Omega VRT 350

I FINALLY decided on a new juicer.

My finalists were the Omega J8005 Nutrition Center Single-Gear Masticating Juicer

and the Omega VRT 350 Heavy Duty Dual-Stage Vertical Single Auger Low Speed Juicer.

It was close...very close.

Someday I hope to buy the J8005 as it has soooo many other things it can do to aid in a raw food lifestyle, but for now I felt the Omega VRT 350 was the best choice for our family.

It actually came down to the fact that it was better at juicing other things besides greens.

I knew I would be juicing a variety of things for my family, not just greens.

It is also sold at Bed, Bath & Beyond and the 20% off coupon made it more affordable, although still more than the Omega J8005.

I still have my pros and cons list sitting on my desk and I watched hours of footage on youtube of comparisons.  The discount juicer guy has many many many videos that will help in deciding what juicer fits your needs.  

You can link up to a very helpful video by him HERE.

He also informed me that the Omega VRT 350 is manufactured at the same place the Hurom is and that the parts are the same.  The biggest difference is price, Hurom is more expensive, and warranty....Omega has a better one.  Other than that, and the Hurom having a handle, they are basically the same product.

And here she is....our new juicer!

I love how quiet she is!

I brought her home and opened her up immediately.  That is unusual for me, I usually leave purchases in the box for days. I don't know why.

My other juicer was starting to fail, so that pushed me to make my decision.

I also hadn't had juice that day and wanted to keep on my goal of drinking fresh juice everyday.

They say 21 days to make a habit....and I didn't want to interrupt that!

We have a grapefruit tree so we threw the grapefruit in first...and just kept adding.

Oranges, carrots, cucumbers, grapefruits, and apples.

It was quite sour, but drinkable.

The best part was that the juicer handled everything perfectly.

I finally made it to the store yesterday and we tried our first GREEN juice.

Again, it handled everything perfectly.

I have read that stuff gets stuck but so far so good here.

I did pick up tips watching soooo many videos so I think that has helped.

I switch back and forth between hard and soft items and I break up things like

chard stalks into small pieces.  I also go slow and let the machine do its thing. I don't rush it and it is self feeding so I only had to help it once with kale.

It does create more foam than I would like with greens, but I just skim off the top.

It also produces more pulp than the centrifugal juicer I have, but we don't mind.

One of my kids minded, so i just ran the juice through a sieve and problem was solved.

What we drank the last two days

Today's observation: I am ALWAYS freezing.  I did give up meat again, but its not ALL that hot here where we live.  I am naturally colder than most people, but this is ridiculous. I have no idea if it has anything to do with juicing, but it seems to have gotten worse the last 2 weeks!

BUT.....I have noticed a HUGE increase in my energy.

My family noticed a huge increase in GAS output after drinking the green juice.

Beets

I am not a huge fan of beets...the way they taste! I love the color and the health benefits.  The taste...not so much.  Don't get me wrong, I used to eat dirt as a kid, but I feel like beets taste like the yucky brand of dirt.

I have been trying to widen my horizon veggie wise and I have a great smoothie that includes beets so I had some extra ones in my fridge. 

I figured it would be fun to juice them.

The color is amazing.

And guess what, I couldn't even taste it!

But I think I drank my 2 cups TOO FAST.

A few minutes after downing my juice I got lightheaded and it didn't go away for about an hour.

I could still function, but it was uncomfortable.

I am wondering if I had too fast of a fruit sugar rush.

I added a TON of very sweet tangelos from my friend's yard to offset the beets.

Offset I did...apparently!

Today's observation: I had leftover birthday cake and I didn't want any.  I ate it anyway, out of bad habits, but I didn't REALLY want it.  So why did I eat it then?  I don't even know.  But the important thing is that my craving for it wasn't there.

Cheating A Bit

Monday was my birthday and I had some free time after getting the kids off to school so I decided to try wheatgrass juice again.  I want a juicer that allows me to juice wheatgrass, but I still haven't decided which one I want.  I figured I might as well start drinking the "fantastic for your body juice" now as it could be awhile before I obtain my new juicer.  So I headed to Jamba where I could a little 2 oz. shot of the green juice on the cute little plate.  I prefer the pomegranate chaser, eventhough its not freshly squeezed.  I do wish they would refridgerate the wheatgrass though.  There is nothing yummy about drinking what tastes like a hot freshly mowed lawn.  It would go down easier, and I wouldn't have to hold my nose and embarrass myself while drinking it, if it were cold. I also had them juice oranges and carrots for me.  I was lazy and I liked it. 

Today's observation: Drinking wheatgrass juice with a hole in your lip is not a good idea.  (I don't actually have a hole in my lip, but I somehow managed to spill it all over me.)  I can't figure out why this keeps happening...this box of color over my words.

More Of The Same

Just more of the same juice.  I am still sticking to once a day, in the morning.  I need to create a good habit before I veer too far in one direction.  I have learned that about me.  So even though I feel I am ready to push it, I am going to hold steady for now, and stay where I am with juicing.

Today's observation: I am amazed by how long I can go before eating anything after drinking my 2 cups of juice in the morning.  I am just not hungry!  

Orange Hybrid Juice

Some friends brought over a bunch of citrus from their yard.

Lemons, Grapefruit, Oranges, Tangerines...

It appears some Blood Oranges got thrown in the mix as well.

