Before you all scream "we're not supposed to drink juice," hear me out.
I had a Vitamix that has been sitting in my garage for years. I figured I'd never use it again but last week I had an idea. I get very busy and one thing I've noticed, for me, about living low carb is that I sometimes tend to get lazy with vegetables. I end up eating too much cheese or just grabbing some sliced lunchmeat, drinking Atkins shakes, etc. and sometimes don't get my veggies unless I go out to eat and order an entree and ask the server to substitute extra veggies for the rice or potatoes. For me, veggies bring down my blood sugar and I know they are good for me.
I like vegetables but lately I get so busy sometimes that when the time comes I don't feel like cooking, steaming, chopping or sauteeing, and while canned vegetables are easy - I don't think they are as good for you as fresh ones.
Years ago, I had a regular juicer and ditched it because it was a pain in the rear to place the pulp filter in it, clean it, clear out the pulp, make sure the blades were not clogged with pulp, dismantle and then reassemble it, and the pulp in my trash was nasty, that is why I bought the Vitamix in the first place: It grinds everything up so you get all the fiber and leaves nothing behind. It looks like a giant blender but it has the strength to juice all fruit and vegetables whereas a regular blender just can't handle that.
What I have been doing is "juicing" green veggies. I don't go overboard, I only place as much in there as I would a salad so I am not getting an overload of carbs. You can throw just about anything in it.
Example: A handful of fresh spinach, a cut up zuchini, a handful of cilantro, half an avacado, parsley, jicama - whatever you have on hand. If I want it a little sweet I might toss in a handful of berries or add a scoop of vanilla low carb protein powder. I also put a little raw ginger root in there (my 95 year old aunt avoided gall bladder surgery for the past twenty years by eating ginger root and watching her diet).
Most of the recipes for smoothies online are too sugary so I just decided to improvise and I have been very pleased with how much I can do with this thing. Chard, romaine lettuce, broccoli, the Vitamix can handle it. All I do is rinse the vegetables - you don't have to cut the stems off the spinach or anything. If it's too thick, just add more liquid.
Warning: Watch out for onions! Years ago I made a veggie drink and like an idiot I put a huge chunk of onion it there and had a burning stomach all day. No onions in the Vitamix for me!
It is so fast and easy and now I am getting my vegetables - fiber, vitamins, minerals and all, every day. I never dreamed I'd eat veggies first thing in the morning but now I am. The Vitamix is so easy! Just put it all in there with some water, coconut milk or almond milk and it takes less than a minute to juice. To clean it you just rinse with water. So easy, convenient and healthy.
Oh yeah, the Vitamix can also make fresh butter. I have't tried that yet but I will some day.
The Vitamix is pricey, I think they run around $500, but I think it's worth it. That thing was in storage for almost ten years and it fired up perfectly last week. I am so glad I kept mine and didn't toss it after I figured out that fruit juices just aren't in my diet anymore. I feel a lot better getting vegetables in every day. It also fills you up for quite a few hours.
