I was out watering the garden a few days ago and spotted my first cucumber ready to be harvested. I use cucumbers in my smoothie as the flavor is mild and pleasant, it adds various micro-nutrients and increases the bulk of my smoothie without altering the taste too much. Now, the cucumber isn't a nutritional superstar like broccoli, greens, etc., but they have their place. I will buy local and fresh when I can, but that isn't too often. This time of year it is possible. So, yesterday I went out and harvested the lonely cucumber and put it in the fridge. Keeping your veggies cool can slow down the ripening process and can also slow down the "respiration" process. So today, when making my smoothie, rather than use a store-bought cucumber that was waxed and required peeling, I just threw the whole cucumber into the mix with the rest of it and didn't give it another thought. Nutritionally, that cucumber was light years ahead of the store-bought cucumber, but would it have been better to go out to pick it from the garden and then walk it into the house and then wash it and then put it into the Vita-Mix? Sure, but what is my gain vs. my loss? My gain would be some fraction of a percentage increase of nutrients (I really don't know the difference) and that is a good thing. But my loss would be having to get up a bit earlier, go to the garden through the damp grass, look around under the damp leaves for the cucumber, walk back through the wet grass (now with mud on my shoes from the garden), clean off my damp shoes before coming the house and then making the smoothie. It is hard enough to be up at 5:30 most days, adding that would be just one more thing to do. Anything that makes my Reboot more troublesome is something I'd like to avoid. Now, I am certainly willing to compromise when I can, but I also know those things that are likely to cause me issues. If someone told me I had to use olives, say, in my juicing, I think I'd just avoid the program. But if someone told me I had to use Chard, I'd manage even thought I'm not a huge fan (one of the few greens I don't like).
When it comes to nutrition, don't let the thought of there being only "one way" to do it correctly hinder you. You don't need the same juicer as Joe to do a successful Reboot. They are excellent juicers, but if you already have one, try that. Maybe you'll try a Breville and not want to live without it. Excellent. Don't think you have to use the recipes on the web page. You may not like some of them and that could put you off. Stick to the "spirit of the law" and don't worry about the "letter of the law." Get plenty of veggies/greens and some fruit into each day and work out the rest yourself. Lay out all the veggies and fruit you'll juice on the counter and ask yourself, "would I really eat this much produce in a day?" The answer is probably a resounding "No!" So, if you normally eat a donut and coffee for breakfast, a Big Mac meal for lunch and a frozen dinner for your evening meal, do you really think it will matter all that much if your freshly made juice sits in a bottle in the fridge for a few hours? Do you think it really, really matters that much if you are using a Champion or Breville juicer vs. an Omega which has slower RPMs and keeps the juice a bit cooler during the juicing process? If you were working on a science project, maybe. You are working on your Reboot. You are likely getting an astronomically higher amount of nutrients while juicing than eating a normal diet. As long as you are sure you are getting enough calories/food/juice/nutrition into your body, you are doing way better than your normal diet. So, sure, I could have walked out this morning and picked the cucumber and gotten a few more nutrients. I was lazy. Still, that cucumber in my fridge for only twelve hours didn't get picked a week or more ago in California or Florida and then get processed, waxed, flown all over the country, eventually ending up in my local store. I am way ahead of the game with my fresh, organic, garden cuke even after it sits next to some beets in my refrigerator overnight From the moment they are picked, fruits and veggies start losing various nutritional components. The odds are good that many of them were not ripe when picked to ensure the long trip. I didn't get the best nutritional return on it, but I did alright. SO, does that mean we give up juicing unless we can grow them ourselves and pick them in our PJs right before we juice them six times a day? No. That would be religion. We're not in a religion here. This is freedom. Freedom from enslavement to poor food choices, freedom from overdoing it and freedom from dogmatic social pressures regarding food. Don't sweat the small stuff. I don't grow all the produce I juice. I buy it from the store. I don't worry about it. Just start where you are and go from there. Do the basics: Juice the freshest, best quality produce you can find, ensuring you are getting a lot of veggies and some good fruit. Do it the way Joe outlined, but you don't have to do it exactly as Joe outlined (like, with an Aussie accent). Get enough nutrition and calories to get you through your day. If you are not sure, there is a good "Ask the Nutritionist" group on the web site. If you juice ahead, put your extra juice in an air-tight container (fill it all the way if you can) and keep it cool. If you can't do that, just do your best. Don't get discouraged because you are not doing it "perfectly" (whatever the heck that might be). The most important thing is that you are doing it. Do it!!
Progress:
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| I am 15% through the 60 days. |
Weight: 160.2 lbs.
Food: Fruit/Veg Smoothie With Hemp Seed
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