Today, my Green Star 2000 uber-duper superhero of a juicer arrived. My mother bought it for me as an early 40th birthday present (Thanks Mom!) Anticipating its arrival, I had already done the veggie shopping at the Marin farmer’s market, stocking up on kale, celery, cucumbers, lemons, swiss chard, broccoli, and carrots. And then there were the sprouts from the sprout man- I’m talking sprouts you’ve never heard of before. Far more than your plain old alfalfa sprouts, this guy has broccoli sprouts, onion sprouts, sweet pea sprouts, mung bean sprouts, sunflower sprouts…it’s enough to make your head spin. But Tricia says they’re full of life, so I forked over my $20 and took home two big bags of sprouts.

Matt did the honors of reading the manual and translating it into language I can understand. (I’m such a girl when it comes to techie stuff. Even in the operating room, when I’m the boss, I ask the rep for whatever new equipment I might use to be on standby to make sure I don’t foul something up from not reading the directions correctly). But after a brief lesson in juicing, I was ready to go, cucumber in hand.

It’s pretty cool stuff. You put in the veggies, and the juicer slowly (or as my daughter would say, “swwooo-ly”) chops the veggies into tiny little pieces that get churned through two gears and pushed through a fine sieve. And then juice comes out one opening, while dried-out pulp gets spit out the other. I watched as one whole cucumber eeked out a few measly drops of juice and spit out cups of waste that will become compost. I had to laugh when I remembered what my friend Rob had told me about juicing. He said he and his wife Beth bought a fancy-schmancy juicer, much like mine, but after a few months of using it, they tucked it away under the counter to become a dust-magnet. They just couldn’t bear to watch bags and bags of organic produce get spit out as pulp while the precious drops of juice collected in the glass jar. It made him realize how truly precious Tricia’s green sprout juice really is, and they now order a dozen jars of Tricia’s juice every day. Liquid Gold, I call it. Now, after watching my three bags (and $40) worth of produce disappear in one giant chop-fest, I get it. But so far, it’s worth it to me, Matt, and Mom, who have all been anxiously awaiting our juicer. Matt has never felt more energy. Mom has gone weeks now without the belly pain that has plagued her for months. And as for me, well, maybe I’ve replaced my pinot noir habit with a green juice habit. But it’s working for me right now, so I’m going to stick to my kale, celery, cucumber juice for now.

I learned some important on-the-job lessons as I got to know my juicer. For example, save the beet greens until the end until you want all of your juice (and subsequently, your urine) to be beet red. Even four cucumbers later, the juice was still squeaking out red. And if you don’t like the freshly-mown grass taste of green juice (which I do), throw in a carrot or apple to take the edge off. I had no idea carrots were so sweet until I drank a glass of pure carrot juice. Yum! And a little lemon or ginger thrown in at the end gives it a little zing I really like.

After looking at the ginormous glass bowl filled with pulp, I scrounged through the Café Gratitude raw cookbook, trying to find a way to use some veggie pulp, and to my delight, I found recipes for flax seed crackers and buckwheat crackers that require cups and cups of veggie pulp. Yippee! But to make them, I have to buy a dehydrator…. I’ll just add that to my wish list.

All in all, the Green Star 2000 has really stirred up my creative juices (no pun intended). Maybe that’s what I liked about it. How else can you mix up good health, good taste, and creativity, all into one crystal glass? So to those of you who need a little lift (or maybe just a change of pace), I invite you to come over for some Liquid Gold or order up a juicer for yourself (I got mine at www.vitalityplus1.com). Here’s a toast to you all.

Peace and Green Veggies!

Lissa