So. I’m into juicing now. Well ok, yesterday I bought a juicer and I’m on my second juice. So, I’m totally into juicing. For reals yo.  It’s been one day and I scoff at junk food.  I can feel the power and energy of sweet vegetables coursing through my veins… It may be psychological at this point, but I’m running with it!

To answer your questions, no, I’m not on a juice cleanse (though I haven’t ruled that out, lots of the internet has done a juice cleanse and really seem to like it).  For now, I’m juicing to get sweet vegetable nutrients and to help cut down on some calories, since apparently a summer full of wine, beer, macarons, and junk food does wonders for one’s love handles. Wonders I tell you. And also, I could use to cut down on some calories since I spend most of my day sitting (it is busy wedding season and I am also still a tax lawyer (and maybe, just a teensy tiny bit since it is bachelor pad season)).

So, with that in mind, yesterday I picked up my brand new baby juicer (a Hamilton Beach 67650 Big Mouth Pro Juice Extractor for those of you who are into the details like me). I got it on craigslist for $35, which (especially in Canada) is a SWEET DEAL for a juicer. And on top of that, it has a 1.1 horsepower motor. 1.1 horsepower people! That’s like the power of 1.1 horses. Which is approximately infinity times the amount of horses I had before I got the juicer.

Since I was gallivanting through Toronto with a gigantic juicer, I didn’t think it prudent to go to the grocery store, so my first juice was a concoction made from veggies I had at home. Spinach, asparagus, and butternut squash. It tasted fine (I’m already used to spinach in my smoothies) and it looked like this! Who knew this colour existed in nature?

But today, today was the real day I got to test out the sweet power of the juicer. My one and only stop on my way home from the office today was the grocery store, where I picked up lots of veggies (and a container of yogurt, because I love yogurt) for $25! I got (from left, clockwise) tomatoes, kale, broccoli, sweet potatos (because I’m allergic to carrots), parsley, green onions, ginger, apples, jicama (that one’s not for juicing, just for eating, YUM!), red peppers, beets and their greens and cucumbers. I feel like that’s kind of a lot of veggies for about $20.

Then I chose some veggies for today’s juice. Remember folks, this was my second juice, so I may (just may) have bitten off more than I could chew fit into the juice compartment. I chose (again counter clockwise) parsley, a green onion, beet greens and 2 beets, a cucumber, a sweet potato, an apple, and some ginger.

I then started juicing. Ok. Now. Let me tell you something. Juicing is F.U.N. Especially when you have the power of 1.1 horses helping you out. One day I’m going to make a video to show you just how awesome juicing is. You’ll be converted. Earlier today on the interwebs, I learned that you should juice your ginger and onions first, because they have some special oils that the other vegetables push through the strainer. So I did. Next up, the beets (the juice that comes out of those babies is BEAUTIFUL), and about half of the sweet potato. At that point, I realized that my juice bin was getting pretty full, so I opted to add in half the cucumber and have that be it. And it filled up my juice cup perfectly. I really did have too many vegetables, though. The third picture is the leftovers!

At this point, I was getting pretty excited to drink my pretty power juice. I mixed it up with a wooden spoon and then poured as much of it would fit into a tall glass. Doesn’t it look like yummy strawberry watermelon juice?

I have to say, I could have gone easier on the ginger (I used about an inch) and the green onion. For the next little while I’m going to hold off the green onion (it’s a little to onion-y for my taste) and I’m going to use less ginger for a more subtle and less “holy crap this juice is SPICY” flavour! Otherwise, though, delicious.

And I can’t wait for tomorrow morning’s juice!

Any bets on how long this new (and kind of cute, check out my juice moustache) obsession will last?