and try it side by side with 132 - Orange Carrot but the orange in the kitchen went bad on the inside so it was just a double batch of Capple Basic instead.

Initial Thoughts Before Tasting: Probably won't taste all that different seeing as my parents used to toss in an apple or two when they made carrot juice.

Ingredients:
4 carrots
1 apple

Thoughts After Tasting: The apple tones down the carrot quite nicely and adds a bit of interest to a basic carrot juice. Supposedly really good for energy and I found that I wasn't very hungry after as an added bonus. Tastes inverse to the 002 Apple Basic which I prefered but like this version for the positive effects of carrot on skin. Though I wonder how the star system was created because 129 What's Up Doc? doesn't differ by much (minus 1 carrot and plus one apple) and yet 129 is given 5 stars for skin while this juice, 131 is given 3. The only conclusion I can come up with is that the stars needed to be scaled down to compensate for the increased energy of 5 stars for the Capple Basic.

Natalie Writes:

"... good, basic standby for any morning."

I guess I agree. I'm kind of neutral on this one.

Cleaning: Again, quite a few apple skins and pieces got trapped in the top so the space used for collecting the de-juiced ingredients wasn't used effectively. Standard to clean.

Star Rating: 4/5

026 Parsnapple

Backstory: I didn't make it into the grocery store to pick up ingredients for some juices that sparked my interest so at home, after pulling out some more carrots and apples to make the Apple Basic again I noticed there was some liquid spilled in my fridge. I had to take everything out of the crisper in order to wash and wipe it down and this led me to an inventory of the veggies that were in there. I was actually enthralled to see 2 large bags of carrots my parents must have bought recently after seeing my invigorated approach to juicing; a variety of standard things like garlic and lemons was also in there along with a bag of parsnips. I figured with this bounty I wasn't going to settle for some basic carrot juice, oh no! Yet after checking the handy indexes in the back by ingredient I found that most of the juices (that looked appealing; note - not the parsnip) required some other third or fourth ingredient I didn't have.
After getting it into my mind that I wanted to try something different I couldn't deny what was in front of me:
a bag of wet parsnips that I would have to find another bag for anyway
and
it couldn't really be that bad, right?

Initial Thoughts Before Tasting: Parsnips! EEK. Knowing me, this is going to be my knack of picking the worst tasting thing in The Book. actually can't recall eating a parsnip aside from them being one of those veggies I avoid in soup.

Ingredients:
3 apples
2 parsnips
sprinkling of grated nutmeg

Thoughts After Tasting: Expecting the worst, I was unimaginably satisfied. Toned the apples down, which I usually find tart on their own. I could see this becoming a regular juice especially as a refreshing drink in the summer. Kind of reminds me of a piña colada with the froth and colouring.
Though it left a parsnip-y aftertaste that I didn't notice for a while. Not enough to discourage me from drinking this one again.

Natalie Writes:

"I certainly turned my nose up when I first heard of the concept of juicing a parsnip, but actually, it's deliciously sweet."

Check and check.

"Blend it with a sharp apple variety."

I took what was in the fruit basket, not my favourite apple to eat: 3 of those red and green ones that are white and tart (with missing labels.)

"You can leave out the nutmeg if you don't feel like shaking it all up, otherwise it'll just sit on top."

I didn't want to bother with the nutmeg. Figured I'd taste my first parsnip related juice as it comes out of the juicer.

Cleaning: It was surprisingly easy to clean/wash the juicer. Much easier than carrot. I didn't expect that at all.

Star Rating: 3/5

Notes: I left a glass of it in the fridge to let one of my parents taste it but I decided to take my vitamins with it later. It was a bit too ... thick after. Perhaps it would have been better had I allowed it to attain room temperature. The only thought I really had was that didn't want to drink a cold juice again. If possible, fresh only.

002 Apple Basic

Backstory: In an attempt to delve into The Book I decided to take a baby step seeing as I had access to both carrots and a lot of apples in the house. I thought about making just apple juice but wanted the benefit of the carrots.
One of

Initial Thoughts Before Tasting: I don't mind carrot juice anymore. I know it's slightly sweeter with apples so this increased ration of apples to carrots (than I'm used to) shouldn't be too bad.

Ingredients:
3 apples
2 carrots

Thoughts After Tasting: Quite good. I like the variation.

Natalie Writes:

"This delicious but simple combination is a good way to introduce carrot to your juice repertoire if you're not used to vegetable juices."

