Friday, January 31, 2014

You're A Vegan, What Do You Eat: (Orange Goddess Juice Edition)

I have been feeling very run-down lately.  Actually, “run-down” is kind of a euphemism. “Non-functional” might be a better term.  Life has changed a lot in the past couple of months, and it has all been very exhausting.

While Will is happy enough to watch PBS Kids during my frequent (and often extended) non-functional bouts, I really do not want to spend my days passed out in bed, on the couch, or sometimes even the floor.  I just would like my energy back.  There is so much yet to be done.

Although I am hungry all the time and eating a lot, I feel depleted and am craving nutrients.  One day when I had already eaten lunch but was still hungry and literally too tired to chew, I decided to throw together some fruits and vegetables and make a juice that was sure to help me feel better.  The good news: this juice turned out *amazing*.  The bad news: I am still tired.

Even so, I keep making this juice (almost every day) because it is so good.  I call it “Orange Goddess Juice,” and here are the ingredients:

  • 3-4 large carrots
  • 2 oranges
  • 2 apples (there’s only 1 in the picture below—2 work out much better)
  • 3 baby sweet peppers

IMG 2774

IMG 2775

I run all this through my juicer, which itself is an exhausting process.  The carrots and peppers are easy—I just cut off the tops.  But the oranges need peeled and the apples need cored.  Sometimes when I cannot stand up that long, I try to get Rob to do this for me.

When all is said and done, this quantity of fruit/veg makes about 2 to 2.5 glasses of juice.  I could chug the entire thing in about 15 seconds flat, but Rob and I usually share it.  On occasion, I can get Will to take one tiny sip, but he maintains (erroneously) that the juice is “yucky” and continues to exasperate me with his general refusal to consume anything healthy. 

The clean-up processes is an intense, hugely daunting task that I usually try to get Rob to do for me; otherwise, I have to wait for a tiny spark of energy that will give me the wherewithal to scoop out the pulp from the juicer, then put the remaining parts in the dishwasher and press “start."

I’m sure that one of these days, I’ll get my energy back and remember what it was like to be the kind of person who once contemplated which hundred miler would be her first (implying, of course, that there would be many). Until then, the only way out is through.

Thanks for reading.

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