Halloween post – my new routine and the cold-pressed blood juice
I have a new routine. For about three weeks now, I’ve been doing half-day juice fasts for two or three days each week, and it’s been great. I will talk about this more in the next blogpost, but today, I thought I’d give you a quick rundown of my routine, what I use to juice, and share a Halloween-themed juice recipe – Cold Pressed Blood Juice, seeing that the big trick-or-treating day is just around the corner.
My half-day juice fast routine
Essentially I’m drinking just juice from the morning until the afternoon. When possible I’m trying to have my first juice as late as possible so I can maximise my ‘fasting’ period. I normally undertake this routine on Monday, Tuesday and sometimes Wednesday as well.
I find it easier to do the juice fast during the first half of the week as I have more time to prepare on the Sunday prior, and I like to make my juices in advance so I needn’t waste time in the morning juicing. Cold-press juicing does take quite a bit of time, and since I personally hate cleaning up, I always like to do everything in bulk so I won’t have to clean the juicer every day.
Here’s a breakdown of my juice fast day
- 8 pm (the night before): Finish dinner
- 9 am: Breakfast – 450ml green juice (kale, spinach, celery, parsley, green apple and lemon)
- 11am/12 pm: Lunch – 450ml carrot and beetroot juice (carrot, beetroot and ginger)
- 3pm: Afternoon Snack – 450ml orange and carrot juice (or other fruit juice)
- 5pm: Light snack (can either be fruits, nuts, rice cakes or other light snacks)
- 6:30-7pm: Normal dinner
My Cold Press juicer
I use the Hurom H25 Alpha. It’s a bit pricey but it’s a great little machine. It’s much smaller than my old Breville Fountain juicer that I used way back in the day.
I must say that assembling the machine for the first time was quite daunting. I’ve never used a cold-pressed juicer and there were so many more parts than what I’ve used to. I had to actually read the user guide (as you should!) to make sure that I was assembling it correctly.
It has a pretty small chute, which means that you have to chop your larger fruits and veggies so they fit through. I had known about this requirement from reading reviews of the juicer and I honestly don’t mind the process. I mean, as a vegan, I already spend 80% of my time in the kitchen chopping fruits and vegetables so a bit more chopping won’t hurt. And, furthermore, I find chopping to be rather… therapeutic.
Cleaning the machine has been a breeze, especially now that I’ve gotten used to it. It took me 10 minutes to clean at the beginning but now, I’m down to about five minutes flat.
Overall I’m very happy with my Hurom H25. It does its job, it’s quiet and compact, and it looks pretty slick on the kitchen bench.
Here’s the video to see me (and the juicer) in action, making my favourite carrot juice and the Cold Pressed Blood Juice.
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QrU6wxNvtpY[/embedyt]
Cold-Pressed Blood Juice
This recipe is so simple that I almost didn’t want to share it. But it really is one of my favourite juices to make. And it does look impressive, especially when served in a skull jar!
Cold-Pressed Blood Juice
This recipe is so simple that I almost didn’t want to share it. But it really is one of my favourite juices to make. And it does look impressive, especially when served in a skull jar! Cold-Pressed Blood Juice (makes 500ml)
- 8 large carrots
- 1 large beetroot
- 1 knob of ginger
- Coconut water (optional)
- <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Glass-Decanter-Container-Whiskey-Tequila/dp/B07427T8QW/ref=sr_1_7?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1509265589&sr=1-7&keywords=skull+jar"><a href="http://amzn.to/2yZDvV8">Skull jar</a></a> (optional)
- Wash and rinse your vegetables. Chop them if required.
- Add the carrots, beetroot and ginger into your cold press juicer and run as per manufacturer’s instruction.
- Transfer to a jar and top with coconut water if required.
- Serve immediately or store in the fridge for up to three days.
What’s your favourite cold-pressed juice? I’d love to hear from you!
Keren x