Green juice made easy

The problems with green juices are many.  Unless you have an expensive masticating juicer, the centrifugal juicers just do not extract a lot of juice out of the greens.  You need to use a massive amount to get a little bit of juice.

Another problem is the taste.  Some green juice can be rough to swallow since it tastes like you are drinking a meadow or your freshly cut lawn.

I have searched for a store brought juice to add to my freshly made juice and was never able to find one that I was completely taken with.  Preservatives.  Added sugar in the form of fake sweeteners - even Stevia is not good for you - and other added ingredients that are not natural.

Enter Suja Juice.  No preservatives.  Some have added sugar, but most do not so read your labels.  This adds volume and taste to your our of the juicer green juice.

That amount in the photo is for 2 mid morning juices and 2 afternoon juices.  Here is the recipe

Easy Green
1 bag of spinach
1 bunch parsley
1 bunch dandelion greens
1 large cucumber
5 celery stalks
1 lemon
3 granny smith apples
2 wedges pineapple
1 23.7 ounce Suja Essentials Green Delight

I juiced all of the ingredients except the Suja.  Stirred the juiced juice and then divided the individual servings by filling each container half way with juiced juice and then the rest of the way with the Suja juice.

Easy and delicious.

A little catch up to do...

It certainly has been a while.  Life gets in the way sometimes.

I am still juicing and maintaining the 30 pound weight loss that I accomplished.  However... It is time to lose 20 more pounds.

Let's talk a little about maintaining the weight loss.  Yes.  I had to make changes.  Not drastic changes, just changes.  First off was cutting out eating out as much as we did prior to the diet.  Along with that came cutting the high calorie, high fat foods from the diet.  My next change was limiting the amount of "white" I ate. Meaning  - pasta, all rice and grains, potatoes, bread, sugar, dairy.  Not eliminating, just reducing.  I also changed out ground beef for ground turkey or buffalo in many recipes.  And, one of the important things?  Having things to eat for lunch in the house so that we did not go out to eat.  This was accomplished by stocking the freezer with turkey burgers, chicken burgers, already cooked grilled chicken and making sure I had salad ingredients.  Another change, and probably the most important change was re-committing myself to the preparation of dinner.

Along my journey, I have discovered that I need to juice my breakfast and I need to have another juice during the day.  Lunch needs to be light and should be protein to get me to dinner.  If I grill chicken, I make an extra one for my lunch the next day.  Simple 4 ounces of chicken for lunch and I can make it to 6 pm.

I have also discovered short cuts to juicing.  One store bought juice that I can recommend is Suja Juice.

You can get this at Costco, Whole Foods and some grocery stores.  Now I won't lie.  It is expensive.  I would click on the image to go to the website and research the line ups.  Some do have Stevia in the and I stay away from all artificial sweetener - even Stevia.

Suja does not have any preservatives in it.  I like that.  When I tried the Classics line up, many of the juices taste exactly like the ones I am producing out of my Breville.  I have also tried the Essentials and found them to be a bit sweeter and probably good for someone looking to add juice to their diet.

In any event.  From here on out, I plan to include not only juice recipes, but basic recipes that I am eating to maintain my weight loss and continue on with my journey to better health.

I am headed to a lab draw next week.  One year ago I had a complete lab draw and was surprised to find how good my labs were.  Cholesterol was a little up, but the good was good and the bad was good. Looking to see a change in that overall number this year.  If I can find last years reports, I will post both.  I had that done in July... and yet it took me nearly 6 months to get my act together and get going on the road to better health.

Lesson learned.  Thankfully not the hard way.

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.

Kale. Cacao Nibs, Mulberries.

White mulberries.  The next Superfood?  Maybe.  Research suggests it may help control fight diabetes.  They are also packed with antioxidant, fiber and protein.  AND they have less sugar than most dried fruits.

A friend of mine gave me a pound and I decided to try them.  Very different taste and I would suggest using them in a juice that also has pineapple.  To best describe it - like granny's old closet.  Ha!

Mulberry madness
spinach
banana
blueberries
cacao nibs
dried mulberries

The mulberries are the brownish pinkish white on top.

You can also make the favorite carrot, apple, celery in the Nutribullet.  Be prepared as it is very think snad pulpy.  If you like this, then go for it.  I have to admit, I prefer this juice thru the juicer.

And finally, a green juice.

Hail to the Kale
Bunch kale
leftover romaine nub
ginger
2 green apples
lemon
cilantro
celery

I love this juice.  Enough said.  Green.  Good.  Gets you going.

Enjoy your juice and stay focused.

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.

The morning after...

I hope everyone celebrating had a Happy Easter.

