Josiah has become this incredibly healthy eater.  His once extremely picky palate has seemingly out of nowhere become increasingly less picky.  I swear he will eat just about anything you put in front of him nowadays. He will also drink juices and smoothies made with lots of fresh veggies and fruit. Actually he guzzles them as if they are the best tasting drinks he’s ever had.

Here’s the funny thing.  For years the only liquids Josiah would drink were milk and water.  That’s it.  We tried apple juice, grape juice, orange juice, you name it.  He didn’t like them.  We tried Capri Suns, Gatorade and even a sip of soda here or there, just to see if he would show any interest. He didn’t. Josiah always looked in the cup offered to him before accepting it. If he didn’t like the looks (or maybe it was the smell) of the contents, he’d refuse to have anything to do with it. He wouldn’t even take a tiny taste.

So imagine my surprise when Josiah took a drink of home made green juice.  I thought the smell alone would turn him off or perhaps the bright green color.  As is usually the case when I predict anything about my son, I was wrong.  Josiah took a sip, grabbed the cup away from me and gulped. He drank so fast and furiously I was stunned.  He absolutely loved it!

From then on healthy, freshly made juice has been a daily habit for Josiah.  I make some most every morning for him to drink just before breakfast. I make enough to also fill a small mason jar for his lunch or school snack.  I love knowing he is getting lots of important vitamins and nutrients in his juice.

I’m not sure I can solely credit this to the juice, but we have seen improved eye contact from Josiah in recent months.  Since cutting out dairy, along with processed, prepackaged products and replacing those with whole foods, we’ve seen some positive benefits. This boy who rarely if ever looked our way, now sometimes stares at us.  Incredible!

Rick and I have also noticed our own positive health benefits from juicing. So, for now, we are going to continue to juice and give Josiah as much of it as he wants. If you haven’t tried making your own juice, I highly recommend it.

There are so many great recipes available.  We’ve tried quite a few.  I can’t think of any Josiah has refused.  He guzzles them all.  Here’s a favorite, this one makes 2 servings:

Mean Green Juice

16 kale leaves

2 cucumbers

8 celery sticks

4 granny smith apples

1 lemon

Toss the ingredients in a juicer, pour over a glass of ice and enjoy.

Recently, I’ve been joking about moving to Bora Bora and renting out jet skis on the beach. In light of Josiah’s new beverage fascination, we may need to expand the family business to include Josiah’s Jazzy Juice Bar. Just might be our ticket to paradise!