Juiced

I woke up on day one to a text from my aunt in Arizona. She sent me a scripture and a photo of her juice. I am the person who does this kind of stuff for other people, and I am not used to being on the receiving end. It is humbling, encouraging, and it made day one so much easier to tackle. Before my feet hit the floor I knew that someone was with me, someone had gone before me.

Want to eat healthy? Shop healthy! It used to bother me that my husband would drink a case of soda in a week – until I realized that I was the one buying it at the grocery store. I stopped bringing it home and his cola consumption decreased significantly. When I went to bed on Sunday night, it looked like a farmer’s market in my kitchen. There was a whole shelf in the fridge devoted to kale. I know from past experience that the biggest part of success is being prepared. I know some of you are saying “That probably cost a small fortune, eating healthy is so expensive!” My guess is that people who say that have never really tried. I went to Sprouts – one of the expensive health-food stores in my area. I purchased everything that was on sale in the produce department. I got raspberries for $0.98, pears were 3lbs for $1, and organic kale was $1.25 per bunch. I passed up the items that weren’t on sale, knowing that if I needed them I could get them cheaper at a different store. I walked away spending $55.22. If I were eating and not juicing, it is possible that we could have lived off of those pears for a week!

Monday evening I went into the kitchen to prepare for Tuesday…and my husband followed. He washed and I sliced and juiced. I was ready for the you’re going to put that in there comments, but they never came. When it was all over, he washed the juicer, just like he had that morning. To anyone who has never juiced – that is an act of love! Tonight, when we came home, my husband and my daughter joined me in the kitchen. He washed, I sliced, and she juiced. We found a rhythm. My husband, who had to work a long day, my daughter who had cousins over yet chose to drink juice all day, and even my son (who does not like vegetables) have rallied around me in support. Rather than complain about the fact there there isn’t much good food in the house – which means no easy meals – my son decided on his own that he was going to add one vegetable to his daily cup of juice every day until he was at seven. Y’all – this is nothing short of a miracle! My son juiced a carrot and a red bell pepper tonight, and he drank it. He kind of curled up his nose and said it tasted a lot like bell pepper (by the way, he doesn’t like carrots or bell peppers), but he drank it anyway.

I did get a headache this afternoon. I toughed it out for about an hour and a half and then I remembered that I gave myself grace when I made this choice. I don’t have to be perfect, I can improvise when I need to. So I took one 200mg ibuprofen, and I felt fine about twenty minutes later. In her book Grace, Not Perfection, Emily Ley offers great advice, and I am slowly learning that lesson – good has to be enough sometimes.

“Don’t sacrifice the good to chase the perfect.”

Emily Ley

Right now, I am looking forward to next week and having a bowl of fruit or a cup of soup. While I am not hungry often, I want to eat! I knew this would not be easy, but it is honestly easier than I anticipated. It is amazing what you can do when you surround yourself with people who love you, who want to see you succeed – people who join you on your journey.