Sunrise Surprise Juice Recipe {31 Days of Self-Care}

Welcome to Day 2 of my 2014 #Write31Days journey! If you are new here, you can read a little more about me in the sidebar. 

A few days ago, I mentioned juicing in regards to having my wisdom teeth extracted. I absolutely love my Omega juicer (purchased when it was on special on Amazon!), and I wish I had an unlimited budget to spend on fruit! As it was, I spent what amounted to a gazillion (no… really!) dollars on juice for the week and a half following my surgery.

I found juicing to be easier on my teeth than smoothies (no random berry seeds getting stuck!), and save for a few meals of soft foods like yogurt, mashed potatoes, and the like, I stuck to my juice. Looking back, I really should have stuck to juice only, as I’ve always wanted to try a juice fast, but by the time I thought about it, I was able to chew. Oooh, how I missed chewing. Ha!

I did, however, become quite reliant on my juice and looked forward to it every morning and lunch. You might say I was addicted. Juice was all I had for two of three meals (sometimes, it was for every meal) every day. Juice doesn’t sound filling, but it really was. I couldn’t believe that I felt full (comfortably so), and that I didn’t get hungry until it was time to eat again.

For the most part, I just threw in what fruit (blueberries, grapes, apples, raspberries, peaches, and blackberries), spinach, and carrots looked good. A handful here, and handful there. That’s just how I roll. I figured some of you would like a bit more direction than that, so I took the time one morning (a CC morning, of all times… I roll like that too. I’m good at creating my own chaos!) to actually write down the recipe of one of my faves. I named it “Sunrise Surprise.” It’s a little corny, but I thought it was a cute orange drink, and the name fit. I’m sure there are dozens of recipes like this, but I wanted to share anyway. That’s one thing I didn’t do, was check Pinterest or any website for any recipes. I just used what I had and the juice always turned out yummy!

Eating plenty of fruits and vegetables is important to me. I feel that these foods are vital to good health. However, when one is on a budget, it can be difficult to find fresh fruits and vegetables that don’t break the bank. And don’t get me started on finding quality produce!

In a perfect world, buying local would be as easy as walking into your local grocery store. Some of you have that, and I hope you know how fortunate you are! In a neighboring town, we have a farmer’s market on most Saturday mornings during the summer. You definitely have to get there early, and the selection is not very varied. It’s good produce, though, and I love when I’m able to get up there!

As far as organics go, I do my best to shop the dirty dozen list. It’s not always easy around here, though. My local grocery store has zero organics; the same store in a neighboring town has some, but the produce often looks old and wilted. And while some Walmarts are now carrying more organic selections, the ones to the immediate north and south of me do not. I do what I can by getting organic produce from Azure Standard, but I still maintain that a regular ‘ole apple is better than no apple at all.

Back to juicing… if you would like to get started, I highly recommend following the blog Natural & Thrifty (formerly The Thrifty Mama, I believe). Crystal has been juicing for a long time, and I love her amazing pictures on Instagram. She is a wealth of knowledge, and I believe she even has ideas for juicing on a budget. Sounds like it’s time for me to subscribe to her blog!

Do you juice? Do you think a conventional apple is better than an organic cookie?

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photo credit: A Guy Taking Pictures via photopin cc