I turn the big 40 this year.
(Seriously, I’d make the 40 bigger if I could because that is how it feels.)
And for those of you who have already turned 40, thank you for warning me. You told me it was harder to lose weight, I would sleep less, have horrible PMS, my skin would look duller, and I would experience aches and pains I never had before.
(If you are under 40 and haven’t heard these warnings from your older friends/family members, considered yourself warned.)
For me, the worst of these new ailments was the horrific PMS (mood swings, heavier periods, night sweats) and the inability to sleep. (PS…if you are guy, you can just stop reading now. Thanks for your time, but I will now feel uncomfortable about this conversation.)
And while you can purchase a cream to make your face look better and not eat Oreos and run an extra mile to keep your weight in line…not getting a good night’s sleep is a hard thing to fix.
I contemplated going to the doctor and getting drugs, but truth be told, I really wanted to find a homeopathic remedy to “what was ailing me”. I met with Dr. Google and started doing some research.
What I found was overwhelming evidence that I, in this almost 40-year old body, was not getting enough fruits and green leafy vegetables. And that SHOCKED me because I thought I was a healthy eater. But I wasn’t. I did not have the vitamins needed to run at full capacity.
This seemed like an easy fix. Find a couple of green smoothie recipes, rev up my Blendtec and have a smoothie everyday. And it worked. I did sleep better and my PMS symptoms subsided. But, I had an issue, I didn’t like drinking smoothies. Even in my Blendtec, that could blend a whole fish, I felt like I was drinking a salad instead of smoothie. And even when you know something is good for you, if you don’t like it, it is hard to stay dedicated.
My good friend, Johnna Perry from In Johnna’s Kitchen recommend some green vegetable juice health recipes. To be honest, I blew her off at first because I thought juicing was weird. I’d seen Facebook Updates from friends who were on 3 or 5-Day Juice Cleanse (which I thought was code for “I’m trying to lose weight”). I’d seen their green vegetable juice health recipes that looked like a nasty concoction of lawn mower clippings and an apple. I wasn’t sure the juicing lifestyle was for me.
But, I got desperate. After a week of not sleeping through the night followed by the worst period of my life, I was willing to try anything. And anything came in the form of a Woot Sale of a refurbished Breville Juice Fountain Multi-Speed Juicer for $119.00. I decided that $119 would be about the amount I would spend on a doctor’s appointment and prescription, so what did I have to lose.
Johnna sent me a couple of good beginner juice recipes and I took the plunge. And, surprisingly, I made a damn good green juice. Like really, really good. And I was hooked.
While I’m not a hard-core juicer, I do drink juices between three and four times per week. It is hard for me to articulate the difference between juicing and smoothies, but this graphic I think does the best job. (Courtesy of CrazySexyJuice.com)
Juices are an instant infusion of vitamins to your blood stream that give your digestive tract a rest, while smoothies are more like a meal because of their pulp and fiber. Both are good in their own way, but they are different.
But drinking juices or making smoothies can get expensive (see my favorite recipe below…it’s a lot of produce people) and be inconvenient. That is why I’m thankful for my Door To Door Organics delivery. Door to Door not only helps keep me on track with my juicing. I’m guaranteed a delivery every week (so I can’t use the excuse that I’m too busy to go to the store) and I can customize my order or add items on that enables me to make sure I’m using everything that is delivered. In fact, they have a Smoothie and Juice Detox in a Box, so you can make your own at home.
Plus, I have an exclusive Door To Door Coupon Code to get almost 50% off your first box.
How is juicing going long-term, you might wonder? Let’s just say it has transformed this almost-40-year-old body and I know when I’ve fallen off the wagon. When I drink my juice, I sleep better, my mood swings are less erratic and my PMS symptoms are more manageable. (And when I forget to drink juice, my husband is the first one to make it for me.) Plus, I have more energy, am more alert, and feel better overall. I have always been a proponent of local farming, farm to table, and cooking from scratch, but you can now add juicing to that list. I will continue to do it for the long term.
Juicing is an investment, but worth every dollar. And now that I’m at my half-way age mark, I would rather spend the money on eating good food vs spending the money on standardized medicine in the future.
How about you? Do you believe in the green vegetable juice health benefits? Can you tell a difference in the way you feel?
Kelly’s Favorite Warrior Juice Recipe
Ingredients
1 cucumber
2 stalks of celery
1 green apple, cored
1 valencia orange, peeled
1/2 inch of fresh ginger, peeled
5 stalks of chard or kale
Directions
1. Place ingredients in juicer in the order above. Stir and drink immediately. Makes approximately 16 ounces.
Disclosure: Door To Door Organics is a sponsor of Redefined Mom. However, the written remarks and opinions about juicing and what it has done to my body are entirely my own. Want more information – check out my full disclosure statement.
