Day 46: 

Juice: Cloudy Day

Cloudy Day:
2 Grapefruits
1/2 Long Cucumber
2 Sticks of Celery
1 Small Bunch of Fresh Mint

So, I was bumming around online, reading about juicing - as I do - and I came across this article, which I thought was a nice point of view on juicing: Notes From A Newly Converted Juicer by Bob Carden at the Washington Post. Here are a few highlights if you don't have time to glance at the whole thing:

"A blender pulverizes veggies and fruits, and makes for a thick, fiber-filled drink. A juicer separates, so all you get is pure juice. It comes at you with a slow hand and an easy touch, lovingly churning that apple while extracting its juice. Blending’s more of a one-night stand, while juicing’s a long-term affair." 

Pure truth. 

Bob Carden also interviews a 44 year-old video editor, Julian Thomson who says this about juicing:

"Smoothies, blenders, that’s all wussy stuff. Posers who think they’re doing something healthy. Juicing is juicing, man, not blending. You have to yank the juice out of the veggies. You want to blend? Then go drink a margarita.”

Hilarious.

Now, don't get me wrong, all you smoothie lovers out there, I am not against the smoothie (in fact at the end of this blog I will have a whole bunch of smoothie recipes for you). I adore a good smoothie and desperately love my blender for everything I do with it: Homemade nut milk, yogurt pancakes, etc... 

But, I think this is a great statement for all the people with Vitamix Blenders, 'cause they all say: "I have a juicer - a Vitamix." Wrong. Vitamix's are not juicers. They are amazing blenders and an amazing addition to any kitchen, but it does not extract the pulp...therefore it is not a juicer. A Green Smoothie is not juice. Living in New York City, I feel I have this conversation with people everyday, so let me quickly lay it out for you all in the blogging 'verse.

Blending vs. Juicing  

 

 

There are pro's and con's to blending and juicing.

The main argument against juicing and for blending, is that when you juice the fiber. Fiber slows the absorption of nutrients, because your body has to digest (a.k.a extract the nutrients from the fiber). So, fiber keeps you fuller longer because you body is working with it. Also depending on whether the fiber is soluble (meaning is dissolves in water) or insoluble (does not dissolve in water) it can improve you absorption a specific nutrients and keep you regular. (Source)

When you juice, you remove the fiber and allow your body to take the extracted nutrients and work with it right away. This gives your body what it would take anyways while giving the digestive tract a break - as it if were intravenously. 

Ultimately, neither is better than the other. Both are good and your best bet it to include a little of each in your day. 

Day  45:

Juice: Grapefruit Greens

Grapefruit Greens:
2 Grapefruit
1 Handful of Watercress
1 Bunch of Parsley

Hey guys. Sorry for the radio silence, but I was abroad for a little while and just didn't have the time.

Let's talk about watercress - a new ingredient.

Watercress (Nasturtium officinale) is a semi-aquatic or aquatic plant native to Europe and Asia. Watercress is a member of the Brassicaceae, botanically related to garden cress, mustard and radish and, according to www.watercress.com, it "is the most ancient of green vegetables known to [be consumed by] man".

Watercress is renowned for it's many health benefits, but the most frequently talked about is it's cancer fighting properties. The leafy green plant has high levels of phytochemicals known as isothiocyanates, the same disease fighting components found in brussels sprouts, broccoli, cabbage, kai choi, kale, horseradish, radish and turnip. Isothiocyanates, or ITC's, has been shown to "inhibit the development of tumors" and various types of cancer cells. (Source)

Watercress is also rich with vitamin A, B and C, iron, calcium and potassium, so it has a bunch of other benefits too. It's good for your eyes, bones, blood, liver, and even your skin, hair and nails.

So there really is no negative to adding more watercress into your diet.
 

Day 43:

Juice: Orange Morning

Orange Morning:
2 Grapefruits
3 Carrots
1/2 Inch of Ginger Root

This is a great juice for cold and flu season. I actually has a friend who swears by this juice as a preventative to getting a cold and she has not had one this flu season, so maybe there is something to this, I donno. But, she also adds turmeric to this mixture - maybe you want to consider that too.

Curcuma longa

Turmeric (Curcuma longa) is a perennial plant and member of the Zingiberaceae family, the ginger family. Native to Southern Asia, turmeric is, in fact, the root of the Curcuma longa plant. Turmeric actually looks a lot like ginger, but more orange in color.

For thousands of years, turmeric has been used to treat a variety of ills, but more recently studies has shown that consuming turmeric can help fight infections, reduce inflammations, helps digestive problems, and fight some cancers. It is a good source of iron and manganese and a phytonutrient pigment called called curcumin. According to World Healthiest foods:

"Curcumin is thought to be the primary pharmacological agent in turmeric. In numerous studies, curcumin's anti-inflammatory effects have been shown to be comparable to the potent drugs hydrocortisone and phenylbutazone as well as over-the-counter anti-inflammatory agents such as Motrin."(Source)

And the benefit to using turmeric instead of all those drugs is - it doesn't have all the toxic chemicals drugs have, which means you'll have less junk in your body.

