Juice Fast Day 5 - The Grind

Yes, my coworkers still think I'm crazy.

Today was day one of "take your juice to work day." After yesterday's experiment of juice mass production, it became clear that I might not be able to make enough juice in a single session to last the full day. When I was juicing at home, I'd make 3-4 full batches, but honestly the amount of produce needed to make 2 batches (about half a gallon) has been simply staggering.

Juice Fast Day 4 - Testing Grounds

Today I started my day with an epic juicing. My goal: fill 2 large mason jars with fresh juice, then put them in the fridge and drink them throughout the day as a small-scale test to what it will be like tomorrow at work. I needed to make sure that A) I could make a half gallon of juice in a reasonable amount of time, and B) that fresh juice will keep long enough for me to drink without getting rancid.

So what did we learn today?

First of all, I'm still shocked at the insane amount of produce it takes to make juice. I had to empty the hopper twice with a good two pounds of pulp in it just to get one jar full. It makes total sense, and the whole idea is you're consuming the nutrients of a much larger amount of produce than you'd normally eat, but come on! I cleaned out all the produce from Saturday's CostCo run and still only got a jar and a half full.

Secondly, while I don't think the juice went bad per se, I did notice 2 things: an odd smell and discoloration.

The smell was odd both in scent and behavior. First, it was only when I first opened the jar, leading me to believe that the juice is breaking down, but less so in a contained environment like a sealed jar. It just built up a bit while no one was watching. It didn't taste off in any way, so I guess it was just fermenting or something. If it was, that has potential applications post-fast.

The color is a bit more understandable. The main base for most of my juices have been apples, and apples brown. It's just their thing. I had thrown some citrus into the mix, but I don't think there's nearly enough to counter that much exposure, especially when it's coming down the chute. I'll try upping the lemon a bit tomorrow to see if it helps, but since some of the apple was already brownish when I juiced it, I think it's just part of the process.

On Friday, I had announced to my all-female coworkers that I was embarking on this quest. They all thought I was crazy, and one even voiced concern to my chances of survival. I assured them that I didn't have the vaguest idea what I was doing, and it's only when I think I know what I'm doing that things go horribly awry.

Juice Fast Day 3 - Onions? Maybe Not.

At the very beginning of Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead, our Aussie hero is stopping by a roadside farmer's stand to buy some produce for his juicing. You don't get to see his full shopping list, but he does buy two items clearly: onions and tomatoes. Concerned that I might be drinking too much fruit and not enough veggies, I decided to try my hand at some savory juices. Tomato is a good base, but onion? Well, onion just seems to blow most everything else out of the water.

My lesson of the day: I think onions make better chemical weapons than juice ingredients.

Juice Fast Day 2 - Out of the Closet

The second day brought a bit more challenge than the first day. Not challenge in the sense that I was tempted by food (since I live in America, I'm always tempted by food) but more along the line of physical challenge. I had one cup of black tea, Lady Grey, this morning. By mid-afternoon my body was punishing me for forsaking the black gold I usually drink quite regularly.

Juice Fast Day 1 - Famous Last Words

This is easy.

Yes, yes. I know I will eat those words eventually (after my juice fast, of course, I think my own words qualifies as a fat) but for being a solid 24 hours without food I am in surprisingly good spirits. The only real issues of the day was a headache around noon and some crankiness in the mid afternoon, but everything seemed to even out. It's already past 10pm and I feel pretty good for someone on a diet usually reserved for people with broken jaws.

One Day More

After several hours of perusing the interwebz for information prior to my juice fast, I’ve come to the conclusion that I really only need copious amounts of the following items on hand:

1. Apples
2. Spinach/Kale
3. Celery
4. Carrots
5. Ginger

The Plan, or Lack Thereof

The plan is simple: I eat my last meal on Friday, then juice fast for 10-14 days or until death takes me.

I suppose I should think more about it than that, but I’m trying to keep things simple. A big factor in why I am choosing to do this is the absolute simplicity of it, which at least makes it hard to loose track of. Let’s take this step by step.