~Homemade Watermelon Juice~

       I love Watermelon, seeded or seedless... big or small... whole or juiced. I. Love. Watermelon.
But I hate when watermelon isn't ripe enough, it's not nutrient dense and it's not as tasty; so I usually wait a long time until I cut one up and today I finally cracked one open that had been sitting for a long time. It was extremely ripe, too ripe. Not rancid, but a little mushy. It still tasted good, but I didn't like the texture.
Perfect juicing material.
Here is how I like to make Watermelon juice; it's a messy job but SO worth it. This is juicing a watermelon WITHOUT a juicer. You can apply this technique to many other fruits as well.

You will need:

• A Blender
• A Mesh Strainer
• A BIG Bowl
• A Pitcher

and of course

• A Watermelon!

Optional

• A Tamper

The Juice

1. Cut your Watermelon in chunks (This is a task in itself) and remove it from the rind. When your done getting all the fruit you can cut the rind in small chucks and compost them.  
2. Set up your blender and ready your strainer; the strainer should be able to sit on top of the bowl without falling in.
3. Place as much Watermelon as you can in your blender, this is where the tamper comes in handy. I have a little wooden tamper that I use to stuff the Watermelon in so it is reasonably tight; you could just as easily use your hands, but it might be a little difficult and messy (It's already a pretty messy job).
   If you don't tamp it down it may not work if you don't have a high-speed blender. That doesn't mean you need to run out and get a Vitamix (though it is a really nice blender that I wouldn't mind having) I have a really cheap personal blender that I use that gets the job done. DO NOT add water to get the blender going, just tamp it down and there will be enough juice to give it a kick-start. 
4. Blend until smooth, then pour into your mesh strainer and keep it over the large bowl. While it sinks down I like to blend up more of the Watermelon.
5. If all the juice has not passes through the mesh by the time I am done with the next batch then I like to take my tamper and stir it gently until there is just pulp left. I put the pulp into a container that I will later take out to compost. 
6. Repeat until all your melon is gone.
7. Whenever the bowl fills up I pour it off into your pitcher. If you want you can filter it again, but I don't mind having a little bit of pulp.

        When you're all done and you have a pitcher-full of juice you can do whatever you like with it. Add it to smoothies, make  Popsicles, or just drink it straight up.  You can also add other juices to it and make up something totally awesome and original. You could freeze chunks of fruit and throw it in your juice! I like pineapple, mango, and strawberry with watermelon  juice. Keep in mind that you can use this technique for many other kinds of fruit, especially ones that are very juicy. The results may not be as good as one with a juicer, but if you don't want to shell out 100's of dollars this is a pretty good alternative. 

       Since your fresh juice isn't fill of preservatives, you want to keep it refrigerated and it should last for up to a week. You don't want to eat things that are not fresh, because their nutrients will start to deplete. So drink up your juice right away!
      I just want to add that my mother bought me watermelon juice of the Minute Maid kind and is wasn't nearly as good as the real deal. Plus, there were a ton of other fruit juices added to it... I'm not sure why they were there, but I assume they were trying to make it more watermelony by adding grape and apple juice?
Tell me what your thoughts are and if this recipe works for you!
if you have any questions don't be shy!
Peace~

Happy Independence day Victoria's Secret

This lotion gave me a RASH.
I put one layer on my legs after getting out of the shower, like normal; and it always made my skin feel a little weird and kinda dry after use. I was trying to use it up because I don't like the way if feels on my skin, so I put another layer on ONE leg to see if it would help.
I'm so glad I didn't put it on both legs because the next day I had little red spots in a cluster by my ankle, some here and there up my leg, and another cluster on the outside of my thigh. They don't just look stupid but they also itch. I have yet to call or email them because I have heard how horrible they are with customer service; but when I do I will tell them that they need to stop putting ARTIFICIAL CRAP in their stuff.

U.S. & Canada Store Customer Care Center
8am - 2am, 7 days per week
(855) 866-5810

This just goes to show that my last post is true, don't put things on your body that you have no idea about. I got this a long time ago, and when I decided to try finishing it up it back fired.
I knew I shouldn't have used it, but I HATE wasting things.


On a lighter note, have a great Independence day for USA and Venezuela (theirs is July 5th) Even though you probably at least forty years until Cháves dies from natural causes; I know you will gain true independence soon.