Tag: juicing

Juicing Accessories I Can’t Do Without!

As a regular juicer for over 2 years, I’ve acquired a few accessories that I wouldn’t want to do without, so I thought I’d write a post about my juicy recommendations. Naturally, there are other brands of similar items available but these are the ones I actually use and which I’ve had for the most part for all of that time.

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After the juicer and blender, the first thing I bought was a couple of metal juice flasks. These are great at keeping juices fresh in the fridge and help them last longer by keeping them cold and away from light and air, thereby slowing down the oxidising process. Always fill up to the top to prevent air spoiling the juice, adding ice chips helps too. They are good for carrying around so long as you don’t leave them in the car getting warm. This one is from Juicemaster and is the 0.4L size. It also comes in 0.6L  and there is a Sigg equivalent too.

The next thing you need if you are using flasks of any kind is a long-handled flexible brush that will reach right down and clean them out properly. Good hygiene is essential when juicing, all equipment and accessories need to be thoroughly cleaned to prevent the growth of harmful bacteria.

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Again, this one is from Juicemaster and still going strong after two years. While we’re talking brushes, I’d also say you need a good vegetable scrubbing brush too so you can leave the skin on your veggies.

It is always best to drink your juices through a straw to protect your teeth, but I have a problem with plastic straws: I don’t like ingesting chemicals, plastic is bad for the environment and you have to keep buying them. Instead, I found some stainless steel ones that come as a set of 4 (somehow one has disappeared!) with a tiny spiral brush for cleaning them.

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They are available on Amazon and currently cost around £4. They can be placed in the dishwasher and sterilised.

Once we mastered juicing  we moved on to making our own nut milks (see here for Nut Milk, Shake & Smoothie Recipes), and my next must-have accessory is a nut milk bag for straining the milk from the pulp. There are several different kinds and shapes available, I got mine on Amazon. It is easy to rinse through under the tap and hang it by the drawstring to air dry. Always rinse it out straightaway to make sure it is completely clean – don’t let the pulp dry in the bag, it will be so much harder to remove.

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Once we started making nut milk, we needed something to store it in! I prefer glass to plastic and we found a great 500ml glass bottle by Grip & Go on Amazon which, if you’re like me and have a dodgy grip, is so much easier to hold: it has a thinner middle around which is a textured silicone grip. You can get them in many colours and two sizes, they are dishwasher safe apart from the lid and they don’t leak. I originally had a glass jug with a plastic lid, but it was neither airtight nor leakproof so the milk went off quicker and you couldn’t shake it up without getting splashed.

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I bought 2 x 500ml bottles after finding the 1L bottle too heavy. They fit easily in the fridge door and look good too. The company also do a quirky twisty glass bottle that looks even better for those with grip problems like me. Great for juices too!

Copyright: Chris McGowan

Versatile Blogger Award!

Thank you to the kind scribbleartie for nominating my blog for this award! Her blog is all about crafting trash into treasure and she does some lovely delicate and whimsical ink blot paintings too, have a look!

In accepting this award, I am tasked with listing 7 things about myself and nominating other bloggers whom I judge write with integrity and on a variety of topics.

So, the hard part, 7 things about myself:

  1. After being vegetarian for 39 years and after a few attempts during that time, I became vegan a year ago.
  2. I once worked at Woolworths, mostly on the cosmetics counter, but sliced my finger on the bacon slicer when standing in for someone else. (And people wonder why I’m vegan!)
  3. I gained a First Class Honours Degree with The Open University in my early 40s. An amazing ‘University of the Air’ founded by the Labour Government of Harold Wilson in the 1960s.
  4. My husband and I spent our first date looking for my contact lens!
  5. I once saw Paul McCartney and Wings for 50p when they turned up unannounced at uni and asked if they could play their first songs. They played their single ‘Give Ireland Back to the Irish’ several times. It was banned by the BBC.
  6. My dad’s first car was a black Morris Minor 1000. I have no idea how we got 2 adults, 4 kids and a dog in it!
  7.  Our first car was a green Morris Minor 1000 and our current car is also a green Morris Minor 1000 but not the same one, we had a blue one in-between!

Now to the blogs I recommend:

Pioneering the Simple Life is the most inspiring blog I’ve read. Posts and tips about living sustainably, about their experiences in Nepal and building an underground network of individuals to provide and transport vital supplies to villagers following the devastating earthquake there.

