Day 5 1/2

Day 5 is almost over....I decided to stay in with Jackson tonight to A) avoid food/empty calorie temptation and B) because I am EXHAUSTED from school and work. I couldn't resist a picture. This is what doggy day care does to him....

For lunch and dinner I made my favorite "green" drink.  I threw an assortment of veggies into the juicer one day and loved it:
1 Apple
1/2 Cucumber
4 carrots
4 stalks of celery
2 small tomatoes (or 1 medium- if you use more tomatoe, it tastes like a bloody mary- whats not to love?)
1 handful of spinach
1/2 of a head of romaine lettuce
3-4 broccoli flourets
juice from one lemon

I really like this drink because it contains a variety of veggies.  It yields about 2, 16 oz jars of juice. You can of course double or triple the recipe!

(sorry, it's kind of blurry...I'm stuck in the age of the blackberry) 

While I would love to buy every single one of my fruits and vegetables organically as well as fresh, that just isn't possible on my budget.  Maybe some day, but definitely not now... I spent about $60.00 on my first grocery trip, and it will last me one full week! Some of the items even longer than that! Since I drink juice about 4-5 times a day, that adds up to only $2.00/meal.  I bought 1 bag each of frozen blueberries and strawberries.  I keep them in my fridge and take from the bags whenever needed!  I also bought a 5 pack of romaine lettuce at Sams that has been awesome to throw in almost every juice I make.  It is virtually tasteless, but the nutritional benefits are amazing!

One question I was asked today was how I was getting my source of protein. Vegetable proteins are known as incomplete proteins but are exactly what the body uses to rebuild muscle.  If you are eating or juicing enough fruits and vegetables, a protein deficiency is nearly impossible.  We only need about 10% of our daily calories from protein, and most of us average 15-16% daily.
Here are some protein comparisons:
Bananas: 4%
Cucumbers: 11%
Oranges: 7%
Green Leaf Lettuce: 22%
Watermelon: 7%
Eggs: 37%
Whole Milk: 23%
Beef: 50%

While animals may be high in protein, they are also high in FAT! Eggs and ground beef are both around 60% fat. I hope that kind of answers the question.  I know that was a big issue for me when first starting to juice, but after reading tons of information on it a protein deficiency is just impossible!
I also plan on incorporating more protein sources after my 10 days of only juicing are up.  Such as nuts, lean animal protein, and more fish! If you want to learn more go to this website and it should answer tons of your questions!

Source

If anyone has any questions or comments please feel free to leave something in the comment section or e-mail me! I would LOVE to hear from you!