What happens when you “go raw“?  Below are some great answers to that question.  These come from Karen Knowler, The Raw Food Coach.  I’m sure she wouldn’t mind me sharing.  Because it’s nice to share.

1. You Wake UP!

2. You become more sensitive (things feel much better or worse depending on what they are)

3. You get to hear your own voice more clearly

4. You start to be kinder to yourself and the world around you

5. You start to believe in a more “magical” way of living and being (because you can feel it running through your veins)

6.  You feel more pain when things aren’t a good fit for you (and don’t use food to block that fact out)

7.  You have more energy to take action

8. You are generally more positive and upbeat; you begin to believe (and witness) that anything is possible

9. You start to meet others like you and learn through what they have to say and what they have done that there is another way

10. You begin to feel brave enough and vital enough to take the action required to make some big changes, if required, in order to be true to you

Ok, you are asking yourself, what does this have to do with coffee?  Because this next raw green smoothie recipe tastes just like coffee!!!!  I discovered this by accident.  Most of my raw treats are by accident or found by adding or subtracting something from a recipe.  You just have to let go of that fear of being wrong or not being worthy of feeling good.  So, here’s that recipe:

Uncoffee Smoothie

Handful of collard greens

Handful of spinach

One frozen banana

1 1/2 cup water

One shot of flax oil

3 frozen strawberries

Throw it all in your Vitamix or BlendTec and enjoy

Here’s another one that tastes like those Orange frozen drinks you find at fairs.

Raw Orange Smoothie

1 1/2 cup almond milk….here’s what I do for this.  Take about a cup of raw almonds and about 1and 1/2 cups of water and put in your blender.  Blend until it breaks down the almonds(it will become white, like milk).  Drain the milk through your mesh bag.  Save the nut pulp for a great substitute for morning cereal, and put the nut milk back in the blender.

The juice of two oranges (or if you are using a Vitamix or BlendTec….THE WHOLE ORANGE)

1/2 cup frozen pineapple

That’s it.  How simple, right?  All for you to get started on a living food journey that’s all your own.  It’s really about your journey.   What’s your journey look like?  I am not, by any means, 100% raw.  There are days when all I do eat is raw.  I always manage to get in some sort of smoothie in the morning.  If there’s enough, I’ll drink through the day.  That fills me up.  Then I have something cooked for dinner.  It’s a small portion of cooked food.  The more cooked I eat, the worse I feel.  That’s where I am at this moment.  I’m working on number 6 from the list above right now.  We’re really not that different.  Me and you.  The journey up the mountain is different for everyone.  The view from the top is the same!  I take a lot of small steps. Sometimes I’m pushed to make a large step forward, but that’s only with a lot of prior warning.

To end my entry today, here’s that recipe I promised for Halva:

1 1/2 cup almonds

1/2 cup raw tahini (I just grind sesame seeds)

3 Tablespoons honey

1 Teaspoon vanilla

1 Tablespoon, plus 1 teaspoon carob powder

Place almonds in your food processor until ground.  Add tahini, honey and vanilla and process thoroughly.  Put 1/2 of the mixture in a bowl and set aside.  Add carob to remainder and process.  From here, either roll both parts together into a ball, form to a pie plate or eat right out of the food processor.  Now that’s what I love about my raw food!

Be happy and healthy.

Donna Bergonzi-Boyle

The saying “Less is more” means that when something is understated or done in a low-key manner it is much more effective.  Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe, furniture designer and architect, is often associated with the phrase and a proponent of simplicity and clarity leading to good design.   Let’s first get out of the way when less is definitely NOT more….like love, kindness and gratitude.

Seven years ago I was just about half way into a month long yoga teacher training.  Breakfast, lunch and dinner consisted of a wonderful buffet line of healthy food options.  I was practicing yoga about 5 hours a day and participating in experiential workshops the rest of the day. So why was I feeling bloated and most certainly not healthy? Not to mention, my physical body was saying “stop working me so hard”!  I made an appointment with a wonderful body healer and his words to me were “Stop eating so much”.  What? Don’t I have to eat three meals a day?  “Try this”, he said, “Instead of a tray, two plates, and fork, knife and spoon, just take a small bowl and one utensil”.  So I believe I put people in front of me that I’m meant to learn from and I took his advice.  And yes, you guessed it, it worked.  I felt 100% better in no time.  My first experience with “less is more”.  The less I ate, the more my body could use its energy to help me get through this very long month of yoga and learning.  I not only ate less, I ate slower, allowing my body to digest, assimilate and eliminate to its optimum efficiency.

