Homemade Juice vs. Store Bought Juice and Lemonade

Let's talk juicing.  Not the steroid baseball player kind but the fresh produce kind.

Out of this World Lemonade!

One morning, over the summer I stopped by my sister-in-law's apartment.  She handed me an orange and a grapefruit to peel.  She rinsed a few grapes and set up her juicer.  She was going to make me some homemade juice.  What a treat that I stopped by in the morning!

After my first sip I was hooked!  It was like no other store bought juice I have ever had.  I knew from that moment I had to have my own juicer.  A few weeks later I got a membership to Costco.  Natalie and I journeyed around the warehouse taking in all of the sights and sounds and tastes around us.  And as we all know, the universe works in mysterious ways, Costco just so happened to be running a sale on their juicers for $89 compared to the regularly priced $100!  It was fate.  The juice Gods were listening.

Now, if only they would provide me with someone to wash all of the produce, peel it, cut it up, juice it, take the juicer apart and wash it all.  I would sure appreciate it!

Like, maybe these guys?  They seem to like fruit!

Keep reading - there's an Out of This World Lemonade Recipe below the educational stuff!

Juicing

Drinking freshly squeezed juice is not only refreshing and delicious, but provides numerous health benefits that often get lost in the processing that juices in jugs or cartons have to go through.

While you may be hesitant to invest in a juicer it's actually much more cost-effective. Think of the wide variety of juices you can make for yourself without having to pay for the fancy packaging and marketing.  It's like a big booyah to the MAN!

Drinking freshly squeezed juice can also be an efficient way to reach your recommended five to 10 servings of fruits and vegetables a day.

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Fast Nutrient Absorption

Did you know that only about 80% of Americans are not eating enough fruits and veges?  That means free radicals begin to run rampant in the body without the protection of the antioxidants you get from those fresh fruits and veges.  That's where the serious diseases such as heart disease, cancer, and age-related macular degeneration come in.  Fresh squeezed juices are more easily absorbed by the body because the nutrients from the fruit and veges have already been broken down into a digestible form the body can use within 30 minutes of consumption.

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Reduced Calories and Sugar

This is a huge perk for my family.  I can't stand the thought of all of the extra added unnecessary sugars added to juice.  Fruit is naturally sweet to begin with, people!  Processed juices often contain a large amount of added sugars or sweeteners, which adds all of those extra unwanted, unneeded calories!  The amounts in fresh squeezed juice are much smaller and will help you avoid the inevitable fat storage that ensues with excess amounts of sugar in the diet.  Not to mention, you also get to avoid other processed ingredients, such as, corn syrup, food coloring, and fructose.  All UNNATURAL substances that really don't provide any real nutritional value to your body.

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Prevention and Protection

Fresh squeezed juice in it's most natural and unprocessed form can help to ward off many ailments.

• Drinking citrus juices two to three times a week can help to prevent kidney stones.
• Cherry juice has been linked to helping with gout and gouty arthritis.
• Tomato juice is filled with the antioxidant lycopene, which has been linked to the prevention of cancer.
• Cranberry juice is best known to help in the prevention and treatment of urinary tract infections.

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Hydration

All of that yummy sweet juice also helps to provide your body with large amounts of water, which in turn provides your body with energy.  It helps to keep you metabolism active and promotes the health and elasticity of your skin.  Hello, can you say younger looking skin!!  Not to mention the fact that the water in freshly squeezed juice also helps your body to better process the carbs, which come from natural sugars in the juice, along with vitamins, minerals and enzymes that come from the whole food source.

Warning - I should inform you that after you have had a big glass of freshly squeezed juice, do not trust your farts!  This is a warning from an outside source, not a personal experience.  I swear!  You've been warned!

We had a couple of lemons in the fridge and Nat wanted homemade lemonade.  I explained to her that I would need a lot more lemons to make enough lemonade for her.  That put me on the search for a lemonade recipe and low and behold I came across one that was sugar free.  Well, hell fire!  Let's give it a shot.  What's to lose?  Am I glad we did!  It was the best lemonade we have ever had!  You won't believe there is only 1/4 of a lemon in it.

Lemonade - Out of this World!
Yield: 1 tall glass 

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Ingredients:

• 4 apples, such as Gala or Fuji
• 1/4 of a lemon

Instructions:

1. Juice apples and 1/4 of a lemon in your juicer. 
2. Stir and drink!

Adapted from Squidoo

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Servings: 1 tall glass

Calories: 77

Total Fat:  0 g

Cholesterol:  0 mg.

Sodium:  0 mg.

Protein:  0.1g.

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Do you juice? What's your favorite combination of fruits and veges?

How Now Brown Cow

How Now Brown Cow

It was a glorious day here in Missouri today!  The weather was beautiful.  It started out with a drive in the topless jeep (the jeep was topless, not me) to yoga.  I actually got goosebumps! 

A floating Luke!

Enjoying the beautiful weather

The Self Portrait

That didn't hinder my mood for the weather though, it felt amazing!  On my drive I was pondering all of the ways we could take advantage of a such a super day.  What other way to spend it than to have a picnic in the park?

"Mama!  Look, there's a cow!"  Natalie exclaims.  At first I was taken back and wondered why someone would bring a cow to the park?  Then I realized it was a huge spotted dog.  That Natalie, always the prankster!

After the park, it was time for something a little cold.  To stay with the theme of cow's why not make a Brown Cow?

Brown Cow

1 scoop of chocolate ice cream
1 scoop of vanilla ice cream
Root beer

Drop scoops of ice cream into glass.  Pour root beer over the top.  Enjoy!

 ~ Enjoy!

Dreamy Orange Freeze

Last week while in the grocery store, I stopped in the magazine aisle.  I picked up a Cuisine Lite and decided with bikini season well on it's way, I had better get this magazine.  Well, that's how I convinced myself that it was worth paying the $10 they were asking for it.  As I was flipping through the pages last night for the first time I was happy that I had convinced myself as the pictures of all of the recipes were so pretty and springy!  Today, I made the Orange Freeze for lunch and I'm super excited that I paid the $10 for it!

Baby it's cold outside - Hot Cocoa

Greetings from Missouri!  We have just experienced Snowmaggedon '11!  Since I live in Missouri, that means the entire town has pretty much shut down and everyone is hunkered down in their homes staying all warm and cozy.  That does not exclude us!  However, we have been in hibernation since after the Holidays so this is just another excuse we have if anyone asks us to go out.  While it is absolutely beautiful outside, I am aching for spring time!

Natalie and I decided homemade hot chocolate was in order for this cold gray day.  This recipe takes a few extra minutes but the results are worth the time.