Juicing Class @ Whole Foods Orland Park

Tonight, I was very excited to be attending a free juicing class with my best biking buddy Lynn. Most people who know me, know that Im a big fan of juicing and this class was held not far from me at the newly opened Whole Food store in Orland Park and was organised by Health From Within of Orland http://www.hfworlandpark.com/our-maximized-living-clinic#.UWdm4YI00Vo 

 
The doc was running late so while we waited for him to arrive we were sent off on a scavenger hunt for the 6 fresh produce ingredients that were included in the "Mean Green Juice" created by Joe Cross in the documentary Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead. Cucumber, celery stalks, green apples, kale, lemon and ginger. 

The winner won a book but sadly it wasnt me as I was gimping in my walking boot. :(

Not long after we were introduced to Dr Matt Spangler who began his presentation by firing some pretty horrific health and nutrition facts at us from WebMD. I wished we had had a copy of his notes to follow as he spoke, it would have made it far easier, as we were in a noisy open store and Dr Spangler wasnt mic'd up.

We were given a taste of the Mean Green Juice which isnt one of my favorites and definitely tastes "healthy". It has quite a kick as it includes a lot of Kale and it is one of the main juices in Mr Cross's plan. We were also given a sample of Whole Food's own freshly squeezed juices which apparently have a great shelf life because the air is removed from the bottle. Lynn didnt drink hers and I must admit I preferred the juices I squeeze better than Whole Foods own flavors.

Dr Spangler listed the benefits of each of the ingredients included in the Mean Green Juice and how they benefited the body. The benefits juicing has on the body is endless and even if a person doesnt fast, juicing as a supplement should definitely be encouraged. Some of the information Dr Spangler provided was mind boggling and made me rethink my own children's diets especially their cows milk intake.

After a quick fire Q&A I was able to grab a quick pic before we left two hours later. I really wanted to ask a few questions but I could see the doc's time was pretty monopolised and I was sure he was keen to head home.

Ive read up a lot on juicing since Ive started at home so a lot of the information wasnt that new to me but I can see how it would help newbie-juicers kick start their way to a heathier lifestyle.

Tonight the turn out was around 40 people and Dr Spangler interacted really well with the crowd. I was dismayed when we did not receive a proper introduction on Dr Spanglers background but that didnt seem to matter too much as we werent being offered medical advice but more, eat more fruit and veggies which clearly everyone already knows. 

Was the class helpful? YES

Would I attend again? YES

The set up however was a little crowded as they were expecting only a small handful of people. I would have liked to have seen juicing stations so that we could have tried some different recipes ourselves.