I’ll explain why this works.  Eating less allows your body to spend less energy digesting food and more energy healing.  It’s what your body wants to do…HEAL ITSELF!  Taking this one step further, digesting cooked food demands much more energy than the digestion of raw food.  Raw foods contain enzymes which aid in digestion, giving the body’s own enzymes a better chance to regulate the body’s metabolic processes.  Cooked foods deplete these enzymes, making digestion more difficult, which could lead to toxic build up in the body, obesity and chronic disease.   Raw food is not only good for physical body healing, but also for emotional body healing.  Having that extra energy gave me time and clarity to hear my own voice.   It wasn’t always a kind voice, that voice inside my head.  But at least now I could hear it and do something about it.

I’m a very bland raw foodist.  Simple and less is what’s best and what works for me.  I do eat some cooked food, but I don’t need or want as much as I used to.  And when I start to feel bad, physically or emotionally, the first thing I look at is what I’m eating.

Another lesson I learned at my month long training was the one of silence.  An extreme example in “less is more.”  At anytime you could choose to spend the day in silence.  There’s not enough space here to explain to you what happens when you do not speak.

I use “less is more” often during the course of my day.  I ask you to try it too the next time you are having a “discussion” with a loved one or with yourself.

Donna Bergonzi-Boyle

A good question right?  I’m not just talking about excercise or eating right.  I mean pampering yourself.  Gentle yoga, breathing, a great bubble bath, sitting in front of the fire, meditating, singing, dancing. How about we take a moment to just breathe?  Sit upright, plant both your feet on the earth, and place your hands, palms up, on your legs.  Close your eyes.  (C’mon, this will only take a moment…turn your phone off, take a five minute break from your busy life)  Bring your attention to your belly and how the belly rises and falls with each breath.  Relax your jaw, soften your eyes and allow your shoulders to drop away from your ears.  Start to bring your breath into your lungs.   Belly then lungs expand with the inhale and lungs then belly deflate with the exhale.  Do this a few times and just keep your awareness on your breath.  Try to keep a wave like motion with each breath.  Now you can start to lengthen your exhale and let out a sigh when you do.  Open your mouth and let out a long sigh.  AAAAAAAAAA.   That’s nice.  Now that you’ve read HOW to do this….go ahead and do it.  When you are done, notice how you feel.  Then go ahead and get back to whatever you were doing.  You took five minutes to pamper yourself.

We are human beings…not human doings.  How can we stop doing and start being? Well, obviously we have to continue doing things.  There’s our work, our children, our pets, the daily chores, to name a few.  In these days of upheaval and uncertainty, it is more important than ever to take care of yourself.  This could just mean doing the above breathing exercise a couple times a day.  Eventually this exercise becomes part of your daily life.  Breathing will open your heart and slow you down, putting you right into the present moment.

Slowing down……let’s start here.   Yoga was a good start for me.   My first few years of practice I was your “type A” yoga student.  Moving fast through what the instructor asked us to do and definitely NOT breathing.  In my quest to “do” everything right, I was actually hurting myself and was most certainly NOT in the present moment.  Only when I woke up one morning and couldn’t move my neck, did I realize something was wrong with my way of thinking regarding the well being of my physical body.  This took me on a long journey through many types of healing modalities from accupuncture to x-rays.  It eventually led me to some great body work and to the raw food lifestyle.  And to practicing a more gentle form of yoga.  Now my yoga practice is more about what my body wants and not what my mind or the instructor wants.

What can you do today to start pampering yourself?  How about these ideas:

Cooking your evening meal during the day in a crock pot saves time.  Instead of slaving in the kitchen at night, take a few moments to do your breathing.  This will give your body the time to let go of the day, which will give you a clearer mind when it comes to choosing what and how much your body needs to eat.

I have only a very small space in my house to lay out my yoga blanket.   But I do this as many mornings as I can.   I also do some yoga before I even get up.  Set your alarm for just 10 minutes earlier and stay under the covers.  Breathe, stretch….and don’t forget to make sound on your exhale.

