Juicing and Malapropisms
May 21, 2013 | My Jottings
We’ve had some very heavy rain lately, with flash flood warnings. That seems like nothing compared to the devastation we watched on the news this morning in Oklahoma. As I sat there in my plaid flannel nightgown with a hot cup of tea in warmth and safety, I prayed for the people there, especially those who have lost children. What can people like Michael and me do for those who are suffering? At this stage of our lives, all I know to do is pray and send money. And to not take for granted this day we’re given, because there are no guarantees that we won’t be the ones needing help and comfort another time.
On to more trivial things — Michael and I bought a juicer recently. We’ve watched several mind-blowing movies that have opened the door of my previously tightly closed mind just a crack, and I’m incorporating a few new things into our days that I would never have considered before.
Part of my motivation stems from some obvious signs in past years that my immune system is lagging. I’ve written before about how I was diagnosed with an immune system disease in 2002 called Sarcoidosis, which thankfully went into remission (or disappeared completely!) after about a year. But now when I can’t get over a cold without it turning into a weeks-long infection that needs major pharmaceutical intervention? Not good.
When my children were very young I was a whole foods kind of mom, and they didn’t eat sugar and most refined foods. We ate lots of fruits and vegetables and whole grains. When we moved to Minnesota I began to let things slide because the food culture here was so different from Southern California. And I guess it has been downhill ever since. We still eat fruits, vegetables, raw nuts and seeds, love salads and eat whole grains, but I have become lax in many ways regarding meal prep.
After watching this, this, this, and (be forewarned there’s a bit of language in this,), I’m trying to make one green juice a day for Michael and me. I love green vegetables and crave salads, but drinking anything green and grassy smelling has always made me gag. To successfully down a green drink would usually take me thirty minutes and lots of begging God. Michael used to drink Barley Green every day and loved it — he’s not put off by the agricultural fragrance or flavor of green drinks at all.
But I got me some people I need to take care of. And I got me-my-own-self I need to take care of. So I squinched my eyes shut and clicked on the “buy” button on amazon, and our juicer arrived a couple of days later.
Here’s what we’ve been having, and because of the fruit in it, I can actually drink it down within three minutes (Michael guzzles his) and still be standing upright and smiling afterward:
Organic Green Juice
4-6 large kale or Swiss chard leaves (I cannot believe I am actually typing those words)
1 peeled cucumber
4 stalks celery
1 cup strawberries
1 Granny Smith apple
1 piece ginger root
1 handful fresh parsley
I have added the juice of a lemon at times and have also used organic romaine, which is a bit milder than the kale. Today I’m actually soaking some chia seeds to use in tomorrow’s juice.
I also still eat pizza, drink milk very occasionally, and had a Culver’s Butterburger last week, so the changes I’m making are very slow changes. But it can’t hurt us to add an enzyme-rich, vitamin and mineral-rich green drink to our diets, and we’ll see how it makes us feel and whether or not we experience any really noticeable health differences.
I’ve also read many times from different sources that our American diets cause our bodies to be very acidic, and eating foods that are alkalizing is a good thing. So Michael and I have been drinking melon smoothies, and we LOVE them. Three ingredient yumminess!
Honeydew Smoothie
1. I cut up a ripe honeydew melon into ice-cube sized chunks and freeze them.
2. When it’s time for a smoothie I let the honeydew chunks thaw for about 15-20 minutes, just until they’re not rock hard anymore.
3. In a blender or Nutribullet (we have both and the latter works better for this) I pour unsweetened almond milk and a little honey, and blend it for a few seconds.
4. Then the honeydew chunks can be thrown in and blended until completely smooth, and more almond milk can be added until the mixture is pourable.
I can’t tell you how rich and refreshing this tastes to us.
So enough about juices and smoothies, now I want to tell you something cute and funny. We had our 10 year-old grandson Mr. McBoy over for two nights recently, and we had such a good time with him. I taught him how to play Gin Rummy, he beat me at Farkle, we read books together, listened to G.T. and the Halo Express CDs while the rain beat against the windows, and just enjoyed each other’s company. On Saturday evening I asked Mr. McBoy if he would massage my feet for me (he is known for his strong hands and cheerful willingness to give hand and foot rubs), and he readily agreed. I thought five minutes would be generous of him, but he rubbed my hands and forearms, ankles and neck, and then offered to rub my back if I would lay down on the floor while Grandpa watched Gunsmoke nearby. I did. After a few minutes of my teetering on the edge of a blissful coma, Mr. McBoy said, “Grandma, I don’t mean to be gross but if you want, I can massage lower on your back, near your gelatinous magnus.”
Oh yes. How apt.
You know what he was trying to say, don’t you? I chuckled and said, “You mean my gluteus maximus?” and he giggled when he realized his mispronunciation and said, “Oh yeah, I meant that.”
I declined his offer, but I think I’ll always remember what he said. It will be something we’ll get a kick over many years from now. I told Mr. McBoy that gelatinous magnus is probably a much more accurate term for my backside than the correct anatomical term. 🙂
I love a good malapropism (the act of using an incorrect word in place of one that is similar in pronunciation), don’t you?
