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

Bored with bananas?  Aggravated with apples?  Grumbling about grapes?  Me too. But if you’re like me you discipline yourself to stay healthy.  Is it any wonder most people have trouble sticking with a healthy diet?  Well I have some hope for you my friends.  Below are some alternatives to the old fruit standards to rejuvenate your palate while maintaining your healthy lifestyle.

What was Beethoven’s favorite fruit? Banananaaaas!  (That joke is better told out loud where the punch line can be sung to the tune of Beethoven’s 5^th.)  But, I think even he would get sick of them after a while… although in truth I’m not sure how plentiful bananas were in 19^th century Germany.  Anyway, bananas are not only a staple in every blended smoothie but essential for the maintenance of good blood pressure.  Nonetheless too many bananas can make anyone go “blah!”.  As an alternative, try fresh figs (no not in your smoothie).    Six fresh figs have 891 mg of blood pressure-lowering potassium, nearly 20% of your daily need — about double what you’d find in one large banana. In a recent 5-year study from the Netherlands, high-potassium diets were linked with lower rates of death from all causes in healthy adults age 55 and older.  Figs are also one of the best fruit sources of calcium, with nearly as much per serving as ½ cup of fat-free milk! You’re bones will love you for it.

Interested in fighting disease and protecting your heart but gagging on grapes?  Try lychee.  A French study published in the Journal of Nutrition found that lychee has the second-highest level of heart-healthy polyphenols of all fruits tested — nearly 15% more than the amount found in grapes. The compounds may also play an important role in the prevention of degenerative diseases such as cancer. “Polyphenols act like a force field, helping to repel foreign invaders from damaging your cells,” says David Grotto, RD, author of 101 Foods That Could Save Your Life!  As well, a recent test-tube and animal study from Sichuan University in China found that lychee may help to prevent the formation of breast cancer cells, thanks to the fruit’s powerful antioxidant activity.

Everyone wants great skin but who could eat so many oranges.  Not me, so I maintain my glow with guava.  One cup of guava has nearly five times as much skin-healing vitamin C (it’s a key ingredient in collagen production) as a medium orange (377 mg versus 83 mg) — that’s more than five times your daily need. Women who eat a lot of vitamin C-packed foods have fewer wrinkles than women who don’t eat many, according to a recent study that tracked the diets of more than 4,000 American women ages 40 to 74.  Guava can also protect against foodborne pathogens such as Listeria and Staph, according to research by microbiologists in Bangladesh. As well, a cooperative study by the USDA and Thai scientists found that guava has as much antioxidant activity as some well-known superfoods like blueberries and broccoli.

Apples are great at lowering cholesterol but terrible if you want to stay in the Garden of Eden.  So why not avoid the snake and eat asian pears.  One large Asian pear has nearly 10g of cholesterol-lowering fiber, about 40% of your daily need; a large apple has about half that much. People who ate the most fiber had the lowest total and “bad” cholesterol levels, according to a recent study of Baltimore adults.  The same researchers found that people who ate the most fiber also weighed the least and had the lowest body mass index and waist circumference.

Now I don’t want cancer but I also don’t want any more watermelon for crying out loud.  Now papaya’s have a weird seed thing going on too but it’s still one of the top sources of beta-crypoxanthin, which research suggests can protect against lung cancer. Like watermelon, it is also a rich source of lycopene which, research shows, protects against several different types of cancer, including stomach, endometrial, and prostate.  Papayas also promote healing.  When used topically it may help speed burn recovery thanks partly to the enzyme papain, which also aids in digestion. “Papain helps break down amino acids, the building blocks of protein,” says Elisa Zied, RD, an American Dietetic Association spokesperson.

So there you have it, variety in the world of fruit mundanity.  Remember, most of these alternatives can also be juiced or blended so there’s no more excuses.

Be Well,

Juicy Josh

877MyJuicer.com

(Name the song and artist that the title quote is from and get $5 off any purchase at 877MyJuicer.com.)

So most people would call it a smoothie nowadays but to me it is, always has been and always will be my power shake.  And I start my day with it religiously.  I’ll get into the ingredients in a bit but an explanation of my intentions first.

Being that for the last two weeks I’ve written some basic articles on juicing, I wanted to write one on the differences and benefits of blending specifically.  The problem is many of the same principles hold—blending is essentially another great way to get all the nutritious goodness from fruits and vegetables…  So how do I write this article without sounding redundant?  The best way as I see it is to lay out my breakfast; the Power Shake.

To juice or to blend?  Well, I’m not promoting one over the other.  There are several unique benefits to juicing.  For example, you can’t (or at least I wouldn’t) blend wheatgrass.   In the same way there are many things about blending that just can’t be substituted with a juicer.  For one, you can’t get phytochemicals by juicing because they live primarily in the rind or pulp of the produce.  You also can’t juice yummy grains or nuts but in a blender you can liquefy the stuff right into whatever concoction you come up with.  Not to mention with a good blender, in addition to shakes (smoothies) you can make soups, hummus, peanut butter and many other things.  So here’s the recipe for my power shake—just one example of  something delicious and nutritious that is only possible with a blender.