At night, I love my heated neck warmer.  Relieves the tension of the day.  I just close my eyes and put on some great soothing music.

I live in the northeast, where winter brings many sunless days. On the days the sun is in the sky, I put myself right in its path. Sitting in my window or laying on the floor to absorb the rays.

What are you going to do today that’s just for you?  How are you going to slow down during this very busy time of the year?  I am sending you light and love…….

Donna Bergonzi-Boyle

We make many choices in the course of our lives.   When I decided to get pregnant, I made the choice to become a vegetarian.  I thought that was the right choice for my baby.  It turned out to also be the right choice for me.  My daughter was born 18 years ago.  At that time there weren’t a lot of choices or places to turn that supported my beliefs.   I didn’t want to give her dairy and I didn’t want to give her meat.  I’ll never forget at each visit to the pediatrician when the doctor would ask her if she was drinking milk and eating meat and my little girl would just nod her head.  Then we’d have a good laugh in the car.  There’s more than one way to get your vitamins and nutrients!  She was rarely sick and she was growing in all ways.  I made choices.  I made mashed bananas and mashed vegetables.  I purchased the expensive, organic baby food at the local health food store.  As she grew, I made other choices.

We live in a town without fast food.  I am thankful for that.  I took as much as I could in the car with me for road trips.  Eventually we’d have to stop at a restaurant or fast food chain.  Again, the choices there were minimal.  Today there are more choices .  And now there’s much more support for kids and making healthy choices every day for yourself and your children.

How do you make the choice to eat healthier?  It starts with asking for just that…And then listening.   At a yoga retreat many years ago, I sat down to a silent breakfast.  I asked my body what it needed to eat.  I walked through the food line and put only what my body needed on my plate.  How did I know?  I listened.  I sat and thanked all the hands that came into contact with the food on my plate.  I took one small bite.  I put the fork down.  I chewed until it was liquid in my mouth.  And I did that again and again until I was finished.  I took the time to slow down.

Two years ago I made the choice to delve into a raw food lifestyle.  The internet has put in front of us a wealth of knowledge.  We make choices every day.   Lately my choices come more from my body than my mind.  I wake up grateful for the gifts that will appear in my life that day.  Does it always work?  Nope…it doesn’t.  That’s where the choice of feeling guilty or not comes into play.  I choose to drink my greens.  I choose to eat smaller amounts.  Since my transition to more living foods, I need less food.  I feel the best I’ve ever felt.  Do I eat this way 100% of the time? No, I don’t.  And that’s my choice.

Yesterday I visited a friend at his farm.  He was kind enough to let me go home with a bag full of his root veggies and swiss chard.  Yes, that’s right….it’s Dec 10th in Vermont and he’s still growing greens!  I’m writing this with a green smoothie by my side.  I put in my Vitamix the following ingredients:

1-2 cups water

Two big handfuls of fresh organic swiss chard

Small amount of parsley

One frozen banana

One cup of frozen raspberries

Every part of my mind this morning wanted to eat something that my body didn’t want.  I took deep breaths and I made the choice to drink what I knew would make me feel better.  Ultimately it really is about feeling better.  Body and soul.  I will be thinking about you today making the right choice for your body. I’ve come a long way and I’m still learning. Here’s to the choices we make and may they be the right ones for each of us.

Donna, I chose that, Bergonzi-Boyle

Some alternate titles I was working with were, All I want for Christmas is to stay on track, It’s the most fattening time of the year, and Everyone was singing “Here Comes Santa Claus” but it was only me.” Being raised Jewish I’d like to say I never fall into the “throw my healthy-living diet out the window during the holidays” trap but alas, even I tend to indulge a bit this time of year.  So I want the first tip to be; GO EASY ON YOURSELF!  I can’t stress enough that the best gift we can give ourselves over the holiday and every day for that matter, is to drop the rigidity and stress around healthy-living.  Because, as I’ve said so many times, it’s just not healthy.  Life is to be enjoyed and to the degree that our balance is compromised toward either apathy or severity we lose serenity.  So in that vein here are some tips on staying the course of a healthy diet while enjoying and giving this holiday season.