 The ones below were shaped like a tangerine, smelled like a tangel-o...there is a difference...but when I cut it open it became apparent that the tangerines, oranges and blood oranges had a little get together.

 The combo resulted in PINK juice that made the two 4 years olds helping me squeal in excitement!!!!

 Look mom!  A rainbow of Fruity Flavors!!! Healthy ones!

Although I am not a fan of the foam it sure does make for pretty color arrangements!

I completely forgot to add the carrots today and my juicer DID NOT handle the spinach well at all.  It kept getting stuck and barely any juice was coming out of it.  The pulp basket still had most of the leaves in it.  I knew that about some of these types of juicers.  I bought mine in 1994.  Its a Juiceman.  Most of the centrifugall juicers made now can handle spinach better.

Today's change:  I found myself CRAVING juice last night.  I thought about it all night.  I should have just made some but I was too lazy.  I actually tossed and turned last night because I kept thinking and then dreaming about juicing.

Juicers

Today's juice was basically the same recipe as I have been using except I threw in 2 limes.

It added a nice refreshing flavor.  I feel like you can never have too many limes in anything.

I don't ever follow a recipe strictly when it comes to juicing.

I just pull stuff out of the fridge and start juicing it until I get enough for us to drink.

I do tend to go heavy on the oranges for now.  It makes it easier for some to drink.

See all that foam.

I don't like it.

That's why I am hoping to acquire a new juicer soon.

I have done most of my research on a favorite juicer site called discountjuicers.

They have a huge variety of juicers at competitive prices as well as reviews and videos.

I could write descriptions about all the different types here but discount juicers has done it for me.

Click HERE to see their reviews on all the juicers.

I am currently leaning towards the Omega 8003.

"a single gear, masticating juice extractor that will serve all of your juicing needs and many other needs, such as mincing, grinding, homogenizing, etc."

It also juices wheatgrass which I hope to start in the future.

I did indulge in some french fries today as well as yesterday.  We have company and its still too hard to resist eating them as we drove out of the drive-thru.  People who don't have In-N-Out Burger in their states pretty much demand it when they come here and I am happy to oblige.  I just don't eat it.  But the fries, its hard not to partake.  I have a weakness for french fries, donuts (my fav) and chimichangas.

Terrible for my body, yummy to my mouth.

Its an emotional barrier I will have to overcome.

I can do it.  But I have to approach it slowly.

If not, I will fail.  I tend to dive right into things and then burn out.

I don't want to do that this go around.  So for now its just adding juicing to our lifestyle.

We did have an incredibly delicious meal tonight where I copied Chipotle eateries.

Romaine lettuce, brown rice, 3 varieties of beans, pico de gallo, salsa, grilled orange, red, and green peppers with onions and jalapenos.  And grilled chicken for those who wanted it.

I won't force my family to eat like I do.  I am making changes slowly.

Today's Change: The change I noticed today was that the peppers tasted like CANDY to me and one of my sons.I don't know if that is because our tastebuds are changing or if the grilling brought out its natural sugars. All I know is that it was like a party in my mouth, and I don't normally feel that way about peppers.

Juicing

I have always been a fan of juicing.

Its a matter of commitment for me.

After my husband and I watched Sick Fat and Nearly Dead on Netflix one night I decided to bust out my old juiceman juicer. I have been researching juicers for a few months and I know that other types of juicers provide a higher quality and quantity of juice, but this one works for now.  Baby steps.

Slow and steady wins the race.  

I tend to jump into the race full steam ahead, and then drop out.

I am doing things differently this time.

Since Sunday Jan. 1, 2010 I have made juice every morning.

Its citrus season where I live so we have been brought a lot of oranges.

Its been great to use them.

Simple easy juices this week.

Just using what I have on hand.

Delicious.

Even my husband drinks the juice.

Something I have noticed over the past few days since juicing....since making this one simple change.

(Well, I have also been staying away from sugar and white flour and I have been adding lots of plant based whole foods to our dinners.)

My energy is substantially better.  I don't feel so tired.  

My attitude about life is different.  I don't know why.  Maybe its hormones and not juice.

I am not so anxious about things.  I am soooooo much more relaxed. 

Its almost terrifying how different I feel in that department but I LOVE IT and I HOPE its the juice because then it will stay!

I have had periodermititis under my nose that has flared up, then disappeared for years, then flared up, then disappeared for years my entire life.

Its been flared up for the last two years.  

I have tried creams and they might take it away for a few days, but then it returns.  

It appears the flaring up is settling down this week.  

Maybe its coincidence.

Time will tell.

2012

The goal for 2012 is to be eating 80% (give or take) raw foods by the end of the year. I say 80% because I know I will still want to eat cooked grains and beans ad soups,but I want to be eating mostly raw foods.  This is my place to record my journey to raw eating.  If my diet ends up all plant based whole foods, then I will be happy.  

  I have been tinkering around with changing my eating habits over the last few years.  I have dropped all refined sugars and white flour for months at a time.  I have gone vegetarian and vegan.  The only thing I have stuck with longterm is taking milk out of my diet.  I haven't drank actual milk in almost 3 years, but I have had bites of food containing milk.

I have been great at making green smoothies daily.  Then I go on a green smoothie drought.  It is my goal to stick to a lot of things food wise this year.  I have a lot in mind.  This is the place where I am going to record how I plan to stick to my goals and my successes as well as my failures.  I am starting off

A LITTLE BIT RAW.