The Benefits of Juicing

Fresh Juice! I love juicing. I feel like every cell in my body says thanks when I take the first sip.

Juice is  yet another controversial topic in the world of nutrition. Nutrition brings controversy because nature encourages diversity. Amen to that!

Juicing can be extremely healing; especially for those of us who forget that when eating, chewing precedes swallowing (hey there fast eaters!). The juicing process makes the nutrients of the vegetables and fruits readily available for absorption. Juicing (and blending) saves the body digestive energy, allowing more energy to be put towards healing and detoxification.

Especially with juicing greens, the separation of chlorophyll from its fibers will allow for easy assimilation of this green sunlight energy. Chlorophyll is the Fast Track to our main sources of life: oxygen and liquid sunlight.

Most store bought juices (unless otherwise noted) have been pasteurized and no longer contain the nutritional benefits of fresh juice. Almost all contain more sugar than nutrients.

We have to be careful with juicing to not have too much sugar. When juicing fruits and vegetables, all the fiber is removed. Nature is perfect; she packages the perfect ratio of fiber to sugar in our fruits and vegetables to keep our blood sugar levels somewhat stable. However removing the fiber (which is there to keep us full) can easily flood our system with too much sugar.  Beware breakfast orange juice drinker… You could be setting yourself up for a crash with sugar or caffeine cravings later in the day.

While we will benefit from juice’s high levels of readily available nutrients, eating solid foods is what will keep the digestive system strong as these nutrients  move more slowly through the digestive track. Eating fibrous vegetables gives the body time to break down and absorb the nutrients it might miss in the quick assimilation of juice.

It is also recommended to “chew” your juice when drinking in order to create some saliva, an important component to digestion.

The most important thing to be aware of when juicing is that you do not juice too much fruit or sweet root vegetables. I recommend fruit or sweet roots (like carrots) be no more than a third of your juice. This can be difficult because, admittedly, carrot juice is really delicious! Eventually you will use even less than a third, as you get more adventurous (you can juice most anything.) The sweet juices are great as a treat, but minimizing the sugar content will prove to be the healthiest way in the long run.
The greens are miracle workers but can sometimes be bitter. Lemons are great to add to every juice; the citric will neutralize the bitterness (not to mention the vitamin C!).

There are many juicers our there for purchase. If you are new to  juicing, cheaper juicers work quite well. Keep in mind that most basic juicers require you to drink your juice right after juicing. Not to worry- juicing and clean up takes me a total of 5(ish) minutes.

Or you could try juicing the old fashioned way… chimpanzees often chew fibrous foods to remove the juice before discarding the fiber, and gorillas juice by filling their mouths with leaves and fruit, using the mass of leaves to press the juice out of the fruit, then discarding the fiber. Personally, I’ll keep using the juicer.

Juice Bars Around Boston

Boston is not yet abundant in health food restaurants but there are unpasteurized juices in various locations:

JOOS: delivers juice to a depot near your home after you order it online. The product is organic and of very high quality, juiced fresh before delivery.

Prana Cafe: in Newton/ Watertown

Red Lentil: Watertown

Life Alive: Cambridge

Blue Shirt Cafe: Somerville

570 Market: South End

Trident Bookstore and Cafe: Boston

(Please share with the community if you know any other juice bars around Boston by commenting on this post.)

Juice Recipes From The Film 'Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead'

Apple-Pear
1 Apple
2 Pears
1 Piece Ginger (thumb sized)

Carrot-Kale Combo
1 Green Apple
3 Handfuls spinach
6-8 Kale Leaves
4 Large Carrots
1 Piece Ginger (thumb sized)

Green Lemonade
1 Green Apple
3 Handfuls Spinach
6-8 Kale Leaves
½ Cucumber
4 Celery Stalks
½ Lemon

All Green
Use as much greens as needed
Romaine Hearts
Kale or Collards
Spinach
2 Handfuls Parsley
2-3 Celery Stalks
½ Lemon
1 Piece Ginger (thumb sized)

Apple-Beet-Carrot
1 Apple
2 Beets
3 Large Carrots
1 Piece Ginger (thumb sized)
Spinach / Kale – (optional)

Spinach-Fennel-Cucumber
1 Fennel Bulb
1 Cucumber
2-3 Celery Stalks
Loads of Spinach

Mean Green
1 Bulk of kale
4 Stalks of celery
1 Cucumber
2 granny smith apples
½ lemon
Ginger root (thumb sized)

Drink Your Greens

1 banana

2 dates

2 cups kale 

2 Tbl almond butter

3/4 cup water

Blend.

No kitty, it's my smoothie!

