aaand we juice

In college, on Sunday nights in our sorority, we'd write notes saying thank you to people who had had an impact on us that week. I am an extreme purger and my friends would often joke with me as we walked back to our rooms: did you throw that away yet?

I'd like to think I'm sentimental, but not so much when it comes to physical stuff.

On the contrary, there is one area of life in which I am a bit of a hoarder. I can't think of a way to classify it, exactly, but let me explain:

Growing up, I used to keep my Halloween candy instead of eat it. I wanted to savor it. I specifically remember throwing a whole bag of untouched candy away one Christmas. I liked it so much I didn't want to eat it!

Outfits are another example. When I love one, I save it and save it until I can find a great reason to wear it.

Gift cards. Don't get me started. I hoard these like a fool. I recently realized I had an unused Atlanta Bread Company gift card, which I received for high school graduation. I just wanted to make sure I used it for something really good!

Most recently, Courtney gave me a juicer for my birthday in September. But I saved it, you see, because this fall wasn't really the best season. My foot was broken. Our house had rats. I just wasn't living in my sweet spot. And it didn't feel like the right time to unwrap the juicer.

But things are good nowadays. We're back on track and it was time to juice, my friends! So off to Whole Foods I went to snag a recipe off the juice board.

I picked up a beet and used leftover carrots, apple and spinach from my fridge. I skipped out on the suggested lemon, as I've been on a bit of lemon overload lately and wasn't in the mood for it.

I was a little nervous to try it, mainly because it looked disgusting (completely brown), but it was amazing. A total win! It was such a great add to my dinner and I am now wondering why I wasn't doing this all winter.

I am also wondering what all I can put in my juicer. Could I start adding kale and tricking myself into consuming it? Can you juice any fruit and veggie? What else can you juice? It is a pretty magical machine.

The spinach gave off surprisingly little liquid. I kept adding handfuls of it, but it was producing barely any juice. The beet, however, was the star of the show. Real bang for my buck with that guy.

Let me know if you have any excellent juice recipes to try. Now that it's broken in, there's no stopping this juicer.