Juicy Gossip: 2COP Juice

It's day five of our seven day juice diet. I feel great. I am sleeping better. My body feels lighter, more energetic. But you don't have to do a 100% juice diet to reap the benefit of juicing. Even juicing once a day will improve your health and how you feel. The intense concentration of vitamins you get from juicing is like pouring energy straight into your veins. For that reason, I like to juice for breakfast. It helps me start my day with a clear mind and high energy. However, if you prefer to juice for dinner you will be getting all the nutrition you need without filling your stomach full of food that may sit heavy all night long.

A friend  of ours received a juicer as a wedding gift. It had been sitting in the attic for over a year. He was interested in juicing, but didn't know where to start. I invited him over and we made four or five juices so he could taste the difference and ask any questions he had about the equipment or the fruits and veggies. He went home and decided that he would juice for breakfast each morning. Other than that, he has changed nothing about his daily activity or diet. (I've known him since 1983 and rarely a day goes by that he doesn't have his BBQ or steak; a true carnivore.) He has now been juicing a little over 3 months. He just told me that he has lost 15 pounds. And he wasn't even trying! He feels healthier and more energetic as well.

Some of you have asked for specific juice recipes to try. I have lots, and I'm trying new combinations all the time. I will share one or two every couple of days. If you want something specific and I haven't posted it yet, let me know.

There are sweet juices and savory juices. Sweet juice does not mean it only has fruit in it. Certain veggies when combined with fruit will give you the nutrition of the veggie and the sweetness of the fruit.

I typically like to start my day with a sweet juice. Fruits are natural carbohydrates. Your body uses carbs for energy. I want to start my day with energy. Drinking a juice with fruit is like pouring energy straight into my bloodstream.

Side note on carbs...carbs themselves are not bad for you. Our bodies require carbohydrates for energy. What is bad for us is processed carbs. If it has white flour in it is processed. If you look at the ingredients of most wheat breads on the shelf they will have enriched, processed white flour in them. If you want the "staff of life" carbohydrates, you should look for 100% whole grain. If it says "enriched", "refined", "bleached", "unbleached" it is processed. In fact, "enriched" means that they have added vitamins back into the flour that were stripped away in the refining process. Crazy, isn't it? If we stick with the whole grain before refining, we get all the natural nutrition and carbs that the body can process well. Unfortunately, even white rice has been processed.

The bottom line is, when you get your carbs from fruit and whole grains your body can process it into energy and it doesn't sit and turn into fat. So don't be afraid of carbs, be afraid of PROCESSED CARBS!!

Anyway, that's why I like to start my day with sweet juices and end it with savory juices. One of my favorites is Mickey Mouse Juice. Click to see why I call it Mickey Mouse. Perfect example of getting veggies in with my fruit, but the juice is sweet and perfect for morning.

Another favorite is this 2COP juice. The name reminds me what ingredients I need...2 C's an O and a P.

2COP Juice

3 Carrots

1 Cucumber

1 Orange

1 Pear

This juice is has a good variety of vitamins while the fruit is the dominant flavor, making it another great morning drink. 

How frequently do you juice? Is there a fruit that you haven't been able to work into a juice yet?

Weekly Weigh In: Seven Days of Juicing

Have you noticed that as soon as you commit to eating healthy and losing a few pounds, suddenly "events" pop up all around you to make you say, "I'll start tomorrow"? Tomorrow keeps getting pushed out another day, and another day. If we are ever to make a change and improve our health, tomorrow needs to become today! There comes a moment when you get so sick of it that you are ready and willing to make a change; when you get so sick of not feeling strong, healthy and energetic that you are ready to make yourself a priority in your life.


I hit that moment Friday night. It came after the third time in a week that Doug and I had eaten large meals late in the evening. As we lay in bed, moaning and groaning about how miserable we felt with full stomachs, feeling angry that we hadn't just eaten a few bites (knowing that it was late), we both said, "I'm so sick of this! I'm done with feeling gross!" Right there we decided that we would go on a juice diet for a week...a full seven days. Juicing will give us intense nutrition and give our bodies a chance to detox from the sugar, fat and bulk of food we had been taking in. We juice at least once every day, but this would be ONLY juice for seven days.