Day 43:

Juice: Peppery Grapefruit

Peppery Grapefruit:
2 Grapefruits
1/4 Red Cabbage

Red Cabbage, a vegetable I didn't used to eat often - or ever - until a few years ago. I used to avoid most leafy vegetables or salad basics. I just didn't like them, which is what made Juicing such a great idea. But, Red Cabbage has grown on me, which is great because it is really good for you.

When is comes to vegetables, green is good, but purple is even better, and this stand true for cabbage.

Red or Green, cabbage is a Cruciferous (also called Cruciferae) vegetable along with cauliflower, kale, cress, bok choy, broccoli and a few other green leaf vegetables. Cruciferous vegetables have long been touted as being healthy and important additions to one's diet. In fact, most sources recommend a minimum of 3-4 servings of cruciferous vegetables a week. WebMD actually names this veggies: "The Super-Veggies" because of all of the nutrient goodness locked inside.

 "...they all contain phytochemicals, vitamins and minerals, and fiber that are important to your health (although some have more than others)...One of the big reasons to eat plenty of cruciferous vegetables is that they may help to lower your risk of getting cancer." (WebMD)

Red Cabbage (Brassica oleracea), sometimes known as purple cabbage, is darker in color than it's green counterparts, because it has a higher "concentration of anthocyanin polyphenols, which contribute to red cabbage containing significantly more protective phytonutrients than green cabbage." (www.whfoods.com) Anthocyanin Polyphenols are pigment compounds found in many plants that lend them their characteristic colors and have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and potentially protective properties.

Emotional Lifestyle: 

Couldn't resist.

All of this videos are so weird and hilarious, but I especially liked this one. The guy coming out of the window, the sleeping bag, the girl attached to the guys back in the back left hand corner...so many ridiculous things happening here.

Day 42:

Juice: Grapefruit Tonic

Grapefruit Tonic:
3 Grapefurits
1 Teaspoon of Spirulina

I didn't really like this juice, it was too tart with only grapefruits. But Spirulina is a nice addition to any juice because it it full of good things: vitamins, minerals, carotenoids (More About Carotenoids), antioxidants and a healthy dose protein. I talked in depth about Spirulina WAY BACK in Entry 3, so feel free to check there for some more information.

Fasting Problems:

So, the rest of today's entry is actually more personal. It it about my 30 Day Juice Fast. This is something I started on February 25th  and I ran into some issues that proved very interesting.

For starters I decreased my coffee intake a week or so before the first day of the fast, to make my withdrawal symptoms a little easier to deal with. This was especially hard for me since I am a bonafide coffee addict - like 3-4cups a day, kinda gal. So, removing it was a big deal, but I had done it before for a week while on my first juice fast. It had been awful, but I made it.

I began my fast on Feb. 25th and the first day was fine. Everything felt normal, but my body was still dealing with food and caffeine from the day before.

Day two, however, I began to notice some gastric distress (mainly a lot of burbling and I was uncomfortable) during and after consuming a juice. I felt very bloated. Thinking this was just my body clearing out junk I continued.

Day three, I found the gastric distress increase, significantly. I couldn't even make it through an entire juice, it was too uncomfortable. I felt nauseous just looking at juice. Yuck!

So being a strong proponent of "listening to your body", I contacted my holistic practitioner in Vermont and laid out my problem. She said it sounded like a stomach lining issue. She informed me that coffee is very acidic and can severely damage the stomach lining - especially, when drunk in the amounts I was consuming - and that now without coffee, my stomach is probably trying to heal, but the juice might be too acidic as well or just too much nutrients for it to process easily.
Information on Stomach Lining: What do I need to know about my stomach lining?

My Practitioner asked me to reintroduce, just raw foods into my diet along with juice, to see if the fiber in the food would slow down the absorption rate. I consumed raw greens, vegetables and fruit, before drinking juice for a day to no avail. I was still quite uncomfortable and my stomach was very vocal.

My Practitioner, then asked me to try refined carbohydrates, which are easier for your body to process since they are processed and comprised of less sugars than complex carbohydrates. She recommended white bread, pita, crackers, etc... If these were hard to process, I was to put myself on a liquid diet, broths and water only.

The carbohydrates were fine. No pain or discomfort. Yay!

Next, she sugguested herbal tea - like ginger and peppermint, which warm the stomach - and yogurt (if I felt like it). Yogurt has acidophilus also known as intestinal fauna & flora or probiotics. Acidophilus is a term "used to describe a number of bacteria that help in human digestion... In addition to basic digestive assistance, it is thought to help bolster the immune system as a whole. It is also thought to provide some relief from intestinal problems." (Source)

I introduced yogurt the next day and it went well. I also had a pear, which went okay - a little grumbling.

Slowly, over the weekend I reintroduced complex carbs (rice, potatoes), fruits and eventually, raw vegetables, but to be honest, I was very far from craving or enjoying the vegetables. It was not appealing to me in any major way just yet, so I stuck to a lot of yogurt and carbs and some fruit.