So what do we usually do?  Pig out and then make the New Years resolution to “be good”.  This insane thinking gets the teeter totter of shame/pride going and we never seem to learn that they’re depending on each other for the ride. The truth is that staying healthy DURING the holiday season is easier than you think.

Three basic things to remember:

1. Stay mindful.  It’s so easy to get caught up in the joy and revelry of gathering with loved ones that we often become essentially unconscious of what we’re eating.  Pay attention to your hunger and don’t eat if you aren’t hungry.
2. Measure your indulgences rather than deny them (unless of course there’s a true health risk) but don’t just shuck the whole plan for the holidays.  For some, Christmas is a very holy day, for other’s it is a relatively secularized holiday but when considering your healthy-lifestyle, it’s really just another day on the calendar
3. Stay true to and love yourself.  Don’t feel obliged to eat every dish or dessert made by good old Aunt Ethel or to attend every single event you’re invited to.  Politely decline and show you care in some other, more honest way.

And now to get down to some details:

• Try some pre-event healthy eating.  If you’re going to a party that you know won’t be healthy-living friendly, have something light beforehand.  A blended smoothie, whole grain cereal or even quality yogurt will fill you up just enough to keep from giving in to temptation and overindulging.
• Stay away from the buffet.  Make your selections and then go schmooze somewhere else. (I just love using Yiddish in a Christmas article)
• Make wise selections.  Choose raw vegetables, fresh fruits with healthy dips; hummus, guacamole and salsa types, avoiding the creamy options.
• Avoid the fried/fatty foods and if you’re a meat eater, choose solid pieces of chicken or turkey and remove the skin or look for fish options.
• Have a desert buddy.  I won’t say “If” but “When” you indulge in dessert, share with someone (It’s the spirit of giving…  to yourself as well as another).
• Be mindful of your alcohol consumption.  Isn’t this one obvious?  If you’re drunk, you’ll cheat.  If you must drink, don’t overdo it and drink plenty of water to prevent dehydration and maybe even a bad hangover.  If you want to skip drinking altogether but don’t want to deal with inquiries, substitute with sparkling water with lime or a “virgin” anything.

If you do over do it the night before:

· Have breakfast, no matter how small – some fresh fruit or a fruit smoothie, whole grain cereal or toast.

· Drink fresh juices containing carrot, apple, beetroot, parsley, spinach and ginger to aid detoxification and provide the body with nutrients, especially vitamin C.

· Have some herbal tea to help settle the stomach: chamomile, peppermint, ginger, fennel or green tea are good choices.

On Christmas Day…:

• Instead of snacking on the bottomless tins of sweets try dried fruits and nuts.
• Again, stay with raw veggies and dips instead of the doughy finger foods.
• Try not to drink large volumes of fluid with your meal; this doesn’t help to ‘wash it down but rather dilutes your digestive secretions thus reducing their effectiveness.  And drink pure water instead of punch, beer or eggnog.
• Chew slowly and thoroughly. It’s essential for digestion and will help prevent bloating and indigestion and it will also reduces the likelihood of overeating as it allows the brain the register when you are full.
• If you stockpile, do it with vegetables. They are a great source of fiber, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals and you would have to eat vast amounts to get fat on them.  Aim for a variety of colors and flavors.
• Include steamed vegetables tossed in extra virgin olive oil or unsalted butter with fresh or dried herbs, sea salt and pepper as a side. Steaming is quick and helps to preserve the nutrients.
• Cut potatoes into large pieces and parboil them first before roasting to reduce the surface area for oil absorption.  Use extra virgin olive oil, garlic and/or fresh or dried herbs for added flavor.
• Remove the skin from chicken and turkey, it may taste nice but is one of the fattiest things you can eat.
• For stuffing, use something more vegetable-based rather than sausage meat or breadcrumbs.
• Choose which pie is your favorite and have one slice.  Don’t kid yourself by having two or three bite-size ones and think it’s the same.
• And remember, it may be Christmas but after the game, get off the couch and move.  Take some form of exercise each day; even a 15-20 minute walk before or after your main meal is beneficial. You’ll feel refreshed and it will aid digestion.

Have a happy, healthy holiday.

Be well,

Juicy Josh

Well my JuicyFriends - we have a winner!  My moderator/mediator/drawing companion, Jason (our Juicy marketing guy) was there to witness the drawing and help mix up the INCREDIBLE entries that were posted for the Lexen Christmas Giveaway!

