As I reflect upon my “raw experience,” I think about what it means to me, and what has changed in my life. Sometimes I wish that I was more motivated by an ideology or belief system of some kind. I might feel more determined and more righteous. However, I’m motivated simply by a desire to eat as healthily as possible and by a certain curiosity about this particular diet lifestyle.
Frankly, because I have already been eating organic, fresh foods and have been a vegetarian for over fifteen years, eating raw has not been the complete change of diet that it might be for someone more meat and fast-food oriented. However, there are some things that I think will continue to be a part of my diet long into the future.
Fresh squeezed orange juice is one of these delightful changes. Organic orange juice is expensive, no matter how you get it. In the stores, pasteurized, organic orange juice usually costs between $6 and $7 dollars for a 1/2 gallon carton. The cost of fresh juice is actually fairly competitive. Most of the time, I can buy a bag of scruffy-looking organic Valencia oranges for around a dollar a pound, and two of those oranges will produce about 6 ounces of fresh, pulpy juice (I’ve always liked the pulp).
Unless I’m making a large quantity of juice, I really dislike using a juicer because it’s just a lot of work to clean. So, Rich bought me this handy little juicing device — it sits on the top of a cup or glass, and you just squeeze and twist the orange right on top.
The juice runs into the glass, while the slots in the bottom of the device catch the seeds and the larger pieces of pulp.
And there you are — with a fresh glass of gland-delighting juice. There really is no comparison with the store-bought kind, no matter how carefully it’s been processed. It seems almost decadent!
Tags: cost of fresh foods, fresh, orange juice, organic
