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

Feeling inspired... and citrus benefits.

It's Monday.  Again.  We have decided that the last 2 cheat days have gotten out of hand and we are going back to what we were doing in the beginning:  Being careful on cheat days, but enjoying one meal of what we want.  My meal is usually a burger.

I am feeling inspired because I got an e mail from my Uncle Jerry and he requested prayers due to some health concerns.  I told him of course and then shared with him our journey of juicing.  He asked for all of the information and I sent it.  I then talked to my cousin this morning and I am sharing it with her as well.

It makes me feel great when I can help people.  This juicing has helped me tremendously.  The first week is the hardest, but once you see the weight loss, it will keep you motivated.

Monday's juice.  For the following recipe, I basically used up any greens that were on the edge that were in my fridge.  If you only have fresh, use those

Green Citrus Lemonade
Half head of Romaine
4 leaves of butter lettuce
bunch dandelion greens
1/2 lemon and peel
1 orange (peeled)
1 grapefruit (peeled)
2 apples

My next juice is tried and true and very kid friendly.  Want to get the kids on juice?  Use this.  Sweet, a little tart and healthy!  They will never know they are also drinking celery.  The color is also kid friendly.

Tart Celery

4 apples (granny smith are best)

10 stalks celery

10-12 carrots

Some of the benefits of citrus:

Vitamin C 

Cancer prevention

Did you know that lemons are one of the most alkaline foods?  Cancer can not grow in an alkaline environment.  Add lemon to your water and drink to your health.

Oranges have been known to lower your bad cholesterol!!

Citrus helps eliminate free radicals from the skin helping to keep it young and healthy!

Oranges help in the absorbing of Vitamin D and calcium, leading to stronger bones.

Grapefruit helps boost your metabolism and aids in weight loss

So don't overlook these delicious fruits and add them somewhere to your diet.

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.

Strawberry delight

It is strawberry season here in Florida and we are able to get these delicious berries right off the farm for wholesale prices.

Hubby brought home a flat of berries  I forgot just how much that was!!

So.  What do you do with so many berries?  Why you juice them, of course.

Strawberry Kale Delight
2 pints strawberries (I left the hulls on)
4 kale leaves
Thru the Breville

I ate a cheeseburger last night so this is my breakfast (half of it anyhow) and I will juice all the way to dinner

My afternoon juice is a melon and cucumber blend.  I had bought a yellow melon about a week ago and I knew it was time.

Cucumber Melon Delight
Whole yellow melon
2 cucumbers
Juice thru the Breville

Enjoy!!

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.