Tag Archives: Status Report

Adventures in Juicing

I started juicing today. Based on the recommendations of Juicing for Men and Hawaiian Libertarian I asked for a juicer for Christmas, and received Jack Lelanne’s Power Juicer as a gift.

I used it once immediately after to make sure it works; I threw whatever I had lying around into it to create a single glass. But I haven’t used it other than that until last week.

I decided to try to make enough for one cup each weekday morning, as I no longer eat breakfast, and would like a nutrient boost as a replacement for breakfast.

I ended up making a litre (4 cups) worth in about a half hour from the following ingredients, which ended up costing less than $20:

  • 1 large bag of brussel sprouts
  • 1 large bag of spinach
  • 6 bananas
  • a handful of leftover blueberries
  • 1 pineapple

Here’s what I found:

I didn’t notice any real improvement in my life from a week of juicing in the morning, but I did enjoy having something to fill my stomach early.

Costco did not sell either kale or collard greens, which is why I used brussel sprouts and spinach. I need to find a source of kale.

The taste was unpleasant, but not overly so. It’s something that seems like it could grow on me, or at the very least be tolerable.

My juicer had a hard time with the pineapple and the brussel sprouts tended to get clogged. It also needed frequent cleaning and even died on me a couple times (which was rectified by cleaning and restarting). If I end up doing this regularly I’ll definitely need a more efficient juicer.

Bananas are not good for juicing. They create a slime, rather than juice and made the consistency of the juice really weird. They also tended to clog the machine.

Pineapple is good in the juice. It adds a nice sweetness.

The berries and spinach juiced easily, and the spinach made a nice dark green juice which looked pretty cool.

The brussel sprouts had a harsh taste and tended to clog easily. I’d like to replace them with Kale or more Spinach.

The berries give very little juice. In my original throw whatever I had in glass to test the machine experiment, I used a whole package of blueberries and got only a tiny amount of juice. I don’t think berries are exceedingly cost effective for this purpose, but I might add in one pack each week for flavour and nutrients.

Conclusion:

I’m going to continue to try juicing to see if any effect takes place over a longer time period, but if I decide to make this a permanent part of my diet, I am definitely going to have to buy a better juicer.

I might occasionally post more on juicing as I do it. I can’t say that I recommend it at this point and haven’t noticed any real life improvement, but I’ve only done it a week. After a longer period, I’ll have more information to share.

Any advice or comments any of my readers who juice might have would be appreciated.

Status Update: Life & Purpose

My blog has been in existence for just over six months now. My first post, was on my reason for blogging, and I was asked about how it’s coming along. So, here’s a post to keep myself on track.

Over this period, I’ve come to accept most of the axioms of the manosphere, although, the praxis of it is still being worked out. In particular, I’m still questioning whether or not to learn game, but am trying to adopt some of the underlying attitudes of it.

I still have not decided what I plan to do with my life, but the two big options I am leaning towards are patriarchy or MGTOW.

Recently, I’ve come to realize that I am okay with going MGTOW; I don’t fear “being alone” like I used to. In some ways, I think I might prefer it, but I do know I’m not going to marry unless it is a very old-fashioned and patriarchal marriage.

High command has let my work unit know that cuts will be occurring, so my job may be in jeopardy over the next year or so, so that might force me to decide. If that happens, I’ll probably slide to a minimalist lifestyle and work on my side businesses rather than bust my ass finding a new one. Going minimalist will likely require, at least temporarily, MGTOW.

On the other hand, I truly would like to get married and fill my quiver. I know the prevalent attitude around these parts is don’t do it, but I think the benefits will outweigh the potential costs if I find the right woman. So, I’m willing to take the risk once and if I perish, I perish. I can than go minimalist MGTOW after that. On this front, there’s a potential, somewhat long-shot wife prospect who’d looks like she might make a good helpmeet, we’ll see how that turns out.

I’ve gotten in much better health. Through eating (mostly) primal, I’ve lost 30 lbs or so, have reduced my gut significantly, and have reduced my belt notches by two. On the other hand, my daily work-out routine disappeared over my vacation and I haven’t restarted it yet. I find I go to bed too late, so I don’t wake up with enough time to do it in the mornings.

I’ve started my affiliate website project, and have created the underlying structure of it. It’s actually up on the net right now and working, but there’s not much for content yet and I still have to market it. The project is ongoing, but I have trouble finding motivation in the evenings after working. I’m setting up a block of time in December to take off work so I can really put myself to work on it.

The affiliation through my blog here, has made me about $20 so far. Not enough to do anything with, but at this rate, I’ll probably get my first check (I need to earn $100 for them to write a check)  by sometime early 2014.

I’ve recently decided I want to eventually homestead. This is a long-term plan (we’re talking over the next decade or two), but  I plan to (eventually) sell my house, buy some affordable property in the country with a large acreage, add a solar power system, get some grazing cows and chickens, start hunting, and become mostly self-sufficient on the food and energy front.  Then use a combination of odd jobs, consulting, and various small business projects for income supplementation. We’ll see how that goes (some day).

So, that there’s the life update. I’ll try to remember to put another one out in about 6 months or so. We’ll see. Cheers.