Juice it up!

So today we began using our new Omega juicer.

I felt inspired to go more green in our lives, and this was an option that will also be more healthy for us. Our little family has been buying lots of juice from the grocery store, but for the ones we like have been paying almost $10 for 32 oz. for the cold press we like. Since we live way up in the mountains and take our own waste to the dump, it was quite visceral to see all the plastic bottles accumulating. Besides who wants to drink out of plastic? Gross! In addition to avoiding toxin from plastic containers, we are also interested in consuming lots of the benefits including yummy antioxidants, many of which only stay viable for the 30 minutes or so after the juice is made. We decided to get a cold press, or slow speed so we could maintain the most nutritional value in our foods. I went for a middle of the road juicer because I wasn't ready to shell out thousands for something that may get tedious and end up collecting dust.

I ended up sourcing apples through a CSA program that lets me buy in bulk. I purchased 100 apples for about $25, and as it takes 8 apples to make 32 oz, that means I spent only $2 for a drink I used to spend $10 on! I'm not completely satisfied with the sourcing as there is a lot of cardboard, but if they let me return it and reuse then I'll feel better. Also I like that they deliver to my door as shopping with a newborn and toddler can be hectic.

We rinsed all the parts and apples and the kiddo was very interested! Chop Chop!

He wanted to help put the apple pieces in, but funnily enough wasn't sure about actually drinking it at first. Where does my juice come from? From apples, not the grocery store! Mixed his juice with half water and nonchalantly set it near, and when he decided to try it, was sold <3.

There was quite a bit of foam, which we put with the compost for the first one, but ended up mixing back in for the second batch. I didn't mind the thicker texture as it tasted just as good and likely had a bit more fiber. One batch we mixed with blueberries which turned out very pulpy and not quite as delicious as the our apple in my opinion.