After a few days of that, I craved greens and began to eat a much more normal - pre-juice fast diet. But, even now, I have a slight aversion to juice. I really don't want to drink any right now and my Practitioner suggested I wait until I feel that I want some. She also strongly cautioned me against coffee and said if I was going to return to it (which I am) that I keep the intake level low and give my body a break every now and again.

I have been off coffee now for three and a half weeks. My goal is a month, then I plan to really try to stick to one cup a day.

This was a very interesting learning experience for me, which highlighted, not just the dangers of excess amounts of anything and the importance of listening to your body, but also to seek out a well trained holistic nutritionist or practitioner, who can help you through any issues that might arise while fasting.

Comments? Questions?

Day 41: 

Juice: Pale Faced

Pale Faced:
2 Grapefruits
1 Apple
1/2 Fennel Blub
1 Small Bunch of Fresh Mint

This juice was incredibly interesting. Each element had a very strong and distinct flavor and blending it all together created a surprisingly nice flavor. Fennel is in season right now folks, so whenever you can incorporate it into you juices. It is jam-packed with phytonutrients. See Entry 30 for more about Fennel.

Lately I have been researching cravings - food cravings to be specific, not just normal hunger cravings.

Wait, what's the difference you ask?

Well, a hunger craving is a general craving for food. The generic tummy grumble and the body asking for sustenance to fuel itself. Food cravings are those pesky, very specific, almost insatiable cravings for a particular kind of food, regardless of whether you are hungry or not.

I was researching if food cravings could be linked to nutritional deficiencies and was surprised to find a huge amount of variance on the subject. A lot of research has gone into Carbohydrate and Sugar cravings and how they can be triggered by mineral deficiencies and blood sugar control. Mainly these studies were done while researching for diabetes. One study sites "Five minerals (and their co-factors) are critical for adequate blood sugar control: chromium, magnesium, manganese, zinc, and vanadium."(Source) The study talks about each of these minerals specifically and discusses how cravings (mainly sugar and chocolate) relate to each mineral. I found the study's summary very interesting:

"The average American diet is already deficient in these minerals but in frequent dieter even more so...Because it is likely that mineral deficiencies are widespread, particularly in the dieting population, it is important that some assessment of mineral status be made. Correcting mineral deficiencies can go a long way toward helping the frustrated dieter control her impulses to eat something sweet, something fatty, or something devoid of nutrition in an attempt to satisfy an inner compulsion" (Source)

Great information, right? But where to start?

Well, I found this amazing chart on Natropath website:  http://www.naturopathyworks.com
Check it out for more information on how to target specific cravings.

I also found a lot of studies supporting the idea that food cravings are purely psychological.  One study sites mental imagery as the key to food cravings. Mental Imagery is when people crave a specific food, they have vivid images of that food. The study suggests that while one is imagining a food one is distracted and has a hard time mentally processing. But the study itself does not limit this specifically to food: 

"Mental imagery (imagining food or anything else) takes up cognitive resources, or brain power. Studies have shown that when subjects are imagining something, they have a hard time completing various cognitive tasks." (Source)

The study goes on to explain that subjects, while craving food, were asked to vividly imagine "common sights (for example, they were asked to imagine the appearance of a rainbow) or smells (they were asked to imagine the smell of eucalyptus)" and this decreased there food cravings.

However, it does not explain if thinking to other "common sights" as well as the food craving improved productivity. (Source)This study seemed to merely outlines how food cravings can be disruptive mentally, but does not clearly explain the origins of food cravings.

Another psychological study suggest that "food cravings involve a complex mix of social, cultural and psychological factors, heavily influenced by environmental cues," due to the simple fact that "few people crave vitamin-rich green leafy vegetables and many other foods contain more phenylalanine than chocolate—including salami and cheddar cheese." (Source)

• phenylalanine - an essential amino acid (a building block for proteins in the body), meaning the body needs it for health but cannot make it. You have to get it from food. (Source)

I can see that. It makes sense that sometimes cravings can be linked to stress and emotional issues.  Perhaps I am biased, since I was raised in a holistic/natropathic environment, but my question is: Stress actually produces chemical reactions in your body. You produce body adrenaline, right? So, how is a craving not linked to a chemical reaction in your body?

Also, a study was done in 2011 of "98 female students at the University of Pennsylvania [it] found that those who reported the most cycle-related cravings also had a history of dieting, eating disorders and high body mass indexes" (Source) which works in tandem with what our earlier study which found that "mineral deficiencies are widespread, particularly in the dieting population".

But, the biggest outpoint in most of the psychological studies on food cravings is that most of the researchers agree that Pica - the persistent craving and compulsive eating of nonfood substances - such as pagophagia (the practice of consuming ice) and geophagia (literally, earth-eating), amylophagia (eating starch) are associated with iron deficiency.

