Why Juice?

Why Juice?

Why not?!  Juicing is a way to get a straight “shot in the arm” of nutrients.  I have found, for myself that the more living foods I consume, the better I feel, the less cravings I encounter.  Why is this?  I fully believe that when we consume dead foods, or processed foods, the less nutritionally fed we are.  Our bodies will begin to scream for the nutrients it’s lacking.  This comes in the way of cravings!  The more alkalizing foods (refer to THIS alkaline/acid chart) we eat or juice, the quicker we will absorb the nutrients our body needs.

One of the biggest questions in regard to juicing concern the fiber that is being removed.  That can’t be good?  We need that fiber, right?  Yes, we need fiber and should be consuming it in the form of eating these foods as well, but the benefit to juicing or even a juice fast provide our digestive system a break.  Pulling the fiber from the vegetables and fruits frees the nutrients . 

In the book pH Miracles by Robert and Shelley Young, they describe the benefits of juicing, “When you “drink your vegetables,” your body is getting minerals, chlorophyll, and enzymes, so vegetable juices are very alkalizing.  They also have an important cleansing effect in the intestines.  Juicing vegetables you might otherwise cook also provides enzymatic relief to the digestive organs.”  These juices go straight into the blood stream and provide us with "instant" nutrition!  

What to juice for optimal nutrition?  Again, referring to the alkaline/acid lists found all over the Internet and in books provide you with a list of foods that are alkaline.  When our bodies are more alkaline based, versus acid, we are healthy or more alive.  When our bodies become acidic, our bodies become a place where disease and decay thrive.  So, when it comes to juicing we are going for alkalinity.  This comes in the form of vegetables and very few fruits.  As you consume more vegetables juices, this will provide your body with a large amount of alkaline based nutrients and you will feel awesome!  I’m not gonna lie, the first time you choke down a “green” drink, you’re gonna feel like it might all come right back up!  So, start with equal amounts of apples, carrots and greens in the form of kale, spinach, swiss chard, romaine lettuce, etc.  Juicing a lemon with my green drink is a must!  It always helps mine to taste better.  In time, you will be able to lesson the amount if apples and carrots and add more greens.  

I juice a 32 oz green drink every morning and it consists of a variety of greens; kale, spinach, beet greens, and swiss chard.  I will sometimes add celery and/or a cucumber, cabbage, and a green pepper.  I love cilantro/parsley as well.  I add 1 green apple and 1 lemon to my 32 oz drink.  I rarely add carrots.  Carrots are alkaline but also naturally very sweet and can still increase your blood sugar.  Juicing grasses like wheat grass is also beneficial, although I haven’t had the time or patience to investigate growing my own and certainly don’t have the time or money to buy it.  I have read loads about the benefits though and encourage you to do that if you know how.

I also occasionally add 1 garlic clove, ginger root (peeled), or radishes to my juice.  Sometimes the spicy takes away the monotony of  the heavy greens.  Although, I have been juicing for a year and love variety, I NEVER tire of my green juice every morning.  If I happen to miss my green drink in the morning, my body feels more tired and I feel more cravings later in the day.

A word about Organic…I do all I can to buy organic.  I know there is much controversy concerning organic, however, I still buy it, wash it well and have peace of mind knowing I’m making the best choice I can. I also try to buy organic produce stateside and NOT from Mexico.  I cannot source this, but have heard that Mexico sometimes uses human waste as fertilizer (yuck, I know). I cannot afford to buy everything organic.  I work with my local grocery store and the produce manager there is wonderful about ordering anything I need organic and gives me great prices!  The foods I buy organic are; apples, romaine lettuce, swiss chard, kale, and carrots.  I buy these buy the box every week.  We juice it, eat it for almost every meal and LOVE it!

I will also be posting some great information about what kind of juicer is best? Also, information about the power of a juice fast.  Stay tuned!

