Juicing for Health

Do you Juice?

I love to juice.  Folks have differing  ideas on the benefits of juicing.  

But I for one enjoy juicing and feel sure it is beneficial. 

And I can personally attest to the healing power of juicing a few apples and a about a fourth of a lemon for winter colds and flu. 

This is the best time of the year for juicing with all the fresh goodies from the garden. It's also a good time to experiment with fruit and vegetable combinations while giving your immune system a little boost.

This week, I combined all the fruits and vegetables that I had on hand.

 I started with organic carrots and apples.

 (Always try and juice organic produce.) 

We have lots of red beets, cucumbers, tomatoes and grapes.  So I added these colorful veggies to my juice as well.  

Look at those lovely colors!

While I was making a mess, I juiced carrots and tomatoes together to use as a base for a pot of vegetarian vegetable soup.

 (It's pretty potent so I thin it down with vegetable broth)

One complaint of folks who don't see any benefit to juicing say it's because the pulp (fiber) is removed when juicing.  

But I get plenty of fiber in my diet. 

 (I eat lots of veggies!)

And around here,

nothing (absolutely nothing) goes to waste!

We eat anything!

If you've never juiced, I highly recommend giving it a try.  

You will need to invest in a juicer.  

But you can start with a less expensive model or

 a borrowed juicer would be even better! 

Or perhaps a friend could allow you to give theirs a test drive! 

I have nearly worn out my beginner model, and am ready for an upgrade!

 There is lots of information available on the web to get you started.

I began my juicing journey with this book. It is filled with recipes and nutrient counts and the benefits of dozens of  fruits and veggies you can juice.

 If you are already a juicer, I'd love to hear some of your favorite concoctions. Perhaps I'll even post them in the near future.

Bottoms up!

BTW, juice is best if consumed immediately.  But if you can't drink all of it, store it in the fridge with a good lid and finish it asap.

A New Table and Chairs

We have always used bar stools at our kitchen island.

  

It has been a convenient way to interact with hubby, especially in the evenings after work.  I could cook and do dishes while he ate, looked at the mail, even  finished up his work paperwork.  

But lately, we both seem to be bothered by the stools.  
Every time we got up off the stools, 
we felt as though we couldn't walk.
We couldn't stand up straight.  
Our hips ached.  

Okay, so our ages may have something to do with that! But are sticking to the theory that the stools are to blame.

I love a good trash to treasure challenge!

So I dug out an old table that was sitting in the basement collecting dust. It was an old pine table our (now grown ) children used for doing school work during our homeschool days.  Their pens and pencils left indentation marks all over the soft pine surface which prompted hubby to glue a piece of laminate on it.  However, now even the laminate was showing signs of wear.  

SO, I took matters into my own hands, and decided to turn this old table into a new,
 one of kind treasure!  

The wheels began turning! 
I figured I could just go crazy,
and throw caution to the wind.  
After all, it was just an old table, right? 
It had been given to us free
 many years ago.

Firstly, I removed the old  laminate with a heat gun to reveal the original pine finish.  

I painted the table legs black.
(no picture, sorry)  

I'm into black these days!

 I'm also into burlap!

SO....

I started with a clean (sanded) surface.

I got Hubs to add a little piece of trim around the top outside edges the table top, and I stained it. 

I cut a piece of burlap to fit and glued it tight to the table top with some spray adhesive.

The table top was painted black first to serve as a backdrop for the burlap.

.....And we allowed it to dry over night.

NOW, this is where it gets interesting....

After vacuuming off the surface to get rid of all the hairy burlap debris...

It was time to  mix up this pourable epoxy resin product 
(purchased at the local Lowe's)

according to the instructions-of course!

(I watched this video before beginning)

I poured the first layer over the top.

The next day,
 I sanded the surface and wiped the top with acetone and then applied another coat. 

On the third day, I sanded it yet again, and wiped the table with the acetone.  

It was now time for the final pour.  
Drum roll please......

This would be the moment of truth. 

Would my crazy idea work? 

or

would it be a bust?

After 3 days of curing-

this is the end result.  

Not too shabby, eh?  

Look at that shine! It looks like glass.

Now I just needed some chairs.

Luckily, several months ago,
 I purchased 4 chairs from a local "junk" dealer.  

I use the word junk loosely, because to  me, most junk can be turned into a treasure....just sayin'.

Two coats of paint was all it took to get them lookin' good.  I left one of them white.....
well...
just because. 
 I don't particularly like matchy, matchy stuff.

(unless it's my Christmas presents under the tree:) 

Two of the chairs had cushions, so I reupholstered them with some chicken fabric.   (Of course!) 

Had enough fabric for a little window topper too!

 So now instead of sitting on bar stools, we are enjoying our "new" table and chairs.  
And the real bonus is 
that our hips don't hurt anymore! 

click to enlarge photo and get 

a good look at the burlap

Linked up to 

http://thismindbeinyou.com/2013/08/from-the-farm-blog-hop-081613.html