Organic Guinea Pig blogs about physical and mental health, providing recipes and lifestyle advice as well as having a Pet Therapy business working in schools, pyschiatric units, care homes and so on.

From Pyrenees to Pennines is a lovely gentle blog of posts and photos about the English countryside (and weather!), historic places to visit – including continental towns – as well as musings on geneaology and other everyday topics.

Itching for Hitching I have never been caravanning nor ever had a desire to do so, too claustrophobic for me, but this Australian blog makes me smile every time I read it.

Mandy’s Running Blog illustrates that life doesn’t have to start slowing down once you reach 50! Far from taking things easy, Mandy has become an ultra runner mainly up the hills of Vancouver, Canada!

Natural Juice Junkie Neil Martin writes a very informative but acessible blog on all things to do with health, nutrition, juicing, motivation, lifestyle coaching.

The Vegan Family blog recipes and beautiful photos from the woods in Aberdeenshire, Scotland

Our Green Nation is a group of individuals who pool their expertise to help empower us to make decisions on health and lifestyle with informative, factual posts on education, environment, food regulations, the role of Big Pharma and Agriculture, sustainable living, recipes etc., plus posts on mindfulness, thought for the day and so on. A great read. I learn something every day.

Cooking Without Limits has wonderfully simple vegan recipes, try her Raw Vegan Cheesecake all done in the blender.

That’s as many as I can manage. Apologies to other bloggers that I follow, I have tried to include blogs you may not already be aware of.

Copyright: Chris McGowan

Super Juicing: I Feel Good! Now What? 11 Tips on How To Maintain Your Juicy Success

As the irrespressible James Brown sang, ‘I Feel Good, I Knew That I would!’ (Click the link to see black & white footage of a very energetic performance and you’ll see what I mean).

So, here we are, the end of my Super Juice Challenge following Jason Vale’s SuperJuiceMe! Plan.

Results

I feel alert, energised, my digestion is calmed, I am calm, my aches and pains are calmed, no inclination to snack mindlessly, and I have lost 5lbs – but that was just an added bonus, I was not looking to lose weight. 

Plus, despite having to cope with some quite stressful situations, I am the only one in the family not to have caught a cold or cough this month!

There were times when I really wanted to crunch an apple and occasionally I added some ground seeds to a juice, but the Plan allows for occasional SOS additions. Apart from my Bit of a Wobble, I found it easy to get into the routine of it and didn’t have any desire for junk, sweet or savoury treats.

The plan is devised so that every so often you have a sweet, fruity, almond milk smoothie that assuages any craving for something sweet or just different from a juice, and the juices provide all the essential nutrients your body needs.

So no cravings.

Many people ask, so what now?

  1. Well, the first thing is to say what you don’t do: Don’t start planning your next visit to a fast food restaurant! Not that you will want to after any kind or length of juice cleanse. You will find that your tastebuds have been rewired. What you really look forward to is a colourful, crunchy salad or a big, juicy green apple!
  2. Likewise, don’t be persuaded by those around you to go out for a celebratory meal/drink – you will regret it. Your body has just been given a oil change and tune-up and you don’t want to start putting the wrong fuel in!
  3. It is important to ease yourself in gently to eating solid food or your digestion will suffer and you will lose some of the benefits you’ve striven to gain.
  4. Continue having a couple or more juices a day for the first 2 or 3 days at least – I do this normally when I am not juice cleansing anyway – no coffee, alcohol, grains, pasta, meat, dairy.
  5. Eat slowly and mindfully, chew thoroughly, sitting down at the table.
  6. Try to keep eating fresh and raw as much as possible, as many colours as possible on your plate.

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My First Post-Juicing Meal on a Plate: Mixed Rocket & Spinach Salad Leaves, Sugar Snap Peas, Mung Bean Sprouts, Carrot, Grapes, Broccoli, Cucumber with Tamari and Olive Oil Dressing

7. If you eat fish, you can then introduce fresh salmon (high in omega oils) or steamed or baked other fish. Light Soups or Baked Sweet Potatoes. Steamed Veg. Stir-Fries

8. Keep grains to every other day to begin with to allow your digestion to get back into the swing of things and to help identify any problem foods.

9. Take note of anything that makes you feel yuck. Anything that makes you feel tired, uncomfortable, bloated, have heartburn or indigestion and cut it out for a while. Try again another time and if the same thing happens, probably avoid.

