Carrot Juice

Sometimes it is hard getting variety.  Even as an adult it becomes hard to eat your veggies.  When I was a vegetarian (mostly because shamed to say "meat" always made me have terrible poos when in reality it was the additives and processing not the actual thing -- anyhow...) I managed to not eat a lot of fresh or raw vegetables.  Doughnut vegetarians, I was one.  I do and did have a love affair with raw fruit and veggies.  NOTHING makes me happier than pear slices over a bed of arugula sprinkled lightly with sea salt, and still I'll contently eat rice and pasta and bread the week away until I start to look like pasta.

So I got a juicer some time ago.  I did all my research and found some amazing ones.  They all had amazing price tags.  I got the Waring Pro for 49 dollars ... instead. The reviews were very high and the price was not. Now I cannot sing its praises as the reviewers do.  It leaks a little from the spout after the juicing is done, it gets full of the debris quickly and the remains of veggies and fruits are still wet to the touch - that is precious juice I could be drinking!  So what this means is the leftovers are soft and flavorful enough to be fed to voracious little chickens (NOT SOLELY.  But as a supplemental treat). Where the more expensive models, the one in particular I did not get because it is 350 dollars leaves the remains dry and sapped. Which is good for you, and the debris is good for compost but not feeding.  The chickens will stare blankly at what you are trying to do to them.

The downer with this (waring pro) juicer is you see all the stuff that COULD be used. All that stuff that gets tossed, wet and sad into the compost or chicken bucket.

So I do enjoy some tasty juices and then afterwards have guilt at what seems like waste.  For now anyway.  I will do a post on the compost and tell all if that becomes successful.  But in the interim I think it is important for everyone to take some time out for themselves and treat yourself occasionally to some juice.

My favorite juice is Carrot.  For people who feel they don't like carrots this is something that usually wins them over.  Folks think that it will be bland or woody or something of a vegetable nightmare.  I think the light earthy flavor is divine, and that carrot juice goes down like chocolate milk goes down in a kid. Second in line would be Carrot, Apple and Ginger (fresh of course) and you can get a large ginger root and keep it in a container garden even in apartments and use pieces from it.  I love using Apples that you otherwise wouldn't enjoy eating.  You get a big bag of apples and you wash it, love it and then take a bite and dear God, it is THAT texture.  That mealy terrible texture that makes you rethink whether you actually ever liked apples at all.  YOU DO, you still do.  These are great for juicing. They are failures at being good on salads and even sometimes baked... but succeed as being juice.

Carrot juice:
5-8 carrots for one person (approx. you can do more... I do often.)

Carrot, Apple, Ginger:
5-8 carrots
1-2 apples (you can substitute pears, if the price is right or you have a tree etc.)
1/2 inch chunk of ginger
This will make JUST enough to share... or not. 

The sooner you drink it, the better.  Straight from the juicer it will be frothy and wonderful.  You CAN juice more ahead of time and refrigerate the rest for drinking for the next few days.  I would strongly recommend drinking it within the week it is made.  Fresh is fresh and not, well... isn't.