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| Photography By: Michelle Eisen |
I remember watching infomercials for the Jack LaLanne Juicer, as a child. Although I thought that juicing looked like a lot of fun, I was quite skeptical about drinking broccoli and cauliflower. Furthermore, I just couldn’t see myself drinking something that was green, no matter how good it tasted! I have to say, that through a number of experiences, I am now a huge fan of juicing, and also now own my very own Jack LaLanne Juicer.
Over the years, juicing has become a more popular method of ensuring proper nutrition; however, not everyone has caught on. My first attempt at drinking vegetables in a glass (besides the high sodium, but delicious V8), was during a break while volunteering at a hospital, about five years ago. I was feeling exhausted from a long day at school, and had two hours left at the hospital, making my rounds as a patient visitor. As I had never held a grudge against fruits or vegetables, and had heard the rumours about their abilities to provide energy, I thought I would give Booster Juice a try. I ordered the “Green Hornet,” which is composed of spinach, carrots, celery, and parsley. I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised! The drink tasted sweet and refreshing. I also found that I was not hungry after, and did indeed have the energy required to successfully finish my shift. Throughout the following weeks, I picked up a Booster Juice every Monday before my hospital shift, and truly felt a boost of energy!
Shortly after my Booster Juice discovery, my mom purchased the Breville Juicer, as she had been researching the benefits of juicing for some time. Additionally, she purchased a number of informative, but easy-to-read resources on vitamins in relation to the different fruits and vegetables out there. I would highly recommend two of these easy-read books:
Three years after I began my relationship with fresh juice, I had the opportunity to run another study involving nutrition. I was working with a group of marginalized youth as part of a literacy research project, and was given the opportunity to arrange for yet another, but more involving nutrition intervention. Given the time and money constraints, I needed to figure out a way to provide the students (ages 16-22) with healthy meal opportunities. I knew I had a challenge ahead of me. The first challenge was overcoming the fact that many people are scared off of anything labeled HEALTHY. The second challenge was overcoming the stubbornness to change that often accompanies youth between the ages of 16 and 22! How was I going to “trick” these students into eating broccoli and spinach? You may have guessed….JUICING!
On a tight budget of $125/week, I fed 15 students, two juices 4 days/week, and one meal 3 days/week. That works out to an average of $2.08/day for each student!
**Stay tuned for my post on the effects of the healthy lunch-time meals, and shopping on a budget!**
Throughout this intervention, without the students knowing, they drank broccoli, cauliflower, sweet potatoes, spinach, carrots, cabbage, cucumbers, celery, and bell peppers, all disguised in fruits such as cantaloupe, kiwi, apples, grapes, strawberries, oranges, lemons, limes, cherries, blueberries, raspberries, watermelon, pineapple, cranberries, mangoes, peaches, apricots, and grapefruits.
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| Photography By: Michelle Eisen |
Students not only reported feeling more energetic and able to focus after consuming the juices, but they became more interested in nutrition, and consuming healthy foods!
From the journals the grade 7 and 8 students filled out in my first study, my own observations working in classrooms, and the food intake packages I asked these youth to fill out, it is obvious that there are too many children and youth who are not eating enough fruits and vegetables. I am guessing the same is true for adults. How can we expect children and youth to eat fruits and vegetables if they are not provided with them? How can we expect parents to provide their children with an adequate amount of fruits and vegetables if they do not understand the benefits of doing so? And finally, how can we expect parents to provide their children or themselves with an adequate amount of fruits or vegetables if they do not know how to prepare them in effective ways? Over the next few posts, I will be addressing these issues. As I have seen the most immediate results in attitude change, as well as mental and physical health, through juicing, I have decided that this would be the best place to begin.
Get ready to juice your way to a healthier body and mind!
-Michelle Eisen BSc. MA in Child Study and Education
Follow @Feed2Succeed
-Michelle Eisen BSc. MA in Child Study and Education
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