Juicing without a Juicer
Pineapple Jalapeno Mint Juice, clearing and cleansing, a nighttime belly button massage + my growing October Glimmer List
I miss my old juicer. We had to leave it behind during our most recent house move. It felt too big to bring along, but after following a mostly-liquid diet this week and noticing how cold-pressed juices taste better, I’m really feeling its absence. Until I commit to getting another one, though, I’ll make it work with a high powered blender and a fine mesh strainer. A purée and a couple of pushes through the wires, and technically I have “fresh-pressed” juice that’s nearly as good as something cold-pressed—although not quite.
A Deep Cleanse for Body and Home
Places limit us, challenge us, expand us, support us, bore us, and excite us. Every aspect of these interactions becomes a part of our total well-being, often in subtle and unexamined ways.
- Healing Environments
After returning from a weekend away in Houston, celebrating some friends at the Southern Smoke Fest and traveling and sitting for many hours on the road, it felt right this week to hit the reset button on things. I’ve noticed that clearing up space, decluttering and throwing things away, in both my body and my home, opens pathways for fresh new energy to flow through, plus, it’s a full moon tomorrow— a good time for completing cycles and releasing the old.
I thrifted a brilliant book a few years ago called Healing Environments by writer and architect Carol Venolia. It’s one of my favorite books. I skimmed through the pages again this week, soaking up more of her detailed holistic wisdom. We all know that how we treat our bodies will directly impact our health; however, Venolia shares insights on why our relationship to our home space needs just as much consideration when addressing our well-being. She writes:
On a rudimentary level, my own home quickly reflects whether I am taking good care of myself. When I am so busy that I forget to treat myself lovingly, I see dirty dishes, unopened mail, dying houseplants, and films of dust; I soon become both inconvenienced and disheartened. But when I begin to care for myself, my environment soon becomes more ordered and joyous; the flourishing houseplant returns the love I give it, clean dishes are available when I need them, and I see around me evidence of my capabilities and creativity, all of which help me feel more confident. This feedback loop can be entered at any point.
And of course, the same basic rules apply for the body, so in the theme of cleansing, I decided to try out Zen Cleanz recommended to me by a trusted mentor. I’m not big on liquid fasts, or whole day fasts either, but I decided to give it a try. The beginning process of the cleanse involves fasting for a day while taking supplements and enzymes, followed by a 2 day liquid diet of fresh juices, broths, and herbal teas.
This explains why I come bearing juice recipes this week. No solid food.