Juicing for Better Health

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What is your favorite breakfast?  I don't think I have a favorite, but in the past, if it contained eggs and cheese or biscuits and gravy, it was considered my favorite breakfast.  We also used to live on cereal.  You know the kind, the one with the box that says it contains whole grain and fruit.  Most of the time it was even labeled organic. 

As a keeper of the home, I feel a strong sense of duty to be healthy and to feed my family in the most healthy manner that I know, so we are changing the way we eat (drink) breakfast and we have never felt better.  

Let me explain.  In our search for healthy food and learning the technical art of reading labels, we kept coming back to the fact that God gave us everything we need through plants.  Now don't go thinking we are vegetarians, my husband would dry up and blow away if he didn't have his red meat, but we are learning how much healthier we can be if we eat more raw foods.  There is something extremely satisfying about living simpler with every aspect of our life including what we eat.  

So, we invested in a juicer.  At first we were thrilled with it and we were extremely surprised at how delicious fresh juice is compared to anything you can buy at the store.  We soon got really spoiled with that small fact, but didn't fully understand how we could pack a real punch of nutrients into our day.  After the first few months, the newness wore off and our juicer sat all alone on the counter, gathering dust.

Then, a family at our church began telling us about a documentary called 'Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead', it sounded pretty interesting.  We enjoy learning about healthy foods and have watched several interesting documentaries so we took their advice and watched it.  It really changed how we looked at food in so many ways.  One of the things we have discovered is the value of micro-nutrients and the affects they have on how healthy we feel.  It is amazing how many fruits and vegetables go into one glass of power packed nutrients!  If you've watched the movie, than you are familiar with the 'Mean Green' that I also juice for lunch most of the time.  I'll do a separate post on that one.

All of this to explain a bit of how we went from biscuits and gravy to a simple glass of juice for breakfast! 

We try to use as much organic fruit as possible, but I have to admit that it is not always possible depending on where I get it from.  The little grocery stores out where we live aren't big about carrying it. We have to run into the nearest city to stock up on it.  

For the three of us, I usually use about three apples, four oranges and four carrots.  Its fun to put them through the juicer and watch the beautiful colors of the juice as it comes out.

And there is the finished juice.  

Here is where I add my own extra nutrients to it because I like to have a little of the Greek Yogurt in our diets and we truly believe in the health benefits of bee pollen.

I'll put about two Table spoons (not measuring tablespoons, use a big spoon) of Greek Yogurt in the bottom of the blender, sprinkle about a teaspoon of bee pollen in and add a ripe banana for extra sweetness.

Pour in half of the juice for a blender full then repeat with the yogurt, bee pollen and banana for the second half of the juice.  It is very filling and extremely healthy, not to mention that the only label I had to read was the one on the yogurt container!  My next learning project will be how to make my own yogurt, so if you have any recipes for that, please leave me a comment!  

Oh!  AND if you have any juice or smoothie recipes that your family loves, please share them by leaving a comment!

You can find me linked up at:  Homestead Revival, Nourishing Treasures, Growing Home, Far Above Rubies, Skip to my Lou, Penniless Parenting, Titus 2sdays, Raising Homemakers, Frugally Sustainable, Women Living Well, Raising Mighty Arrows, Deep Roots at Home, Fingerprints on the Fridge, Farm Friend Friday, Life as Mom, Farmgirl Friday