Channeling Oprah

Not to get all Oprah on you but I am going to get all Oprah on you.

Why? Because it is January and this is how I feel about January.  You know how it is when you are running late somewhere and you have to run to your car in the pouring down rain only to step in a wet, cold, dark puddle emerging your entire foot and ankle getting your shoe and sock soaking wet, and then you have to wear that cold, wet, shoe and cold, wet, dirty sock to where it is you are going because you don't have enough time to go home and put on a new sock and even if you did you would probably step in the puddle again because when you are running late you never look down!  You know that feeling??   Me too, and that is how I feel about the cold and dark, dreariness of gross, disgusting, January.  

But I can't change time or the weather so I have to suck it up, get creative (or daring) and channel my inner "Oprah" for some much needed inspiration and creativity. What can I say I have a soft spot for the woman (expect her choice in books....too deep, depressing and lots of stuff to think about).  I am a Mom I don't have time to think, just react.  So I am choosing to react to January in a way I never have before.

Each day I am going to try and attempt something completely different.  Okay who we kidding, this isn't going to happen every day.  But my goal is to try something new and different AT LEAST 3 times a week.  Something... anything.....  And yes I will blog about  the experience, what is was like, how I reacted, the outcome and all the glorious stuff.  Oh and each "something different" is going to have to be on a low budget because once again who are we kidding, this stay at home Momma does not have Oprah's salary. 

So I started this yesterday.  My first "Something different" involves one of my Christmas presents.  A juicer.  I have never owned a juicer before nor has it ever occurred to me since Tropicana and Welches are right there in your grocers freezer.  But I get the concept.  Fresh, whole some juice.  Fruits or vegetables or (for the wild and crazy type) fruit and juice mixed together.  I KNOW!  Totally cool right?  V-8 does this so well, why can't I?



My shiny new juicer

So I opened the juicer and studied the manual.  Seemed easy enough as I took pieces a part and laid them all out and them assembled.  Of course I realized after it was assembled that I should have washed everything so this actually took longer than I liked but whatever...

Oh and I had an audience. 

My son Ryan who doesn't eat vegetables either.

On to my creation.  I wasn't sure what to juice but I did know that in order to stick with "Something new and different" it would have to involve vegetables.  Lots of em and they had to be green. 

So I scoured the Internet for recipes that seemed decent enough for me to try as a beginner juicer and also had some sort of sweet something or other in there because yes once again who are we kidding, I wasn’t going to drink purred green stuff without something to offset the flavor and since it was too early in the day to add liquor I had to go the fruit route.  So I found something called ”Sweet Green Juice."  Here is the recipe and I did tweak it a tad:

1cucumber (I used half of one)
1 carrot (I used a handful of the small baby carrots)
1 green apple
¼ cup parsley
¼ cup mint
1 stalk celery (leaves included)
½ inch fresh ginger ( I didn’t have any so omitted)
½ lemon (peeled)

So everything went in and the juicing began and out spit- you guessed it green goop.  I mean why sugar coat it right it was yucky looking green goop and for extra added scenery, a bit foamy on top.  Lovely I found myself thinking and yeah I have so lost my audience at this point too.  But I follow through because that is WHAT OPRAH WOULD do people!

Me getting fancy.

In the end, yes it was actually quite tasty.  A bit too lemony so maybe cutback on half the lemon amount and I did add a bit more mint and okay a bit more apple.  The overall taste was a minty cucumber apple lemon spritzer.  Couldn’t taste the celery or parsley whatsoever.  But I read they have good antioxidants so I am expecting my skin to look much clearer in the next 24 hours.

Will I drink this every day?  No.  But I would make it again.  And maybe even try to make it at least 1-2 times a week so I can get the healthy benefits and blah blah blah.  I could do better in this department so all around a very, very good and cool way to start my something new/different” way of managing the wet, cold sock feel of January. 


Next up: I will be taking a picture at every intersection I stop at tomorrow and then will make a video set to music and it will make sense.  For those of you who are now thinking This girl has way too much time on her hands I would like to argue that as a Mom I spend half of my life in the car and therefore have plenty of time to snap a photo or two.  I would also like to remind you once again that I do not have Oprah's salary so just go with it will ya? 


Cheers and Hugs!

Mary