Here I Go Again

Almost 3 months into the new year. As a woman who's given up on making resolutions, I am backsliding. I've now resolved to change my dietary habits. Again.

Several years ago, I went on a juicing kick. I drove everyone within 50 feet crazy with the jackhammer sounds of my juicer. I juiced carrots and apples and spinach at 5 in the morning so I'd have my breakfast and lunch ready for work. After work, I dropped keys and jacket and headed for the kitchen to juice carrots and beets and oranges for dinner. Sometime in the evening, I'd juice whatever veggies I could so I'd have something for middle-of-the-night cravings.

I felt better and looked better. I was already about a buck-ten in the weight department, so losing pounds wasn't a goal. Juicing was the best thing that happened to my hair, skin and nails. Even my eyes were brighter. The biggest benefit was that my brain seemed to be on steroids. Good thing because I was working like a field hand at that point in my life.

Juicing lost appeal for me when I got sick of drinking all my nutrition. I'd go out with friends and eat the same things I juiced at home. I justified my love of vodka and O.J. by categorizing the drinks as "electrified  nutrition." Hah. The thing is, when you're already fairly healthy (and young and pretty and thin), you don't appreciate all the benefits of good dietary habits.

Now that I am older and just getting back into shape, I pay lots of attention to all my habits. Walking cutely in high heels used to be the only exercise I needed to stay in shape. These days, if I smell a doughnut, I have to do three miles on a Planet Fitness treadmill. I used to joke about ingesting calories via smell, then I saw this documentary on Netflix the other night.The whole smell-to-calories crap is a thing. Well, damnit.



Thanks to that same documentary, I started thinking again about juicing. And I'm not talking about sucking the soul from someone during a deep kiss. I'm talking about spending money for a decent machine and then stocking up on produce for suck the liquid from.

Of course, when I went on my juicing kick before, I should've eased into and made the process more bearable. I went all out and ate practically no solid food for about two weeks. Let me tell you something about doing that: my insides were so clean, I think my colon squeaked when I went to the bathroom. Maybe that's too much information, but I put it out there as a warning to others. Chewing some fruit and veggies every now and then might've made my life easier. Also, I could have limited my intake. I just went juice-crazy.

This time, I'm going to be held in check by the state of my budget. It's pretty tough to eat healthy, especially here in Alaska where produce can rank right up there with diamonds if you're buying in the winter months. In the summertime, you still have to shop around because shipping costs from out of state is ridiculous and local farmers can get greedy when it comes to their Alaska harvests.

I've learned some lessons from poverty, let me tell you. When I start my juicing this time, I'm going to be buying on-sale produce in bulk and then freezing and storing up what I juice. My goal is not to have the freshest juice. I just want to have more good stuff (fresh or not-so-fresh) going into my body in place of the fresh junk I've been getting. And it's not that I have bad eating habits. I eat fairly healthily, but I know that I'm getting too many additives and second-hand vitamins. I eat salads (with lots of store-bought dressings), I bake-not-fry too many things that come out of the freezer sections of the grocery store, and I cheat too often by drinking coffee in place of having a meal. I've said it before and I'll repeat it from Beyond: I'm never giving up my coffee.

courtesy Etsy

courtesy Tumblr

Yes, indeed.

I remember that when I juiced, I could almost immediately feel a difference in my energy level. What I don't remember (you know, because I was in my early thirties and took everything for granted) is when I noticed a change in my appearance. When I start this time, I will do updates here on the blog. In the meantime, I am on the hunt for a blender that I can afford. I am having severe longings for this one from Amazon. It's affordable. Too bad the shipping rates to Alaska are so ridiculous on Amazon. (Not the first time I've bitched about that.)

If any of you have been thinking about (or already are) juicing, I'll try to share recipes and info as I find them.

Peace
--Free