Chia Seed Pudding

The gelatinous quality of chia seeds aids in drawing toxins out of your system. Chia seeds are also a good source of protein and omega 3. Amongst the many vitamins and minerals they contain, they have large amounts of potassium, iron, and calcium.

Ingredients
1/3 cup chia seeds 

1 cups unsweetened almond milk (or any other non-dairy milk)
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 Tbs maple syrup

Optional Variation: for chocolate pudding, add 1 Tbs cocoa powder

Optional topping:  golden raisins, figs, apricots, dates, unsweetened coconut flakes, goji berries, chopped nuts, or fresh fruit.

Method
Mix chia seeds, almond milk and vanilla. Stir well. Refrigerate overnight. When ready to eat, garnish with preferred toppings.

Click here for your Home Made Almond Milk Recipe

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough for Breakfast

This morning's breakfast was inspired by my friend's pint of Ben and Jerry's that was in the freezer. My favorite thing as a kid was not the cake, but the batter!

1/2 cup quick/ rolled oats
1/4 cup raw cashews (or almonds)
1 Tbs maca powder
1 date
1/2 medium banana (1/3 cup)
2 Tbs flax meal
3 Tbs dried shredded coconut
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
1 cup water/ almond milk/ coconut water
2 Tbs cocoa nibs (or grain-sweetened-chocolate-chips)
Optional: for more sweetness, add coconut nectar, agave, or maple syrup.

Blend all ingredients except for the cocoa nibs/ chips in a powerful blender (Vitamix works best!) until smooth. Then mix the cocoa nibs into the batter.

I kind of had my fix from licking the mixer clean with a spatula (to be 5y/o again!), I might save the "batter" for a mid morning snack...

Click Here to learn more about Maca and other Superfoods.... 

Green Smoothies

I love a green smoothie for breakfast. Actually, I love vegetables for breakfast! Green smoothies give me a long lasting energy boost and are very satisfying when I am craving something sweet.


To make a green smoothies:

1. Choose your base: water or non dairy milk (if you have a Vitamix, throw a handful of nuts in with some water and your milk will be made along with your shake.) 
2. Choose your green: I love using kale but it is a little bitter so I would suggest starting with spinach or romaine lettuce. (The darker the green leaf, the better.)
3. Choose your fruit: bananas almost always have a starring role, but avocados, mangos, fresh dates, pineapples, berries, apples, and pears are tasty too. 
4. Optional superfoods*: a tsp of maca, spirulina, other seaweeds (like dulse), hemp powder for protein, cacao powder or nibs, goji berries, or bee pollen.
5. If you need some added sweetness: add raw honey, maple syrup or agave.

The average ratio in a green smoothie is about 60% fruit to 40% leafy greens but you can start with more fruit and work your way up. 


* View this related article explaining superfoods

Foods for Healing Broken Bones

The body’s healing capabilities are amazing. Within a week my face went from completely swollen and bruised to almost normal. The body is designed to heal. Sometimes we just get in it’s way. This week, I’ve found my body naturally craving the foods that heal. 

Nutritionally I’ve focused on getting a large amount of uncooked fruits and vegetables for their cleansing properties. My main fruits have been papaya and pineapple as they both contain enzymes that heal skin and bruising. 

Pineapple contains Bromelain, an enzyme used to treat inflammation associated with infection and injuries. It tastes great when mixed in a shake with wheatgrass. 

Wheatgrass has a powerful anti-inflammatory effect. It can significantly enhance the healing process of fractures by reducing swelling and ceasing subcutaneous bleeding.

Adding green leafy vegetables purify and oxygenate the blood as well as promote circulation. Greens are also known to promote a subtle, light and flexible energy that helps lift the spirit and aid with depression. I’m finding light foods to be helpful, allowing me not to feel heavy while I physically limited in movement. 

Spirulina is another helpful super-green that I’ve been mixing with some juice or adding to a delicious chocolate shake. 

Proteins are important for the healing process and spirulina provides both the power of greens as well as the protein. Red meat is not recommended for bone healing due to its congesting density and its negative effects on calcium absorption. (other calcium “robbers” are processed sugars, caffeine, alcohol, and processed salts.)

Apples are helpful in healing bones as they contain Boron which reduces urinary excretion of calcium and magnesium and significantly increases blood levels of both estrogen and testosterone, both of which play a role in the healing of bones. 

I’ve been finding myself craving cheese and ice cream this week and am guessing that the sudden strong interest in dairy is due to the body’s need of calcium. 

