Juicing for Cheaper

Today’s been a long day and my arms are dead after a pretty damn intense Crossfit session this morning.

Does juice for cheap fit the bill?

So here’s what’s up, eaters: since unearthing my…ehem vintage juicer a month or so ago I’ve made a big glass of fresh juicer a more than weekly part of my life. I love the way it tastes, the way it makes me feel, and that I can then make cool things  out of the pulp. 

 For my standard 12 oz glass of juice, I could go through roughly 1apple/pear, 2-3 carrots, and ½ a beet. That may not seem like a lot, but when you use all or mostly organic like I do (because if I wanted to juice chemicals I’d cut out the middleman and drink some Round Up), it adds up quickly.

Not wanting to lose my shirt to my burgeoning juice addiction, I quickly developed a plan of attack.

Be warned: This does not necessarily produce the most delicious juices. This is also not a plan for someone who doesn’t juice 2-3 times a week. This is for the moderately die-hard juicers, or those looking to become that.

First, I ALWAYS have a bag of organic carrots (I loveloveLOVE Grimmway Farms carrots and only buy theirs) and either pears or apples. I really like the flavor of both of those juices, and generally their flavor is strong enough to save any less than palatable juice concoction.

Then, and here’s where the variation and potential for ewww comes in, I have my scrap bag.

What’s a scrap bag, you ask?

Well, to put it nicely, it’s a bag (or other sealable container) where I keep all the bits of produce that one would normally compost or throw away. 

 Example: the thick stems of kale, the core of an apple, the seedy pith of a bell pepper, the ends of zucchini or squash or green beans that you chop off, the tasteless end of a piece of lettuce that I don’t like in my salad. 

 You get the idea, right? 

 Well, as I go about my eating and cooking and whatnot, I take all of these odds and ends (pun!) and put them in my scrap bag.

For storage, I tie off the top of the bag and keep it in my vegetable crisper.

Then every couple of days — I try not to keep scraps for longer than four days, for mold/wilting reasons — I take out my scrap bag and dump it in my juicer. 

Depending on what was in the bag — if I had more lettuce stems and bell pepper cores or more apple cores and random berries — I’ll usually add half to a whole apple and then a carrot or two.

As you can see, there’s a pretty big chance of getting a less than delicious juice. To lessen that chance I keep onions and hot peppers out of my scrap bag, cut off the rinds of citrus, and don’t juice anything that looks too old to eat, but there’s still a risk involved. 

But thanks to my (oh so awesome, never sketchy Grimmway Farms) carrots and apples, I’ve never actually had a bad juice.

And that’s the trick — find the one or two juices that you always enjoy, that mix well with other flavors, and that last a while in your fridge, and add a bit of those fruits/vegetables to everything.

Juicing still isn’t cheap, but it’s cheaper. And cheaper isn’t half bad when you think of all the benefits.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a scrap bag with a few summer squash ends and the core of a pineapple calling my name.  :)

 Do you have any tips for making healthy choices cheaper?