So I got a Juicer for Christmas: Experiment # 1

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So I got a juicer for Christmas. It was hands down one of my favorite gifts, as I’ve been on a healthy, organic kick lately and really wanted to start experimenting with juicing. Oh, and it wasn’t just any juicer. It was indeed the Hamilton Beach Big Mouth Pro Juice Extractor, in other words my equivalent of Ralphie’s Red Ryder BB-gun in a Christmas story.

My parents also gave me the book “The Big Book of Juicing: More Than 400 Natural Blends for Health and Vitality Every Day,” which I haven’t been able to stop reading. The recipes are amazing, and the book is filled with beautiful pictures of the juices and smoothies you can make.

It also includes a fabulous index, nutrient chart, and entire section for treating different common ailments. For instance, did you know fruit and vegetables juices with bananas, berries, carrots, pears, molasses, and yogurt can help treat fatigue? Or that berries, broccoli, citrus fruits, kale, kiwi, watercress, and wheatgerm can aid memory problems?

Anyway, The Boy and I decided to start with a basic juice: The “Apple Basic” with simply carrots and apple.

Once we passed the test, we then created a fabulous mix of our own which I’m going to dub “Afternoon Pick Me Up”

Here’s What’s in the Mix (makes about two small servings of juice or one meal equivalent)

• 4 organic carrots
• 1 to 2 leaves fresh, organic collard greens
• 1 large organic apple
• 1/2 cucumber
• pinch of ginger and cayenne pepper for an extra kick, optional

Delishhhhhhh.

Do you have a juicer? What’s your favorite veggie/fruit combo?