The Juice-capades! Day 3

The story of Day 3 actually begins with Day 2's final juice, which was not the best decision I've ever made. See, I had been wanting something a little more savory, something along the lines of V8 but without all the sodium. So I proceeded to juice up a bunch of veggies, including tomatoes, carrots, celery, cucumber, broccoli and spinach. (I couldn't remember all 8 of the vegetables in V8.)

And then, I had the brilliant idea to add in a whole clove of garlic. Because, if you know me, you know garlic kinda makes my world go 'round. Those garlic cloves are pretty tiny, so I sometimes forget they pack an insane punch. Anyway, with the first sip I was basically going like this:

That juice was to be my dinner, regardless of the fact it burned my throat like a fire ant assault. Oh yes, and need I remind you I'm primarily doing this whole juicing thing for my ACID REFLUX? Yeah. Needless to say, I spent the night with a gut ache. Thank heavens for Zantac.

Morning came and I was really ready for a NON-SPICY, calmer juice than that of the previous evening, so I made myself one with mostly cantaloupe and a little navel orange, strawberries and blueberries. It was really yummy! Tasted like a fancy tropical drink or something. What a refreshing way to start off the day! Melons are pretty safe for refluxers, too. I remade the V8 juice for lunch but left out the garlic. Much better.

For dinner, I tried the green juice from Day 1 again, this time only putting half a stalk of celery through the machine and adding an extra pear and half a lemon. It made it tolerable, but it's still gross. I choked it down and then promptly needed to lay on the couch so I didn't puke it back up. It was at that moment I had some serious out-loud thoughts about giving up on this whole juicing thing. Dill, who was doing the dishes, gave me a pep talk and encouraged me to go to the store for some more fruits and veggies (we both deemed the green juice a major fail). I also went to Hobby Lobby and bought a cute art deco-ish mirror for my bedroom. I'm feeling better already! Retail therapy, they call it.

More FAQ's:

What kind of juicer are you using? As I said before, the Breville Compact Juice Fountain is my new best friend. It's actually pretty affordable at 100 bones, considering what it can do. I haven't met a fruit or vegetable that doesn't turn to liquid almost instantly as soon as it goes through the chute. The pulp is very dry so I know it's doing a good job. Plus, the container that catches all the juice can hold up to 25 ounces which is about what you want in a serving -- I wouldn't get a bigger one unless you plan to make your juice-capades a family affair. Or you're King Kong.

Where are you getting your recipes? I'm using Joe Cross's site, RebootWithJoe.com for recipe inspiration, but I'm also making them up as I go. I've figured out that an apple makes every juice taste a million times better, but I also have to watch the sugar. I've also learned to steer clear of the garlic. And I still hate celery, but I can tolerate it in the savory V8 juice.

What benefits have you noticed from the juice reboot? So far, the most noticeable benefit is my skin is totally clear of any acne and it's perfectly balanced. Dill says I appear to be "glowing" (probably all the beta carotene from the carrots). I haven't had much bloating or gas, though I did get that tummy ache from the garlic juice. I wouldn't say I feel more or less energized yet, but I am sleeping better. As for my shoulder pains, they aren't keeping me up at night and they are significantly less during the day. Tells me all that flour and sugar I was eating before was causing the inflammation. Also, as you may have guessed, my digestive system is ... ahem, functioning quite well. And my pee is practically clear (though I do have to pee A LOT these days).

Ok, Day 4. You better move along more quickly than the previous days. I'm just sayin'. I would hate to throw in the towel early! (Encouragement would be helpful, readers!)