I Could Have Had an E-8!
Introducing to my left is a new member of the Bierker household, the Vitamix. Essentially, it a super-sized stud of a blender, pulverizing fruit and vegetables to smoothie status in seconds. A typical blender is a 90 pound weakling on the beach waiting to get sand kicked in his face from this 250 pound beef-cake brute. You'd think Letterman would have developed a shtick on blending objects with this thing by now.
The Cuisinart we were using previously literally wasn't cutting it. The best it could do was create a drink that had the consistency of crunchy peanut butter. Lina's gag reflex was triggered while I happily gulped the jagged wreckage down. Plus, the Vitamix is simple to set-up, use, and clean, as compared to the B.S. Mechanical Engineering degree requirement for the Cuisinart.
I have been drinking Low Sodium V-8 for years, hoping that and a vitamin would cover my nutritional needs on the vegetable part of the food pyramid. I know that the Food Pyramid is out and that it was also wrong. So much for government being a god in our midst.
Do they still have those dumb commercials on TV where a dude smacks himself and says, "I could have had a V-8!" Apparently the commercial worked on me because of my drinking of the product. Not sure what that says about my IQ.
Although the vegetables are great in V-8 (though not organic):
RECONSTITUTED VEGETABLE JUICE BLEND (WATER AND CONCENTRATED JUICES OF TOMATOES, CARROTS, CELERY, BEETS, PARSLEY, LETTUCE, WATERCRESS, SPINACH), CONTAINS LESS THAN 2% OF: POTASSIUM CHLORIDE, MAGNESIUM, SALT, NATURAL FLAVORING, VITAMIN C (ASCORBIC ACID), CITRIC ACID.
The problem is that the pulp is strained out. The Reconstitution is more of a Deconstitution. Even Jack LaLanne's Power Juicer takes out what the online commercial states is the nutritious pulp. Heck, he could have broke a 110 if he had not drank just the juice.
It is critical to eat what are called Whole Foods (see this link for more information). Essentially, taking out the skin and the pulp is castrating most of the nutritional content of the drink but leaving in the sugars. True, the skin and the pulp can be difficult to drink unless one gets a high-powered blender like the Vitamix which reduces everything to microscopic bits, perfect for drinking and digestion--which saves your jaw and below in the body a lot of work.
So, today I made an E-8 (Eric-8):
HEIRLOOM TOMATOES, CHERRY TOMATOES, GREEN/RED BELL PEPPERS, RED JALAPENO PEPPERS, ONION CHIVES, ITALIAN FLAT LEAF PARSLEY, BASIL, AND HORSERADISH (everything but the horseradish is from our garden).
It is what I could pick or had around. Nothing more than that. Wow! Yum! It is very important to diversify the vegetable and fruits and not drink just one type.
Besides the obvious physical nature of this post, there is a spiritual and theological parallel. How often do we take the pulp out of our reading of the Bible? Instead, we read Deconstituted books with a Scripture verse or two thrown in while not ingesting the whole counsel of God, Whole books have been written on one verse on the Bible and that is completely fine as long as the verse is put into context with the Bible as a whole. But, often such context is sorely lacking.
For example, "Judge not, lest you be judged." Many people culture interpret that to mean that is always inappropriate to make moral judgement of others. It is usually uttered by those trying to exonerate themselves of sinful and unrighteous behavior. As in, "Get out my face." Yet, that is not what the verse means. For Jesus himself said, "By your fruits you shall know them" (I would add vegetables). In the same chapter of the Bible no less.
That is a very moral judgment if there ever was one. What Jesus is warning sternly about is to not accuse others of sins that we knowingly and calculatedly commit ourselves as a technique of avoidance and misdirection (i.e. hypocrisy). The judgment verse is actually much more incisive about making proper judgments, not judging at all.
When we consume Deconstituted and isolated sources of the Bible it leads to serious compromises on the nutritional spiritual value of what is consumed. Then, we run off to get another book hoping to assuage our hunger. Pick up the Bible...read it straight and steadily and then supplement from outside sources. Don't treat the Scriptures as an adjunct! Drink the whole Bible: The Pentateuch, the Judges, the Kings, the History, the Prophets, the Psalms, the Gospels, the Wisdom books, the Epistles, the Revelation. It should all be in the mix. Grind it up. Take and drink! Commentaries can help you break it down.
By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?
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