The Daily Juice 8-18-14

So here it is Monday.  August 18, 2014.  Matt is home from vacation and we are re-starting the juice diet in an attempt to lose more weight.

From January to May, I lost 30 pounds.  Matt lost 35 pounds.  From May until today, we were learning to maintain tat weight loss, adjust our eating habits as well as learning portion control and moderation.

One difference is going to be the lunches.  I am adding protein to lunch and not juicing.  I will only eat 4 ounces of a protein.  That seems to get me through to dinner and takes care of any tiredness I might feel mid-day.

Breakfast was the typical Nutribullet smoothie

2 cups of triple green blend
banana
handful goji berries
handful of almonds
1 cup of triple berry blend
chocolate protein powder
3 prunes

Satisfying and delicious

Snack juices are a typical green juice.  For this juice diet go around, I am going only green juices and vegetable juices.

That is a bunch of Lacinto Kale
bunch of parsley
2 cuts of pineapple
2 apples, celery
lime
2 cucumbers
ginger

I supplemented it with the Suja Essentials Green Delight.  I am doing this so that we will get four (4) 12 ounce servings out of the juice.

Tonight's dinner will be chicken breasts, broccolini, cauliflower and a salad.

I will cook enough chicken to have leftover for tomorrows lunch.  I usually get breasts that are pretty big ad I cut them in half prior to grilling.  4 portions right there.  No over eating of the protein.  I am not concerned with the amount of veggies that we take in.  Salad dressing usually consists of vinegar and oil and occasionally I whisk in a little Dijon mustard or lemon juice.

Juicing works

This is my weight loss flow chart that was started in 2008.  I was given this by my doctor on Thursday. Note the dramatic drop since my last visit in July 2013.  I actually lost all of that since January.

Labs are next.  My lipids were slightly elevated.  I am anxious to see my new labs.

This works as long as you set your mind that it will work for you.

Recipes and more recipes... and lemons, too

Lemons.  What can I say about lemons?  In my backyard, I have 2 Meyer lemon trees that produced over 300 lemons last year.  Now that I know the benefits of lemons, I will never complain at how well those 2 trees produce.

Lemons are shown to inhibit and prevent the growth of cancer by protecting your cells.  They are also known to help aid in the prevention of a tumor from growing.  They have limonene - an oil known to help aid in the prevention of cancer.    Lemons are acidic to the taste, but when introduced to the body, are very alkaline.  Cancer cells can not grow in an alkaline environment.

Lemons are rich in vitamin C.  We all know the benefits of this vitamin.  A big glass of lemon water can help cleanse the liver and get it started for the day.

Lemons are also helpful in battling acne and promoting glowing skin.

I have 3 recipes that I used lemons in.

Watermelon Lemonade
1 small watermelon (personal size)
1/2 lemon (peel and all)

Simply put.  This was a delicious and refreshing juice.  I love using watermelon juice when I am tired of the green juices and the veggies.  This could easily be a summer sipper worthy of a poolside afternoon.

My next juice is a green juice.

Kale Explosion
1 bunch of kale
2 cucumbers
1/2 lemon
ginger
turmeric
2 apples
4 celery
dill
parsley
 *  I added the dill and parsley because I have it growing like mad in my backyard.  If you don't have it, don't worry about it.

Not sure where the red/orange is coming from on the bottom.  Maybe the apples?

And finally, an orange juice.  Just a note.  I did not use any oranges in this juice.

The Color Orange
1 large sweet potato
1/2 lemon
5 carrots
2 wedges pineapple
2 handfulls of power greens (baby spinach, kale and chard)

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.

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.

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.

Juicy Couture

I have learned a secret about the NutiBullet and why you should read the manual it comes with.  You can blend for 40 seconds and if the consistency is not what you want, blend again for up to 40 seconds.  You can blend 3 times before having to let the motor rest.  Trust me.  Two 40 second blends are exactly what I needed.

The almonds were completely broken down and the NutriBlast was smooth and delicious.

I am so impressed with the NuriBullet Pro 900.  It came with the base, 2 extractor blades, a big cup, 2 large cups, a small cup, 2 lids, a handled lip guard and a regular guard, 2 books and a packet of Superfood (chia seeds, Goji berries, Cacao nibs, Maca powder).  I use the airtight lid to store our lunch NutriBlast in the fridge.  How convenient is that?

I have been adding the almonds because the Chia seeds are like bird seed.  Now that I know how to blend correctly, I will try those tomorrow.

Got some delicious blackberries for the morning NutriBlast.  This week we will be traveling close to Plant City, FL ad will get a flat of strawberries.  Can't wait for that.

  Moving on the juicer.

1 large Sweet potato
2 apples
1 beet
turmeric
3 carrots
1 lime
Run through the juicer.

Can't wait to try this.  It smelled like lime and so refreshing.

