Before I get started on the Day 2 Recap of my juice fast – Let’s talk juicers.

We have a Breville Juicer ($299) that looks like this (12/2011 Update – gave this juicer to my parents):

We have had this for approximately one year with absolutely no issues. The machine works perfectly – This is a centrifuge juicer – it spins vegetables until they separate into juice and pulp. I don’t want to hurt my juicers feelings – because it provides so much green love to me and my husband, however, I have noticed vegetable pulp in the waste bin is a tiny bit wet after juicing – you can solve this issue by using a cheese cloth or nut milk bag and squeezing the excess juice from the pulp. Other than that – This juicer has been perfect for us. It’s easy to clean and is mostly stainless steel and can be put occasionally in the dishwasher on the top shelf. I mostly hand wash it because I use it so often. We want to upgrade soon – but juicers are crazy expensive. I plan to give it to my parents when we do (shhh – don’t tell them)…

Other than the Breville – There are some other very good options.

Hurom Juicer ($358) (This is a link to buy it on Amazon)

This juicer grinds the vegetables against a filter vs. spinning them fast – it’s quiet, easy to clean and is a slow juicer, preserving nutrients and enzymes much longer than centrifuge juicers. This juicer takes a little longer to juice than the breville, but is just as easy to clean. The pulp comes out almost completely dry and will save you money down the road in produce cost making this juicer worth every penny of the investment.

Please note – Breville recently came out with its own version of this slow juicing design (I have not tried it yet) – you can check it out here - Breville ($399)

 

Jack LaLanne Juicer ($79) (This is a link to buy it on Amazon)

This juicer is very popular with folks that want to get started juicing but shy of the investment. It is a centrifuge juicer just like the breville mentioned above. The downside, is that the white plastic can stain and can be harder to clean.

Green Star Juicer ($482) (This is a link to buy it on Amazon)

I have read a lot about this juicer and asked around for advice – It’s my buddy Max’s favorite from Living Maxwell. It’s a masticating juicer (like the Hurom) which basically means it squeezes the juice from the pulp instead of spinning it like the centrifuge juicer. Masticating juicers have been proven to give out more quality juice and said to have less potential for oxidation during juicing because there is no air flow. The only draw back – This is even more expensive – ranging from $450 – $600 dollars depending on which model you get.

The next option, which I have dreams about at night, and is on my Christmas list this year is the Norwalk Juicer (12/2011 update – my husband got it for me, I was scared of it for a couple of months (because it is loud!) – but now it is in regular use!). This thing is a seriously powerful machine which presses so much juice out of your vegetables it turns your pulp into almost pure powder. AMAZING – you get ALL the juice from your vegetables – nothing is wasted. Also you can store the juice made from these machines for up to 72 hours depending on what kind of vegetables or fruits you are juicing. Again, AMAZING. This is incredible considering, juicing is at least a 20 min time commitment each day you can eliminate. If we ever get one of these machines – I plan to throw a huge juicing party and make juice for all my friends and family.

If you don’t have a juicer, get a juicer now and join the JUICE REVOLUTION!  Start spreading the green love to your friends and family.  They will thank you – I promise!

Ok on to Day 2 of the Juice Feast!

8am – Slept a full 10 hours. Much needed rest accomplished.  After walking I turned on the hot water and enjoyed a huge cup of lemon water with cayenne.

And then on to some delicious green tea -

As I was enjoying my green tea – I prepped the juicer by using a plastic vegetable bag in the waste bin – This saves big time on clean up!  I learned this from watching “Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead” – Have you seen it?  It’s a hilarious movie about a guy from Australia that drinks nothing but juice for 60 days!  It’s available on Netflix instantly – watch it tonight!

After enjoying a half portion of my Ravishing Red Juice – I headed to Yoga One for some Hot Yoga with Daniel. I handled the heat and flow amazingly well.  Daniel is a seriously gifted teacher – I love how he fills the room with his words about each pose and how to go deeper. With Daniel’s skilled techniques, class goes by in a FLASH!

After Yoga One – I finished the rest of my Ravishing Red Juice and headed home. I dry brushed my body and took a nice warm shower and got into comfy clothes.  Shortly after I made more juice from these veggies – I call this juice the Cabbage Patch Kid. (Recipe coming soon)

I drank half of my portion outside on the patio with my husband soaking up some rays!

Then I got a little sleepy – so I took about an hour and half long nap. I woke up with a screaming headache!  I immediately texted my pal Rian – a raw vegan chef who leads juice cleanses about what I should do.  I had a feeling all that sweating in yoga earlier wasn’t so good from my electrolyte count.  He OKed some coconut water, celery and apple juice. I was pretty desperate so I immediately went to this coconut water.

The coconut water I had WAS.SO.GOOD.  I felt like I was cheating.  But nonetheless – it was still pure “juice” and I knew my sweat session was the cause of my pain – because my husband who doesn’t do hot yoga felt just dandy!

At about 4:30pm – I had the rest of my Cabbage Patch Juice for a snack with my husband on the couch.

I still had a slight headache about 5:30pm , however, it cleared right up with a little bit of fresh air and circulation, when we went on a walk through Uptown Charlotte. Before the walk I had some a few tablespoons of fresh cranberry juice in water for a little energy boost.

Our walk was kinda hilarious – because we kept passing bars like this one – and could smell what was coming out of those friers in the back.  Nachos and beer came to our minds many times during our walk.  Normally – I would never have nachos or beer given the choice – so weird. We were both definitely craving salt!

We had entertainment on every corner – like this strange old man playing an instrument I have never heard or seen.

Back at the ranch – After about a 40 min walk, I made some Kickin’ Kale Juice. I enjoyed a huge glass of it – this time not watered down.

Which brings me to an interesting question posed by a Food Babe Fan – Claire.  She asked two questions:

To further explain – I decided to dilute some of our juices during the juice fast to allow us to have more juice to sip longer during the day. Since we aren’t eating anything for 72 hours – This has been nice because sipping the juice is keeping our mouths busy and consistently providing nutrition to our bodies. Also – when I save fresh juice to drink later – I always make sure I fill the air tight jar to the top with juice – if I am ever short, I fill it up with water and then close the container. This eliminates the effects of oxidation when storing the juice. When I juice on a normal basis – I never dilute.

Thank you Claire for submitting your question!  I love interacting with my followers on my Facebook Fan Page – Stop by if you haven’t already and say hi my wall!   I love answering questions and hearing your comments!

Late at night – I enjoyed a huge cup of Rishi Turmeric Ginger Tea. Yes I am kissing my mug. Drinking tea has been my absolute savior in keeping the late night chills down to a minimum!

Overall Day 2 was cake! (I wish it tasted like cake – hahahaha)… The only hiccup was the 2 hour long headache in the afternoon… For this reason, I wouldn’t recommend Hot Yoga during a fast. The only other foreign side effect my husband and I both have had is a slight film in my mouth and teeth.  And this is a completely normal side effect of detoxing!

BTW – here’s a little preview for Day 3 – WE ARE AS HIGH AS A KITE right now.

Hope are enjoying the juicing ride!

XOXO,

Food Babe