I overdid it this week end and I am thankful for no weight gain and thankful that I learned a lesson and thankful that I am ready to detox - no matter how painful it may be.

I had 1.5 cinnamon sugar muffins, a cinnamon biscuit, french toast and syrup along with eggs and potatoes. My body did not like me.  I felt nauseous for the rest of the day.  Luckily I was able to start functioning in the afternoon.

Lesson learned.  No sugar.  No carbs in high doses.

I have a recipe to share from Friday because I have finally found my beet recipe.  This was a delicious juice!

Awesome Beet
1/2 red beet
4 peeled oranges
1/2 lemon
1/2 bunch dandelion leaves
4 carrots
nub ginger
nub turmeric.
Of course that juice is pictured on the right.

The juice on the left was not my favorite.  I will share the recipe anyhow

Green
1/2 romaine head
bunch kale
2 cucumbers
dill
ginger
turmeric
2 apples
1/2 lemon

One thing I have learned about apples?  Get either Gala or Granny Smith.  The red delicious do not impart enough sweetness to a juice and that is what this juice needed.

Today, my Monday, I have made the detox Green juice

Detox Green
Kale
1/2 romaine
1/2 pineapple
4 carrots
2 cucumbers
5 celery
1/2 lemon

I will drink this as a snack and have a Bullet for Breakfast and lunch today.  

Sweet Dandelion and the benefits of leafy greens

I like to use dandelion greens every once in a while when I can get them.  They are very bitter, so it is necessary to sweeten the juice.  Pineapple is just that sweetener to use.

Dandelion greens are high in calcium - who said you had to drink milk to get calcium?  They are also high in antioxidants - Vitamin A and Vitamin C.  Dandelion greens are also high in iron!!

To read more about how to use dandelion greens, click here:  Dandelion green smoothies

I get my dandelion greens at Freshfield Farms, who locally sources them from Lady Moon Farms.  On their own, they are bitter.  But when juiced with the right fruits and veggies, they pack a ton of nutrition to your daily juice.

Sweet Dandelion
1/2 bunch dandelion greens
2 cucumbers
1/2 lemon
1/4 pineapple
(2 servings)

Another tip to take with us with regard to the greens in smoothies - Rotate your greens.

Why?  Alkaloid build-up.  All leafy greens contain a very small amount of toxins and when consumed over a long period of time, these toxins can build up and harm the thyroid.  Please know that this is VERY RARE.

If you use spinach one day, kale the next, you have it down pat.  Don't worry.  And besides, it is good to switch it up every once in a while as different greens have different nutrient benefits.

Another article on the benefits of greens in your smoothies:  Benefits of greens

Tomorrow?  Why to use lemons.

Quick Recipe

Crazy Sweet Dill Pickle
1/2 cucumber
fresh dill (as much as you want)
1 pear
Fill water to the Nutibullet "max" like and blast away

Tastes very mild - like a sweet dill pickle

Pearrific Juice

Keeping it slow and steady with another pound lost.  Matt is holding it down at 40 pounds lost.

Pears are known for their anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.  Pears are also one of the easier to digest foods and have a high amount of digestible fiber.  I know when I add them to a smoothie, they add a thick texture that feels decadent on the tongue and a nice sweet flavor.    Pears are also considered to reduce the risk of Type 2 Diabetes and lower heart disease.

Today, I have juiced a nice pear and citrus juice that I am excited to drink for my morning juice.

Pearrific
3 pears
2 peeled oranges
1 lemon
ginger

I am also still on my citrus juice

Citrus Kale Juice
6 kale leaves
2 peeled grapefruit
1 peeled orange
1 lemon
2 handfuls of spinach
1 cucumber
turmeric
ginger

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.

Juice... and dinner, too

Matt and I have really cleaned out our diet since starting this juice diet.  One of the go to recipes that I just started making are quinoa stuffed red peppers.

I make them in the afternoon and then they are ready for the oven an hour before dinner.

1 cup quinoa in 2 cups of water (I add 2-3 bay leaves)
  follow the directions on the quinoa package)
1 can black beans
1 can corn
1/2 jar of your favorite spaghetti marinara sauce - I use La Famiglia DelGrosso Sunday Marinara
mozarella cheese (optional)

Cut 6 peppers in half and take out the guts.  Salt and pepper to the peppers.  Stuff with the mixture
You can add cheese to the top if you want.  Again.  Optional

350 degree oven for 40-50 minutes.

Serve and enjoy

Now for Juice

When I make 2 different juices, I get all of my ingredients out on the counter and washed and bunched together.

Sunshine popeye
3 cups spinach
2 oranges peeled
2 cucumbers

I tasted the orange in this one.