Monday, Monday

Now I am not gonna tell a fib and say I was very good this week end.  I did pretty good on Saturday.  Sunday was a true cheat day.  However, the good news is that I did not gain any weight.  Whew.

So now to detox and get back on track.

I have a bit of a scratchy throat from being out in the rain and cold on Saturday, so I wanted a juice high in vitamin C.  I also wanted our regular morning juice and a green juice to detox on.  I guess that means we made 3 juices.

The morning juice is the same - the spinach and fruit in the Nutri-Bullet

The juice on the right I will call Vitamin C Plus

2 ruby red grapefruits peeled 

12 hulled strawberries

ginger

turmeric

What a refreshing juice.  I can feel the vitamins going right where I need them.

Green juice is simple

Kale

half bunch dandelion leaves

1 wedge pineapple

celery

2 cucumbers

ginger

turmeric

Both of the juices went thru the Breville juicer.

My goal for this week is to lose 3-5 pounds.  I am determined to do it.  

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.  

Links to articles and recipes

I will add to this post periodically.  Keep checking

How to Start Juicing

Juice recipes

All about greens

Denise's Juice Board at Pinterest

T.G.I.F.

Daily gratitude:  Grateful I have stuck to this plan

I have lost 2 more pounds.  Total loss for me is 18 pounds.  Matt has lost 25 pounds.  Men...


Other than the beet juice the other day, I have mainly stuck to green juice this week.  I have also looked at the detox recipes.  Our weight loss seemed to plateau and I think we needed a little extra push.

We went back to the fruit blended smoothie in the morning yesterday.  Matt likes those and it does seem to keep us fuller through the morning.  I have also started to take the protein powder in the mid morning.  That seems to help me make it to lunch.

Pear Smoothie
2 pears cut off the core
1 banana
1.5 cups water
2 cups spinach
1 avocado
blend til smooth

Our snack juice was a green juice
Rainbow chard
celery sticks
carrots
apples
lemon
lime
turmeric
ginger
I also had half a head of romaine that needed to get juiced or thrown out soon
All ingredients in the juicer.

It made an ugly juice, but I know it's good for me

Another green juice recipe
1 beet green stalk (leftover from Tuesday beet juice)
6 kale stems and leaves
cucumber
lemon
2 green apples

This was an ugly color but it was like green lemonade.  Very citrusy and easy to get down.

Hump Day

Daily gratitude:  I will never take for granted my ability to speak.

Taking a break from the blended fruit juice in the morning.  I juiced 2 juices today and both are very tasty.

Morning Breakfast Blend
4 grapefruits peeled
1 large sweet potato peeled
2 pears
cinnamon

This was a very tasty juice and very mild.  Not too acidic and the cinnamon added a little depth to it.

Afternoon juice was a green juice.

2 pears
3 kale stalks and leaves
3 celery
1 cucumber
1 lemon

Another very mild tasting juice.

 I have been pretty busy at work and with life, so I am glad that I have been making the juices ahead of time.  I do make sure that I consume all of the juice by the end of the day.  I do not think sitting for 8 hours, the juices will lose that much of their nutrient value.  I am sure some of it is lost, but not enough to make me stop doing this.

Our constant helper in the kitchen:

Tuesday... Oh Tuesday

Daily gratitude:  I am thankful I was able to control my desire for a chicken biscuit

Another lost pound will do that for you.

I posted a photo to Facebook:  This one:

With the heading that Matt and I had lost weight.  So many people contacted me after that and asked me how I did it and what were some recipes.  I was glad to direct some of them to this blog and to the "Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead" infomercial.  I had one friend go out and buy and juicer and start this incredible diet. Another one will start this week -end.  And I have several more telling me why they can't do the diet.

LOL

Everyone makes  choice.  It does take a lot of discipline.  But your health is worth it, I think.

One of the best benefits right now is having Matt help me in the kitchen.  He usually makes the juice in the juicer and I do the blended one.  I get all of the ingredients together for him, but he juices them and then cleans everything up.  

Today we made a beet juice

2 beets

4 carrots

2 apples

6 stalks of celery

2 limes

2" of ginger

Thru the juicer.

This is enough for 2 servings of juice.  

We are trying to do a beet juice once a week.  The lime and the ginger in this juice cut the earthiness of the beet and make it very tangy with lime.  

Here is a link to see the benefits of raw beet juice:  Beet Juice Benefits

Wow.  So drink your red juice on a weekly basis and feel all that healthy goodness inside you.  AND please, do not panic if your poop turns the water in the toilet red.  It will happen.  Sorry to be so descriptive, but...

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.

Alone time

Daily gratitude:  Hmm.  Hard one today.  I know I am grateful for something, just can't think of it right now.

My husband is gone for the week end.  I am planning to continue on with the juicing.

My morning juice will be:

2 Cups pineapple
1.5 cups water
1 banana
2 cups of spinach
In the blender.

This is what I mean when I say in the blender.  I use this:

For the morning smoothies, the blender works fine on the softer fruits and spinach.  I can get the spinach chopped down finely.

