Barbie's Juice Party with RJ

Since we took our juicer for a test run, we have had lots of discussion.  The WHOLE bunch of kale was too much.  It made us have nasty burps and well...  Let's just say RJ almost got kicked out of bed.  Shoo!  We all felt full and had energy all afternoon, but just felt like there is a way to make the juice taste and digest better.  RJ has told me serveral times that he thinks he is more of a fruit drinker.  This man doesn't eat fruit.  Then again, he doesn't eat kale or tomatoes either.  So, I started reading recipes to figure out how I was going to get him to drink the veggies as well as the fruit. 

I decided I was going to have to make 2 juices, mine and his. 

His:
1/2 C Spinach
3/4 Medium Grapefruit
2 Carrots
7 Strawberries
7 Blackberries
Paused for taste test:
Well, it was very tart from the grapefruit.  I shouldn't have used so much.  I will adjust that next time.  Plus, this made a huge amount of juice, enough for both of us.  I had to make this sweeter for him.
Added:
3 Yellow Apples

After tasting it again, I decided it was pretty good and poured his serving over ice.  He tasted it, really liked it and drank the whole cup!

Hers: (Not what I had planned, but considering all of the juice left from his, I had to adjust)
I took 8oz of His and added
2 Celery Stalks w/ Leaves
1/2 Cup Spinach
1 Carrot
7 Blackberries
7 Strawberries
1 Apple

Again, I had a massive amount of juice.

 

   

It was delicious too!  I drank a full glass and was so full.  I stored the rest in a glass for LML's snack.  We will let her be the final taste test judge.

This is the juice in front compared to the pulp on the left.  This thing extracts all the moisture!

 

 

This particular juicer works great and is very quite.  It does take a bit of clean-up though.  I think it takes about 10 minutes to break it all down, get the extra pulp out and clean all the pieces.  It is worth it though.

 

We officially start the juice fast tomorrow.  So, I gotta go...there's a donut in the kitchen calling my name. 

 

Enjoy the Juice!

LYMI!



 

 



 



Reality Barbie is on the Juice

Watch the movie "Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead" and you'll be on a Juice too.  We watched, we researched juicers, we ordered ours, made a trip to the grocery store and here we are, planning our 7 day juice fast...

But wait, shouldn't we take this thing for a test spin to make sure...well, you know...that we can stand to drink it.  Better yet, that we know how to use this contraption.  Why, yes, we should.

Read the directions first...skipped this step.

Use a recipe...skipped this step too.

We learned a lot from just one juicing.

Bella Juicer Pro

 

In my excitement, I grabbed what I thought we needed for the juice.  KP and I assembled the juicer, turned that sucker on and became juice pros (not so much).  We decided we should juice for all three of us at once.  When doing so, you must make sure you have sufficient tools to catch all of that juice.   We learn quick.

 

Pulp

 

 

We have heard that Kale is a great base for a really healthy juice, so I put in a bunch of it...a WHOLE bunch.  I thought it was a small bunch at the grocery store.  I almost bought two just in case.  Then we added 4 tomatoes.  We stopped briefly to unstop the pulp output.  Then we continued with apples, juicing a little bit on the counter because we had moved our juice catcher...ok, it was a lot.  Next was the oranges.  We poured all of this into a huge bowl as we went because the juice  catcher wasn't big enough for all of the stuff we put through it.  Then we stirred it up, added a small amount of kosher salt and divided it into three  cups.

 

Ok, I'm gonna be honest.  It wasn't delicious.  But it wasn't terrible either.  Having read some of the recipes on www.juicingwithjoe.com, I realize that I went just a smidge overboard with the kale.  That small bunch we bought is now looking like a lot of kale. 

 

Big Green Bowl

 

My empty cup...forgot to take a pic of the juice

 

RJ "enjoying" his juice

 

KP and RJ both drank all of theirs and said it tasted like a salad turned into juice.  I guess that's not too bad.  I think he may have added a few grays to that beard just trying it.  I was proud of him.

 

This is the list of items the newbies used for the first juice...we will be more efficient from now on:

 

Kale

4 Tomatoes

2 Oranges

4 Apples

Sea Salt

Water

2 Qt jars

Colander

Big Green Bowl

Funnel

Scraper

3 Cups

Juicer and all of it's parts

 

Whew!

 

So, there is a learning curve to juicing.  I think we made most of our mistakes in the first try.  Despite that, we have decided we are starting a 7 day juice fast tomorrow.  I am looking forward to it.  I hope we do so well on it that we continue well past the 7 days.

 

Here's to the Juice!

 

LYMI!

 

 

 

Just One More Bite...

That's a cute kitchen, right? I didn't play with Barbies as a child, but I am sure many children have had a great time playing with Barbie and her plastic, tasteless sticker food. I, on the other hand, have a blast with REAL food. I am quite comfortable in the kitchen. I am confident that my abilities in the kitchen have added more reality to this Barbie. What? I ain't ashamed! Check it out...you won't be either.

 

 

Salmon (no silent "L") Hush puppies I cooked last night.  Yummy!

 

The finished meal... Salmon Hush puppies, Sauteed Spinach and Smashed Butternut Squash.

 

 

Homemade Biscuits just like Momma used to make!

 

Buttered and topped with Homemade ORGANIC Apple Butter.

 

 

Beef Stew I made from left over Rump Roast, Rice, Gravy, Stock and a bunch of veggies.  Best I ever made too.

 

One of my healthier meals...Fried Basmati Rice w/ Organic Eggs, Spinach and Stewed Cabbage.

 

I can see this is going to take more than one blog...

 

One of my family's favorites!  Meatloaf (without any gross chunks or whole boiled eggs...that is nasty) atop buttery smashed taters and stewed cabbage.  Mmmm Mmmm Good!

 

Fried Pork Chops with Creamed Spinach and Lima Beans.  All southern cooks must know how to cook some variation of this meal before saying the can cook!

 

Other Southern Staples:

Potato Salad

Potato Candy

Coconut Pies

Spaghetti...yes, southern women know how to throw down some spaghetti.

 

 

I love to cook healthy meals too.  In fact, the healthier, the better.  Cooking with all Organic ingredients is fun and makes me feel like I have done well for myself and my family when I serve it up.  I haven't had any of these healthy meals thrown back at me, so I'm thinking the family has enjoyed them...or they endured them,which I can't believe.  They are quite vocal about what they like and what they don't.  If you sat through one meal, home cooked or at a restaurant, you would think I have a family of food critics taking notes for their next column in the newspaper.  It does challenge me!

 

Here's to the healthy stuffs...Three variations of the Stir Fry Vegies I make.  I start with coconut oil, onions, garlic, grape tomatoes and basmati rice.  From there, I use a plethora of veggies...whatever I have a hankering to cook, or what is in the fridge.  I use it all.  It always turns out balish...I use sea salt, black pepper and vary my spices.

 

Did I mention that I often eat this for breakfast as well.  I crave it and could eat it for all three meals.

 

That is all for now...I will post more food pics later as this blog has gotten quite long.  I do have recipes for all of these dishes...and I don't mind sharing.

 

BTW, did I mention that these:

Were fried in COCONUT OIL!  SOOOO good for you.  If you don't know about it's benefits yet, please google it.  You will love it!

 

 

 

BARBIE, EAT YOUR HEART OUT...NONE OF MY FOOD IS PLASTIC, FAKE OR STICKERS.  :-)

 

 God bless you with fantastic meals on the table and awesome, sexy cooks in the kitchen.  Don't forget to tell RJ just how blessed he is!!!!

 

LYMI!  K, Bye...