I do believe in juicing. I think it’s awesome. I’m not doing it right now, needed to lose a good amount of weight so au went back to tried and tru low carb high fat eating. But as I lose, I plan to add juicing a back in. I have a juicer as well as a vitamin. I prefer the judging but sometimes I feel I need all the fiber as well. Good on you for doing juicing.
I still drink smoothies every now and again. But usually as a meal replacement (for breakfast or lunch). But the instantly good feeling I get with a juice is hard to beat…it is a little like a drug, only natural.
what is low carb high fat eating?
Lots and lots of protein. 🙂
Wow, spellcheck failed me there, didn’t it! Lol. I have a Vitamix. I prefer juicing is what I meant. Sheesh! But I do love my Vitamix.
Hi Kelly. I found you on pinterest and reading your article about the symptoms of being in the 40s makes sense to me now. I’m 45 years old and had no idea why I have restless nights, aching lower back every morning, bad mood swings and pain all over my body. Now I know is part of being in my 40s. I have always heard green juices were good for you but never tried them. I’m like you, try to avoid medicine as much as I can. I will definitely invest in a good juicer and MAKE my juices a few times a week. Do you have any other recipes you can share?
Hi Bianca – The warrior juice is my go-to juice…however, I have messed around with carrots, sweet potatoes and pineapple too. The best advice I received about green juices is to make it a 3:1 ratio. Meaning three green items to every one fruit. As long as you keep that ratio, you’ll keep the calories down, the vitamins up and the health benefits up. So if you have a favorite fruit, throw it in there…just remember to keep the green stuff in there too. Good luck!
Thank you Kelly. I will keep that in mind.
My husband makes me a similar version of your green drink several times a week with his Vitamix. His version is kale/spinach, 2 apples, 2 celery stalks, 1/2 cucumber, juice of half a lemon, and ginger. I like it over ice and it is so refreshing. I definitely feel better when I drink it regularly.
Don’t be afraid of 40. I’m finding it’s my best decade yet and I turn 45 later this year, although that is still tough to admit…lol.
Kristia – I’m embracing it. It scares me to death, but I feel like the person I am today is such a better version of the person I was 20 years ago. Wisdom is a good thing. 🙂
I always am bewildered by the drama surrounding each ends-in-a-zero birthday. Here’s the good news, gals….it just gets better and better and better. I turned 66 this week and am happier than I’ve ever been in my life. You finally get over the ridiculous attempts to be “perfect”, to get it right, to impress other people with how thin-rich-talented-successful-important you are. At some point after forty, you wake up and realize that you’re on the back nine and that you don’t have to prove a thing…that you are fine exactly as you are (and, eureka! you always WERE).
Juicing helps. Anything you do to nourish yourself helps. Take it from me – there is nothing to fear as you hit forty and move into the next, best phase of your life. There’s a reason they’re called your *golden* years.
What an awesome comment and great look on life, Anna. Thank you so much for your perspective. 🙂
My husband and I are juicers! To get the fiber, we add a couple spoonfuls of the pulp into the juice and stir.
We juice here in our house. We started to help deal with the intense pain from Lupus and other chronic pain conditions. We have a beautiful Breville as well.
We juice the following: 1 green apple, cored
3 carrots peeled, 1 cucumber, 3 med to lg beets-peeled, rinsed and halved. 14″ of Ginger. Bunch of oarsley. Bunch of kale. You can add fennel and a lemon. Or add a splash of lemon juice at the end.
The benefits are amazing!!
We also juice 1 green apple, 2 carrots & 1/4 ” of ginger for nausea. Works great!!
Great recipe. I haven’t tried beets yet (they scare me a little bit) but I may have to because that sounds delish!!
The beets are a little scary at first. Make sure you wash and perl them under cold water running in the sink. Otherwise the stain terribly. The beets offer the digestive track some help, as well as cleansing toxins and pain relief.
I highly suggest adding it to your juice at least 2x per week if not more. We juice 2x per day, 7 days a week. 🙂 Yes it is a lot, and we forget, we faulter and we CAN TELL A HUGE DIFFERANCE!!!
We have bern able to cut pain medications in half with juicing and healthy/clean eating.
🙂
Thanks Kelly!!
Juicing is amazing! I sleep much better, feel more energized, blood sugar more regulated. Keeping the greens dominant in the juice, as you said, is key. Makes such in difference in my overall well being. Started juicing beets last year for my Mom who has bile duct cancer. They are not bad at all!! An orange or some strawberries compliment beet juice deliciously!
I completely agree Kelley. It’s changed my health dramatically. And while I understand the appeal of supplements, nothing beats getting it directly from the source.
