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 15:

Juice: Apple Blues

Apple Blues:
3 Apples
2 Handfuls of Blueberries

"Kaplink, Kaplank, Kaplunk"
- Blueberries For Sal by Robert McCloskey

Blueberries!

A summertime favorite for me. Nothing says July like Blueberry Pie. Nowadays, Blueberries they can be enjoyed all year long, not just in the summer months.

The blue bulbs are actually one of the few fruits native to North America. They are perennial flowering plant from the Vaccinium family. 

Well loved by Americans, Blueberries have been widely lauded for their "antioxidant capacities". Full of micronutrients like dietary minerals: manganese, iron, magnesium, potassium, zinc and more, and  vitamin C, vitamin K as well as a healthy dose of dietary fiber, blueberries pack quite a nutritional punch. 

In recent studies, Agnes M. Rimando a Research Chemist at the Natural Products Utilization Research (with the USDA) states that some of the nutrient components in blueberries - mainly pterostilbene (pronounced "tare-o-STILL-bean") (Source) - may help fight heart disease, cancer and cholesterol. She theorizes that "constituents in blueberry skins that can activate a protein involved in the breakdown and import of fats." (Source).

So, not only a guilt free treat (blueberries are low glycemic), but also a great idea for you bodies daily function.

Emotional Lifestyle:

Okay, so the other night I watched the documentary Mansome (2012) by Morgan Spurlock - the documentarian who made Supersize Me. Yes, he has made other documentaries. Mansome is an attempt to look at the 'recent' identity crisis of men in the American culture through increasing popularity of 'manscaping'. Urban Dictionary defines Manscaping as "to groom a man. Shaving, waxing, cleaning up the superfluous fur." (Source) So, it is mainly about male hair.
Interested? It's on Instant Netflix.

Now, for those of you that have read my earlier posts or know me personally, you may have gleaned my position on this issue, but on the female side. However, I too have noticed the change. In the media and in the real world.

As a whole, the documentary is...okay. I just didn't think it did well "tying it all together". The attempt at transitions was a witty and sarcastic repartee between Jason Bateman & Will Arnett (who were actually executive producers for the film) while spending a day at the spa. Now, while this was hilarious and very Arrested Developmenty (LOVE the show), I think it detracted from what the documentary wanted us to look at. It put you in the mood to laugh at ridiculousness, so when we were supposed to be learning about why men of today's world would buy a product called "Fresh Balls" (which keeps the boys fresh day and night) or why a guy's beard is so important to him that he lives his life around it's maintenance and attends facial hair competitions, we were ready to laugh at it instead of actually look at it. I would have preferred to hear their actual thoughts and ideas on the issue.

But some of the individual segments are definitely interesting.
One of the women interview, Dr. Helen Fisher, a biological anthropologist. (http://www.helenfisher.com/) During an interview in the documentary says makes note that men throughout history and many cultures have always been into there appearance - no dispute here. She then goes on to say, but now men are "allowed" to care about their appearance - okay.

'Allowed'? Or a commercial market now being played by our capitalistic society to buy material products and make other men/women rich?


Another interviewer (and I can't remember his name) mentioned that men's magazines are now playing on the insecurities of men, the way women's mags have been working over women for a long time. So, are they really being 'allowed' to do something they always wanted to do or covertly coerced?

...Welcome to the emotional bombardment boys! Bring your A Game. You'll need it...

Day 11: 

Juice: Citrus Apples 

Citrus Apples:

3 Apples
2 Tangerines
1/2 Lime

Yum-zo
Tangerines - let's talk turkey. So, Tangerines are apart of the citrus family, closely related to oranges, but smaller and generally sweeter. The peak time for tangerines is now - October to April. Get 'em while they're hot folks.

Tangerines carry a huge amount of Vitamin C, much like their relatives Oranges (Check Out Day 9 For More About Oranges). But, I didn't cover it all it seems. Apparently, biomedical researchers interest in citrus fruits has been growing since the mid-2000's due to citrus flavonoids.

What the heck is a  flavonoid?
Well, I talked about them briefly in one of my other entries, but they've been getting a lot of press lately, so I'll give them a little more too. Flavonoids are compounds found in fruits and vegetable and actually some beverages (certain hops carry a surprising amount of flavonoids). Flavonoids have a variety of beneficial biochemical and antioxidant effects. They are also referred to collectively as Vitamin P. (For More On Classifications Of Flavonoids).

Now, when you look up these biochemical or phytochemical compounds you'll either find a very, very vague description or a very, very, scientific description.

Vague: 

"Flavonoids are plant-based compounds with powerful antioxidant properties, which means they reduce inflammation, promote healthy arteries, and help fight aging by preventing -- and repairing -- cellular damage"(Source)
*Quick, easy, and gets the job done, without explaining why.

Scientific:

"Flavonoids are polyphenolic compounds that are ubiquitous in nature and are categorized, according to chemical structure, into flavonols, flavones, flavanones, isoflavones, catechins, anthocyanidins and chalcones. Over 4,000 flavonoids have been identified, many of which occur in fruits, vegetables and beverages (tea, coffee, beer, wine and fruit drinks). The flavonoids have aroused considerable interest recently because of their potential beneficial effects on human health-they have been reported to have antiviral, anti-allergic, antiplatelet, anti-inflammatory, antitumor and antioxidant activities. Antioxidants are compounds that protect cells against the damaging effects of reactive oxygen species, such as singlet oxygen, superoxide, peroxyl radicals, hydroxyl radicals and peroxynitrite. An imbalance between antioxidants and reactive oxygen species results in oxidative stress, leading to cellular damage." (Source) 
*WTF, mate?