Couldn't agree more.

Cleaning: The Apple didn't juice as nicely as the carrot normally does. I left the skin on but cored the apples. During juicing I opened the juicer a few times to take out larger pieces of apple to put them through again.

Star Rating: 4/5

129 What's Up Doc?

Backstory: The good ol' juice that started it all off.

Initial Thoughts Before Tasting: I hope this stuff really does start to clear up my skin and give me that energy it's supposed to. I never paid attention to that before so I'm keeping my eye out for that.

Ingredients:
5 carrots

Thoughts After Tasting: Yum!

Natalie Writes:

"The original basic vegetable juice ... probably the most popular and palatable of all the solo vegetable juices."

Well, I know it tastes good, but what frightens me is the "most palatable" part. I'm a bit worried of all the other vegetables that will have to be juiced soon ...

Cleaning: As per usual, carrots leave behind a lot of de-juiced remains. Strangely enough, it reminds me of a dry sponge.

Star Rating: 4/5

The Book by Natalie

The Big Book of Juices and Smoothies: 365 Natural Blends for Health and Vitality Every Dayby Natalie Savona

Backstory: I purchased this book on juicing perhaps around the time it came out in 2003. I can't recall what sparked my interest in it though I think that might have coincided with the once-every-few-years carrot juice my parents would make. It could certainly be that I was inspired to make that carrot juice more bearable after I found the secret within this book that indeed other ingredients could be added!
Perhaps to give some backstory in explanation: it tends to take me a while to really absorb information or to stick to a hobby/project for a prolonged period of time (though I always seem to return to things at the strangest times!)

After a renovation of my room I rediscovered a variety of books that were behind other books on my crammed bookshelves and this gem was among them. Then after sitting around for another year or two (always with the intention to really try all 365 juices) came two events I think that sparked my drive to do this:

● time again for another glass of once-every-few-years carrot juice
and
●watching the film Julie & Julia (wherein Julie attempts to do all the recipies in one of Julia Child's book within 365 days)

Though I hardly begin with the thought of being on a journey anything like that, I must say the movie did revive in me that spark of competition almost. To actually make and try all those wonderful edibles and by challenging oneself to do so in a specific time period certainly appealed to me. Perhaps blogging about it would help motivate me! So here I start on this project to really see if this juicing business is all it's cracked up to be.

The Book : Aside from all the wonderful recopies in a handy spiral book, Natalie includes various tips on juicing and making smoothies that don't overwhelm the book. She mentions what types of fruits and vegetables are good to use and their properties. Alongside each recipe she includes what nutrients your body benefits from and there is a 5 star system for 5 categories: Energy, Detox, Immunity, Digestion, and Skin. This is particularly useful and is referenced by an index that points you to different juices/smoothies based on ailments. Useful as well is the index by ingredient to help you see at a glance what options you have for a specific drink. For instance, I was quite surprised to see the variety under beet and kale!

Introduction to Natural Blends

Welcome to my journey through juicing!

As a kid, my parents juiced every so often and as their kid, I had to drink their concoctions. Usually consisting of carrots, with perhaps an apple tossed in if I was lucky, these home juices were something I tried to avoid. The tart taste, the frothy foam at the top: even now my inner child shudders a bit when I think back to those times.
Though envisioned as a treat by my parents, from my perspective is was as if they were trying to administer some medicine that didn't taste that great. I've often heard stories by friends, and yes even from my parents, about how their parents made them consume or imbibe something "for their health" and they were just not convinced. Be it liver or cod liver oil, "back in the day" it always tasted terrible and brings back memories of trying to keep something down and not always being successful.

So how does this now bring me to a juicing blog? Where did I take such a turn so as to start getting somewhat intrigued by the world of juicing?

● Perhaps it was the once-every-few-years carrot juice my mom recently made and thoughtfully skimmed off the top froth
● Perhaps I'm just at a place in my life where I have been moving forward and my positive energy has flowed into this aspect of my life
● Perhaps I am finally wise enough to desire the benefits of fresh natural juice, more than lazy
● Perhaps it was after reading various health books and having it finally sink in

All I know is that one glass of carrot juice somehow changed something. I was resigned to having to drink it and with the absence of such resistance I opened myself to something that I discovered I actually enjoy.

Although finding an answer to this might inspire some poor soul out there who still relates to my pre-juicing self, I think what's important to me is to just keep taking one step after another to see where this juicing journey might take me.