"...some studies have shown that pica cravings in individuals with iron deficiency stop once iron supplements are given to correct the deficiency. low blood levels of iron commonly occur in pregnant women and those with poor nutrition, two populations at higher risk for pica." (Source)

I'm still not quite sure what to make of all this - I don't think most researches do either - but I willing to accept it is a little bit of both. A little bit physiological and a little bit psychological.

What do you think?

Other Sources:

•  A Cognitive Experimental Approach to Understanding and Reducing Food Cravings
• Eva Kemps, School of Psychology, Flinders University, GPO Box 2100 

•  Are food cravings the body's way of telling us that we are lacking certain nutrients?
• Peter Pressman of the Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Beverly Hills, Calif. and Roger Clemens of the University of Southern California School of Pharmacy 

• How to Fend Off a Food Craving
• By Melinda Beck, The Wall Street Journal

Day 40: 

Juice: Surprising Sweetie

Surprising Sweetie:
2 Grapefruits
1 Thick Slice of Melon
1 Peach

This was a good juice! It was fruity and flavorful. (I'm sure in the summer this would be exceptionally delicious and refreshing).

As some of you may know I started a juice fast yesterday and I promised to pass on information to you: Can you workout on a juice fast?

As with most research about juice fasts in general there are a lot of view points pro and con. Most arguments really hinging on what type of fast one is doing - long term, short term, a cleanse targeting a specific internal organ like a colon cleanse. 

The arguments against exercising on a juice fast are mainly rooted in the fasting and cleanse mentality, which is to relax and revitalize. So if you're going to do a cleanse or do a reset its good to take care of your body - to relax. The cleanse process especially early on can bring with it a lot of aches and pains as you body retrieves the toxins. Also, you wont be taking in as much food as normal and strenuous workouts could stress your system, which might be counter productive to the cleanse process.

The arguments for exercising on a juice fast champion that exercise (usually light exercise) as a way to help keep the body active and strong as well as getting the lymphatic system going. The lymph system is part of the circulatory system consisting of a network of organs throughout the body and is an important part of the body's immune system. Lymph nodes, in fact, filter foreign material out of the body (like bacteria and cancer cells) and produce immune cells in the body. (Source)
So, exercise helps the lymphatic system circulate and can help cleanse the body faster, but again most of this research is arguing for light exercise.

I really only found one source discussing the topic of "intense" workouts while on a juice fast. Nina Cherie, a health and wellness PhD, posted an interesting article about this on her website: http://ninacheriephd.com/. During which, she sites her own experience on a juice fast which she started on a day she had to get a spin instructor certification. She said she kept the juice and water flowing all day - constantly drinking - and at the end of the day "felt invigorated." She goes through numerous examples where she felt strong and energized even though she was on a fast and breaks down her theory as to why this happened.

The main thing I found was people - experts and laymen alike - reiterating that you should listen to your body. If it's too much, it's too much. Relax a little and let you body do it's thing. The most important thing it to help your body through this cleanse, not give it more stuff to deal with.

Here is some of the articles I found:

• How to Exercise During a Juice Fast

• Intense Exercise Training During a Juice Fast? Is That Even Possible?

• Water is the Most Important Element in Having a Healthy Lymph System.

Emotional Lifestyle:

Day 2 of Juice Fast:

Yesterday was definitely hard. I was hungry a lot - much more than Day One - and I began to have some muscle stiffness and back pain, which it on the list of things to expect: Common Physical Reactions to Fasting. The coated tongue also arrived yesterday. For those of you unfamiliar with the coated tongue, it is when you tongue builds up a little white residue (I hate this cause it makes you breath smell, so keep the mouth wash handy) but it is the sign that your body is detoxing. Your digestive system is working through all its junk, which is exactly what I want it to do, but man I wish the tongue wasn't a part of it.
Here is some good information about it:

• How to Determine Detox Duration. 
• Tips for Getting Rid of the White Coating on your Tongue 

I also felt my resolve start to waver....already. Oh Man, this it gonna be hard. But ultimately, after my extensive research, I have found no evidence that a longer fast is a better cleanse. I pretty much have found that when you're done, you're done. So, I am gonna listen to my body on this one.

Day 39: 

Juice: Greatfruit C

Greatfruit C:
2 Grapefruits
1 Kiwi
1 Guava

 Again, I had a hard time finding guava. But those of you elsewhere in the world might have better access to it.

Kiwifruit (which is usually shortened to just Kiwi) is the edible berry of a vine in the Actinidia family. Typically associated with New Zealand, kiwifruits are actually native to southern China and cultivation spread from China in the early 20th century. (I was surprised the spread of the cultivation kiwi's was so late in comparison with other fruits.)

Though the fruit is small, it is packed with Vitamin C. "This nutrient is the primary water-soluble antioxidant in the body, neutralizing free radicals that can cause damage to cells and lead to problems such as inflammation and cancer." (Source) Vitamin C is important for the proper function of a healthy immune system and has been shown to help prevent/reduced a multitude of problems. This is  are always telling you to eat more Vitamin C.

