What a Week

Wow, I haven't written for a week!  Sorry.... :(  Well, I have reasons as to why, and I'll divulge- see, when Monday arrived, I began my introduction into a raw food diet.  The particular plan I was on actually wasn't solely juicing, but eating LOTS (and I mean lots) of fruits and vegetables along with drinking about 32 ounces of juice and 32 ounces of water a day... all around raw stuff.  Our fridge was stuffed with fruits and veggies of all varieties. 

Well, day one about killed me.  Okay, that's a little dramatic, but it was hard.  I thought I had sufficiently weaned off the caffeine, but apparently not because the headaches were crushing (wait, you're telling me there's caffeine in chocolate?  Well, I screwed up there).  By the end of Monday, I was dizzy and a little nauseated.

On Tuesday, I began the day a little weary and hesitant, but I plugged along, eating my pear/raisin/maple bowl of fruit for breakfast and packing a tall red-based juice with me to work.  Still a little weak, I wasn't really getting a headache... it felt like one wanted to come on, but it stayed at bay and I was feeling pretty fine.  In fact, I actually wasn't even hungry despite what most Americans would consider a measly breakfast and "snack".  By lunchtime, I ate a giant bowl (think Corning Ware size bowl) of Kale with tomatoes, onions, all sorts of good stuff...  I was feeling pretty good, but somewhere in the day I decided that it would probably be a good idea not to limit this diet just to the raw vegetables.  Why?  I missed my greek yogurt.  Yes, I eat that and I like it.  So I thought.... SMOOTHIES! 

Although not a part of the raw food plan (the smoothies that is), I've been very good about sticking to non-processed foods (other than yogurt, but would that be considered processed?).  I did have meat this week in the form of a handmade turkey burger, which I feel good about because I made it and I know what went into it. 

Other than that, I've been having at LEAST one juice a day.  Each juice ranges from 16-20 ounces a piece, and eating LOTS of veggies and fruit. 

PROGRESS:

• I actually have a ton of energy!  I have been non stop all day today, cleaning my house from top to bottom (including all dusting everywhere), doing 4 loads of laundry, organizing everywhere, running errands outside the house, and even topping off the end of my night by making a batch of soap.  Yesterday was similar.
• This may sound gross but, I've been a lot less gassy.  On Monday, I was entirely TOO gassy- it was the kind of gassy that rolls around internally, causing pressure and pain.  It was bad.  I'm wondering if it was because my body wasn't used to so much fresh goodness, and now it is.  
• I feel I have lost some unnecessary bulk, although I haven't weighed myself.  Again, I'm being sick here, but I'm a lot more regular now.  I thought that would be impossible!  That may be why I feel like I lost some bulk (ewwww)
• My husband's eczema has mostly cleared up.  He's had bright red patches of it as long as I've known him, and they are almost invisible now.  I can tell he has lost weight too.  I tell him to be careful about that because he's rail-thin to begin with, now he just disappears when he turns to the side.
• My face glows more.  It sounds so silly, but my cheeks have actually gotten rosier.  I'm more hydrated as well.

I would say the energy part is the best thing that has happened to me.  At this time on a regular day, I would already be in bed about ready to pass out, and here I am typing this wall of text, wide awake.  For someone with Fibromyalgia, this is a feeling I haven't felt in probably over a decade.  Woo!  As far as the pain associated with the Fibro, it's still there unfortunately.  However, I am able to manage it better, just by having the energy alone.  It's only been a week though, so I can't speak for the future.

Anyway, I wanted to share a favorite recipe that was sent to me through the raw food program:

SWEET POTATO AND CARROT "FRIES"

• 2 sweet potatoes
• 2 carrots
• 2 Tbsp Olive Oil
• 1 tsp ground cumin (I used 1/2 tsp)
• 1 tsp sea salt

Mix the oil and spices.  Scrub potatoes and carrots, and cut into slices like steak fries.  Toss with spice/oil mixture.  Bake for 30 minutes at 425 degrees.

Well that's all I have tonight!