10. There are several follow-on plans you can use if you need ideas and support: Jason Vale has his 5:2 plan, the Soup’n’Juice Plan and his new Super Fast Food App that has over 100 recipes and the facility to devise your own 7 Day Meal Plan with shopping list provided. See his website for details.*

11. Above all, Keep Juicing!

* http://www.juicemaster.com

NB If you are thinking of doing a Juice Plan, please see your doctor first.

Copyright: Chris McGowan

Super-Juicing: Day 13, Does It Have To End? Plus Tips on Preparing for a Juice Programme

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Here we are, the penultimate day of my Super Juice Fortnight and I don’t want it to end! I am loving the Sweet ‘n’ Smooth Veggie Blend for breakfast (see Jason Vale’s Super Juice Me! Plan*), despite the ever-present parsnip in the list of ingredients – and of course it was very swiftly replaced by a sweet potato!

It’s become so much of a routine now that my husband’s cooking no longer bothers me – not even the melted cheese! (see Super Juicing Day 6: Melted Cheese and Spicy Teacakes).

I am so full of energy and have been very productive, writing new blog posts and recipes, editing old ones, making cards and participating in a Blogging 101 course.

None of the usual January slump.

My brain is firing on all cylinders, I’ve made decisions I’ve been putting off for ages, I am bursting with ideas for writing – my body can’t keep up!

Many people find January a difficult month to do a juice cleanse due to the drop in temperatures, others find it an ideal time after all the Christmas over-indulgence, when they are full of New Year resolve.

Spring isn’t too far away – I have crocuses out already in the third week of January and daffodil buds that have been bursting to open for a couple of weeks now – so if you didn’t manage to join in the January Juicing, but have seen the stunning results achieved by others who have:

Why not plan to do it in February or March?

Here are some tips on how to begin:

  1.   Begin by reducing your intake of processed foods, sugar, coffee and alcohol while adding fresh veg and fruit. This will reduce any withdrawal symptoms you might experience in your first few days of a juice cleanse.
  2. At the same time as you are preparing yourself physically, prepare yourself mentally by reading a book or watching a film about juicing and how to go about it.*
  3. Make sure you use a nutritionally-balanced plan.
  4. Buy the best juicer and blender you can afford. Seek the advice of regular juicers, read my reviews and those of other bloggers/consumer sites. If you’re reluctant to splash out until you’ve given it a try, you can often find secondhand juicers at car boot sales and on eBay.
  5. Introduce one juice a day to get into the habit and get used to the preparation, timing and consuming of it.
  6. Find a good local source of organic fruit and veg if possible
  7. There will always be people around you who are sceptical, arm yourself with the knowledge you need to commit to your goal, don’t try to engage them, let them see your results.
  8. If possible, recruit some like-minded friends, or find support online, there are Facebook juicing groups and lots of juicers on Twitter who will provide support and advice.
  9. See your doctor before embarking on a cleanse, have your BP, cholesterol, blood sugar and so on tested, then again later on.
  10. Don’t just weigh yourself, take your measurements too. It is usually these that are the most startling if you need to drop a size or two.
  11. You don’t need to juice just to lose weight. Do it for your health!

You will be so pleased with the improved condition of your skin and your hair, your eyes will shine again, you will have more energy, feel more alert. Many people experience improvements in aches and pains and chronic conditions, including Type 2 diabetes, as well as more balanced hormones and a resetting of your taste buds!

You will discover which foods irritate your digestive system, produce mucous, make you feel tired and which make you feel more alive.

You will be flooding your system with all the nutrients it needs and it will thank you for it!

NB You don’t need to do a cleanse to beenfit from juicing, just adding one green juice a day will make a difference to your health and sense of well-being.

I have one more day of my Super Juicing and I am so looking forward to the shakes for tonight and tomorrow night’s meal – they both have home-made almond milk in them (see Nut Milks, Shakes and Smoothie Recipes). Yum!

*http://www.juicemaster.com for Jason Vale’s Juicing Plans

You can watch Super Juice Me! The Documentary free on YouTube here:

*Joe Cross’s website also has juicing plans and resources while his film Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead is another inspirational tool when considering juicing.

http://www.rebootwithjoe.com

Copyright: Chris McGowan

Super Juicing Day 9: Uncovering Sensitivities & Intolerances

One of the many interesting aspects of doing a juice cleanse is that it can often confirm or uncover food sensitivities and intolerances. This occurs either during a cleanse or when you begin gradually introducing solid food again. It is easier to identify the offending foods.

