A few weeks ago while working upstairs in the loft, we came across “Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead” on Netflix. We were immediately intrigued by the premise that a man had cured his weight-related health issues with a lifestyle change that involved a 60-day juice fast. That’s no small order.
In the beginning of the film, you meet Joe Cross. He’s 100 pounds overweight (310 lbs), and suffering from an auto-immune disease as the result of his poor health and obesity. Between countless medications, no energy and few answers from his doctors, he felt like he was close to death. With time running out, he turns to the only option he feels he has left, his diet. He gives up junk food and sets out on a 60-day road trip with a juicer and a generator and a goal of regaining his life and health. Along the way, he interviews hundreds of people about food, health issues and longevity.
We’ve been wanting to replace our hand-me-down juicer for some time, but we didn’t even get through the film before jumping in the car and heading to the store to buy a new juicer. As it turned out, every store was completely out of every option in our price range and we went home empty-handed.
A few weeks later, after doing some additional research, we purchased a Breville Juice Fountain Compact. It’s small, a huge selling point as we wanted the function without another massive contraption hugging the edges of our already limited counter space.
Not knowing what to expect, we were blown away at how fast and efficient juicers are now. Our prior experience has been limited to the older model Neil’s mom gave us last year, and with it, the juice seemingly ended up everywhere from start to finish. This juicer has everything compartmentalized so the juice only ends up in the chute and the pitcher. The rinds, which are nearly bone dry after juicing, collect in the tub around the chute, and can easily be scraped out for compost or rinsed out. Juicing no longer feels like a messy, time consuming chore and now the fun can really begin!
Our first batch of juice was a simple carrot banana lime and ginger juice. We combined 6-8 carrots (I honestly lost track, I just kept dropping them into the chute), 1 banana, 1 lime and a bit of minced ginger.
Sweet enough to taste like a treat without being too sugary. It’s frothy too, which is yummy. Neil’s mom loves celery in her juices, so we’re going to try that next. We’d also like to add greens to our juices, so if you have any tips or combinations you’d like us to try, we’d love to hear them!
Have you ever bought something immediately after seeing it on TV or the Web?
Interesting sounding movie. Been toying with the idea of getting a juicer because I like the IDEA of having one and being able to make all these healthy juice drinks…but then I wonder how often I would really use it. I am pretty lazy after all. Let me know how you like yours and how often you use it over the next few weeks…I’m really interested in know.
I think it depends on how often and how many vegetables you buy. If you are already buying quite a bit, then it probably wouldn’t be a bad investment. For us, the biggest hurdle was always not wanting to clean up afterward, because our old juicer was such a mess. This has really helped that.
I watched it a few months ago. I’m not planning on doing a fast either, but I asked for (and got) a juicer for my anniversary a few weeks later. My fave combo so far is apple, kale, and ginger!
Yeah, I’m just not about the fasts. I like to eat too much. I have kale in the pantry right now, I’ll have to try it!