Saturday morning, as we hiked a local trail, we talked about any food we might "miss" during the week of juicing. We decided that we would eat whatever we wanted that day, and the next morning, Sunday, we would start juicing. On our way home from the mountain we hit the drive through for french fries. I knew if I had fries, I would be good for months. That night we made bacon burgers for dinner with Homemade Whoope Pies for dessert.

Sunday morning I was SO ready to start juicing. It's important to be able to have choices for meals, even when juicing. Any time you try to eat (or drink) the same thing over and over with no variation, you will get tired of it and find it very difficult to stick with your plan. So each night I juice a variety of combinations and pour them into pint jars. I prepare 5-6 jars for each of us each day, with each jar being a different flavor. We created Carrot/Apple/Ginger Juice, Mickey Mouse Juice, and more.Tomorrow I'll share more recipes.


So here's what you have been waiting for. After three days of juicing I am down 9 lbs. We all know the first few pounds is water weight. Once that is gone, we can start to lose the fat. More importantly, I feel better. I have slept very deeply and well the last three nights and have an incredible amount of energy.


So here's the tough part. Monday morning when he got to work, Doug found that a co-worker had brought doughnuts and chocolate milk as a thank you for help given; he declined. Tuesday morning I attended a breakfast business meeting. I drank my juice before I left the house and ordered herbal tea for breakfast. Tuesday afternoon a vendor came into my office with a box of doughnuts; I put them in the kitchen for the staff and walked away. Today, Doug will attend a spring training baseball game with his work team where the company is buying them lunch (ballpark hot dogs); Doug will use his "lunch money" for a couple bottles of water (after all it's going to be 84* in Phoenix today!). Tomorrow I have a lunch date with a dear friend who I don't see very often. I will drink my juice before I meet her and order herbal tea for lunch. After all, it's seeing her that I'm looking forward to, not eating a specific meal. Saturday night (St. Patrick's Day) I am having dinner with my Mango Chica's, a close group of friends that have loved, laughed and been there for one another for more than 16 years. We will meet at one friends home where she is cooking a corned beef dinner with all the fixin's. I know it is the seventh day and the last meal of the day, but...I have committed to juicing for SEVEN FULL DAYS. I will take a jar of juice with me and drink it for my dinner. Again, the important part of this night is the friendship shared, not what I am eating.


I will do this for seven days to prove to myself that I can. I will do this because I know what the results will be and how great I will feel. I will do this because I made a commitment to Doug that I would do it with him for seven days, and I won't go back on that. I will do this because I'M SICK OF IT! I will do this because I want to feel strong and healthy! (Click here to see the results of 7-days of juicing)


What moment or time in your life have you realized you were sick of the way something was and committed to making a change?

Homemade Pasta Sauce

Last week we talked about how to roast tomatoes and garlic. "What do I do with 16 roasted tomatoes?", you might ask yourself. Roasted tomatoes and garlic are the secret ingredients to my fabulous (yes, it really is!) Homemade Pasta Sauce (Try it, you won't want sauce out of a jar ever again). I will roast 15-16 tomatoes on a baking sheet and then use them all to make a huge pot of pasta sauce. It freezes well in any size container. At the beginning of the week I will move a container from the freezer to the fridge where it is ready to heat up to put over pasta or spaghetti squash for dinner any night of the week. 

I don't have a written recipe for my pasta sauce, so I'll just tell you how I do it and try to give you amounts. Like I said, I typically make a huge pot with 15-16 roasted tomatoes, so keep that in mind if you are making a smaller batch with only a few tomatoes.

Ingredients:
Olive Oil

1 Med-Large Onion (white or yellow), chopped

Garlic - 1 Whole Head, roasted (click here for technique)

15-16 Roasted Tomatoes (click here for technique)

1 Large Green Pepper (or red or orange), chopped

1 -2 Carrots, chopped

1-2 Stalks Celery, chopped

Handful Basil Leaves, chopped
1 Tbsp Oregano

Sea Salt, to taste

Black Pepper, to taste

Red Pepper Flakes

NOTE: Regarding the peppers, carrots & celery...if I have them, I use them. If I only have one of them, I use it. This recipe is not dependent on having all three. They add great nutrition and robustness to the sauce, but are not necessary for a great sauce. Also, everything can be chopped very roughly because it will be blended in the end.

