Juicy Gossip: V38

Yesterday I posted a sweet juice recipe (2COP Juice), so today I give you a savory recipe. This is a favorite as well as Gazpacho Juice, which I will post soon.

I wish I could fully capture the bright, rich red color of this juice. It truly is a beautiful color. (I'm thinking I need to build a light box for photos...probably need to talk to one of my photographer friends for tips on taking great pics of food and juice.)

I wasn't sure what to call this one. This juice is so packed full of vitamins and anti-oxidants it's crazy! And it's such a beautiful red color. I thought of V-Red, but settled on V38 ('cause there's way more vitamins in it than V8). You may also want to try Carrot/Beet/Cucumber Juice. Click on the Juicy Gossip tab for more juicing and smoothie recipes.


Just a word of caution - it stains, so don't drip it on your shirt.


You know, when I juice I see the vibrant and intense colors that naturally come from the vegetable plants. It's easy to see why Native Americans used these colors for paint. Especially beets. The juice of the beet is such a luscious red color. I enjoy looking at all the colors of the juice lined up.

V38 Juice
3 Lg Beets
2 Med-Lg Carrots
2 Lg Tomatoes (or 4 small)
1 Jalapeno, cut in half and remove seeds
12 Radishes
1 Bunch Parsley (about 4 cups if it were roughly chopped and packed in measuring cup)


Juice and mix well. Makes a great dinner drink. Enjoy!


What veggie do you not like to eat that we could hide in juice?

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?