I'm riding on a cloud.
The cloud is soaring through an endless etherial catalog, my memory.
Ever deeper into the ether, the cloud is led to my destination: the first health and wellness fad that I remember hearing about, ever.
It's got to be "Juicing".
Obviously there were health and wellness fads before there was me. Juicing is just the first one I can remember.
Do you remember my story about my friend, Sam? How I poisoned myself with Burger King, and he swooped in with some fresh squeezed carrot juice to save the day? In a matter of minutes, my splitting headache and head-to-toe yuckieness was washed away. Dissolved, as it were, in a wave of pure energy that comes from natural sugars, live enzymes, and diverse micronutrients in a concentrated, therapeutic dose.
Juicing is everything 'they' say it is.
It's the only thing that I've encountered that has healing properties on the level of Microgreens.
They actually are two manifestations of the same principles:
Potency
Abundance
Juice and Microgreens are both a way to derive vegetable nutrition that is undiluted by fiber.
Fiber is important.
By all means, get your fiber. But ever still, there's something powerful that your body can do when it comes into contact with undiluted nutrients (potency) in quantities that are sufficient to truly solve the physiological problems within you (abundance).
Therefore, for our discussion on juicing, it will be helpful to continue to compare them with Microgreens.
LIVE ENZYMES - STOP OVERLOOKING THE ENZYMES
Why is kale juice better than kale?
We already mentioned the potency and abundance... but what is so potent and abundant?
Lots of things, really.
But let's skip ahead to the ingredients that are the most abundant in juice and Microgreens. Or maybe it would be more accuarate to say... those most deficient in mature vegetables.
Enzymes.
And not just any enzymes. We want live ones!
Let's get back to the kale. How much enzymes are in kale? Let's just call it, "some".
And then you come into the equation. You're actually killing all the live enzymes in your kale, and most or all of your mature vegetables.
How?
You're cooking them. I'm not saying that you should stop cooking your vegetables. I'm just saying that you're not getting significant live enzymes even from raw mature vegetables, and you're getting approximately no enzymes from cooked veg.
Well how does kale Microgreens and juice have so much enzymes?
Microgreens are harvested at a moment that's very special within a plant's life cycle. For lack of a better image, let's call it "plant puberty".
Juice is different, though. The "some" enzymes that are in the kale is separated from the gobs of fiber that dilute them. In concentration, they become a potent cocktail (enzymatically speaking).
This assumes good juicing practice, of course. There's cold pressed, masticating, etc.
Without getting into a discussion on which methods of juicing are best, let's just say that our discussion on the benefits assumes the best practices.
Enzymes are probably the most often overlooked part of health and wellness.
What's different between Juice and Microgreens?
A lot, actually.
Let's get back to my story.
I was risen from the ashes of my fast-food coma. The proof was undeniable: juice healed me, in real time.
What did I do next?
I went on an unsustainable and expensive juicing kick, of course! (I'm like that)
In this case, I don't know if it even lasted long enough to be called a 'kick'. I did go plant-based and all whole foods for months after that day. Here's what happened with the actual juicing...
I went to Bed Bath and Beyond and bought the best juicer they had, the Jack Lane deluxe or something.
That night was to be my first "juice night".
Mad with passion, I juiced them all! Ran them through the grinder. I could feel the gratifying "grgrgrgrgrgrgrgr" in my hands as I pushed each piece down the shoot to its fate.
It took like 2 or 3 hours after it was all said and done.
One thing they don't tell you when you get into juicing, is how tedious it is to clean a juicer. It's all 'nutrients and enzymes' and hugs and kisses... and then the honeymoon is over! Get to work!
For all my labor, I got juice that was equivalent to about $20 worth of naked shakes. The vegetables cost $40.
This is the first major difference with Microgreens.
Microgreens are zero work. Just eat them. And that same $40 would buy me nutrients and enzymes equivalent to $100's in mature veg.
That was my last "juicing night".
I gave the juicer to Sam.
What else is different?
There's one other difference: sugar.
Juice is almost always very high in sugar. Good, healthy sugar.
For one thing, you can juice fruits. But even vegetable juices are going to be concentrated in sugar.
Microgreens have more or less no sugar. They don't have any fats, either. Actually, the only macronutrient present in Microgreens is protein. Some are up to 30% protein.
In a lot of ways, this makes Microgreens more versatile. Anyone can eat Microgreens, and it will fit nicely with your diet. Low fat? Microgreens. Low Carb? Keto? Microgreens. Vegan? Microgreens. Paleo? Microgreens. Eat for flavor? Microgreens.
But the sugar in juice isn't necessarily bad.
Actually, it's awesome! I think it played a big part in taking away my headache so long ago.
Even to this day, the #1 thing I like to take when I have a migraine is real, cold pressed juice. Most juice bars are just glorified lemonade stands, but I'm lucky enough to have a legit juice bar in a nearby town.
Honestly, even if the Microgreens would take away the headache just the same... I'd still take the juice. It's just so easy. It tastes like it's going to make my headache go away.
When I have a migraine, I don't feel like chewing anything.
So which is better?
Both.
They do different things. They just do them the same way.
Potency and Abundance.
If I had a real cold-press juicer right in my town, I'd be drinking fresh juice daily. It's not cheap, but the value to my body and quality of life towers over the cost.
And Microgreens?
I get plenty of Microgreens. I'd still add the juice if I could.
But I can't. Because I'm definitely not going to stand there and push veggies into a machine for hours, and clean the little parts. I've been down that road. It's not realistic for me to think I'll continue doing that, even if I tried.
Microgreens just work better for me because they're easy.
It looks complete enough to let you know what you're getting into. I especially like that it has a long section about the different ingredients, but also that it covers flavor pairing.
And if you want Microgreens... I'm your huckleberry.