Ridgeback Lemonade

3 green apples
1/2 romaine head
2 lemons
bunch dandelion leaves and stems.

A lemony favorite of mine

Popeye on left, Lemonade on right.

Enjoy your juices.  And the peppers.

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.  

My versions...

Another pound lost.  I seem to have re-started my weight loss.

My husband has seemingly stepped away from the diet.  He has lost 40 pounds, claims he wants to lose more, but is not making the effort.  This is a hard diet.  Any diet is not easy, but this one seemed to be the easiest we have done so far.

Onward I trudge toward my goal.

Ridgeback Lemonade
Head of green leaf lettuce
bunch dandelion leaves
2 lemons
4 small Granny Smith apples

Very tart and very green.

My next one is my newest version of V-8

Meera's Vegetable juice
5 tomatoes
5 carrots
3 stalks celery
inch of jalapeno
1/4 onion
2 cups spinach
dill to taste
1/4 beet

We'll see how this one tastes later.

So as I move on with out my husband on this diet, I think it has actually strengthened my resolve.  I AM going to lose another 20 pounds and I AM going to keep it off.

Enjoy the day.

Market Day and lots of recipes and Hump Day

Tuesday is market day.  Time to replenish the stocks

I have been doing some freezing of the fresh fruit.  I peeled bananas, cut them in to thirds and then laid them on a sheet tray until frozen and then bagged them.  Did the same with my pineapple and papaya.  Both made the transition from fresh to frozen.

I love to shop at Freshfield Farms.  Plenty of Organic produce as well as just plain good deals.

On to the recipes

Found this on the dandelion greens I bought.

Lion's Tooth Lemonade

I plan to try this tomorrow.

The link to Lady Moon Farms  Click the name and you are there.

Anyhow.  Still adding the Vitamin C to my juices.

C-Green
8 dandelion leaves and stalks
6 kale leaves and stalks
1 cucumber
1/4 pineapple
peeled lime
peeled orange
peeled grapefruit
ginger
turmeric

Delicious citrusy with a hint of green.  I felt better as soon as I drank it!

 2 more juice recipes.  One to celebrate citrus and Vitamin C and the other is a "flu fighter"  Both of these are single serving recipes.

Apple Crisp

5 apples

2 large celery stalks

2 oranges (peeled)

Foo Fighter
2 c spinach
5 kale leaves
2 carrots
2 celery
cucumber
apple
ginger

Enjoy!

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.

Change up

Normally I get the hubby to make the juice in the Breville and then I do the blended juices.  Today, I did the Breville since he was out late and still in bed.

I had an epiphany on Monday.  I am going to have to eat a burger on my cheat days.  It is what I crave and I am not satisfied until I have one.  Which usually means I cheat!  Yes.  On Tuesday, I had a burger at lunch. And guess what?  That craving ended and I found it easy to juice on Wednesday and I have no cravings today either.  I had the same thing happen the first week.  I wanted a burger, didn't get it and I was in torment all week long until I could eat on on Sunday.

My best advice is that you eat what you crave on your cheat days.  If you don't, you will continue to crave it!!

Cucumber Melon blast

Whole cantaloupe
1 cucumber
run it thru the Breville

It smelled delicious!  I can not wait to try it.

Spicy Greens
bunch of kale
4 celery stalks and leaves
handful of fresh dill
2 apples
cucumber
ginger
turmeric
small bit of fresh jalapeno
peeled lemon

The dill smelled outrageous going thru the juicer.  So delicious.

Experiment with your ingredients.  I know I do.  I remember some combinations to enjoy later and some I take off my list.

One of my new favorite ways to get beets in my system is the juice I made on Tuesday.  I made it again yesterday.

1/2 beet
4 peeled oranges
peeled grapefruit
1/2 sweet potato
5 carrots
turmeric

I call it the Hi-C.  It really calms the flavor of the beet down and it tastes very citrusy.

Enjoy your day.

Re-set Monday

Daily gratitude:  That I was able to get my husband to get some things done around the house this week-end.

Spent Saturday visiting the produce places and then came home and processed all of the fruits and veggies - mainly the fruits.  Mango, pineapple, papaya for the tropical mix, and blackberry, strawberry raspberry for the berry blend mix.  Also snagged some citrus - oranges, a few limes, grapefruit. I also grabbed some seeds - pumpkin and sunflower.  I am getting back to the fruit in the morning and a veggie juice in the afternoon.

Monday is re-set the diet day.I am hovering at the 27 pounds lost mark and I want to shake it up and get a few more pounds lost this week.

So, with all that good produce, here are my juices for the day.