ANOTHER NOTE: Because this sauce is homemade from fresh ingredients, it turns out more orange than red. We are so used to the red sauce we get from a jar or can (coloring added) that it may seem strange at first to see the light red or orange color of fresh homemade sauce. The flavor is so wonderful that you will soon forget that the color is different.

Technique:

Pour a couple tablespoons of olive oil into a large pan or pot and turn on medium high heat. Add chopped onion, pepper, carrots and celery. Saute for a few minutes until onions are clear. Add tomatoes (just pick them up whole off the tray and put them in the pot) and garlic (the whole roasted head, that you squeezed out). Add a couple of pinches each of sea salt and black pepper and 1 tsp of red pepper flakes. (add more as it cooks if you like a bigger kick).


With your wooden spoon, break up the tomatoes; they are soft and roasted and will smash easily. Add a handful of roughly chopped basil, (if using dried basil add about 1 Tbsp) and 1 Tbsp of oregano. Break everything up and mix together. Turn stove on low and simmer 15-30 minutes.


If I have time, I let it simmer longer...just makes for better flavor. When done simmering, turn off the stove and let it sit there. The flavors will continue to meld and intensify as the heat dissipates.


When it has cooled down, scoop it up into the blender. I don't really worry about exactly how much of everything gets into each batch I blend because I pour it into a giant bowl after blending. Continue to mix one blender full at a time until the pot is empty and the sauce is now completely blended and poured into the giant bowl. Then I can mix it up with my wooden spoon, making sure that the seasoning is fully mixed in. Once it's mixed up, I scoop it into containers for the freezer.


This pic is one that was in my freezer. My hard drive crashed and I lost a lot of pictures (Yeah, I know, I should have had them backed up!) so I am now short of pics for posts that I had planned. If I wait until I make another batch of homemade pasta sauce in order to get pictures of the pot, blender and bowl of sauce, it might be a while til you get this recipe. I promised the recipe, so will make do with the pics I have.


I absolutely love this pasta sauce and I'm confident you will too. Doug and I like it a little spicy, so I add more red pepper flakes. It is so good over spaghetti squash or angel hair pasta. Sprinkle some fresh parmesan or parmigiano reggiano on top for true Italian flavored homemade pasta sauce. Mangia!


What is your favorite thing to do with pasta sauce?

Monday Motivations: Change Begins With Choice

I have always been a fan of business philosophers and motivational guys, and Jim Rohn is one of the best. This story came from his free weekly email, which you can subscribe to here. I love the message...it applies to all of us...and I love the story in the middle.

                                                                                      Jim Rohn

Change Begins with Choice

by Jim Rohn

Any day we wish, we can discipline ourselves to change it all. Any day we wish, we can open the book that will open our mind to new knowledge. Any day we wish, we can start a new activity. Any day we wish, we can start the process of life change. We can do it immediately, or next week, or next month, or next year.

                                                                                     

We can also do nothing. We can pretend rather than perform. And if the idea of having to change ourselves makes us uncomfortable, we can remain as we are. We can choose rest over labor, entertainment over education, delusion over truth, and doubt over confidence. The choices are ours to make. But while we curse the effect, we continue to nourish the cause. As Shakespeare uniquely observed, "The fault is not in the stars, but in ourselves." We created our circumstances by our past choices. We have both the ability and the responsibility to make better choices beginning today. Those who are in search of the good life do not need more answers or more time to think things over to reach better conclusions. They need the truth. They need the whole truth. And they need nothing but the truth.

Reminds me of the story about a large, majestic mountainside where a fragile eagle's nest contained four large eagle eggs. One day an earthquake rocked the mountain causing one  of the eggs to tumble down the mountain to a chicken farm, located in the valley below. By instinct the chickens knew they must protect and care for the egg, so an old hen volunteered to nurture the large egg.