Wow, it amazes me you say juicing is expensive, the ingredients you listed would probably cost you around 3 euros in Spain where I live… What a sad place America must be…
I am not going to lie…..I am intrigued, but I know my husband will think I have lost my mind if I tried this……let alone not want me to spend the $ on one of these blenders. Anyone want to make one for me first, so I know I would even drink it?? 🙂 If not, recommendations on places that make healthy ones for me to try? I am 43 and feel it. My thyroid is almost non existent, and I have high cholesterol (on the 10 mg side). I don’t eat red meat or fried foods, so my cholesterol problem is due to genetics. I feel tired all of the time, and would LOVE to have energy to be there for my 3 kiddos. Thanks!!
Hi Jill – One of my juicing friends recommended this low-cost Black & Decker Juicer as a great starter machine. (Here is the link.) At under $30, it will give you an idea of you like (and your body likes juicing). I agree with the adage, you either will spend the money now (on good food) or spend it later (on medication), but eventually it will catch up to you. Hope this helps.
Thanks! I can’t wait to try it 🙂
I’m normally a smoothie drinker, but I do love green juices. The problem is with my little Breville juicer – it sends leafy greens flying all over my kitchen and makes a giant mess 🙁 Sometimes I’ll get store bought green juice (like at Trader Joe’s) for the convenience, but I know it’s not as fresh. Still trying to find a better option that’s not so expensive!
OH, NO. That sounds like such a pain, Sally. Luckily, I have had really, really good luck with my Breville.
Well youngins’ I’m here to tell you 2 things – 1- being 40s is terrific!!!! 2- i’m now 55 and juicing is the nicest thing my son has ever done for me. That Mean Green concoction he taught me is such a life saver! I’m not in good shape by any means, but this helps me feel so much better!
He. He….”youngins”. I agree Deb, a green juice multiple times a week can make such a difference in my overall health.
Ok Kelly, you’ve convinced me. I am going to drag out our old juicer from the garage tomorrow and fire it up. Here’s hoping it can help with my arthritis pain and increase my energy level. 🙂
Lisa – it won’t hurt anything. 🙂 You may want to do some research on which foods (and the vitamins/minerals they contain) would be good for your pain. But for energy…you can’t go wrong with Warrior Juice.
I’m inspired! Thank you!
We were juicing a lot two summers ago, before our big cross-country move. Now that I’m finding my groove with my new city and new work schedule, I think it might just be time to return to juicing. Your post is a great reminder about how much healthier I felt when juicing was a daily habit in our home.
YEAH!! I’m so glad that I could give you little nudge and get you back on the juicing bandwagon! That is awesome.
Hey There! I love green juice and smoothies. I have a Breville juicer and a Vitamix. I use the Vitamix about 95% of the time. I like the fiber in the smoothies. I am 45 and I feel you on the sleep issue. I didn’t start having any sleep issues until about 41. Takes me a while to fall asleep and I always wake up in the night to use the bathroom. Keeping weight off is really hard now and definitely have to watch what I eat. I am a healthy eater too. 🙂 Has your sleep improved the past two years since this post? Thanks for sharing your recipes. Don’t forget to rotate your greens.
I love to juice and it has transformed my skin, energy, and overall health. I am 42 and started to juice this year and have fallen in love. I juice during my work week for breakfast usually 4 out of 7 days a week. My favorite recipes do include beets and I was scared too just because I always thought beets were disgusting in smell and color. But they add a great touch to drinks:
1/2 cucumber
2 stalks celery
2 cups fresh spinach
1 carrot
1- 2″ beet (stalk end cut off and beet washed good)
1 Granny Smith or gala apple, small
1/4 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
1/4 tsp spirulina powder
Lemon juice (I peel and juice a bag of lemons and freeze into ice cube trays. Just grab a cube and place in glass)
In July I caught sight of my body in a full length mirror, sitting in a chair and decided I should try juicing. I replaced 1 or 2 meals a day for two weeks (with either juice or blended fruit and vegetables) and then had my blood drawn for routine testing. After changing my diet in that short space of time, I got a cholesterol reading that was in the normal range for all three things that they check. I have not had normal cholesterol in my entire adult life. I’ve been a vegetarian for 26 years, and my cholesterol was bad. I’m slowly transitioning into veganism, which I think is probably made easier by the fact that I now consume vegetables and fruit in mass quantities, which wasn’t really my “thing” before. I started out with the mean green juice, and I sometimes now make a variation of it, depending on what I feel like using. Or if I have a condition that would be helped by using something different, such as parsley. I started this at the age of 48. I have just started perimenopause, and think the hot flashes would probably be a lot worse if I hadn’t started juicing. I also don’t really have the attitude problem that supposedly comes with it. I was plenty irritable for the last 10 years to make up for it, though. So my mood, cholesterol, and possibly premenopausal symptoms have all been helped with juicing.