For breakfast I am doing the NutriBullet blended smoothie.  Greens, my tropical mix, a banana and some pumpkin seeds.  For lunch will do in the Bullet - greens,berry blend, protein powder and banana and almonds.

Mid morning juice:

4 peeled oranges
1/2 sweet potato
8 carrots
1/2 beet
turmeric
grapefruit (not pictured)

For my afternoon juice (not a great photo)

Peeled grapefruit
4 celery stalks
bunch parsely
3 cucumbers
lime
ginger

It's Monday.  A new week begins.  Broken resolutions can start over fresh.  Enjoy

Ahhhnother week done

Technically not until tomorrow night, but I feel I accomplish something by getting to Friday.

I have a food confession.

Went to Costco on Wednesday.  Had a hot dog... and suffered for the rest of the day.  Stomach pains really bad and 2 antacid pills did not take away the pain.  Lesson learned.

Friday.  Back on track.

Nutriblast for breakfast

Made 2 juices for the day:

1/2 watermelon
pint of strawberries

The second juice was a green juice and I was getting rid of things in the fridge

3 leaves red leaf lettuce
1/2 head butter lettuce
2 red apples
3 stalks celery
handful of broccoli
cucumber
ginger and turmeric

 I have been having a NutriBlast for lunch.  These are filling and just what I need to get me thru the afternoon

2 handful greens
banana
scoop of protein powder
tablespoon golden flax
1 cup frozen blueberries
10 roasted almonds
water
Blasted.

So delicious.  I feel almost guilty drinking this.  The chocolate of the protein powder gives it a chocolatey taste, the banana makes it creamy and the frozen berries give it a chill and make it thick.  The almonds add a depth of flavor.  It's like a milk shake!

Enjoy.

Advice to new juicers

I think that since I have been doing this for nearly 60 days and my weight loss is 27 pounds, I can comment on what to do when you are first starting out.

1.  Decide how serious you are about this.  Do you want to lose weight?  Do you want to get more greens and veggies into your diet?

2.  How long do you plan to do this?  Is this something that you are doing for a month?  A year?  The rest of your life?

3.  Based on your above decisions, get the right equipment.
    a.  decide how much money you want to spend.
         - a blender will make a smoothie, but will not extract the nutrients you need completely.  You can can              get spinach and softer fruits to break down pretty well, but nuts and kale, hard fruits and most
           veggies will not break down.

            -  Nutribullet 600 or 900.  One of the best options.  The 600 is cheaper and will do the job.  These                   extract the nutrients and break down your fruits and veggies, nuts and seeds completely.  Easy to
                use, easy to clean and I highly recommend it.

             - Juicer.  One of the best options to get if you are looking to get the nutrients right in to your system               and looking for a consistency that is more juice like and less smoothie like.  Everything can go in
              the juicer.

4.  Decide how you are going to juice.  Do you have time to juice 3-4 times a day?  Or is it easier to juice all of your daily juices at once.  Don't worry about reading that it's not good to store your juice.  If you are drinking them all in one day, nutrients are not going to be lost.

5.  If you do not like the taste of vegetables, making them in to a juice is not going to change their taste.  You need to make sure you are adding fruit to the juice.  Pineapple is your sweetest choice.  Costco has a Festival blend that includes pineapple, strawberry, mango and papaya.  You can use it frozen or thawed Bananas also add sweetness.
Spinach is one of the mildest dark greens.
My advice is to make a green smoothie in the morning with your greens, banana and pineapple and then in the afternoon, do a more veggie one with pineapple added.

6.  Beets are not for everyone.

7.  Once you get your tastebuds used to it, move on to other greens such as kale, chard, etc.

8.  Use resources to look for recipes.  Pinterest is a great resource.

9.  Read ingredients on soy milk, almond milk and other "healthy" drinks.  You might be surprised.

10.  Lastly, enjoy what you make  If you did not care for a juice, tweak it the next time and see.  This is all trial and error.

And be healthy.

 

A Green day

Daily gratitude:  Hmmm...

Feeling the need to detox has got me seeing green.

For breakfast I blended the Power greens, 1 banana, 1 pear, sunflower seeds, water (ice in hubby's)

I added a little cinnamon to mine.

And it blended to a smooth consistency.  The pear adds a little texture to the smoothie, but over all, very tasty.

Afternoon juice was another green concoction:

Bunch of kale
6 celery stalks
cucumber
2 wedges of pineapple
pint of strawberries washed but not hulled
1/2 lime
nub of turmeric
nub of ginger
1/2 pear

This is a sweetened green blend that will get the good minerals and vitamins right in this afternoon and hopefully take the burgers and tacos out!

Yes.  My Sunday cheat day was awesome.