Revelations Over Juice

The intention of this post initially was simply to share how I turned a fridge full of produce into juice for a road trip. A couple of photos, a recipe, a hint at plastic-free choices, and done…except then I got more ideas as the road trip actually happened. So here we go:

I started with the above pile of produce and distilled it down into two juices: green and green. The watermelon was too big and there wasn’t much time to break it down, so it stayed as is and ended up coming along for the ride. Who doesn’t love road trip watermelon slices?! Put them in a cooler and off we went. Destination? Revelstoke, BC. More on that later.

Along the way, we stopped for lunch at a natural foods store in Vernon, BC. Nature’s Fare is a BC chain specializing in all things organic, natural, and holistic. They have aisles filled with supplements, household products, fresh food, and a spread of tasty deli items including fresh juice and smoothie options. On the surface, it’s a dream and really, it makes my heart sing to see people choosing this place over McDonald’s. But what got me more than a little POed was the disconnect between this healthy style of living…and all the packaging everywhere!

Places like Nature’s Fare are a beacon of hope for all people searching for healthy alternatives and yet, they sometimes fall so short in the packaging department. Want a muffin for the road? Great! But first, let me wrap that in a plastic bag because that’s what the health code requires of us. Want three? Individual bags for each, of course!

Guys, it’s enough to make me scream. Have we forgotten the point? I thought the goal was to eat and live more healthfully, and with intention…all while taking into account the things our stuff comes wrapped in (or not). Why are we still living as though our waste is inconsequential? We have to take into account the whole picture.

It seems like these days we’re becoming more like robots, and we need to break that mentality. Had we spoken up earlier at Nature’s Fare, we might have had a fighting chance at avoiding the plastic muffin bags altogether. And to be fair, the counter people are just doing their jobs; having worked in food retail, I get that. But when did we stop having conversations at the point of sale? Why aren’t we having a dialogue to inquire what customers truly want? We become sheep that way, and we are drowning in a sea of plastic-wrapped health food. That’s not healthy!

I feel like I’m knocking Nature’s Fare. But too much with this rant and I don’t mean to. My point is that sometimes it’s easier to just DIY, and skip the chaos of the grocery store packaging mayhem. There’s power and satisfaction in making something in my own kitchen and packaging it as I see fit. Hence, the juice I mentioned at the beginning of this post!

So, if you’d like to share in that satisfaction, here’s the recipe for the juice that kept me awake on the road and calmed me down after the Nature’s Fare debacle. I quadrupled it and ended up with 64oz of green bliss. 🙌🏼

(Ok, so after a day it starts to look less vibrant, but it was still tasty!)

And hey, if juicing isn’t your thing and you’d rather have someone else make it for you, that’s cool too. Nature’s Fare does do fresh-pressed juice! But how about bringing your own glass/jar/container to the counter and skipping the lame plastic?