Kiwifruit Orchard

Kiwi's also have a good supply beta-carotene content (usually when you hear beta-carotene you think carrot and other orange vegetables and fruits). This combination of vitamin c and beta-carotene, researchers theorize, is what gives kiwi's the amazing ability to protect DNA in the nucleus of human cells from oxygen-related damage. But, kiwi's also contain "a variety of flavonoids and carotenoids that have demonstrated antioxidant activity, these phytonutrients in kiwi may be responsible for this DNA protection."(source)

Emotional Lifestyle:

Juice Fast Day 1:

No coffee as of today. Yikes! My cupboards are empty and my fruit and vegetable drawer is full.

 
I plan to have six juices today: (unless my body calls for more). Fruit juice in the morning and fruit/vegetable in the mid-morning, nut milk for lunch, fruit/vegetable in the mid afternoon, and mostly vegetable for dinner (an apple might sneak in there).







Juices today:

1. Plum Pear Punch
• 1.5 Bosc Pears
• 3 Chilean Plums
2. Abbie's Favorite with Half a Pear
• 2 Carrots
• 2 Sticks of Celery
• 1 Apple 
• .5 Pear (had to use it from the Plum Pear Punch)
3. Homemade Almond Milk
• 2 Cups of Almonds
4. Kitchen Sink (This is when I just throw in whatever I have and see how it tastes)
• 4 Small Carrots 
• 3 Apples 
• 2 Sticks of Celery 
• 1/4 A Large White Turnip (it was too much turnip)

I definitely felt the lag and grog without coffee. No significant caffeine withdrawal headache (which is awesome). I was hungry later in the day, because I didn't bring enough juice to work. I didn't workout, but I will in the days to come.

Day 38:

Juice: Pink Grapefruit

Pink Grapefruit:
2 Grapefruits
1 Handful of Raspberries
1 Handful of Strawberries

So, again we have a situation of our berries being out of season, but you can still get the tasteless winter berries or if your in the mood (as I was) buy the berries frozen, juice the Grapefruit, blend the juice with the berries and enjoy a smoothie! It was delicious! I love smoothies and don't worry the whole back of my book of recipes is smoothies...so we'll get there.

I'm not sure about the temperatures everywhere else in the world, but tight now in New York City they have been volleying between 40 degrees and 20 degrees Fahrenheit (4.4 to -6 Celsius). It's been cold. Which means, you need to watch out for dehydration.

I know dehydration is something most of us consider to be a hot weather problem (and it is), but it is a cold weather problem too. Actually, Robert Kenefick, a researcher at the University of New Hampshire (UNH) argues in his paper (published by Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise in 2005), that you are more at risk for dehydration in cold temperatures. (Source)

How? Great question.

Now, as our bodies loose water (sweating, illness, exercise, etc...) our sodium (electrolytes and a mineral) levels rise in the blood. Overall blood volume decreases. This triggers the hypothalamus gland (a small gland in your brain) to secrete a fluid-regulating hormone plasma arginine vasopressin (AVP), which runs and tells the kidneys to slow down the production of urine (it tells you to pee less to save the water). This restores the bodies fluid levels. The hypothalamus gland also sends a message to the brain's cortex to make you thirsty, so you drink more to restore the sodium levels.

Basically, fluid levels drop and your brain says drink.

But in the cold the body reacts differently. When you are cold "vasoconstriction takes place – the body decreases blood flow to the periphery of the body to decrease heat loss." (Source)

Your limbs get cold, right? Fingers, toes, etc... Because you body keeps all the heat in the middle to keep you warm. So, what this means is, your body does not detect a "blood volume decrease", so the hypothalamus gland, doesn't secrete the signal as strongly. Your kidneys get a "hey, maybe we should take in some more water when you get a chance" instead of "Red Alert! Drink Now!". "It’s a trade off – maintaining the body’s core temperature becomes more important than fluid balance,” Kenefick says. So, the sodium levels in you blood keep rising which can cause a laundry list of problems:

"seizures, an irregular heartbeat, muscle weakness, and other problems...such as chronic heart or kidney disease, endocrine diseases (such as problems with the adrenal, pituitary, thyroid, or parathyroid glands), eating disorders, or bone disorders." (Source)

Thankfully, there is an easy solution to prevent this - drink lots of water. Even if you "don't feel thirsty" 'cause your body might be confused.

Also, sometime thirsty feels like hungry. Our dear old hypothalamus gland controls a lot of things, including hunger and thirst. So, it send relatively the same signal, whether you're hungry or thirsty. This means you need to pay attention to you body OR whenever you feel hungry drink 8 oz of water and wait (30 mins is recommended). If you are still hungry, eat. If not, note down the feeling you just had was thirst.

It is a great idea to keep a water bottle on your person at all time, clearly it is just as important as a wallet. Also, know what foods/liquids can help you with this. Celery Juice is your best friend for re-hydration. Check out Entry 7 for more on how wonderful celery is OR take a look at this article at naturalnews.com. By the way, I love this site.