I have to take a moment to express my gratitude for your entries.  I was honestly expecting the general “yo, enter me!”.  Instead, I got some incredible insight into your lives and why you live the lifestyle you do - or why you want to get into the lifestyle.  I was also impressed with some of the incredible stories and the fact that others wished to donate the juicer onto someone in even more need..and even others who offered to donate to the person who would donate (cool Devon and Jason)!  I am pretty sure we will be doing other giveaways throughout the coming months on other products we carry, so check back often or subscribe to our feed.

So I wish I had 51 juicers to giveaway (the number of entries)…unfortunately I only have one…

SO!  Here was the drawing process (we took photos for proof…and because it was fun):

1)  Showing off the printed off entries

2)  Me, doin’ tha mix (I was jamming to some Christmas music on Pandora..)

3)  Jason doin’ tha mix!

3)  Aint that a purdy BlendTec?

4)  Ah-Ha!  The lucky winner

5) Congrats Ellen Linnenburger! Looks like I can recommend the recipe for the flutters now

Here was Ellens Winning Entry! CONGRAAATS!!!!!

Ok my friends…this is a new idea that I brought to one of our Juicy Meetings (ok, we don’t actually call them that…but…it fits the theme, right?).  I think its a pretty good idea myself.  I asked if I could enter, but the Juicy guys up top said no.  Whats up with that?!

So, here you have it…the fruits of my labor, so to speak.  The prize of said give-away?  A Lexen Electric Healthy Juicer!  It is worth $149, so a nice little prize if I do say so.  Also - if you are one of those folks who feel like they never win, or you really need one and want to be sure you get one for Christmas I’ve also been given the code to unlock a 10% off Coupon on the Lexen Electric (good until December 15th 2008).  Just use XMASLEXEN at the checkout.

So here is the low down on how to enter.

• One Virtual Ticket if you comment on this blog about how you would use the Healthy Juicer Electric
• Two Virtual Tickets if you comment on this blog (as stated above) AND link to www.877myjuicer.com from your own blog or website (just let me know what site you have and I’ll check it out!)
• Extra Credit Bonus: You can earn an Extra Virtual Ticket if you subscribe to our newsletter.  Just add that you did so in the comments and I’ll verify.
• DRAWING WILL BE HELD AT RANDOM ON DECEMBER 12th (we are putting all names in a big BlendTec and picking one..pretty high tech, right?).  I’ll post the the winner later that evening, so if you aren’t subscribed to our RSS feed you might want to do that..or just check back.

Pretty simple right?  Cool..so, comment and link away.

And remember - if you don’t win (we will post the winner after we draw) you can always use the 10% Off Coupon for the Lexen (XMASLEXEN) up until December 15th 2008!

Oh - and hey - checkout the rest of the blog.  We have a new contributor who knows her stuff, Donna Boyle.  There is a bunch of great info on here if you are into this kind of stuff!

Webster’s defines the word sprouting as the following: to grow, spring up, or come forth, to send out new growth:  cause to develop.  When a recipe calls for “sprouted almonds”, that means soaking in water for at least a few hours.  You won’t see a tail in that time from an almond.  However, there are some seed and bean that you will see that cute little tail spring forth.  Sprouting is waking the seed or bean up.  It is also means soaking the bean over night and then rinsing said seed or bean, until it grows a tail.  Some tails are longer than others. Proteins, enzymes, vitamins and other nutrients activate with sprouting.  Beans are a time-honored way to get plenty of protein with low fat, high fiber and no cholesterol.  Steve Meyerowitz says, “Sprouts are a veritable vitamin factory.”

Today I am letting you in on one of the secrets of a living food lifestyle.  It really is easy!  There’s minimal prep time except if you have to sprout something.  However, it does require a commitment.  A commitment to be happy and healthy!  Didn’t you hear the news about the key to the door of happiness?  There isn’t a key!  The door’s not locked!

Yesterday I stopped in to see my good friend Sarah.  She was preparing Halva, the raw version.   Halva is a confection made from semolina. It’s originally from India and made with a variety of ingredients, including sugar, flour and oil.   I’ve never tasted the real thing and I don’t want to now, ’cause the raw is so good!  I believe it took a total of 15 minutes and that included a call from her husband and the time it took for us to taste it.  Let me be honest with you (I seem to do that a lot), it was fabulous.  I’ll be making it this weekend and will share that recipe in another episode.