As I indicated in my first Super Juicing post, I knew I was sensitive to pineapple. Following Day 1’s juices, and the severe effects it had on my mouth and stomach, I cut back drastically on the pineapple, just having a thin slice when called for but only once on the relevant days: if 2 juices required pineapple, one was replaced with apple.

I also stopped having lime – the addition seemed to compound the effects of the pineapple – and have been replacing them with kiwi or lemon.

Then came Day 5’s morning juice with pineapple and the afternoon juice with the tomatoes, which I hadn’t had for over 6 months. I had a really bad time next day. (See Bit of a Wobble). I put it all down to the tomatoes and skipping a juice.

However, after 3 days of juices without any pineapple, Day 1’s first juice came around again this morning and despite only including a small slice of it, I felt the effects straightaway. Not as severely as that first time, but I could feel a slight tenderness of my tongue and inflammation in my stomach.

And so, I have to accept that these items do not suit me and I have decided to let them go. Tomatoes I don’t mind too much, but I love pineapple and so many juices contain it.

This Super Juicing fortnight has clearly confirmed that it is bad for me.

Years of painkillers, muscle-relaxants, and Non-steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs led to moderate gastritis which is extremely painful and takes a long time to settle down again once reactivated. Having stopped the medication, the gastritis is under control if I stay clear of trigger foods.

 I have to accept that pineapple sets it off and I have been in denial because I love it so much.

I can’t hide from it any longer, and I have decided that’s it from now on.

Fortunately, the second juice today contains fennel and hopefully this will help calm my stomach down again.

(Update: It did!)

Moral of the story: Always listen to your body!

Copyright: Chris McGowan

Super Juicing Day 8 Back on Track – My Reward? Parsnips!

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Prep for Mineral Medicine

Here we are, Day 8, back on track after my weekend wobble, feeling good and very proud of myself for getting through it and sticking to my goal of 14 days’ juice only.

So what’s my ‘reward’ for making it through Saturday’s struggle?

Parsnip!

Except, not. As you can see from the photo, the offending parsnip is noticably absent from the prep board and replaced with a sweet potato. I have tried at least half a dozen times to have parsnip juice, but for me it never gets any better and I have decided to just give in and adapt accordingly. It is my one weakness and I think I’ve done well.

The juice turned out really tasty – sweet potato is one of my favourite vegetables to juice, skin on when organic – as was this morning’s Oxygen Elixir:

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Another lovely beetroot and avocado blend

Quiet day today, no disasters, no wobbles. Just lots of honest to goodness juicy veg and feeling fantastic!

 

Super Juicing: Day 7 – Bit of a Wobble

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For Goodness Shake

Yep, I admit it, I had a bit of a wobble yesterday.

I was hungry. I was cold. I was tired. I was fed-up with the grey, damp weather. Everything hurt. Then at night I couldn’t sleep. My tummy was gurgling. I was seriously concerned about being able to carry on another week.

I had decided to have a rest in the late afternoon. This caused me to break one of my own Tenets of Juicing: Remember to have your juice!

By the time I got up, I was so hungry I skipped the green juice and went straight to the more substantial evening shake, Tahini Cocoa Beany.* I had been looking forward to this all week, it was lovely.

But in doing so, I filled myself up and didn’t feel like having the skipped juice before I went to bed.

Big Mistake.

I just couldn’t fall asleep. I tried the slow breathing technique – breathe in to a count of 4, hold for 7, breathe out for 8 – which certainly made me feel more relaxed,  but I couldn’t drop off. My tummy growling and gurgling. I tried the audiobook. 3 cds later I could ignore it no longer.

Finally, I got up at 3 am, had the missed juice and 6 cashew nuts – magnesium helps you relax and can help with insomnia – and went back to bed. I fell asleep.

Today, I am back on track. All systems are go. I know I can do this. I no longer feel tired and am superalert again.

I think what also happened was that my body reacted to the tomatoes in a juice on Day 5. I haven’t had them since doing the Clear Skin Programme* and had always wondered if I was sensitive to them. My stomach felt bloated after the juice and I had slight indigestion. I felt uncomfortable that night, but not seriously. That’s the only other thing I can think of to explain yesterday’s pain and tiredness and consequent need to rest.

Further Tip:

I forgot to mention in an earlier post that, psychologically, it helps if you ‘eat’ the thicker blends and shakes with a spoon rather than straight from the glass. If you also chew, even better. It makes the juice last longer and you feel more satisfied.

