A Terrible, Wonderful Habit

I am a very busy person lately, as many of you are. This is the last thing I needed to add in my life, I tell you, but it happened on accident!



First I'll tell you the problem I've developed: I can't drink regular orange juice anymore- only fresh squeezed. DO YOU KNOW HOW DIFFERENT THIS TASTES?!? I had no idea, that is, until I started drinking the fresh squeezed OJ from Jamba Juice. At $3.50, it was becoming a very expensive treat to have every day (or at least every other). That's $108.50 a month. On orange juice. Clearly, something had to be done.

So I bought a juicer. This one. It's not a super high end one- it only cost me $19.99. It works ok- it does the job, anyway, with minimal effort.


My problem now is, this saves money, but not a ton. Maybe if I lived back in California, in the house I had growing up, with quite a sizable orange tree in my back yard. It was wonderful. And I was a silly little child, taking it for granted and not having any idea how amazing it was to have that kind of fruit growing right outside of my kitchen, alongside of an apricot and a pomegranate tree. Sigh.

I don't need to remind anyone of where I now dwell- in the land of leafy greens and root vegetables, and a few late summer berries if we're lucky. Well, except blackberries- did you know that the city of Seattle officially named blackberry bushes a "weed of concern"? What does that even mean?

Anyway, a full glass of juice takes about 3 navel oranges. At $3-$5 a pound, there's no way I can make organic juice. Even non-organic can cost $2-$3 a pound. Now I live my life completely at the mercy of grocery stores and costco, endlessly looking for specials on navel oranges and stocking up with pounds of them.

Like I said, I don't have time for this....but it's so delicious I can't stop!