One day, the egg hatched and a beautiful eagle was born. But the eagle was raised to be a chicken. Soon, the eagle believed he was nothing more than a chicken. The eagle loved his home and his family, but his spirit cried out for more. While playing a game on the farm with some of his chicken friends one day, the eagle looked to the skies above and noticed a group of mighty eagles soaring in the skies. "Oh," the eagle cried, "I wish I could soar like those birds." The chickens roared with laughter, "You cannot soar with those birds. You are a chicken and chickens do not soar."

 The eagle continued staring, at his real family above, dreaming that he could be with them. Each time the eagle would let his dreams be known, he was told it couldn't be done. The eagle, after time, stopped dreaming and continued to live his life like a chicken. 

Finally, after a long life as a chicken, the eagle died - a chicken.

What's the moral of the story? If you listen to the chickens around you, you'll live and die like them - a chicken! Inside you is that eagle. This is your call to soar. You are an eagle. it is time to follow YOUR dreams and not the words of chickens.

We cannot allow our errors in judgement, repeated every day, to lead us down the wrong path. We must keep coming back to those basics that make the biggest difference in how our life works out. And then we must make the very choices that will bring life, happiness and joy into our daily lives.

And if I may be so bold to offer my last piece of advice for someone seeking and needing to make changes in their life: If you don't like how things are, change it! You're not a tree. You have the ability to totally transform every area in your life. And it all begins with your very own power of choice!

In what areas do you feel the eagle inside of you trying to get out?

Are you willing to make a change?


Click here for more Monday Motivations.

Juicy Gossip: Blueberry Oatmeal Smoothie

I love berry smoothies. Maybe that should be LOVE, not love. One of my favorites is this sweet green smoothie. It's deceiving because it looks green (and is super healthy) yet it tastes sweet like you would expect a fruit smoothie to taste.

I first saw this recipe for the Blueberry Oatmeal Smoothie on onearabvegan.com. I like the idea of getting some whole grain into the smoothie and I know oatmeal can blend up as fine as you would like it. I'm going to give you some variations on this one. I like variations because I don't always have the same ingredients available.

I also found that making this smoothie by her original recipe it was very "drink like". Does that make sense? It was smooth and runny. By changing just one thing I made it more frozen and "icy'. It can also be made with any other berry and the flavor will change accordingly.

Blueberry Oatmeal Smoothie

1/2 Cup Frozen Blueberries

1 Large Ripe Banana

1/3 Cup Old Fashioned or Rolled Oats

1 Cup Almond Milk (or Soy Milk or Rice Milk or Skim Milk)

1 Tbsp Shelled Hemp Seeds

1 tsp Chia Seeds

Put the liquid in the blender first, then add all ingredients. Blend everything together until smooth.

If you like it thicker and icier, use a frozen banana. (Since I have a thing about eating bananas once they get a little soft and have brown spots, I peel them, break them in half and freeze them in freezer baggies. So I always have a supply of frozen bananas for smoothies.)

You could also make it thicker by sticking with a fresh ripe banana and adding a scoop of your favorite vanilla protein powder.

If you aren't familiar with Chia Seeds, I think this is a pretty good source for the Top 10 Benefits of Chia Seeds.

If you don't have blueberries, use strawberries or blackberries or a mixture of both.

The smoothie in this picture is blueberry and is made with a frozen banana so make it icier. You don't taste the oatmeal at all, but get the nutritional benefit of the grain.

Do you have a favorite flavor that you would like to be able to incorporate into a smoothie?

Monday Motivations: The Duck and The Devil!

A little boy was visiting his grandparents on their farm. He was given a slingshot to play with out in the woods. He practiced in the woods, but he could never hit the target. Getting a little discouraged, he headed back for dinner.

As he was walking back he saw Grandma’s pet duck. Out of impulse, he let the slingshot fly. He hit his mark square in the head, and killed it. He was shocked and grieved. In a panic, he hid the dead duck in the wood pile, and looked up to see his sister watching! Sally had seen it all, but she said nothing.

After lunch the next day Grandma said, “Sally, let’s wash the dishes.” But Sally said, “Grandma, Johnny told me he wanted to help in the kitchen.” Then she whispered to him, “Remember the duck?”. So Johnny did the dishes.

Later that day, Grandpa asked if the children wanted to go fishing and Grandma said, “I’m sorry but I need Sally to help make supper.” Sally just smiled and said, “Well, that’s all right because Johnny told me he wanted to help.” She whispered again, “Remember the duck?” So Sally went fishing and Johnny stayed to help.

