Jack LaLanne's Power Juicer Elite!

I really do love juicing, but this Christmas I was not expecting to find this under our tree!!!
This juicer is one of my dream appliances for my kitchen. I used to drool over the infomercials, uhh not that I watch infomercials haha. Anyways, I love this juicer! It makes the best juice I have ever tasted, not to mention squeezes out ever last drop of liquid from whatever you are juicing. I don't know if you can see it on the box in the picture, but it also makes soy, almond and rice milk. I have yet to try it, but it's on my list of things to do.

Last night I was reading some news headlines and I came upon this!

"Jack LaLanne, the fitness guru who inspired television viewers to trim down, eat well and pump iron for decades before diet and exercise became a national obsession, died Sunday. He was 96." (The Record)

The link will take you to the actual article. The man was 96 years old and a fitness icon. Thank you Jack for encouraging people to exercise and live healthy lives :)

It seemed fitting that my lil one and I would make our favorite juice this morning.

The ingredients:


Juice the apple, orange and pineapple. I sometimes add 2 apples to this recipe or an extra orange. Whatever I have more of really :) Just remember to peel the orange, otherwise you will get a very bitter juice. You can also juice the apples whole, however there is conflicting research about whether or not it's healthy to consume apple seeds. I usually cut them out, just to be safe.

The juice..mmmm

Here is an action shot for you :)





If you want to take your juice one step further like we did this morning, than pour it all into your blender.

Add one med-large banana or if you prefer 1/2 cup plain yogurt.

5 cubes of ice or 1/2 cup of crushed ice.

Blend till smooth!





The final result! Delicious!
2 common questions?!
There are 2 questions I am always asked about this juicer. The first is "Do you really get more juice?" The answer is, yes! The infomercials claim it makes about 30 percent more than other juicers. To be honest I was surprised, I thought it would be more. I guess my old juicer was just that horrible!

The second question is, "What's clean up like?" Clean up is easy, I just remove any pulp and rinse. I was concerned that the filter and blade would be difficult to clean, but I don't even need to take a scrub brush to it. I just rinse everything in my sink and give it a wash and dry. Takes me about 5 minutes.



To end this post I think this quote is appropriate and oh so true...probably more truth behind it now than ever in North America.

“The only way you can hurt the body is not use it. Inactivity is the killer and, remember, it’s never too late.” -Jack LaLanne

Last juice of the feast

My last juice of the 3 day feast, was a sweet fruit juice. During this feast I realized how much I love making my own juices. I can't wait to make my green juice tomorrow morning, but I also can't wait to eat solid food! I'm reading up on what to eat to gradually bring back solid foods into your system. Tonights juice....

"Sweet Sunset"
1 Pear
3 Apples
1/4 of a Pineapple

It tastes like apple cider! It's quite sweet, but has a tangy taste. I feel like it's a dessert juice :)

~Maggie

Green lemonade with a twist

It's the last day of the juice feast (day 3) and after a long nights sleep i'm feeling so much better. I'm still a little fatigued, but my sinus and throat issues seem to have disappeared. I woke up this morning wanting a green lemonade with a twist. I've been doing some reading on green smoothies and juices and have come to the realization of how important it is that we incorporate a variety of greens into our drinks. The obvious reason being the difference of minerals, vitamins, etc... that we attain from different greens. The other reason that I learned from doing this juice feast is it keeps things interesting! Incorporating a variety of greens will less likey cause us to get bored with taste and can encourage us to keep drinking a green smoothie/juice a day :)


Green Lemonade with a Twist

1 small head of romaine
1/2 a head of green cabbage
1/2 a cucumber
2 apples
1/2 lemon
1 orange
1/2 cup of fresh pineapple

Juice it up! Makes about 2 cups of juice :)


Enjoy your day!
~Maggie

A 3 day Juice Feast

My little one took this picture, while watching me make my juice for lunch. At this rate he is going to be selling work as a photographer at age 3 :)
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I am attempting a 3 day juice fast, with the support and inspiration from fellow bloggers. To see more information about our 3 day juice feast here is a link to Joanna's blog that encouraged/challenged us all.

Here are some of my favorite juices from today. I made about 5 different types just to see what I really liked, and what I would get more juice from. I'll share my top three :)

Morning Juice

"Green Morning Sunrise"
1 pineapple
1 head of romaine
A bunch of Kale
Juice it!
This makes about 2 cups/half a quart of juice. It tasted pretty yummy, I juiced the pineapple first and then stopped to pull out all the excess fiber that was separated. I put it in a container to make a pineapple sauce for my guy's lunch later. Don't waste a thing I say, especially delicious pineapple!

Afternoon Juice

"Carrot-Apple Lemonade"
6 Carrots
2 Apples
1 Lemon
Juice it!
This again makes about 2 cups/half a quart of juice, which is just enough for me to drink in one sitting. I ended up making more of this recipe because my lil guy loved the taste of this and drank about half of cup of my juice! This tastes surprisingly sweet, and the lemon counters the sweetness to make a really yummy juice.

Evening Juice

"Green Lemonade Love"

1 head of Romaine

1 bunch of Swiss Chard

1 Lemon (I use only 1/2 a lemon)

2 Apples

Juice!

This is a recipe I use daily because its my favorite green juice. I can always drink 2 glasses/4 cups of this juice no problem. It makes about 2 cups/half a quart of juice. I credit this recipe to Happy Foody.

I'm feeling pretty good today. The only issue I've noticed is that my sinuses feel like they are either about to get plugged with a sinus infection or cold. Hopefully it doesn't get too bad, well I'm off to rest and cuddle my boys :)

Enjoy some juicing!

~Maggie