For the afternoon, I am going to try the Sweet juice on Vmac and Cheese's blog site. 

SWEET GREEN JUICE

Makes a little over a quart of juice

3 granny smith apples (or any variety)
1 navel orange, peeled (I use the first steps in this technique to peel citrus of any kind)
1 lemon, peeled
2 inch nub of ginger, washed
entire bunch spinach, thoroughly washed
1/2 bunch kale, thoroughly washed

Through the juicer.

 When I say through the juicer, this is the machine I use for that:

 The juicer extracts all of the juice and most of the fiber making the juice more of a watery consistency.  I use this juicer for the beets, apples, cucumbers - what won't break down easily in a blender.  

I went to Hubbly Bubbly last night for dinner.  Click their name for the link.  I ordered the Hummus bowl with chicken and then added tomato, cucumber, lettuce, the Mediterranean salad and pickles.  I ate half.  The other half came home with me for dinner tomorrow night.  Good clean eating at the Hubbly Bubbly Falafel diner.  If you are in or near College Park, Orlando, Fl, it is a must try.

Place all ingredients over the lettuce leaves and enjoy.  Yummy delicious and low calorie!

Enjoy your day and juice for your health.

Red Wednesday

It's a red day today.  Red blended juice and red beet juice for the afternoon.

Morning red smoothie

2 cups strawberries
1 banana
2 cups water
2 cups spinach
Blended in the blender.

This was light and a little frothy.  Delicious.

Afternoon was a beet juice.  I am trying to make the beet juice a little less beety

Citrus Beet Juice
5 beets
5 beet tops - yes, the green tops
2 blood oranges
1 grapefruit
2 carrots.

Hump Day

My daily gratitude:  I am grateful for the life I was able to live.

Another 2 pounds gone.  Now that these 12 (or 14) pounds have disappeared, I know I am going to have to step it up in my exercise program.

It is getting better week by week.  Easier NOT to cheat and only have the juices during the day.  Having a cheat day is also a great help as well. Seeing results is the biggest motivator.

About 3:00 or 4:00 pm, I had been finding myself with the incredible urge to eat something.  I had been eating a single serving size of hummus with some wheat thins.  The last 2 days, I have had a hard boiled egg. I think in order to continue the weight loss, I am going to have to get that under control.

Here is a recipe for a yummy green juice I made yesterday

2 peeled red grapefruit
1 lemon unpeeled
7 celery stalks
7 kale stems and leaves
3 green apples
1/2 bunch dandelion leaves
1 inch nub ginger
small nub turmeric
Run all ingredients thru the juicer

This is a refreshing juice that I had for lunch and for my afternoon snack.  This made enough for 4 - 9 ounce servings.

I have gotten in to the habit of making my afternoon juices after I come home from the Courthouse.  Then I am able to work and not have to worry about disrupting my work to make juice.  It also makes it easier for my husband o come home and be able to grab a glass of juice and then go back out again if need be.

Today I am making a beet juice and a sweet potato juice.  Will post more later.

Adding protein

At the advice of a nutritionist, we have decided to add protein powder to our routine.  we are not mixing it in to the juice rather mixing it with the recommended water amounts and drinking it.

we were told that doing juice we can lose protein/muscle and to be  sure we are getting enough.

Here is what we got:

I

It is low in carbs, which is what you want, and adds over 50% of the daily protein we need.  Something to consider.  We are drinking it in the morning before our breakfast juice.  To be honest, I am really full right now!  

How I am feeling on the 12th day

3 weeks ago I had some concerns.  I was unable to lose weight due to my inability to put down the fork.  I was unable to exercise due to how I physically felt.  I was concerned for my future.  I was concerned that I was not going to be able to do all of the wonderful things my husband and I planned to do once we retire. Travel?  Hike?  I was concerned I was not going to be able to do it.

I just could not get motivated.  I KNEW I had to do something before it was too late.  The one health problem, besides being overweight, that I have is high blood pressure.  I had extensive lab work done 9 months ago and it came back fabulous.  You would think that would have motivated me.  I was not pre-diabetic and I was low risk for stroke or heart attack.  So why not take the steps to lose the weight?

Physically I felt terrible.  I had sore knees.  A sore hip.  Unable to move quickly and I was just tired.  A lot. And, let's face it, I love food.

My husband was feeling the same way.  He has been saying for 3 years that this is the year he needs to do it. And we never did it.

Until this year.

He saw the Joe Cross infomercial ad, we watched to together and I went out and got the juicer.

And so.  We juiced breakfast and lunch and snacks and ate a healthy dinner.

12 days later I have hope.  My knees feel better.  My hip feels better.  I feel better.  I can walk faster and I am less tired.  I truly believe that juicing has given all of that back to me.  I can not wait to see the results in 2 weeks.

Keep me motivated. Leave some comments.