Tomorrow is the big day

Today, we made Capple Kiwi on page 296 of the Big Book of Juices.  I don't think I mentioned that this book is pretty neat in the way that each recipe shows how beneficial it is toward 1) Energy 2) Detox 3) Immunity and 4) Skin health via a 5-point star rating system.  This particular recipe was a 5 star Energy and 4 star Skin health drink.  Excellent!

CAPPLE KIWI:

• 3 Carrots
• 2 Kiwis
• 1 Apple
• 1/4 Lime (my variation)

This was again, very delicious.  I did not filter it this time, so I got more of the fiber that slips past my auger~

    That's a lot of seeds.  I didn't notice though.  I drank them down without a hitch.

So tomorrow, I start a new "diet".  I actually read more about what I'm supposed to do.  I think I had it wrong before- it's supposed to be 5 day raw food diet, 5 day juice fast, 5 day raw foods and a turn back to normal.  I had the days switched around.  But this is good news!  I'm actually pretty excited about doing this.  I was technically supposed to start today, but for some reason, I thought I was starting Monday.  Well, Monday it is.  Wish me luck!                                                                   .

Road Trip Cabbage

I know I didn't post yesterday, but that doesn't mean I didn't juice!  I'll post those pictures below, but for now, I'm sharing a tasty recipe from this morning, Citrus Apple on page 55 of the Big Book of Juices

CITRUS APPLE:

• 3 apples
• 2 tangerines (the clementines)
• 1/2 lime
• 1 giant leaf of green cabbage (my variation)

The result?  A tasty citrus conglomerate that completely masks the taste of cabbage.  I actually really like cabbage, mind you, but I'm kind of glad I can't taste it here.  And what about that color?  Beautiful!

We are actually going to go to St. Louis today for a few errands, so the husband didn't want to add cabbage to his.  He was afraid of what it might do to him while we are on the road.  I read that cabbage juice is really good for stomach problems, including ulcers, so I thought I'd add it in. 

YESTERDAY... In the morning I had a juice called Spicy Carrot".  Certainly not the prettiest juice

SPICY CARROT:

• 1 stalk broccoli
• 3 carrots
• dime slice of ginger
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• dash of cayenne pepper

It was pretty bland, and not my favorite.  I love carrots and I love broccoli, but I'm thinking I don't like them together.

For lunch, I slipped and had Mexican food.  This is a really bad idea if your body is getting used to fresh juices.... I was entirely sluggish and my gut was roaring.  So after that, I was craving a giant glass of juice.  Fortunately, the husband had the juicer all set up and ready to go, so I went for a tried and true, Apple Zing:

I only took a picture to show the comparison volume of my standard picture-taking glass and the actual volume of juice produced.  This is typical of the recipes I get from the Big Book of Juices.

I immediately felt better.  Now I think I am getting to a point of no return with these juices.  I'm going to happily incorporate at least one juice a day after the fast in my daily routine.

It's Been a 3-Juice Kinda Day

I squeezed me some beets today.  Gotta say, I still hate them.  I guess in moderation they can be ok.  This recipe that I used called for 1/4 of a beet.  Doesn't sound like much.  I doubled the recipe to take some to work with me.  So.. I put in 1/2 a beet, right?  The juice itself isn't terrible at all... I just have some sort of taste-memory defunct toward beets.  I got this recipe from my new book (which is awesome by the way) called "The Big Book of Juices" by Natalie Savona (see link at left- sorry guys, I got the last one on Amazon).  Page 262: the Carrot Cleanser

CARROT CLEANSER:

• 3 carrots
• 1/2 apple
• 1/2 orange
• 1/4 beet
• 1 celery
• 2 large kale leaves

Keep in mind, I doubled this recipe, so it was more like 6 carrots, 1 apple... etc.  After doubling, I kid you not, I had 32 ounces of juice!  When you are actually juicing (which I haven't officially started yet), that is half of your daily intake.  Whew!  Too bad I hate beets.

For lunch, I decided to cleanse my palate of the beet yucky and make something called Cucumber Refresher (page 163 of above book)

CUCUMBER REFRESHER

• 1 cucumber
• 2 pears

Simple, no?  I added a dime of fresh ginger root to spice it up.  Very tasty.  I think this one helped me get the taste of red death out of my mouth.  Plus, I took it with me in a traveler mug, so I was smelling it at work and it smelled nice.