The Power Shake

• 1 Organic Banana
• A couple cups give or take of frozen organic blueberries/Strawberries/cherries/any berries you like (mix and match)
• A hand full of soaked raw pumpkin and sunflower seeds
• A tablespoon of organic peanut butter
• A tablespoon of Flax Seed oil (keep in the freezer)
• 1 serving of a live food liquid vitamin
• 1 serving of a super green food powder
• 1/2 serving of vanilla whey protein
• 1/2 serving of a complex brain protein powder which includes amino acids, GABA, Glutamine, and much more.
• A tablespoon of Psyllium husk fiber (mmm regularity ;o)…
• Organic apple juice mixed with any other you like (I do mango and coconut often).  Use enough to liquefy.

With a start like this the day can only go well.

Be well,

JuicyJosh

Bored with bananas?  Aggravated with apples?  Grumbling about grapes?  Me too. But if you’re like me you discipline yourself to stay healthy.  Is it any wonder most people have trouble sticking with a healthy diet?  Well I have some hope for you my friends.  Below are some alternatives to the old fruit standards to rejuvenate your palate while maintaining your healthy lifestyle.

What was Beethoven’s favorite fruit? Banananaaaas!  (That joke is better told out loud where the punch line can be sung to the tune of Beethoven’s 5th.)  But, I think even he would get sick of them after a while… although in truth I’m not sure how plentiful bananas were in 19th century Germany.  Anyway, bananas are not only a staple in every blended smoothie but essential for the maintenance of good blood pressure.  Nonetheless too many bananas can make anyone go “blah!”.  As an alternative, try fresh figs (no not in your smoothie). Six fresh figs have 891 mg of blood pressure-lowering potassium, nearly 20% of your daily need — about double what you’d find in one large banana. In a recent 5-year study from the Netherlands, high-potassium diets were linked with lower rates of death from all causes in healthy adults age 55 and older.  Figs are also one of the best fruit sources of calcium, with nearly as much per serving as ½ cup of fat-free milk! You’re bones will love you for it.

Interested in fighting disease and protecting your heart but gagging on grapes?  Try lychee.  A French study published in the Journal of Nutrition found that lychee has the second-highest level of heart-healthy polyphenols of all fruits tested — nearly 15% more than the amount found in grapes. The compounds may also play an important role in the prevention of degenerative diseases such as cancer. “Polyphenols act like a force field, helping to repel foreign invaders from damaging your cells,” says David Grotto, RD, author of 101 Foods That Could Save Your Life!  As well, a recent test-tube and animal study from Sichuan University in China found that lychee may help to prevent the formation of breast cancer cells, thanks to the fruit’s powerful antioxidant activity.

Everyone wants great skin but who could eat so many oranges.  Not me, so I maintain my glow with guava. One cup of guava has nearly five times as much skin-healing vitamin C (it’s a key ingredient in collagen production) as a medium orange (377 mg versus 83 mg) — that’s more than five times your daily need. Women who eat a lot of vitamin C-packed foods have fewer wrinkles than women who don’t eat many, according to a recent study that tracked the diets of more than 4,000 American women ages 40 to 74.  Guava can also protect against foodborne pathogens such as Listeria and Staph, according to research by microbiologists in Bangladesh. As well, a cooperative study by the USDA and Thai scientists found that guava has as much antioxidant activity as some well-known superfoods like blueberries and broccoli.

Apples are great at lowering cholesterol but terrible if you want to stay in the Garden of Eden.  So why not avoid the snake and eat asian pears.  One large Asian pear has nearly 10g of cholesterol-lowering fiber, about 40% of your daily need; a large apple has about half that much. People who ate the most fiber had the lowest total and “bad” cholesterol levels, according to a recent study of Baltimore adults.  The same researchers found that people who ate the most fiber also weighed the least and had the lowest body mass index and waist circumference.

Now I don’t want cancer but I also don’t want any more watermelon for crying out loud.  Now papaya’s have a weird seed thing going on too but it’s still one of the top sources of beta-crypoxanthin, which research suggests can protect against lung cancer. Like watermelon, it is also a rich source of lycopene which, research shows, protects against several different types of cancer, including stomach, endometrial, and prostate.  Papayas also promote healing.  When used topically it may help speed burn recovery thanks partly to the enzyme papain, which also aids in digestion. “Papain helps break down amino acids, the building blocks of protein,” says Elisa Zied, RD, an American Dietetic Association spokesperson.

So there you have it, variety in the world of fruit mundanity.  Remember, most of these alternatives can also be juiced or blended so there’s no more excuses.

Be Well,

Juicy Josh

877MyJuicer.com