I know a little girl who used to say “I don’t want to take anything for granite.” I have a friend who heard someone else comment in a theater while watching Schindler’s List: “Oh how sad, look at all those emancipated people!” I have someone in my own home who says, “It’s cold outside and I need to get all bumbled up!”
How about you? Can you think of a malapropism you’ve heard or one you’ve said yourself? If yes, why don’t you sit right down on your gelatinous magnus and leave a comment telling us what it is?
I can’t wait to read all the perpendiculars! 😉
Julie, we bought a juicer a while ago after reading your recommended film, ‘Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead’. We’ve only used it a couple of times because the price of fresh fruit here is quite expensive and juicers seem to need a lot of feeding to give a decent amount of juice.
Malapropisms … My mum is good at using the wrong words at times. For example: ‘I couldn’t get used to those variflame (varifocal) glasses’ and ‘I bought this scarf in that shop in Truro, you know – Mongoose (Monsoon)’ and ‘My dog was gyrating (gravitating) towards me’! The last one really made us laugh because we had visions of her little terrier dog doing an Elvis-type dance towards her!
Of course one of the funniest things was when Alan told a nurse that he takes antisyphilis tablets instead of acidophilus tablets. I’m not aware of any bloomers that I’ve made yet, but no doubt my family could say otherwise. 🙂
Kay, even though I already knew of Alan having said he was taking antisyphilis tablets, I laughed so hard picturing this again that the bed shook! (I was sitting on the side of the bed reading on my iPad.) And the picture of a gyrating dog! Oh my, I’m wiping tears now. Hahahaha! As far as juicing goes, maybe you could reserve one fruit a day, along with one small bit of a vegetable, and make one large juice for the both of you once a week…that would be better than nothing perhaps?
My sweet son, to this day says, “Nip it in the butt.”, rather than “Nip it in the bud.” No matter how many times I try to explain the logic to him…..he just doesn’t get it. I love him anyway….so long as he nevers nips me in the butt. 🙂
That is a funny one Patty! Thank you so much for sharing and for bringing a smile. 🙂 xo
Malapropisms: when I was about 12 I knew a lot of words I’d read but never actually heard pronounced. Which sort of explains mistaking genitals for gentiles. There was one of those silences, you know. Awkward. 🙂
Oh my. I can just feel the silence Ganeida! Yikes. Good one though…thank you for sharing! xo
Someone I love most dearly says “sourcastic” instead of “sarcastic” and “droggy instead of groggy” but when my teenage grandson was about 10 he saw a commercial on TV for tampons and before his mother could even turn the station he said “Mom, what do women use tampoons for?” – When my daughter told me this I laughed so hard until somewhere in my mind I started visualizing a “harpoon” and after that well…..:(
I’m trying to figure out which one of your loves says those words! Oh my gosh, Su, reading these are doing my heart good like a medicine, even the word tampoons (which sounds like something from National Lampoon!) Hahaha! xoxo
Malapropisms, my daughter may remember a few of mine better than I. She is the English major in our family and pays attention to one’s speech much more often than I. Here is one of the funniest ones from my hubby, “Did she make that cake from scraps?” ~ meaning “scratch”. He did not know until just a few months ago that the term was “making _______ (fill in the blank) from scratch” (he will be 57 next month). It is quite the funny for the family now and he says it on purpose just to make people laugh, anything made from scratch is now made from scraps.
Taun, I love that one! Ask Curt if I can adopt that one for my own! Now I’m off to make some dinner, if I can find some scraps. 🙂 xo
When my twin and I were little, we had to say the Lord’s prayer out loud every night before bed. We asked our mom one night who Mabel was, which confused her. We said, “You know, the one in the prayer.” We had been saying “deliver us from Mabel (instead of evil).”
Oh my gosh Pat! “Deliver us from Mabel….” HAHA! That gave me a laugh I needed this morning! Thank you. Maybe Mabel was the one who was going to bring your sister a “snack”! xo
Juice – well done you! To build health, I prefer the route of each day including foods that will really do me good, rather than starting by cutting out bad things. Then my body gets a taste for the good things, and they fill me up, so the bad things just get gently nudged aside. I’ve been following Tim Ferriss’s 4 Hour Body diet, and have found really helpful his sabbath system of eating strictly for 6 days of the week then having a Dieters Go Wild day on the seventh. One of the ladies that followed his protocol, every time she was tempted to eat something she shouldn’t, would add it to a list she was keeping of things she could eat on the DGW day!
LOVED the malapropisms – I too have a gelatinous magnus. My all time favourite of those I’ve personally heard was the lady who said of her family enjoying a roast dinner: “They can divulge a whole bird at one sitting!”
And one day I mean to include reference in a novel to strapless brassicas.
I love those malapropisms, Ember! I think adding in the good foods is the way to go. And I like the idea of putting something you really want on your list so you know you’ll be having it on the DGW day! What would be on your list? Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup miniatures would be on mine. 🙂 xo
Ice cream :0b…
Oh yes!