Emotional Lifestyle:

I have been preparing for my juice fast. No dilly-dallying here. When I decide, I decide and BAM it's done. This Sunday - Feb 24th 2013 - I'll be starting a 30 day juice fast. 

 What does this mean?

• I will not eat any solid food. I will consume juice and only juice. I am defining juice as any fruit, vegetable I can pass through a juicer. including nut milks (even though I use a blender to create nut milk, because I cannot afford to buy the nicer juicer to process nuts). 
• This is considered to be a liquid diet, but not all liquids are created equal. No coffee. No Milk. No store bought juice (it has to be made for me, in front of my very own eyes). Just fresh juice. 
• I am also planning to do a budget analysis. Compare how much I spend of food normally to how much I spend during the fasting period.

I know, I know...woah. I am not sure I am fully prepared either, but I have been doing my research and getting ready.

"Getting ready", how? 

• I have begun to lighten up my diet - eating lighter fair, like salads and soups and cutting back significantly on carbohydrates, dairy, and sugar. About 50% of my daily intake is raw food (meaning unprocessed). 
• I have also begun to cut back my Caffeine intake...this one is a tough one for me, because I LOVE coffee. I typically drink 3-4 cups a day, never less than two. So, this is day three of only one cup of coffee. I have already experienced caffeine withdrawal symptoms: headache, sleepiness, lethargy, irritability, lack on concentration, muscle pain/ stiffness, and flu-like symptoms. (Top Ten Caffeine Withdrawal Symptoms).
• Continually researching. Knowledge is the best tool! And all of my discoveries will be - of course - shared with you!

 Happy Juicing!

Day 37:

Juice: Grapefruit Blues

Grapefruit Blues:
2 Grapefruits
1 Large Handful of Blueberries

Okay. So, a lot of the fruits featured in these juices currently are out of season right now. I know people will claim that nothing is out of season anymore, but that's just not true. Even though the berries you get from the store may look like blueberries - we all know they don't taste like summer fresh blueberries. They also don't have the same nutritional content as those berries in the summer.
[I covered blueberries and berries in general in Entry 15 & Entry 16]

Eating seasonally is important for many reasons, but especially if you want good nutritional value. Now, summer is a cake walk. All the good stuff is around in the summer, right? Fall is pretty good too, but suddenly we get to winter and all there really is are root vegetables. I'm sorry, what?! And Spring isn't much better, maybe even worse with the fresh fruits and vegetables we all know and love. How can you do this? Well, I started by doing some research.

When people (nutritionist, ecologists and Cosmo magazine - yeah, I read an article once) tell you to eat seasonally, they are doing this because not only is good for the environment it is good for you.  The most sited evidence for this is a study done in London in 1997 by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. The study found significant differences in the nutrient content of pasteurized milk in summer versus winter. "The Ministry discovered that these differences in milk composition were primarily due to differences in the diets of the cows." (Source) It was also found by researchers in Japan that the differences in the vitamin C content of spinach harvested in summer versus winter was three-fold.

Think about it.

Seasonally was the only way to eat for most of the human existence. Raw and unfettered fruits and vegetables. Now, sure the average lifespan was much shorter, but they didn't have the same amount of chronic disease or autoimmune disease (it was around, just not as prolific). Now we have modern technology - which I love. Don't get me wrong here, modern medicine can do a lot and I am truly thankful for that! But, wouldn't it be wonderful if we (our society) didn't have to ever use it.
Just because we can doesn't mean we should, right? This is great advice for HBO. So, eating with the seasons demands you diversify your food and your nutritional intake, which has been proven everywhere, to improve your health. Variety is the spice of life.

World's Healthiest Foods (one of my favorite websites) provides a seasonal guide:

• Spring: 
• Focus on tender, leafy vegetables that represent the fresh new growth of this season. The greening that occurs in springtime should be represented by greens on your plate, including Swiss chard, spinach, Romaine lettuce, fresh parsley, and basil.
• Summer:
•  Stick with light, cooling foods in the tradition of traditional Chinese medicine. These foods include fruits like strawberries, apple, pear, and plum; vegetables like summer squash, broccoli, cauliflower, and corn; and spices and seasonings like peppermint and cilantro.
• Fall: 
• Turn toward the more warming, autumn harvest foods, including carrot, sweet potato, onions, and garlic. Also emphasize the more warming spices and seasonings including ginger, peppercorns, and mustard seeds.
• Winter: 
• Turn even more exclusively toward warming foods. Remember the principle that foods taking longer to grow are generally more warming than foods that grow quickly. All of the animal foods fall into the warming category including fish, chicken, beef, lamb, and venison. So do most of the root vegetables, including carrot, potato, onions and garlic. Eggs also fit in here, as do corn and nuts. 

 

Emotional Lifestyle: 

It is on. I am gonna do a juice fast and I think it's gonna be a long one (21-30 days). I know! So, I am researching, getting prepared, but it is happening in March. Get ready, because all of you will be privy to real time updates on this blog...stay tuned. 