SO, from what I can gather based on these two sources and these to papers released by the USDA on flavonoids (USDA Data on Flavonoids; USDA Data on Citrus Flavonoids) is that flavonoids are used by your body to help fight protect cells against damage and decay from external toxins and the radical components floating around internally. This is excellent, especially when you live in a city like New York and are exposed lots of junk everyday. 

Emotional Lifestyle:

I don't understand how people can watch commercials for over the counter or prescription drugs and take them seriously. Maybe it's just because I was raised without television and with a healthy distrusts in pharmaceutical wonder drugs...I don't know....but drug, vitamin, and over the counter med. commercials all get the same judgmental skepticism I use while watching shampoo commercials. I mean at the end of the day they're all going to do something, whether it is the desired result of luscious, luminous curls or a horrible adverse reaction leading to sever itchiness all over your body - something will probably happen. So, when a commercial is on, I like to listen - really listen - to what they are saying and figure out the gaps. 

One of my favorites is the 5-Hour Energy Commercial that was on around the Olympics (mainly I saw it on Comedy Central shows online, since I don't have TV). It is ridiculous. 

I love it. 

73% of the 'over 3,000' doctors said they would recommend "a low calorie energy supplement to their healthy patients, who use energy supplements." Then a little grey box with tiny white writing appears at the bottom of the screen: "56% would specifically recommend 5-Hour Energy for their healthy patients, who use energy supplements." 

Okay, so not 73% said 5-Hour Energy specifically...whatever 56% is a strong amount. They could have gone with "over half" instead of 73%, but obviously the higher number is a corporate preference. 
It also repeats 73% like it is an astounding figure. Guess what 5-Hour Energy, in school 73% is a C and sometimes even a C-, so I wouldn't keep repeating that. 
But the commercial goodness goes on...

It then says: "5-Hour Energy has 4 Calories and is used over 9 million times a week..."

9 million times a week! Wow! Clearly everybody's doing it guys, so why aren't you. Some nice school yard peer pressure for ya'll, but I also love that it says that figure as if all of the people already using 5-Hour energy (9 million times a day) are the same "healthy patients" that doctors would recommend it to...sure, we'll go with that. 

I saw a new one on TV the other day, while babysitting. 
I couldn't find the video online, but...it was for Woman's 1-A-Day multi-vitamins. Firstly, she was ballroom dancing in the commercial, obviously, because what else does the average woman do. Secondly, it says Woman's 1-A-Day's promotes "cell heath" - the woman twirls into the arms of her male dance partner - then the commercial says "research has shown that cell health is important to daily life".............................................................................................................................
....Wait really? You mean to tell me researchers have discovered that cells - the fundamental building blocks of our bodies - should be healthy to help us with the daily function of our bodies! Go figure!

Seriously, everyone should be more discerning when it comes to commercials, especially when dealing with your health. If everyone researched food, medication and doctors like they researched a car before buying it...maybe everyone would be a little healthier. 

Just food for thought.

Day 9: 

Juice: Sweet C Too

Sweet C Too:

2 Apples
2 Oranges

Deja vu...well not quite. It is a vitamin C bomb - yes - but made with a different combination. This is a great alternative to the apple and guava juice I made yesterday, especially if guavas are out of season.

Oranges are a citrus fruit cultivated in topical and subtropical climates. It is believed to have originated in Southeast Asia, found their way to Europe through Persian traders and eventually to the US. (History of the Orange). Oranges are already well known for their Vitamin C. "Lot's of water and lot's of vitamin C" was always the advice from my school nurse in high during flu season.

So, why Vitamin C?
Vitamin C is both effective and nutritious, but mainly, it is the primary water-soluble antioxidant in the body. What does that mean? Well...Water-Soluble: a substance capable of being dissolved in some solvent (usually water).  Antioxidants": "substances that may protect your cells against the effects of free radicals. Free radicals are molecules produced when your body breaks down food, or by environmental exposures like tobacco smoke and radiation. Free radicals can damage cells, and may play a role in heart disease, cancer and other diseases." (Source)  Basically, it protects your body from damage, both inside and out and we all need a little protection from damage, right? 
(More on Oranges)

Emotional Lifestyle:

I hate being late. I know that no one probably 'likes' to be late, but if I am late every minute over hurts my soul. If I agree to do something or be somewhere - I will do it or be there. However, I fear with all of this technology lateness will only increase.

People are always going on about how useful cell phone are. Don't get me wrong I love mine, but I think with the advantages come a lot of disadvantages. Lateness and bailing out on plans are big ones.
Yes, it's great that you can call people and let them know you will be late or change plans last minute, but this doesn't mean it should be a regular occurrence.

Recently, I have been waiting for everyone: friends, co-workers, and even a guy who planned an interview with me (I waited for an hour outside his office in the rain). In all instances, I tried to contact them via phone and text and no one got back to me in under an hour. This is what a cell phone is for. Also, I hate the whole "I'll text you when I'm done" when arranging plans. Make a date, plan a time (even if it could change) and do you darnedest to get there on time.