Fall in Love with Juice

In the spirit of upcoming St. Valentine's Day here is some juice to get you feeling the love.  This recipe makes about a quart of juice.  Don't have a juicer?  No worries!  Use your blender with a bit of water then strain it through a nut milk bag or cheesecloth.

Love Juice

2 beets

2 large carrots

2 apples

2 large navel oranges (take the skins off)

1/2 pt. strawberries (keep tops on berries)

Put everything through your juicer.  To make it extra smooth run your fresh juice through a metal strainer to get out any remaining pulp.  Enjoy right away!  

Eat: Delish

I haven't posted in awhile and I don't really have a great excuse for it.  I have been busy, but I just couldn't seem to sit down and type.  We've been eating lots of yummy foods around here.  Both raw and not raw but yummy and pretty healthy.  Last week we were hungry and didn't want to take time to make an elaborate meal.  I had some premade polenta in the cupboard and knew I could use it to make a simple easy, yet hardy meal.  Here's what I made:

I cut the polenta into rounds then browned them in a pan.  I then sauteed up some oyster mushrooms and shallots.  Put both on top of a bed of baby spinach, a spoonful of vodka pasta sauce and topped with some fresh Parmesan and you have an easy, quick, delicious meal!

In other foodie news yesterday I had a juicing day.  I love raw juice and could happily drink it all day long.  We had a lot of produce hanging out in the fridge that needed to be used up before it went bad.  So I happily juiced away!

Brunch consisted of green juice.  This had kale, baby spinach, chard, burdock root, and apples.

Then I made some juice to take with me to work.  This orange juice had tangerines, carrot, and cranberry.  Some people wonder what you do with all that pulp.  That's an easy answer... make pulp crackers.  All you do is put your pulp in a bowl with some flax meal that has been mixed with water.  Add whatever spices you want and dehydrate at about 110 for 24 hours or until completely dry.  Here's mine:

I added vanilla, cinnamon and raw honey to the orange pulp and nutritional yeast, garlic powder, and tamari to the green pulp.  I can't wait to snack on them!

Eat: Green

Today is Friday and unofficially Green day!  Why green day you ask?  Well, I am wearing a green shirt, I have on green glasses, and I'm drinking green juice!  Sounds like a green day to me!

So what's in my juice you ask?
- Kale
- Spinach
- Celery
- Cucumber
- Burdock Root
- Apple
- Ginger
- Young Living Lemon Essential Oil

It's delicious and full of vitamins, enzymes, minerals, and detoxing properties.  What are you drinking today?

Juice Feast: Day 2

Day 2 is almost over and so far this was the hardest day.  I had a hard time turning my mind off from the need to eat.  I was never hungry but with the food everywhere in the office I felt like I was missing out.  It's kind of funny when I look back on it.  I think it was more wanting something crunchy or crispy and less with the need to actually eat.  Leaving for lunch has helped a lot.  I went to the library today and then the dollar store.  I wonder where I will go next week.  So what did I have to eat (or should I say drink) today?
Breakfast (1.5 Quarts)
- Cucumber
- Strawberries
- Spinach
- Blueberries
- Water
Lunch (~ 1 Quart)
- Avocado
- Spinach
- Tomato
- Raw Protein Powder
- Spirulina
- Psyllium Husk
- Lemon
- Water
Dinner (1 Quart)
- Cantaloupe
- Celery
- Ginger
- Lime
- Carrot
Tonight I also made some homemade raw almond milk.  I added dates for sweetness and homemade vanilla extract.  I am currently sipping some Chai Tea with a splash of this almond milk.  I would say today is a success.  I never thought this would be easy but is fascinating how tricky mentally it is right now.  Here's the calorie breakdown:
Daily Summary
Calories: 1,067
Fat: 28.87g
Cholesterol: 0
Sodium: 558mg
Carbs: 191g
Fiber: 45g
Sugar 130g (from fruit)
Protein: 43g

Raw Food: Juice Feast

Tomorrow starts day 1 of my Juice Feast.  A juice feast is like it sounds.  All my caloric intake will be from fresh juices and smoothies.  The goal is to drink up to 4 quarts of juice a day.  As an intuitive eater I'll drink as much as my body tells me to.  So what are the kinds of things I'll drink?  Green juices, veggie juices, fruit juices, smoothies with avocado and/or banana, water, tea, coffee (I know it's not good for you but I can only give up so much at 1 time).  Think of it like those chocolate shake drinks that are full of chemicals and ingredients you cannot pronounce, but mine is in a natural way.  Here are some answers to your questions I can see burning in your head:

Will you get enough calories?  Yes I will.  I promise to report back as much as possible (daily is the goal) with what I drank and the calorie breakdown.

What about protein?  I'll get enough protein.  There are many protein sources out there beyond eating meat.

What about calcium and iron?  Again there is a lot of other sources out there that have calcium and iron.  Beets are full of iron and greens have lots of calcium.

Will you get bored?  It's possible, but I plan on varying my juices and smoothies as much as possible.

How long are you going to do this?  Well, my goal is until Easter Sunday, but who knows.  I'll go until it makes sense to me.

If there is anyone else out there that wants to give it a try google Juice Feast for lots of info.  Raw Food Rehab has lots of information as well.

Raw Food: Smoothies and Juice

I  love raw food and on most days I eat mostly raw.  In the winter I eat around I meal a day cooked.  One reason for this is that it's cold here in good ole Wisconsin.  And, the cost for good fresh produce in the winter becomes crazy expensive.  If I stick with what's local I am stuck with mainly root veggies, which while great, are kinda boring if that is the only thing you are eating.  I have been asked how to transition into raw food and here are my thoughts on this:

Start with one meal at a time.  I think the easiest one to convert into raw is breakfast.  I tend to have fresh made juice or a smoothie.  It's quick and easy, you can use up whatever you have, and yes, it will keep you full.  I usually have about 16 oz, and that keeps me full from 7:00 am to about 10:30 or 11:00 am.

So, what do you need?  A good high powered blender.  You can use a juicer (and I love mine) but it is not necessary.  I have a Ninja and it works really well making smoothies.  To make juice pour your liquid into a colander lined with cheesecloth or a milk bag and squeeze out the juice.  See, very easy!  Here's some of my favorites:

1 Apple, 2 Carrots, 1 Hunk Ginger, 2 Handfuls Spinach

1 Cup Pineapple, 2 Carrots, 1 Inch Ginger, 1 Orange (peeled)

2 Apples, 2 Stalks Celery, 1 Lemon, 2 Carrots, 1 Bunch Kale

It is so fun to just throw things together and see what happens.  Usually my smoothies contain some sort of berry and almond milk.  I sometime blend in banana, avocado, and/or spinach.  When it comes to juicing I love beet juice (I'll have to take a picture of that one soon), and throwing whatever veggies/fruits I have laying around.  The rule is if you add an apple to your juice you will taste apple.  This is an excellent way of hiding the veggie taste if that is something you don't care for.  So get out there, add 1 raw meal to your day.