"Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead"

It sneaks up on all of us. You wake up in the morning and you have these aches and pains that you can't remember where they came from. Maybe you went in for a check up just to see how things are doing and your doctor drops a few subtle hints about maybe indulging on fast food a lot less than you would like to admit. For my wife and I, it was simple. Make the changes in order to set an example for our daughter and in turn having a better quality of life, but just as important, quantity of life.

Now unlike the documentary, we won't be going on a juice fast. For now, one 16 ounce glass of raw juice should be a great start to bumping up our vegetable intake. Coupled with a reduced intake of meat a whole lot fewer trips eating out and we should be on our way to better health. Sort of like a tune up for the daily driver that we so often under appreciate and at times....abuse. 

So off to Amazon and saw this well reviewed juicer which was actually the brand used on the documentary. 

Breville BJE200XL Compact Juice Fountain

This one is $99 plus tax with free shipping and it was at the doorstep in 2 days. Not too shabby. There are some that are cheaper and plenty that are much more expensive, but after skimming through the reviews, the keywords that kept coming up were quiet and durable. It was good enough for us. A friend had bought the Black and Decker version for well under $100 and it was about half the size of this and it sounded like an industrial wood chipper while juicing a carrot. Again, different strokes for different folks...

The first of hopefully many juices to come! The apple was there to try to balance out the kale, but we realized the carrots added enough sweetness to the concoction and so we left it out in our subsequent juices. On that note, our daughter has enjoyed the apple juice. We will be sneaking in some carrot juice in there so hopefully she doesn't end up "accidentally"  spilling the juice.... in the toilet. Stay tuned for that. In any case, we will be sticking to juicing vegetables from now on because from the articles we've read, the sugar and the calories along with that from fruits really do start to pile up and so it starts to become counterproductive in that regard. 

True to the tune of most of the reviews on this product, it was strong, fast and quiet. Job well done. 

I gotta say, looking at this glass of juice filled with vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients makes me want to honestly go out and grab a nice juicy burger. We will have to save that for a cheat day. I'd like to say after finishing this tall glass of goodness that my wife and I felt like 2 million bucks. Sing the praises of our bodies feeling more alive than it has in a long time. Not quite, but it did feel great to put great things in our bodies. The prospect of regularly replacing bad meals with raw juice and more vegetables is an exciting one because even if the results aren't as quick and drastic as those people in the documentary, they will come. 

There hasn't been much research done on the benefits of juicing, but if common sense prevails, it could only help, right? Treat it as a supplement to your regular diet. It really is a difficult prospect to eat in a day our recommended daily intake of vegetables. Juicing will help get you the vitamins and minerals you need, but realize that the fiber, which is very important for our diets are practically eliminated during the juicing process. Eating whole vegetables and fruits is still just as important, so try not to completely neglect them in your diet. 

On a side note. If you do get in to juicing, it might be an opportune time to start a compost bin. All that processed pulp will turn out some quick compost and in turn, maybe have yourself an organic garden of vegetables that will eventually find its way through your juicer... and so a cycle begins. Just a thought. Until the next time!

Health is Wealth.