After several days of doing both his chores and Sally’s, he finally couldn’t stand it any longer. He went to Grandma and confessed that he had killed the duck. Grandma knelt down, gave him a hug and said, “Sweetheart, I know. You see, I was standing at the window and I saw the whole thing. Because I love you, I forgave you. I was just wondering how long you would let Sally make a slave of you.” (end of story)

Whatever is in your past, whatever you have done…and Satan keeps throwing it up in your face…whatever it is, you need to know that God was standing at the window and He saw the whole thing. He has seen your whole life. He wants you to know that He loves you and that you are forgiven.

He’s just wondering how long you will let the devil make a slave of you. The great thing about God is that when you ask for forgiveness, He not only forgives you, but He forgets. God is at the window.

If you carry hurt from someone who has wronged you in the past remember this...

Forgiveness changes the present, not the past. Forgiveness is a personal choice. It's not about condoning their actions or even reconciling with them. It's a choice you make to heal yourself. Letting go means deciding that you are not going to allow anger and bitterness to poison your life... neutralizing feelings of hurt and anger towards the offender. It's about taking control of your thoughts and emotions and not playing the part of the victim in your life story.

Click here for more Monday Motivations

Healthy Habits: Roasted Garlic & Tomatoes

If you haven't tried a tomato plant in your container garden because you don't know what to do with that many tomatoes, here ya go. If you have an opportunity to purchase a case inexpensively from a local Farmers Market or they go on sale at the grocery store...stock up! Roasting them is easy, and fresh roasted tomatoes add incredible flavor to everything. A case of tomatoes does not last very long if you take a few to make fun, personal caprese salad, a few for homemade stewed tomatoes, a sheet of roasted tomato halves with basil and mozzarella cheese, and a sheet of roasted tomatoes for homemade pasta sauce. Oh yeah, don't forget to hold out a few for a couple different homemade salsas.


How to roast tomatoes...

What you need:

Tomatoes

Olive Oil

Salt

Pepper

Technique:

Core the tomatoes with a paring knife

Set them on baking tray (it's ok if they're touching)

If any is so lopsided that it won't sit straight, cut a very thin slice off the bottom (I rarely have to do this)

Drizzle olive oil over the tomatoes (it's ok if it collects in the holes)

Sprinkle with salt and pepper

Place in 400 degree (F) oven for 30-45 min. (depending on size of tomatoes and intensity of your oven)

Tomatoes will be very soft, slightly wilted and slightly browned on top when done.

Now, you're ready to cook with roasted tomatoes. Check back for homemade pasta sauce with your roasted tomatoes.

Many savory recipes start with garlic and onions. Using roasted garlic adds the kick of flavor that you can't put your finger on. It is the difference in taste of a typical homemade recipe and the same thing from a gourmet restaurant. And if you like garlic bread, you will flip when you have it homemade with your own roasted garlic.

Roasted Garlic...
What you need:
Whole Garlic Heads
Oilve Oil
Aluminum Foil


Technique:
With a sharp knife, cut the top off each head of garlic, leaving it sitting on the root end.
Set the garlic on a piece of foil. (I usually roast 4-6 at a time)
Drizzle a little olive oil over the garlic.

Wrap foil up around garlic, pinching tightly at the top.
Put it in a 400* (F) oven for 30-45 minutes. (You can set it on the tray with tomatoes if you are doing them at the same time. 

This is what it looks like after roasting it...soft and smelling like garlic heaven!

Pick up a whole head. Grab it at the base and gently (but firmly) squeeze the cloves out.

Keep squeezing until you get all the garlic out. Oh, it smells so good!!

It is now ready to use.
For Homemade Garlic Bread, just mush this up with a fork and then spread with a knife on your french bread (over the butter you have spread on the bread first).
For cooking, just add it to your recipe just like you would raw garlic.
I typically roast 4-6 heads at a time, depending on what I plan to cook over the next week. If I use one head that day, I wrap the rest of them back into the foil and just keep it in the fridge to use each day.


What recipe have you tried that you just can't seem to get to taste the same as it does at the restaurant?