Say YES to Road Trip Juicing for WOTV 4 Women

Say YES to Road Trip Juicing
for WOTV 4  Women

Pros, Cons and Lessons Learned
Road trip juicing, I’ve always wanted to try it. Eating a healthy vegan, gluten-free and high-raw diet makes it very challenging for me to find good food while traveling, where the choices are usually sugar, meat, white bread, pasta or deep fried anything with a heavy dose of salt. But, our family loves a good road trip, so I was determined to find a viable solution to keep all of us happy.
Inspired by the documentary Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead, where Joe Cross the main character, drives across the United States juicing, making his movie, getting healthy and oh yeah…losing 100 pounds in the process, I decided I could do that too (the juicing part, not the losing 100 pounds part!). It looks simple enough. He juices from the back of his car so he could pull over anywhere and refuel , even road-side stands. He looks happier and healthier as the movie progresses. I’ll take some of that!
For our spring break road trip, instead of my usual protocol of spending a day in the kitchen preparing meals and snacks for my family and I to eat on the road, I decided to try juicing this time. After all, I’ll just be sitting in a car for approximately 26-30 hours, I don’t really need to eat a lot of food anyway, right? My digestion will slow down from inactivity. I need to stay alert to drive, not drowsy from over-eating. And, wouldn’t it be great to arrive in the Keys not feeling sluggish, puffy and bloated? Yes!
I had some fruits, vegetables and wheatgrass already. However, I headed to the produce department at D&W Fresh Market to finalize stocking up for our trip.
We Packed: Our plug-in cooler, a power converter for our car, all of the washed produce, my Omega juicer, a knife, a cutting board, a quart sized Ball Jar as my cup, a straw to make sipping while driving easier, a bottle to store any extra juice, a jug of water for cleaning up and a dishcloth for drying everything quickly. An extension cord would have come in handy.
I was happy I had good clean fuel. My family was happy, with mom taken care of they can eat anywhere. And we were off…
Pros:
I only needed to stop twice to make juice (1 Q each time) during our 32 hour trip as juice is very satiating (hard to believe but true).
My digestion did not slow down, as it usually does when I travel.
I did not get excessively drowsy, like I usually do on road trips.
I had a chance to meet a few new friends while juicing as the scent of fresh juice lured them over, and I was able to share some of my fruit with them too.
I was not making frequent stops to use the bathroom, weird huh?
Felt great and arrived in the Keys feeling light, bright and ready for my bikini.
Cons:
Our power converter broke so we had to find outlets on the road and they were not always available or in the best spots (see photos).
It was pretty messy business.
It rained a good portion of our trip so juicing outdoors was tricky.
Apparently my kids thought juicing at a rest stops and gas stations was embarrassing. What???
The entire back of our Suburban was filled with my juicing equipment and ingredients.
Juicing takes time, more time than you might want to spend stopping on a road trip.
 
Lessons Learned:
Juicing while road tripping, is a big YES.
You will be properly fueled and alert while driving.
You will look and feel fabulous when you reach your destination.
 
And, the biggest lesson learned was…Make juice at home before leaving and keep it in a cooler; this will save much needed packing space in the car and precious time on the road.
Cheers & Safe Travels.

Ingredients available at D&W Fresh Market.
I had some fruits, vegetables and wheatgrass already.
However, I headed to the produce department at 
D&W Fresh Market
to finish stocking up for our trip.

Comments

  1. Livvy

    April 8, 2013

    I clicked over and read the whole story. Wow. Your pics of juicing at rest stops – so funny. That’s dedication, my friend!! I like the idea of making the juice BEFORE you leave – I could swing that. Thanks for the inspiration!