Why make your own juice? Juicing has many health benefits. For example, it helps you to creatively get in enough servings of fruits and veggies each day; it boosts energy levels; it is fresh and full of nutrients (which rapidly oxidize within 20 minutes of juicing. . .so what does that say about juice bought from the store - not to mention the additives, preservatives, sugar, and pasteurization store-bought juice goes through!!); it's full of enzymes, vitamins, and minerals that our bodies need; nutrients are in a form our bodies can absorb; cleanses the body; boosts the immune system; and increases our consumption of raw food. . . to name a few. Just google "benefits of juicing" and you'll have plenty of reading material to convince you of it's benefits! This site gives a good overview of the benefits and this site does an excellent job discussing the nutritional benefits of each vegetable and fruit. Lydia LOVES drinking vegetable juice and will usually pound her hands together signing, "more." I love knowing it's healthy and a great way for her to get her veggies!
Why did I choose the Omega 8003 juicer? Well, there are lots of juicers out there and this website gives a good description of them along with the pros and cons. In short, I went with the Omega 8003 for these reasons:
- Juices fruits, vegetables, and wheatgrass
- Juices at 80 RPM's so it does not heat up the juice and loose any of the nutrients
- Quick and easy to clean, assemble, and disassemble
- Good warranty
These were the things I was looking for in a juicer, and the Omega 8003 had the best price (other juicers with these features were about $200 more). There are also some added bonuses - it makes nut butters, pasta, baby food, frozen desserts, grinds, minces, and chops. It is also very quiet. Overall, I'm really satisfied with it and LOVE the fact that we are drinking our vegetables every morning. My only regret is that I didn't get a juicer before now!
Now, for Miss Patty Cake - it's a sing-a-long video for kids (the cover recommends ages 1-5). Miss Patty Cake and several preschool children with her sing praise songs while skipping, clapping, hopping, dancing, etc. The lyrics are wonderful and it is so precious to watch Lydia try to hop, dance, clap, and sing with them. Lydia LOVES it and will ask to watch Miss Patty Cake all the time (she has never been like this with any other video). You'll find yourself waking up singing the words as well :). I can't recommend it highly enough!
8 comments:
I'm sold! Sign me up for that juicer! I had no idea that the nutrients oxidate so rapidly; thanks for doing your homework on this. I borrowed a friend's juicer to use for a few days, just to see if it was something I'd actually use, and I loved it.
And I've never heard of Miss Pattycake, but I likelearning about new things to introduce to Maggie.
Thanks, Krista!
- shannon
P.S.
Hey, the link you gave for the juicer - is this where you purchased yours?
Shannon,
I actually purchased it from Amazon simply because we were ordering some other stuff and it was just easier. It seems to be the same price on most websites, so just look for one with free shipping. The warranty is from the manufacturer so I don't think it matters where you order it.
I'm so excited you're thinking of getting one!
As for Miss Patty Cake, my mom found that at Family Christian Bookstores (I'm pretty sure Lifeway does not carry it).
Awesome recommendation Krista. I'm sold too!
Krista,
Thanks for your post. My folks gave me a juicer a while back but I haven't used it much and this has inspired me to get it back out. I was just curious what some of your favorite veggie-fruit juice combinations are. Are there any your baby likes more than others?
Thanks,
Meagan
Meagan,
Lydia and I both love carrot juice as the base. I've started with this and tried adding to it other things - like cucumbers and/or beets. Since carrots still have more natural sugars than other veggies, I'm trying to increase the number of cucumbers and decrease carrots as I try juicing other things. I have a juicing cookbook (and there's lots online too) but I just haven't gotten that far. At night sometimes we'll juice fruits for a dessert or special treat and we've enjoyed apples, oranges, strawberries, bannanas or a combo of them. Apples are great because there is apple sauce that's made with it too. When you juice carrots there's quite a bit to discard at the end and I'm thinking of using this on salads and in breads and muffins. Hope this helps!
Hey Krista, so the Miss Pattycake songs are actually theologically sound? Cool, I am putting it on my wish list for little Cuddling.
Good information on the juicer, I have the Vitamix which juices everything without anything to discard. It is amazing but also very expensive I actually raided my mom's pantry she hasn't used it in years. I make apple juice and you can use the entire apple as well as carrot juice with other fruits and veggies. I amke all of Lydia's juice as well as my own. I make tomato with cucumber and carrot and spinach as well. My juicer also grounds wheat as well as flax etc....As far a recipes be creative and I also have a cookbook. This is one of my current favorite things as well. Thanks for the info Krista!
AJ
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