How about that sprouting lesson?  Today it is sprouted bean mix.  I like adzuki, mung, green and red lentil and fenugreek.   All these make one interesting blend of flavors.  Here’s how easy it is.  Take a handful, a cup (however much you want), of all your beans (a little less of the fenugreek), place in a mason jar, glass bowl or your sprouter.  Soak overnight.  Rinse and drain in the morning into your sprout bag or leave in your sprouter.  I use a sprout bag or the Biosta Sprouter. With the sprout bag you can rinse through it and leave in a colander to drain in the sink.  With the Biosta, fill the top layer with water and then it drains itself through the next two layers, rinsing the other layers as it drains. Then for two or three days, rinse and allow to drain at least 2 times a day, more if you are home.  Too much sunlight and they can wilt and die.  Once you see the tail spring forth, or you taste it and it’s soft enough for you, go ahead and eat it!  You can place this mix on your salad, on a sandwich with avocado and lettuce, in your guacamole, in your green drink, or by the handful.  Great for travel or in the office for that snack at your desk.  And it’s living food!  Living food is filled and surrounded by energy.  By eating living food you are absorbing that energy field.  You are reaping tremendous health benefits.  This mix will last in the refrigerator a week or more.  You can rinse again if the mix starts to get slimy.

Adzuki beans contain protease inhibitors which discourage the development of cancerous cells.  Fenugreek is used as a digestive aid.  This sprout could reduce inflammation.  Lentils are great substitutes for meat and when combined with a leafy green, they are better absorbed by the body.  Mung are rich in vitamins A, B, C, and E, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium and Potassium.

Again, I ask you…..What are you waiting for?  Another good thing about dry seed and bean?  They will outlast you!  Store in the fridge or freezer.

Happy living trails to you.

Donna, yep I sprouted that, Bergonzi-Boyle

Oh, who am I kidding.  There’s only one answer here.  JUICE!!!

Ghandi said, “Chew your drink and drink your food.”  What does that mean?  Very simple, take the time to liquefy your food before swallowing, and swish your drink around before swallowing.  Liquid is the way to go for assimilation and elimination.

The only question I ask myself in the morning is this… “Should I use my Champion juicer or my Vitamix today?”  Or use my own teeth!  I first started seriously juicing over two years ago.  When I went “raw” and bought my Champion, I juiced anything I could get my hands on.  Fruits, veggies….mixing whatever I wanted.  My teenager loved taking different colored concoctions to school.  Her friends would always ask, “Did you buy that”?

Here’s one of those easy juice drink recipes:

Veggie/Fruit Drink
Four carrots
Two apples

If your produce is organic, you don’t have to peel, but it’s a good idea to peel non-organic produce.  I don’t even core the apple.  Put all ingredients through your juicer and pour into your drink container and take it to work or school.   You can add anything else to this drink for your own taste. How about some ginger or lemon?  Or how about this for the holidays?   Cranberries, apples and grapes.  Throw them by the handful into your juicer.

We used our juicer every morning.  Then my friend gave me “Green For Life”, by Victoria Boutenko.  She says this about green smoothies…  “Blended green smoothies are a simple and delicious way of accessing the healing properties of greens.  Whether you eat a raw food, vegan, vegetarian or mainstream American diet, regularly drinking green smoothies can significantly improve your health.”

Ok, now I’m onto something. I had never heard of these and I was really getting tired of the whole breakfast drama.  Out came the Vitamix and in went the kale and fruit. That was it!  Kale, water and fruit.  Whatever fruit I had on hand.  My daughter didn’t try these right away.   I waited patiently till one day she said, “I’ll try those things now.”  And so she did and is still drinking them today. We were getting more green in our diet than we were eating cooked or in our salads!  Kale, spinach, collards….any green.

Here’s one of my favorite green smoothie recipes:

Two handfuls of any green on hand.  Spinach is a good starter.
1-2 cups of water
Three strawberries
One banana
Teaspoon Flax oil or crushed flax seed

Place all in your blender.  I use the Vitamix.  It whips it up quickly and there’s no pulp.  I also use frozen fruit or ice cubes to keep the drink cool.

