Juice. Just juice.

Goji delight
Spinach
Banana
Strawberry
pineapple
mango
papaya
goji berries

Goji berries are considered one of the "super foods" nowadays and pack an antioxidant punch.  Because they are so trendy, they are expensive.  Look for a quality online store to get them from for a far better deal than at the market.

Purple Juice  (on the left)
1/2 head red cabbage
1-2 pounds of red grapes
2 apples
cucumbers

The grapes sweeten the cabbage nicely.  I probably used closer to the 2 pounds than one.  This definitely has an aftertaste.  Just tell yourself you are preventing cancer and escorting free radicals from your body.

The 2 main juices in my house on any given day that I use the juicer are the ones below.  I call the one on the left my Favorite Juice and the one on the right Sweet Kale

Favorite Juice
4 apples (use a green or gala)
8 celery stalks
8 carrots


Sweet Kale
Bunch Kale
Bunch Cilantro
1/2 pineapple
1/2 lime
3 Cucumbers

The Sweet Kale is delicious (as is the Favorite).  It is sweet, but not overly sweet.

Enjoy your juice and your week-end.

So many juices, so little time...

Been playing catch up since coming home from vacation and then having my husband and 2 of the dogs come home earlier this weeks.

I will start with 2 juices I used fresh raspberries in.  Not a fan of that; however, that being said, perhaps if I added some honey it would have sweetened it up a bit and I would have liked it more.  Both were a little too green for me.  I used spinach in one and kale in another, a pint of fresh raspberries, banana, almonds and water.  Neither one were very "Smoothie" like and both had a very raw green taste to them.  Not a favorite.  Why do I post?  Because maybe someone will add honey and then post that it was a good juice.

The next juices are simply favorites of mine that I will use when I am doing a day fast.

Carrot Favorite

8 carrots
4 celery
4 apples
Thru the Breville juicer.

I simply love this juice.  Sweet, tasty, has a mild celery kick and it goes down easy.

Another favorite actually contains beets!  Yep.  BEETS

Sunshine Beet (right one)
2 peeled grapefruits
4 peeled oranges
1 lemon
1/2 large beet
thru the Breville.

I love this citrus juice.  Smooth, refreshing and good for you!

The rest are NutriBlasts

Smooth Yellow
Kale/spinach blend
banana
pineapple/mango blend
ginger
scoop vanilla protein

Has a hint of ginger.  The protein fills me up and gets me thru til lunch.

My goal this week to juice all day and eat sensibly at dinner.  I had gained a little weight on vacation and I am happy to report that I have shed those 5 pounds.  It was super hard these past 2 weeks since I had been eating food during the day while on vacation and I missed that.  Slowly, I re-trained my body, stomach, mouth and mind to get back on the juice and I am happy at the results.

I still have 20-30 more to go.

Back from Vacation

I spent 10 days up in the New Jersey/Pennsylvania area.  I did manage to juice on the road and in the hotel.  Have Nutribullet, can travel.

Traveling overnight to our destination, we packed a cooler with fresh ingredients - spinach, berries, protein, almonds.  One at our destination hotel, we made sure we got a fridge and freezer and bought frozen berries and a bigger bag of greens.  I kept everything in one bag so I wasn't rummaging all over the place for the ingredients.

We juiced every morning.  The rest of the day was a bust.  I gained 3 pounds.  

Today, I am juice fasting all day long.  I will NutriBlast my breakfast and lunch and I made my favorite juicer juice for snacks.

Favorite Juice

8 carrots

4 pears

4 stalks celery

small lemon

Through the Breville

Hitting it hard

We are vacationing in 3 weeks and have decided we are losing 10 pounds prior to that.

My husband has lost 45 pounds since we started this journey January 6, 2014.  I have stalled at 30.

Over the last 2 weeks we were eating a little more, but maintaining.  Were they all good meals?  No.  However, we did supplement with juicing.  This is, after all, a lifestyle change and it does take time.

So.  Back to juicing thru the day until dinner and making sure that we eat a sensible dinner.

I made a simple, easy juice today.

carrots
apples
celery
1/2 lemon
turmeric
ginger

So.  Back at it.  We shall see what happens by the end of this week.  Hoping for a few pounds off.

A Rare Saturday Post

Ate spaghetti last night.  Need to juice today and be strict.

I still have another 20 pounds to go.  I have lost 30 pounds since January 6, 2014.

So.  I made 2 juices for today and am planning to make chicken lettuce wraps for dinner.

Straw-Grapefruit Juice
2 pints of strawberries
3 grapefruit peeled
nub of ginger

And the next juice is another simple juice.

