Juice Fast

Our juice fast was... ambitious. We were attempting a seven day juice fast to detox from the copious amounts of fast food and junk we've been eating. We completed only two days. Apparently you are supposed to prep for a juice fast by cutting out fast food and other fattening and/or sugary foods one to two weeks before you begin the fast. We prepared for our fast by eating brisket, nachos, and beer. Ah well, we know better now.

It wasn't all for naught, however, as I learned some things. Probably the most important thing I learned about the experience is that juicers are really loud. Ok, maybe that's not the most important thing I learned, but it is a good point to note if you live in an apartment with paper thin walls. Sorry, neighbors! No, we're not pressure washing the kitchen; just makin' some juice. I did learn that I'm crazy addicted to food. Mexican is my kryptonite. And bread. And cheese. And... Shoot, a girl's gotta eat! But in all seriousness, the experience really taught me the difference between hunger and a desire to eat. The juice was providing me the nourishment I needed, yet I still wanted to munch. Another positive thing about this experience is that it seems that the two days of consuming nothing but raw fruit and vegetable juice has help to reset my cravings. I will always love carne asada, but billboards for fast food now make my stomach churn. I find myself once again craving all kinds of nutrient rich foods. Before the fast, I was in a greasy slump and my body had forgotten what it really wanted.

We drank the same juice for most of the first day and I wanted to scratch my tongue out. The recipe we used called for ginger. I am what they call a supertaster. (Scientifically confirmed, in fact. But that's another story.) This means that I'm freakishly good at identifying certain flavors. People like me tend to be food critics and wine connoisseurs. My super tasting doesn't lend me any fancy title, instead some flavors just really jump out at me. That was the case with the tiny bit of ginger that was in the recipe we drank for the first day. You know that scene in the movie Ratatouille when Remy tastes food and there are little fireworks popping in the background? I can so relate to this visual representation of taste because that's exactly what the ginger was like for me. Except that most of the ingredients had a decent flavor that combined well like a talented band and the ginger was the one annoying off key instrument. So we experimented with different recipes in which I omitted the ginger.

My favorite juice so far is as follows:
4-6 leaves of kale
1 cucumber
2 carrots
2 green apples
2 oranges
1 half lemon

We are back to eating real foods like normal people, but we are still enjoying making homemade juices. We try to include some dark green leafy vegetables in each batch, but a sweet all-fruit juice is a nice treat every once in awhile. And for me, that's what it's all about: the balance.