A Juice Cleanse/Fast/Detox is Not a Diet:

I have so far lost 4 lbs. But as I indicated at the start, I am not doing this to lose weight.

When I was at the dentist’s last week, I got into a conversation with the receptionist about juicing. She asked me if I could recommend a plan.*

She also looked me up and down and said, ‘But why are you doing it?’ clearly linking juicing with dieting.

I told her I was doing it for the health benefits. That it helps with the aches and pains, that I hadn’t had to use an inhaler for 2 years, that I had cleared myself of a horrible rash,* that it eased my digestive problems, lowered my cholesterol and gives me more energy.

I am definitely carrying on.

*http://www.juicemaster.com

*A Rash Decision?

Copyright: Chris McGowan

Super Juicing Day 6: The Tempting Smells of Melted Cheese and Spicy Teacakes

I am not going to lie to you, doing a long juice fast or cleanse is not easy. It requires mental and physical preparation, commitment, determination and sheer will-power. You also need to be able to explain your actions to the naysayers!

By now, after doing several juice fasts, I have all this down-pat. But yesterday I struggled.

For me, the hardest part is the smells of family cooking. Not the actual food. I wouldn’t normally eat the pies, pizzas, potatoes or pasta anyway.

No, it’s just the smell.

Before I gave up dairy, my favourite food was cheese. I love/d cheese and never for a second did I believe I could ever go a day without it. It would be my luxury item on Desert Island Discs!*

When I was a student, I was in cheese heaven. The local market would sell huge rounds of Lancashire cheese, both crumbly or creamy, take your pick or have both, why not?! I would buy a wedge to take home but would have consumed it all on the way back. Too irresistible.

When I met my husband, he would only ever eat cheese sliced with fruit cake once a year at Christmas! It’s a Yorkshire thing. Now, he eats it practically every day.

But it’s not the fact of cheese being around, it doesn’t bother me. I really have no desire to eat it.

It’s the smell of cheese melted that is the thing that is causing me the most problems on this juice fast. Melted cheese. It’s there, every day. On pizza, on pasta, on rice, on jacket potato and, his pride and joy, home-made cheese and herb sausages!

Don’t get me wrong, I definitely don’t want to eat the cheese.

There’s just something primal about certain food smells that are tied up with memories. They conjure up the pleasures, the joy, the social rituals, family get-togethers.

The saliva glands start to work overtime and the digestive juices begin to gurgle. Your tummy rumbles. I practically drool, the juices are flowing so freely.

Until you do a juice fast,  you aren’t really aware of how much of your day is spent thinking about, preparing, cooking and eating food. My juices are made in the morning, and take very little time to consume, so that leaves a huge chunk of empty hours where you find yourself looking around for something to occupy your thoughts and distract you from the smells while others are cooking and eating.

My husband, though, doesn’t get this.

Every mealtime we have to go through the same ritual when he asks me what he should have for lunch/dinner etc.

Should he have quiche? Pizza? Pasta?

Then, this morning I woke up to the smell of freshly baked bread!

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(And don’t get me started on his toasted cinnamon fruit teacakes!)

Oh, the smells, the smells!!

*http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04stgz0

Copyright: Chris McGowan

Super Juicing Days 4 & 5: Beetroot & Snow!

Day 4 : Beetroot juice everywhere except in my tummy, and I was soooo hungry! Took us ages to clean up: after we took these photos, we lifted up the base to find red juice pouring out of the bottom like it had just had it’s jugular sliced!

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Tip No. 1 for today: Make sure you tighten the lid properly!!

(The juice, Anti-Oxidant King, was lovely by the way. Pineapple, beetroot, mixed berries, banana, apple, spinach. Yum).

No further surprises on Day 4, but the temperature was dropping and I know that for many, doing a juice cleanse in January is a real challenge.

Cycling to and from work every day in icy weather and working in cold conditions can cause a rethink. I am fortunate in that I am in a warm environment, but even I am sitting with a hot water bottle on my knee!

Lots of herbal and fruit teas and hot water can help, but if you really begin to suffer then transitioning to light soups is recommended. Jason Vale’s Soup’n’Juice me plan is a good place to start.*

Tip No. 2:  Try not to jump right back in to eating starchy, fatty meals. Your digestion will suffer. 

Day 5: Our first dusting of snow!

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It had begun to thaw by the time I took this. 

