Garden Fresh

Sometimes the planning, tilling, planting, weeding, and watering of a garden seems like SO much work. But it never fails that the first big harvest completely eclipses any of my doubts, and "Plant a vegetable garden!" makes it back to the top of my springtime to-do list for the following year.

The other night I built a nice big salad with produce from our backyard.

I made a bed of 2 kinds of lettuce and shredded carrots. I dressed it with a combination of finely chopped tomatoes, fresh cilantro, and a drizzle of balsamic and olive oil. To add a little bulk, I made some hummus roll-ups using my mandolin slicer to create long, thin strips of zucchini.

Twas delicious and oh-so fresh!

To continue the "so fresh and so clean" eating, I made myself a good strong veggie juice this afternoon. While researching whether or not zucchini is good for juicing (It is. And it's great for hydration.), I came across lots of sites saying you shouldn't juice fruits and vegetables together. Since they require different enzymes for digestion, it is recommended to keep them separate for better efficiency/less irritation. Apples, lettuce, and celery are exceptions because they are fairly neutral.

I'm not sure if this is true or not, but I opted for zucchini + carrot + lettuce this time around.

Juicing lettuce is kind of tricky. I tried a lettuce wrap method but it didn't work so great. I think I need to use the carrots to push the lettuce through the juicer next time.

Hmmm...kinda scary looking!

Doesn't taste as murky as it looks. Pretty much just like carrot juice.

Anyone else heard if juicing vegetables + fruit is a bad idea? Have you experienced any stomach pain or gas from doing so?