Carrot-Apple-Celery
4 granny smith apples
6 carrots
8-10 celery stalks

An update about the melon cucumber juice I made yesterday.  I did not like the taste and am not using an yellow melon any more.  The cantaloupe melon is much sweeter and easier to drink than the yellow melon.

Enjoy the week end.

Monday

Not too bad of a cheat day yesterday.  Just ate a burger and fries for lunch but had a sensible breakfast and dinner.

Starting the day with a NutriBlast.  

My 2 snack juices today are designed to keep it tasty.  I have discovered that when I deleted the 2 snack juices, I had a hard time staying on the diet.  With these juices added, no problem at all.  So, I will keep them in the plan.

Carrot Pick Me Up

14 carrots

1 peeled grapefruit

2 peeled oranges

ginger to taste.

I say "ginger to taste" because a lot of people do not like a strong ginger taste.  I do think it it important to keep the ginger in.  Ginger has so many health benefits.  It' main benefit is helping to relieve gastrointestinal distress and promotes the elimination of intestinal gas.  Ginger also has anti-inflammatory compounds and has been known to protect against colo-rectal cancers.  So.  Add a little to your diet every day.

My next juice is a green juice with pineapple for sweetness.

Afternoon Green

1/2 head of romaine

6-8 kale leaves and stems

2 cucumbers

handful or parsley

1/2 pineapple

apple

Matt tried a little bit this morning and said this was a very good juice.  Can't wait to drink this in the afternoon.  

Dilled Carrot Delight

Just stopped by to share a recipe for a vegetable juice that I am drinking for breakfast and it is delicious.

Dilled Carrot Delight
10 carrots
2 cucumbers
5-6 full stalks of fresh dill
4 celery stalks
1 granny smith apple
1 inch ginger

put all ingredients thru the juicer and enjoy

Tangy, carroty and a little hint of dill.

A new week

Bacon cheeseburger and peanut butter pie.   That's all I am saying.

It's Monday.  It's a new beginning.  Hitting it hard after a delicious Sunday off the juice.

Needed some vitamin C since I am feeling under the weather

C Power juice
6 carrots
3 peeled oranges
1 peeled grapefruit


I also made a green juice for the afternoon

Bunch of kale
3 celery stalks
2 apples
ginger
turmeric
cucumber

Both of these juices were very tasty.

Monday morning

I feel the need to detox today.  Perhaps all week long.

Will be taking it lightly today.  Cheat day was definitely a cheat day PLUS, my husband and I had a cheat lunch on Friday

My morning and afternoon juice is a carrot/beet juice.

10 carrots
1/2 a beet root
nub ginger
2 apples
1 pear
All ingredients thru the Breville.
Remember, I juice for 2

I have another friend that has replaced a meal (lunch) with a blended smoothie.  She lost 2 pounds in 1 week.  I think she could have lost more, but is still also eating fast food on a near daily basis.  I guess the good part is that she is getting in greens and fruit  However, the processed stuff is still going in as well.

Baby steps.

Week end pre-made juices

Going away this week end, so I decided to make my juice ahead and pack it in a cooler.  This way will leave little chance of me cheating.  I plan to take the Nutribullet with me, but I juiced some other recipes and packed them in mason jars and a pitcher with a sealed top.  I will be home most of the day today, so these juices are for today and tomorrow.

I had some fennel I needed to either toss or juice.  Into the juicer.

10 carrots
6 celery stalks
1 pear
1 apple
1/2 fennel bulb and fronds
turmeric
ginger

Second juice I decided to go green

Bunch of kale
1 pear
1 apple
ginger
1/3 fennel bulb and fronds
bunch of red seedless grapes

Have a great week end.

Made it to Friday... again

No daily gratitude

After today's blog, I am signing off for the week end.

Fennel.  That slightly sweet Italian bulb with the licorice flavor.    Most people use the seeds.  Rarely do we use the bulb or the green tops.  I am intrigued by fennel.  I have broiled it and sprinkled on lemon and parmesan.  Delicious.  I have sliced it thin and used it in salads.  Again.  Delicious.

So.  Why not juice?

Fennel is high in Vitamin C and has antioxidant value.  It is also a great source of fiber and may help reduce cholesterol levels.  It is also high in potassium, which can help lower high blood pressure.

So I decided to juice up some fennel.

1/3 bulb of fennel and a few strands of the stalk
5 carrots
ginger
turmeric
5 celery
1/2 handful of parsley

You get this:

And best of all?  It smells like licorice.  Now I am not a fan of licorice (unless it's the red kind) but somehow, I am able to eat fennel.  