I am feeling good. No headaches at all this time. I am super-alert, my skin and hair look good and I also survived a visit to the dentist! I am keeping hydrated this time too. No cravings now. On Day 2 I would have given my right arm for an apple or some Brazil nuts – my usual morning snack!

After several juice cleanses, one thing I have learned is that I often can’t manage a whole serving of juice and I can’t go the full 3 hours between juices. So, if a juice is too much for me to consume all in one go, I divide them and have them more often, so every 2 hours or so rather than 3.

Tip No. 3: It is important to listen to your body.

I have lost another pound, making 3 so far. I am keeping an eye on my weight loss as I don’t need to lose any, having already lost 36lbs since I began juicing 2 years ago.

Tip No. 4:  if you want to do a juice cleanse for health reasons and don’t especially want or need to lose weight you can add ‘a little something’ to the juice in an easily digested form.

For instance, some Udo’s Choice Oil, or some ground up almonds or seeds. Yesterday, I added some homegrown mung bean sprouts that I didn’t want to waste. The extra ‘little something’ will help keep you feeling satisfied for longer too.

When I get into the juice plan and I get used to not eating whole foods, I have a tendency to forget my juice. When I am not having to think about meals or mealtimes, I become preoccupied with other things. I become involved, time passes and suddenly I am feeling light-headed. Blood sugar levels crash. Oops, missed a juice.

Tip No. 5: Remember to have your juice!

The next 2 days will be a bigger challenge I think because the temperature is set to plummet further and also because my body is used to beginning the transition after 5 days. But I am really looking forward to the Tahini Cocoa Beaney!

*http://www.juicemaster.com

Copyright: Chris McGowan

Super Juicing: Days 2 & 3 Trouble Sleeping? Hunger Pangs? 10 Tips to Help You Through The ‘Difficult Days!’

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The second night of a juice cleanse is usually the part I struggle with. I get quite hungry in the evening and often have trouble sleeping, partly through hunger but also from being super-alert.

The ‘juicy high’ begins to kick in just at the point where you’re wondering if you should just give in, get up, and go and raid the fridge or snack cupboard. So here is some advice:

  1. Don’t do it! It will pass.
  2. Listen to an audiobook or some relaxing music until you drop off.
  3. Have some valerian or chamomile tea. I also like Clipper’s Snore and Peace.
  4. Lavender drops in a bath, on your pillowcase or a hanky work well.
  5. I also find Rescue Remedy Night-Time Drops helpful for turning off the buzzing thoughts long enough to fall asleep.
  6. Rest is important when doing a juice cleanse, so if absolutely necessary, have a little something (as Winnie the Pooh was often inclined to do!), but make that little something count.
  7. Don’t be tempted to eat mindlessly. You will be proud of yourself for seeing it through and will feel amazing next day.
  8.  Don’t reach for your partner’s leftover pizza or that slice of carrot cake you selflessly made for your children’s tea. No, really, don’t. You’ll thank me for this. Promise.
  9. Instead, try half a ripe avocado with some black pepper and a squeeze of lemon. Or a small, ripe banana. Or half of one of the Juice Master’s Juice Bars.*
  10. And don’t give yourself a hard time for ‘giving in!’ Instead, give yourself a pat on the back for choosing a healthy option and sticking to your goal.

This time, although I had trouble getting to sleep – I had a lot on my mind – I did manage to eventually and didn’t have to get up in the night to assuage those demonic temptations.

I think I may have cracked this juicing lark!

I got up, congratulated myself, and looked forward to the first main juice of the day: Sweet ‘n’ Smooth Blend. 

Hang on. Parsnip?! No way! Jason, how could you?!

(Regular readers will already know of my complete antipathy towards this genuinely nutrient-filled vegetable, but if you are bemused then please read my post ‘Pears But No More Parsnips’)*.

My husband knows better and thankfully had replaced it with sweet potato. And very nice it was too.

Phew, that was close!

Ps Although I don’t normally weigh myself during a cleanse, and am not looking to lose a significant amount – just the extra couple of Christmas pounds – for those interested in knowing these things: I have so far lost 2lbs. If it starts going beyond 5, I will begin adding more extras to my juices, or have an extra one each day.

Onwards and upwards – or downwards, or something! You know what I mean!

*http://www.juicemaster.com

*https://pearsnotparsnips.com/2015/11/06/pears-but-no-more-parsnips/

Disclaimer: As always, if you are thinking of doing a juice cleanse, please be sure to check with your doctor first. These posts are my personal experiences with juicing.

Copyright: Chris McGowan