Green juice always gets all the attention. Try this equally delicious and healthy pressed juice with beets, carrots, apples, lemon and ginger.
I’ve had a fifteen-year love affair with juicing.
I know it seems like juicing is the “in” thing to do these days, but I’ve been about that juicing life for some time now. When Noah and Diego were just babies (they’re 15 and 16 now), I would juice for them in my little Juiceman Juicer every morning. We would go to the local farmer’s market on Friday mornings and buy a huge sack of Valencia oranges, carrots, radish sprouts from the Asian lady who always wore clogs (and no bra) and whatever veggies were in season.
My boys got into the habit of drinking carrot, orange and apple juice every day. They’d look up at me with their cute little faces and patiently wait for their sippy cups. They spent the morning with orange-stained mustaches. It made me feel good to know they were happy to drink their “juicey”.
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Over the years, I’ve continued to juice but the frequency depended on what stage of life I was in. Sometimes I was too big and pregnant to juice for myself and a tribe of children. Exhausted, the thought of peeling, cutting and juicing for all the little people at my feet seemed too great a task. My juicing routine was also dependent on finances. The more my family grew, appetites grew–sometimes my kids would eat all of the apples and carrots before I even had a chance to juice them. And finally, my Juiceman Juicer just up and died one day. It took some time before I was able to afford another juicing machine.
Now I can say we’ve settled into a fairly consistent juicing routine. My kids are old enough to man the juicer themselves. We pick oranges and lemons from my uncle’s house and I buy giant sacks of carrots and apples. Usually, a giant sack for the kids to snack on and another to juice–they’re not cheap.
If someone has an apple orchard nearby, I’ve got the manpower. Holler at a sister.
I’ve really been struggling over the feeling of mommy guilt if I just juice for myself amid the choruses of, “Mom, I want some too!” But, I recently had this conversation with another mom. She has seven kids and she’s currently experiencing a health crisis. If I don’t take care of myself, how will I be able to take care of my family? It’s okay to be a little “selfish” sometimes.
So I’ve been “selfish” and juicing for myself. I put them in mason jars and line them up in the fridge so I can easily grab one throughout the day. I usually share some with my girls. My boys are old enough to take the initiative and juice for themselves. And I’ve discovered that once they see me juicing and all of the veggies and fruits are already out, they’ll juice right after I’m finished. This is a good thing.
The mommy guilt is waning, and I’m thankful for that.
That said, I wanted to share my absolute favorite juice recipe. I like green juice as much as the next person, but I have a thing for beets. Beets are my jam. And beets are really, really good for you. I’ve noticed a huge difference in my energy level when I drink beet juice. Most days my face is crashing onto the computer keyboard exactly at five o’clock. When I’m continually sipping on my juice, it gives me endurance throughout the day. And let me just say, this mama really needs that extra push.
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This recipe is enough for one hefty serving. I usually juice more because I’m preparing several servings at a time. This means I toss in a few big, beautifully fuschia-colored beets. Beets are definitely the star of the show. Who cares about pink-stained hands? And going pink-colored #1 and #2? It’s a thing, you know.
Pink pee for the win.
Enjoy!