I felt good knowing that if  I couldn’t control everything she ate during the course of the day, that at least I was sending her out of the house with something that to me…was better than the conventional breakfast I grew up with.  And how easy and convenient!  I love green smoothies.   I always have frozen fruit in the freezer, and some sort of green in the fridge.  Summer was great for heading out to the garden and juicing all the leaves of the veggies that were growing.  Yum!

There’s one warning here:  Drinking green smoothies every day can lead to more energy, a better night’s sleep, weight loss, less cravings for cooked or unhealthy processed foods, and an overall clearer picture of life.  Not to mention more cravings for green smoothies.

Donna, yep I juiced that, Bergonzi-Boyle

What? You grow grass?  Isn’t that illegal?  Common words I hear when I tell people that I’ve been growing grass for the last 15 years.   They start to walk away from me when I tell them my Dad turned me on to it!

I first saw that beautiful grass at The Optimum Health Institute in CA. My parents were working there and my brother Michael had just started there too.  He designed and built the greenhouse along with my Dad, and also built up his reputation as being one of the master wheatgrass growers in the country.  A greenhouse filled with grass and sprouts is a site to behold.  The energy, the oxygen, the green!  Just breathe and be healed!  Why do we hold our breath?  I have been a practitioner of yoga for over 15 years and I know why. Breathing takes you into the present moment.  You cannot be in the present moment without the willingness to feel hurt.  That is a tough statement to comprehend, let alone “feel”.  But I’ll go into that in another excerpt.  Let’s get back to growing grass….

I watched and listened to my Dad and brother.  “When is my turn”?  I continued to ask myself that. I knew I would get there someday.  With their advice I was able to grow grass in my small apartment some 15 years ago.  Then there was a time I just didn’t have it in me to grow but wanted to drink wheatgrass juice, so I ordered it online.   I never knew when they harvested it.  It just didn’t taste like what I was used to.  I would occasionally be at a juice café and order a shot.  And again, I’d say, “Is this what these people think wheatgrass juice is supposed to taste like”?   Ok, that’s enough of this…..it’s time to start another business.  My reasons?  I wanted fresh cut, organic wheatgrass juice every day and I figured if I did, then someone else out there does too.  It’s easy enough.  I have my Dad and my brother, right?   And Michael even has a DVD with all the directions for growing wheatgrass and sprouts!  I can do this!

For a year I grew wheatgrass and sprouts and delivered an exceptional product to as many customers as I could.   Now I grow on my kitchen counter.  I grow on my dining room table.  I grow and sprout wherever I can, as much as I can.   Sprouting seed and growing wheatgrass may take some time to figure out.  Your environment has a lot to do with all the problems you may encounter.  I’ve learned that airflow is the biggest issue surrounding the mold problem.  Living in the northeast is challenging to say the least.  I now grow pea shoots in my sprouter.  No soil!  I know, that’s crazy.    Don’t tell my brother.

I can’t live without my sprouter, sprout bag, my colander, my green bags(to keep all my produce fresh longer), and some great trays for growing my sprouts and wheatgrass.  I keep a kitchen stocked with seed and a library stocked with books about sprouts and live food.  Because of the size of my kitchen and winter being upon us, I grow one thing at a time.   But there is no reason, with all the new sprouters and tray holders out there, that you can’t grow more than one sprout.  The hardest part is just getting started.  Sprout one thing at a time at first. Get really good at it and then start something else.  The theory behind sprouting and growing is basically the same with a lot of seed and bean.  The principals are the same too.   Keep good air circulation, don’t let the seed dry out, and keep it out of too much direct sunlight (sounds like the directions on how to keep a gremlin)!   Wheatgrass is baby grass. It needs to be nurtured.   And for goodness sake, keep your grass away from the pets!  You’ll have to grow a separate tray for them. My cat loves to chew it right out of the tray. I also juice it for him and give it to him in a dropper.  He loves it!  I’ve seen a dog totally tear a tray of wheatgrass apart, like it was catnip.  What a treat for them!  And during the long winter months, when dogs can’t get outside to chew grass, this is the perfect substitute for them. Wheatgrass juice, it’s not just for humans!  Keep on growing, folks!