While enjoying some of what I desire, I am also making sure to incorporate other calcium rich foods so that I don’t over indulge in the less healthy calcium providers. Many green, leafy vegetables — including broccoli, collard greens, kale, mustard greens, turnip greens and bok choy or Chinese cabbage — are excellent sources of calcium. Salmon and sardines (can be canned), almonds, figs, tofu, dates, oranges and dried beans (especially pinto beans) are also good dietary sources of calcium. 

Omega3 oils are important so adding flax meal or oil to my meals has been essential.  

The last booster I’ll mention is bee pollen, a full-spectrum blood building and rejuvenating food, especially beneficial in the healing of broken bones and new cell growth.  

Topically using homeopathic arnica gel has been amazingly noticeable in it’s effects on reduce the bruising and healing the skin. 

I’m on the mend!

Are You For Real?.... Discovering Superfoods!

Choosing a healthy diet means choosing a natural diet. Natural foods come in various forms: raw, cooked, fermented, or dried. Foods stop being natural when processed with chemicals or preservatives. Some foods which may look natural are not if they have been raised or grown with hormones or through genetic engineering.

We fill our shopping carts with substitutes for real food. We grab animal byproducts like cold cuts, hot dogs and processed cheeses. We’ve been told that soy sausage or fake bacon are “health foods” when in fact they are highly processed products made from soy byproducts.
Health food is real food as nature created it. Our focus on healthy eating is usually limited to the type of food we are eating. We commonly overlook the importance of the quality of food. If we cease to pump our animals with antibiotics and hormones and stop processing the food with nitrates and preservatives, there would be no need to substitute it with other highly processed “healthier choices” like a soy burger. You can’t solve a problem with the same mindset that created it.

If you do eat these types of food, eat them in moderation and choose real meat products from real, grass-fed, naturally raised animals, free of all chemicals and preservatives. Furthermore, be sure to balance your diet with plenty of vegetables, especially the green leafy ones.

Superfoods:
If we only ate grains, fruit and vegetables from soil rich in natural nutrients, and meat from animals fed natural food, we would maintain a healthy balance of vitamins and minerals.
But let’s be honest; that’s not easy to do even if we planted and raised everything ourselves.

Super-foods are naturally nutrient dense. Unlike many dietary supplements, super-foods contain many nutrients that support each other and prevent the kind of imbalances that often occur when taking only vitamins.

Here are some of the major super-foods:

1. Goji Berries: Goji berries are a complete protein filled with antioxidants and trace minerals. These berries can improve eyesight and boost production of growth hormones. Add to your trail mix or top off a breakfast cereal with it.

2. Raw Chocolate (aka cacao): Contains more antioxidants than red wine, blueberries, acai and goji berries combined. Full of magnesium to help the body stay alkaline, an amazing source of iron, and it contains tryptophan, a mood-enhancing nutrient. Keep in mind that raw cacao - raw chocolate that has not been cooked (as opposed to most chocolate bars) - retains more nutrients. You can find raw cacao as powder, nibs, or whole beans.

3. Maca Root: Enhances libido, rich in calcium, magnesium, zinc, iron, selenium, and silicon (for bone strength). It supports the endrocine system and thyroid in accurate hormone production. Maca is great for rebuilding the adrenal gland, which is our body’s center for handling stress. It counteracts the damage caffeine causes to our adrenals.

4. Bee Pollen: Contains all twenty-two essential amino acids, increases endurance, improves muscle growth and definition, and is packed with B vitamins to bolster against stress.
* it is important to start with a small amount of bee pollen (1/4 tsp) to ensure that you are not allergic to it (signs of allergy include light swelling as well as moderate difficulty in breathing).

5. Spirulina: Contains 65% protein, supplements B12, builds the blood with its high chlorophyll content, and is full of beta-carotene.
*This algae is cooling and wet: if you are prone to feeling cold avoid using large amounts

6. Hemp Seed: contains all essential amino acids, has brain-building and liver-supporting lecithin, is rich in vitamin E, and contains essential fatty acids to protect the skin from sun exposure.


Workout Shake (1-2 servings)
Put away your soy protein shakes and start making your shakes with hemp powder. Enjoy the flax and hemp for their essential fatty acids, the banana for potassium, the spirulina for cellular regeneration.

2 Tbs hemp seed protein powder
1 tsp maca root powder
1 tsp spirulina (or less when first getting used to the taste)
2 Tbs flax
2 Tbs raw cocoa powder
1/2 tsp bee pollen
1 banana
Handful of almonds
1 cup of water
optional- natural sweetener of choice- maple/ raw honey/ agave (I don't find I need more sweetness. If using raw honey, omit the bee pollen from the recipe)

Mix all the ingredients in blender until smooth.