Weight loss is another pound his week.  I probably need to up my water intake as well as my exercise routine.  

Enjoy your week end.  I will be back Monday.  

Taking a break from green

It's Friday.  The end of a long week.  It is the end of the third week and it has been easier to juice.  I find that drinking the protein in the morning, followed by the breakfast green juice makes me fuller and more content through the day as opposed to spreading the protein out.

My morning juice is
2 cups grapes
1 banana
2 cups water
2 cups spinach
Through the blender.

I have had my fill of the green juice.  Going to switch it up with a carrot - celery juice for the afternoon.  did you know that celery is one of those negative vegetables.  You actually burn more calorie digesting it than it has in it.  Cool.

Carrot-Celery
4 carrots
3 apples
3 celery stalks
nub of ginger
Through the juicer.

Look at that color.!  Now I used BIG carrots and got enough juice for both afternoon juices.  So this will be my lunch and my afternoon snack.

Carrots are rich in antioxidants and especially, beta-carotene.  It also has tons of Vitamin K and is good for eye health and the do have anti-cancer benefits.

Celery is a great anti-inflammatory, especially  gastrointestinal anti-inflammatory.  

Enjoy your day.

The Ninth Day

Daily gratitude:  I am thankful that I no longer work in an office and that we can afford for me to work from home.

The last 2 days have been enlightening for me.  I feel more energetic.  I have less body pains.  Could one week of doing this really have this effect?  I do not know to be honest, but it has motivated me.

Breakfast:
Please remember that I am making for 2 and the breakfast juice is for breakfast AND the mid-morning snack

4 cups fruit (papaya, pineapple, mango, strawberry
2 bananas
1 avocado
4 c coconut water
4 c leafy greens
In the blender

The avocado gives this juice a more "smoothie" texture making it rich and creamy and thick.  we use this juice mainly for breakfast and mid morning due to having more fruit in it and we want that fruit sugar and   carbs to burn off during the day.

Lunch: 

4 apples

10 carrots

7 kale leaves and stems

7 dandelion leaves with stem

cucumber

2 limes

nub of ginger

nub turmeric

Run all ingredients through the juicer.  This is 4 servings of juice.

Lime was the flavor of this juice today.  I made enough for our lunch and our afternoon snack.  

Day Two

My daily gratitude:  I am glad I work from home.

Hubby home today.  I made the Day 2 smoothie with Kale.  Hmm.  Not as smooth as it was with spinach.  I finally did research to try and understand why there was just more volume to the blended as opposed to the juiced.  Of course I knew that the entire vegetable and fruit were in the blended, but it just seemed like so much.

Yes.  Blended leaves the fiber in.  All of it.  Juicing discards the indigestible fiber.  Juicing allows the body to absorb the nutrients immediately; however, you may or may not feel hungrier quicker.  Trust me.  You will. It also releases the nutrients in to the system quickly - which can cause a spike in blood sugar if you are using all fruit.

Blending breaks down the fiber, but your body still works to further break it down.  It offers a slower, more even release of nutrients in to the blood stream.  You do feel fuller due to the fiber left in.

So. I will blend my smoothies that call for more fruit and juice my veggies.

Okay.  That's out of the way.

Day 2.

Made the smoothie.  Forgot to unplug the machine and accidentally hit the "on" button.  Kale, strawberries and bananas everywhere.    What a mess.

2 cups berries
1 banana
2 cups water (I use coconut water)
2 cups leafy greens

Delicious.

Had that for breakfast and my snack at 11:00 am.

For lunch, I decided to juice veggies.

7 carrots.
A tomato.
 2 stalks of kale,
4 celery,
an apple
Handful of parsley
1" of peeled ginger
1 lime
In the Juicer

When I look at the gathering of veggies and fruit on my counter, I think, WOW!!  How many people in a normal day life eat that many fruits and vegetables?  Not many.  I am about to eat my entire daily servings of fruits and vegetables in one sitting.

I gotta tell you.  It was okay.  The ginger adds a flavor that seems to overpower everything else in the juice.

This was my lunch and my afternoon snack.  Look at those colors!  

They don't last if you store it.  When I went to get my afternoon juice at 3:00.  My juice was no longer a lovely orange.  It was brown and ugly.  Hmm.  What to do about that.

By 5:00 pm, I knew that I needed something to "chew" Matt felt the same way.

For dinner we ate our dinner.  I made a salad with lean chicken breast, romaine lettuce, kale, tomatoes, cucumber, celery and a little pineapple.