Day 36:

Juice: Water Cooler

Water Cooler:
2 Grapefruits
1 Thick Slice of Watermelon

Sorry for the lack of posts lately...life. But, I'm back.

Now, if you have followed this blog from the beginning you may remember that I don' t like watermelon, so...I made this juice, but I did not enjoy it. Also, it is not the season for watermelon, so I'm sure it was not as sweet as a summer watermelon. But, it is the season for Grapefruit and man, did I get some delish organic grapefruit. They tend to be smaller, more like an orange, but they are worth it.

If you want to know more about watermelon, I discussed it in Entry 23, so feel free to look there for more information. Like last time I had to juice watermelon, I didn't want to buy a whole watermelon so I purchased pre-cut watermelon from my local grocery store.


Some pointers when buying pre-cut fruit:

• Look for the date on the package - usually it will have the date it was packaged, not an expiration date - try to find one that was packaged within a day or so. 

• Try to a package with an orange slice in it. Vitamin C helps slow down the oxidization process. 

FUN FACT: If you ever want to make some juice to go, Vitamin C powder should help it keep for a few hours. Also, be sure to refrigerate it.

If you like watermelon, I'm sure you'll like this juice and I'll bet you'll like it even more in the summer.

Emotional Lifestyle:

Life has been insanely busy, as you may have suspected based on my absence from the Blogger sphere. Life sucks when you work three jobs, take two different night time classes, and are trying to make a web series happen - not to mention the freezing cold.

So, I have now gone through most of February busy and stressed, without working out or fueling my body well (aka not choosing well balanced meals). Which, of course, was the I could really use both of those things...but c'est la vie. 

Things are cooling down a bit and I think I'm adjusting to a busier schedule. But, I am starting to feel a revigoration of motivation...

Now, why am I telling you all of this? 

Well, glad you asked. 

One of the things I do when stressed is drink massive amounts of coffee and eat lots of sugary foods. You body craves these things when you're running on empty, so I ingested a bit more than usual. Now, my body craves them - even though I am sleeping more - because it is accustom to more calories and the drug-like effects sugar and caffeine have on our bodies (especially coffee). 

So, now I am annoyed by the cravings. There is a wonderful solution to this...a juice fast!

I am probably going to start a juice fast sometime here soon, which I have done before. It will most likely be short, like eight days - just a quick reset for the system. But, I want to get onto a work out regime as well (which is usually not recommended while fasting), so I need to do some research. Obviously, I'll let you know all of my findings on this matter in another blog, but for now....that's all. 

Keep Juicing!

Day 35:

Juice: Grapefruit Basic Sharp

Grapefruit Basic Sharp:
1 Grapefruit
1 Apple
2 Carrots
1 Stick of Celery
1 Inch of Ginger

Okay, so this is kind of cheating because this is practically the same juice as last time. Sorry, but I am going by the book. So, instead of talking about the ingredients I've already been over, today I am going to answer a question I got from a reader.

The question: 

How do you make Nut Milk (like Almond, Cashew, etc...) with your juicer?

You may have strolled through of your local grocery store and seen a full shelf dedicated to nut milk. Lately, it has become a popular alternative to dairy milk due to it's high nutritional content.
However, the problem with the most of the nut milk in stores is that they have been pasteurized. Through the pasteurization process, nut milk looses most - if not all - of its nutrients. Hence why they fortify it with vitamins. So, it is much better to make it yourself. This way you know exactly what you're eating.

1.) Have the right equipment:
To make nut milk I recommend you use a blender or a slow juicer like a Hurom Juicer. You can use a centrifugal juicer, like mine, but it proved to be more wasteful than the blender, so I use the blender. 

Left: Non-Centrifugal Juicer - Shown there is a Hurom Slow Juicer, but any non-centrifugal juicer will do.  
Center: Blender - Any blender will do. A Vitamix is a blender - not a juicer - so feel free to use it here. (I use a Magic Bullet).    
 Right: Centrifugal Juicer -  Most juicers are Centrifugal. The one shown above it the juicer I use Hamilton Beach Big Mouth Pro.

2.) Get fresh, raw nuts of your choosing (almonds, cashews, pecans, walnuts, hazelnuts, etc...).

3.) Soak the in nuts water for at least 4-6 hours. More is not a problem. One recipe I found said to soak them overnight. (A lot of sources online say to do it with filtered water - just to keep it extra clean)

4.) Process the nuts through your equipment:

• Hurom Juicer: Pour the hydrated nuts into juicer, place a bowl or glass underneath. 1 cup of nuts should yield 1/2 cup of milk (so I have read since I use a blender). 
• Blender: Place the hydrated nuts in the blender with water (or filtered water): 1 cup of water to 1 cup of nuts. *Note: anything you'd like to add to the milk (i.e. honey, cinnamon, vanilla) this is the time to add it. Process until thoroughly blended. Next you will need a nut milk bag or cheesecloth.