When I got home, the husband was all kinds of excited to make our next batch of juice that he already had our machine put together and ready.  I picked another pretty simple recipe that turned out amazing as well, called Apple Zing (page 80 of above mentioned book)

APPLE ZING:

• 3 apples
• 2 carrots
• dime slice of ginger
• 1 cup cranberries (my modification)

Have I mentioned that I love ginger?  and cranberries?  no?  Well, I do.  The actual picture is the Cran-Apple picture, but it was the same color so I didn't waste my time.

So far, I've had roughly more than 32 ounces of juice (I didn't drink all of the beet juice, about 8 oz is still chilling in the fridge).  I had a cup of coffee with cream at breakfast, a few pieces of chocolate at work, a granola bar, and a piece of bread with cheese on it.  I'm about ready to go make myself something to eat now, but it won't be much.  I have to admit, I do get hungry despite the juice.  Juice fasting is what it is, a fast.  Fortunately I like it, and surprisingly my sweet craving have been curbed a tad.  I did have chocolate at work, but not nearly as much as I normally do...

Hey! It's Green!

This recipe is "Deep Green Heart" on page 201 of The Juicing Bible (see link to left).

DEEP GREEN HEART

• 2 apples
• 2 cups of leafy greens (I used Kale)
• 1 carrot
• 1/4 lime

We peeled the lime first, then put in two wedges as our 1/4 portion of lime.  I also guestimated at how much kale to put in, because I've never been good at measuring "stalked" greens into cup sizes.  I mean, do I tear it up, or what?  So I used about 2.5 stalks, figuring that one stalk is about a cup, then the half stalk for good measure.

Again, remarkably good.  I was afraid the kale would be bitter, but really it's not.  You can really taste the lime, and it appears that in most recipes, the apple is what gives the most liquid volume.  We are now officially out of apples, but I will have to run to the store later tonight and get more.

Everything Seems to Turn up Orange

I got this recipe from page 167 of "The Juicing Bible" by Pat Crocker (see link at left) and it was excellent!

CRAN-APPLE

• 2 apples
• 3 carrots
• 3/4 cup cranberries (fresh or frozen- I chose fresh)
• sliver of ginger (optional, not in original recipe)

I was drinking this so fast I forgot to take a picture.  So in actuality, the recipe makes about a glass and a half.  It is refreshing and tart, like lemonade- but has a nice earthy carrot aftertaste.  I made the first batch for my husband, then in the second batch for me, I put in a dime sized sliver of fresh ginger root.  I have a love for ginger that I don't believe the husband shares with me, but he said it still tasted pretty good.  I don't know what that ginger did to my drink, but it increased it's awesomeness by 100-fold!  And I'm talking FRESH ginger, not that powdered junk (that I still like, but not in my juice).  I was shocked to find it at my local Wal-Mart.  Yes, I shop there.  I have no choice.

I am actually very surprised by these juice blends.  It's very hard to believe unless you've tried it for yourself, but the juice is actually thick and filling.  All literature I've read advise you to savor your juice, but I'm telling you, I couldn't stop guzzling it down it was so tasty!  Anywho, I haven't even started the juice fast yet, but I'd really like some more juice :)

New "Wing-It" Recipe

Day two of having the juicer, and I made myself a little breakfast out of some random veggie fare:

• 2 Tomatoes
• 8-ish stalks of celery
• 3 handfuls of baby carrots
• 1 Granny Smith Apple

This ended up making quite a lot of juice because naturally tomatoes are reeeaaaally juicy, and I used twice as much celery.  Needless to say, my filter basket clogged with excess tomato pulp, so next time I want tomato, I might do it a little differently next time.  Also, I'm not sure I liked this one as much because it was actually really sweet.  This is what I get for not following a recipe!

We actually don't have a lot of fruits and vegetables right now other than celery, apples, etc. but our shopping list is growing and we need to get more sometime soon.  I love celery, but it has a really distinct taste that seems to come out above all other flavors.  I might be a little more sparing on the celery in the future.  I wonder if I can juice a sweet potato?