To Your Health

Drink Your Veggies!

Having trouble getting your daily allowance? Try juicing.

Juicing - “green” juicing in particular - has made it to the mainstream in recent years, thanks in no small part to the lifelong efforts of Morro Bay resident Jack Lalanne who educated us about its benefits.

Inspired by the many touching eulogies that came in the wake of his passing in January, we wanted to learn more about Lalanne’s life and work. He was passionate about juicing, so much so that he created his own line of juicers and was famous for saying, “If a man made it, don’t eat it.”

To honor Jack Lalanne and his incredible 96 years of life, we decided to give juicing a try.

Since we were new to this, we wanted to find a tasty recipe that would allow us to ease into the world of green juice, which we will define as “juice derived from veggies, mostly green ones.”

Our search led us a to a wonderful book written by Kris Carr called Crazy Sexy Diet. Her diet is not an “I-need-to-lose-10-poundsbefore-summer” diet, but a prescription for lifelong healthy eating. It was created as a result of Carr’s struggle with inoperable, incurable cancer. One of the cornerstones of her diet transformation is incorporating green juice; she recommends consuming two servings per day. (See “Make Juice, Not War Green Juice” recipe below.)

Making this recipe doesn’t come cheap and, unless you’re growing them in your garden, purchasing the organically grown produce will set you back about $5 per serving. It also takes quite a bit of time and effort: about 20 minutes (for two servings) to wash, prep, juice, and clean up the green mess.

What started out as a one-time thing to toast to the life and legacy of Jack Lalanne has evolved into an every day ritual. We thought we might have to hold our noses as we choked down this unusual concoction, but it has been quite to the contrary. The green juice has a mildly sweet, earthy flavor (especially when sunflower sprouts are added), which varies a little with each serving – no two glasses taste exactly the same.

It’s been a little more than two months now since we first started with the green juicing and we’ve decided that we’ll stick with it. Aside from losing a little bit of weight, and generally feeling more vibrant and energetic, we did notice a couple of surprising “side effects.”

After about two weeks of juicing, we were surprised to develop a much stronger sense of smell and taste. It also seems that even after a rigorous workout, locker room body odor isn’t quite as strong. And to top it off clear, bright, glowing skin rules the day. I know, I know… call us crazy, but further research leads us to believe that this may be a result of a natural detoxification process.

Whatever the case, Lalanne was right about the many benefits of juicing and his legacy lives on. To that, we raise our glasses of freshly made green juice and say: “Here’s looking at you, Jack.”

SLO LIFE

recommended reading:

“Make Juice, Not War Green Juice” (makes two servings, about 32 ounces)

2 large cucumbers (peeled if not organic) 4–5 stalks kale 4-5 romaine leaves 4 stalks celery 1-2 big broccoli stems 1-2 pears 1” piece (or less) gingerroot

Juice all ingredients. Other optional greens: parsley, spinach, and dandelion. Add sweat pea or sunflower sprouts when available.