So, My Mom Bought Me a Juicer (Hear Me OUT!)
So, my mother bought me a juicer. I had been purchasing several bottles of fresh pressed juice (and a smoothie) at Arden’s Garden every morning for over a month. It prompted my mom’s concern. For context, I became a flexitarian in March (we’ll save that discussion for another day😊 – but basically Flexitarian = a diet consisting of anything but animals on most days) and I wanted to make sure I was still getting all the nutrients I needed. Anyway, being the concerned mom she is, she insisted I was wasting money. So how does mom tell me, I’m wasting money without actually telling me I’m wasting money? She bought me a small, starter juicer.
It started out amazingly! For my first juice blend, I attempted: spinach, celery, pineapple, lemon, apple and ginger. It was delicious by the way and I was thrilled! It had a very similar taste to my Arden’s Garden favorite and I could use the pulp in my daily smoothie. Hello fiber! It was perfect! ….while it lasted. But to my dismay, my beloved juicer gave out on my third try. The motor just stopped. Suffice it to say, I was mildly devastated. After some investigation, we determined the juicer could not handle ginger. Ginger is a tough girl and my basic juicer just did not have the necessary power to crush and extract the greatness that is ginger.
So let’s talk about it… Ginger is a root that has been used for its medicinal properties, for centuries. Consuming ginger daily can:
reduce inflammation
fight off harmful free radicals in the body.
aid in digestion
relieve nausea and vomiting
reduce muscle pain and soreness.
lower blood sugar levels
improve heart health,
boost the immune system.
Incorporating ginger into your diet can provide numerous health benefits and improve overall well-being. In fact, in the beginning of 2023 I was having pain in my legs every morning. I suspect it was caused by sitting too long and being overall sedentary. It seemed some days I was chained to my desk (also a blog for another day). Well in March, I started adding ginger to my diet and eating less meat consistently (and starting to move around more). Let me just say, the pain I was experiencing is gone. Ms. Ginger has an amazing track record!
In other words, ginger = good. In fact, ginger > great. So, how did something so beneficial literally break something that is also objectively GOOD? *sigh* I loved that juicer, but it gave out on me! The truth is, it did not have the strength nor capacity to extract ginger’s amazing properties. But! My little juicer was amazing at juicing spinach, and pineapple, and wasn’t bad at juicing apple, celery and the like.
The moral of the story is, everyone or every situation won’t have the, space or bandwidth necessary to extract even the best goodness and that’s ok.
Many times we exhaust ourselves trying to force things, because we know the other <insert person, place or thing here> is good in its own right. But think about it… if a shoe doesn’t fit, as beautiful as it is, or as much utility at it has, it is going to damage your foot if your force a fit. All that to say, a bad fit doesn’t mean the juicer is bad and it certainly does mean the ginger is bad. They both work great when used for what they are intended. Stop contorting yourself. Stop putting yourself through the slow grind of something that does not have capacity to receive you.
Now that we’ve established you are not only good, you are great… I was thinking about the pressure it takes to juice fruits and vegetables. I then made the jump to, hydraulic systems and then to, P=F/A (Pressure = Force / Area) I know, I know… but that’s just how my brain works. *shrug* Anywho, sometimes pressure doesn’t feel good, but it can have a divine purpose. Wait! Hear me out, next time!
As always, I’m rooting for you. Xoxo. 💋