[kochevnik]

Just my contribution to this forum. New here (obviously) and a guy but I find the info and personal stories here really inspiring.

I just got serious about losing weight - last year during the summer my sister came to visit and she had lost well over 100 pounds while I continue to get bigger (high weight was about 240 - 5'7") and so that was a big kick in the butt to do something. My goal at first wasn't even to lose weight - just to make some small changes to stabilize. It worked. So this year I am working on losing weight and adding veggies and fruits to my diet - I almost did none before so you can imagine how much I like them.

Here is what I do - I make bug juice This is a recipe I make in a blender then put it in a thermos and take it to work every day. This gives me about 4 to 5 servings of fruit and veggies a day at about 250 calories per day.

Pineapple (or orange) Juice (1 cup - 130 cals)
2 fruits (apple or pear or orange) - 140 cals
4 oz banana 100 cals
Tomato Juice ( 1 cup 40 cals)
1 carrot or 1 tomato (15 cals)
1 cup spinach or broccoli (20 cals)
blueberries or strawberries (frozen) 1/2 cup+ (40 cals)

495 cals total = 2 days worth

Just throw everything in the blender and run it
till it as smooth as you like. It will look terrible LOL kind of
blue/green - hence the name Bug Juice. The thermos will keep it cold till you drink it - I generally take a big glass, fill it half full of water, then the other half of the concoction above. It will fill you up pretty good, tastes decent (to me). Keep in mind we're not talking about tasting like a homemade chocolate shake here but consider that it is :

a) easy to make
b) gives you all of your veggies and fruits (5 servings) in one shot
c) tastes relatively fruity
d) only 250 cals a day
e) fills you up
f) gives you all your water for the day as well

Anyways - hope this helps. Kills a lot of birds with one stone for me so hope it works for you too.

Edit - I guess I am behind the times - on another thread Bluebird called these 'green smoothies' and I guess they have become popular. I first made mine about 15 years ago in another life but this newer recipe (above) I think is better than what I used to make.

[ringmaster]

sounds good.

when I first read the title "bug juice" I thought beetlejuice, beetlejuice, beetlejuice XD

[jefferzzzz]

That sounds pretty good to me!!! I'm gonna have to add those items to my grocery list. Thanks!!!

[JulieJ08]

I love the title

[kochevnik]

HaHa yeah the name is pretty funny.

I should also mention it is probably best if you make this in a blender with a GLASS pitcher. I bought a new blender when my son wrecked my old one and it was a cheap plastic one - BIG mistake. It literally made me sick for a week - like toxic food poisoning or something. Not sure why - maybe something to do with the acids in the juice eating the plastic. Could have been something else unrelated too of course, but since I bought a new glass blender have not had the same problem.