Cheesecloth

Nut Milk Bag

Place the cheesecloth or nut milk bag over a bowl and pour the blended mix over/into the material. It will catch the pulp. You may have to do it several times if you are making a lot of milk.

• Centrifugal Juicer: Pour the hydrated nuts into the juicer - I have read that pouring a cup of water into the juicer first helps with the process. 

 5.) Store the milk in a glass container (glass containers are the best for storing juice of all kinds) and in the refrigerator. Homemade nut milk will store safely for 48 hours (though some sources claim 72 is still okay). So, your best bet is to just enjoy the milk quickly.


Enjoy some nut milk for me friends and let me know how it all turns out!!

Happy Juicing!

Day 34:

Juice: Grapefruit Basic

Grapefruit Basic:
1 Grapefruit
1 Apple
2 Carrots
1 Stick of Celery

This was good. I got up early this morning and made this juice. It totally picked my morning up.

While researching for this blog last week, I stumbled upon a very interesting article online: Limonin: Health Benefits in Citrus Fruits. It mentions a compound found in citrus fruits call Limonin. 

Limonin:

(lî`mō´nĭn)

n.

1.

(Chem.) A bitter, white, crystalline substance found in orange and lemon seeds.

Limonin enters the body as a sugar molecule and is absorbed into the blood stream. From there, Limonin works as an active antioxidant fighting the breakdown of cell DNA. According to a scientific team working with the USDA, has been shown to "fight cancers of the mouth, skin, lung, breast, stomach, and colon." (Source) 

How does it do that? You might ask. 

Well, researchers have found Limonin can remain the the blood stream for up to 24 hours - an impressive amount of time - and this "longevity" is probably why limonoids' have such an ability to fight cancer cells. The USDA also states that though most people think about vitamin C when they think about citrus research has shown "limonin glucoside is present in citrus and citrus juices in about the same amount as vitamin C." (Source)

 

What does this mean?

Keep juicing is what it means and while you're at it include some citrus with seed and peels! 

Happy Monday!

Day 33:

Juice: Grapefruit Sweet

Grapefruit Sweet:
2 Grapefruits
2 Tangerines

Delicious! I used Honey Tangerines which are very sweet and it was great! It was a nice morning treat.









Now, we have been doing a lot of citrus fruits lately, I thought I'd reiterate how to use them with a juicer.

For oranges, tangerines, clementines - citrus with loose or thin peels - I peel the fruit by hand then chuck it into the juicer. The rinds don't have a lot of nutrition value in these fruits, but they do have a lot of bitter flavor, which I don't really want in my juice. You can see this in my picture of the juice ingredients. The tangerine is peeled by hand.

For thicker citrus rinds, mainly the grapefruit, it can be easier to cut away the rind. This is also shown in the picture above. However, when I do this I try to keep most of the pith - the white stuff in between the peel and the rind - because it has a lot of food value. It also makes your juice creamier, more like a smoothy or as my sister puts it "a natural creamsicle".

As for Lemons and Limes - when washed and organic - I put rind and fruit in the juicer. The rinds of both have intense flavor - there is a reason they are always being 'zested' in recipes - so, I like to utilize that.

Note: All of these rinds can be juiced. It just changes the bitterness of the juice. This is only how I like to do it. Also, be sure to buy organic if you plan to juice the rinds. Nobody needs to ingest any unnecessary more chemicals.

Emotional Lifestyle: 

Motivation.
(noun)  
- the act or an instance of motivating, or providing with a reason to act in a certain way.

As of late, I have been lacking this. I have been busy. Scheduled within an inch of my life. I have deep purple bags chiseled permanently beneath my eyes.  And though all of it is good, all of it is stuff I've want/ need to do. It has been feeling a little blah. "Post-holiday's depression" is what I read on a new article and I suppose that's it, but I am sick of it. 

So, yesterday - while getting ready for work - I made myself a new Pandora station (Abbie's Wake Up) and I added old school artists and songs. Things to bring up other times/ fun memories, so that I could think about something else besides what I had to do that day. Wow! It worked. It may me nostalgic and now I am on a kick of childhood songs and artist. 

Am I old? Is this a sign that you're getting old? Well, if so, it's kinda fun!

Yesterday was Bryan Adams -thanks to Pandora - I was seven again. Lounging across my parents tattered, well worn and well loved couch, watching Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves and loving every minute. The little, natural born movie geek in me noticing that the guy who plays The Artful Dodger in the 1968 Oliver! plays one of Robin Hood's merry men. (No imdb.com then so, I have to watch Oliver! after, just to be sure). 

Today has mainly been Mary Chapin Carpenter. It came on this morning and suddenly there I was: Nine or ten crammed into my dad's pick-up (with three other kids, mind) riding home after skiing all day with our school. We always stopped at this little bakery (which is still there) at the bottom of Okemo Mountain called Sweet Surrender. It was our desert before dinner day. I would get a coffee roll and a carton of Tropicana. My parents never bought juice (I think it was too expensive with five kids) so it was as much a treat as the coffee roll. 

I feel ready to take on the day: