When we moved earlier this year, we parted with a lot of household and personal items so we could fit into our new space. Parting with stuff also helped us stage the house – less clutter and personal items translates into a more “showable” house and we had a lot of positive feedback from prospective buyers.
In this case below, we actually had to add furniture and things. It was previously an empty entryway if some of you recall.
The best way to de-clutter is to do it in waves. Normally, I’d say “just rip the bandage off in one quick motion”, but with de-cluttering there really is a mental shift that has to occur over time. We’d go through each room 3-5 times over the span of a few months. Each time, it got a bit easier to get rid of things, and then a bit easier still. It was a freeing experience to finally get rid of things we didn’t even know were weighing us down. I was concerned that I would regret giving some things away, but 4 months later, those items haven’t entered my mind. I actually can’t even remember what we gave away!! I guess that’s a good sign that they weren’t necessities.
Well, I did think about one donation actually – my juicer! Even though my juicer was looking busted from plenty of use, I still debated whether I would regret giving it away. And I’ll admit, a few times this summer it has longingly crossed my mind. Then I remember my kitchen storage situation – and I’m thankful I don’t have to find a place to cram it.
The one thing I do not want to ever part with is my blender. I use my Vitamix every.single.day. without fail, sometimes multiple times a day if I’m testing certain recipes. They are costly machines, but when I factor in how much I use it, the quality, and the 7 year warranty, it’s worth it for me. I even use it in the colder months – it’s great for blending soups and sauces (think Butternut Squash mac and cheeze) and I still like to get my smoothie fix in the winter, bundled up in a sweater of course.
Recently, I heard about making juices with a Vitamix. You blend vegetables in the Vitamix and then strain the liquid through an old pair of tights, nut milk bag, or cheesecloth. This strains out the fibre from the juice, much like a traditional juicer would (Ange has a great tutorial here).
The one thing I never liked about juicing was all the leftover pulp. I would sometimes use it in soups or my vegetable garden compost, but there were many times when I couldn’t find a use for it. I like the idea of using a Vitamix to juice, but to be honest, I can’t see myself patient enough to strain the juice each time and then find a use for the pulp. I decided to just try it without straining to see if it was decent enough to enjoy.
Surprisingly, it was decent! And I got hooked on adding all kinds of veggies into the blender. My vegetable consumption has gone way up by adding one of these drinks in a day and I love that I’m still getting all the fibre. It’s hotly debated right now whether smoothies or juices are better for the body, but I think both have their place in a healthy diet.
I wouldn’t recommend this recipe without a heavy duty blender, but if you do attempt it, I suggest blending it on the highest setting for at least a couple minutes. Keep in mind that even with my Vitamix, the texture is still thick (the best way to describe the texture is “foamy”) – keep in mind we’re blending whole veggies and fruit. If your blender can’t get the vegetables smooth, I suggest straining it through a cheesecloth.
I’ve been making all kinds of veggie combos, but here is an easy one to get started with. It’s lightly sweetened with an apple and has a kick of grapefruit in there for a little zing. The bright pink colour is so gorgeous it’s hard to believe it’s all from 1/2 a tiny beet.
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Neon Pink Smoothie Juice
Yield
2.5 cups
Prep time
Cook time
0 minutes
Total time
I call this smoothie juice because it’s a cross between a smoothie and a veggie juice. The texture comes out thick and foamy, but you have the added benefits of the fibre in there to move the digestive track right along. These juices aren’t overly sweet or filling, so I enjoy them as an addition to a normal breakfast or simply as a refreshing drink on its own.
Ingredients
- 1/2 English cucumber, peeled & roughly chopped
- 1/2 small raw beet, peeled & roughly chopped
- 1 apple, cored & roughly chopped
- Fresh Grapefruit juice, to taste (I used 6 tbsp fresh grapefruit juice) or other citrus to taste
- 3-5 ice cubes
Directions
- In a high-speed blender, add the cucumber and blend on low speed to break it up. Now add the beet and apple. Blend, starting on a lower speed, and gradually increase the speed. I used my Vitamix plunger stick a lot to push it down and stir it as it was coming together. If needed, add a bit of water.
- Blend on highest speed for 1-2 minutes. Add in citrus juice to taste and about 4 ice cubes. Blend again until smooth.
- Serve immediately.
I also make green/brown ones using various things like kale, cucumbers, avocado, celery, carrots, oranges, apples, etc. I add in some water if needed to get it going. Sometimes I also throw in a tablespoon of chia seeds for extra nutrition.
They don’t always taste amazing, but they sure are quick and make me feel great.
Wow! Gorgeous home!
We just moved too….bought our very first house! The kitchen is very nice and new, but not a ton of storage space. Still, I couldn’t part with my juicer or any of my other big appliances. I have my Vitamix on the counter because I also use it the most. This “juice” looks great…I’ve been contemplating taking the juicer out of its box, since I got some beets at the farmer’s market. But…perhaps I’ll make it this way instead :)
I’m running my first ‘smoothie’ bar this weekend and wasn’t quite sure about adding beets to the menu…after seeing that gorgeous colour I think it’s now a must!
@Antonia if you read this…. I have a Blendtec and I absolutely love it! It’s a little bit louder than I would like but it blends up pretty much anything you can think of perfectly. I’ve never tried the Vitamix so I can’t compare but I think you’ll be happy with either one. And don’t shy away from the refurbs- mine was one and it’s lasted forever!
:)
What a gorgeous juice! :)
made this today. oh my goodness :-) roasted the beats first to be kind to my inexpensive knock off majic bullet. this is so good. i was skeptical but that red grapefruit juice is soooo good in there :-)
Oh my goodness, the Neon Smoothie is so good. I used a granny smith apple so mine may be more tart but wow! I love it. I think I’ll make more and freeze it into pops. Yum! Thanks for a great recipe! PS: love your website!
So glad you like it!! Ive been rocking the beet smoothies allllll month.
This drink is amazing! So good! I’ll make it many more times and I think, with that awesome color, my girls will drink it. I love beets and never tried ingesting one raw but it still had the flavor that I love and I felt so much better having it raw.
I loved this smoothie! I never thought of using beets, plus I never had them before. But now that I have tried them, I love them! Almost taste like baby corn to me.
My smoothie wasn’t as neon pink as yours but it was close and it was a very refreshing part of my breakfast with left over grapefruit. The only thing I altered was adding some stevia because I am a weakling when it comes to unsweetened smoothies :(
Thank you for your ideas!
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Great recipes! Beautiful colors! I made a vegan peach fruit smoothie that came out a bubble gum color! Check it out.
http://free-vegan.com/raw-vegan-peach-fruit-smoothie/
You’ve got me hooked on beet smoothies! I made this and loved it, and then started making your other pink beet smoothie that has the celery in it, and adore both. They taste earthy and cleansing in the most refreshingly delicious way. I feel like I’m getting healthier just by drinking them! Thanks for the beet inspiration!
Good Day, Merry Christmas!
I read the FAQs. But i would like to double check. I would like to have a facebook posting to share to my readers Neon Pink Smoothie Juice. Would totally be crediting the post with your blog link. Guess that is correct, right? (:
Sincerly
Jewel
I like your recipe and recommend eating greens,and drinking fruits and vegetable juice.
Not a fan :(. My husband bought the ingredients for this shake when he wanted to make the other pink smoothie recipe from this site. We realized the error before we started to make it but thought we’d give it a go anyways…. My kids cried when they tried it. My husband and I drank it but didn’t enjoy it.
These juice recipes sounds amazing! Excited to give these very tasty sounding juices a try! Yum!! Thank you very much for sharing juice recipe.it’s very helpful for any juice lover people.
Hi Susan, you’re very welcome! I hope you enjoy the recipes when you give them a try. :)
The neon pink smoothie is gorgeous :) I don’t have a blender yet, but this is one of the smoothie recipes that I’d like to try out once I get my hand on to a Vitamix blender :) Thanks for sharing your recipe :)
Ohh, I think it’s very enticing. Although I have come across people that make smoothie using beetroot, myself have never tried it before. After reading your blog, I think I am finally going to give this a try. I bought juicer here http://juicer.guru/best-masticating-juicers-review so now I can try to make this juice. Also I’ve add to my cookbook.
Thank you!
The color of this juice is amazing, I don’t know how you did it but thats fantastic..
I understand how you feel about not being able to part way with your juicer.. I would never part way with it :D
Love the color! Can’t wait to taste this juice :)