There are some excellent books, documentaries and other sources about the power of juicing I recommend:

The Gerson Therapy

pH Miracle

Fat, Sick, &Nearly Dead

The Alkaline Sisters (yummy recipes) - 

Green Smoothie Girl (Blending vs. Juicing) 

Dill Citrus Salad

We buy oranges, grapefruit, avocado, lemons, romaine and kale by the box every week from a local grocery store that gives us only a 10-20% markup versus the 40-50 % when paying per head of lettuce or per pound for fruit.  That being said, I never worry about how much of this stuff we eat.  The kids eat fruits and veggies freely because that's all we have in the house!  I am always trying to put variations on our green salads.  I also have dill growing in my garden and it is coming on in full force!  I'm love this herb!  It smells so heavenly!  My girls will gather flowers in the yard along with the flowers from the dill.  They think they are so pretty :)  

This recipe is one variation of many that I threw together for lunch the other day.  Many people ask me what I eat every day.  I eat fruits and veggies, lots and lots of them!  I usually juice in the morning before my workout (I will post about juicing shortly), eat a piece of fruit after my workout.  For lunch, I eat a huge salad with some kind of variation of fruits and veggies, sometimes beans, in the form of hummus or a quick chili (that post upcoming as well!).  For dinner, I again eat a huge salad, as big as the plate above with whatever I make for dinner that night.  If I'm hungry in the evening I might have a piece of fruit but usually I'm very full.  In all my reading, healing the body begins and almost ends with fresh, live foods, namely fruits and vegetables!  (Take a quick look again at the Alkaline Food List, most of the alkaline foods are vegetables.  The more alkaline your body, the less sickness and degenerative disease).  Legumes and grains are important but not as important as fresh fruits and veggies.  NEVER feel guilty about eating too many of them!  I haven't and I've had so much success in how I feel!

Dill Citrus Salad

2-3 cups fresh romaine lettuce, chopped

Finely shredded Cabbage, to your liking

1 grapefruit

1 orange

1 avocado

1/4 cup chopped nuts, your choice

2 -3 tablespoons fresh dill

Assemble your romaine and cabbage on your plate.  Set aside.  Slice your grapefruit and orange in half.  Cut the skin off of one half of the orange and grapefruit, then slice the fruit on your salad.  Peel and chop the avocado into chunks.  Chop your preferred choice of nuts, (I used walnuts, but I usually like almonds).  Finely chop the dill.  Place the avocado, nuts and dill on top of your fruit and greens.  For Dressing: take your remaining half of grapefruit and orange and squeeze the juice over the top of your salad.  

Serves 1-2

Whole Wheat Naan

Naan bread originally came from India...but it is found in many middle eastern countries and is quickly becoming popular here. Dan and I first tried this yummy flat bread at a local Indian food restaurant several months ago. We came home and decided to try to find a Naan bread recipe. We found several, but many contain yogurt. We finally found one that used almond or soy milk instead. We made that recipe and liked it a lot and it soon became a staple in our home. I have a bread recipe that I have used for 10 years or so and I make bread for my kids once each week, and I decided to try that recipe for making Naan and guess what?! It worked! I like the simplicity of it. Keep in mind, many of my recipes will be HUGE. I have 5 kids and when I make food, I'm not sure how to make a small amount, so if you want you can always request a recipe that will make only a few or you can half this recipe so it works for you.

As I mentioned this is my bread recipe. I will post my bread recipe right after this with pics but it is the same recipe I use for so many things...pizza crust, naan, bread, breadsticks and cinnamon rolls! I will be posting pics of all of these things today!

One more quick note about Naan bread. I like mine plain, but my kids love theirs flavored with spices. There are so many kinds of Naan bread....some infuse theirs with garlic or stuff them with meats, veggies or potatoes. This is a very simple recipe, so play around with it! We have used this recipe to stuff with hummus and veggies, taco's, spread with coconut oil and honey...the possibilities are endless. Hope you enjoy!

Whole Wheat Naan
5 cups warm water (I like my water on the warmer side, maybe shower hot)
1/4 cup honey or agave
1/4 cup oil
1 Tablespoon salt
6-7 cups whole wheat flour (*NOTE 12-14 cups flour will be used total, see below!)
2 heaping tablespoons saf-instant yeast (this is the BEST yeast! Make sure you add the yeast after the 6-7 cups flour, as your warm water might kill the yeast if added straight to the water)



When making this bread, it is VERY important to add the ingredients in this order! Mix it well for about 1 minute.

ADD: 6-7 more cups whole wheat flour ONE cup at a time until the dough cleans the sides of your mixing bowl. Knead 6-8 minutes.

This next part is my daughter, Hailey's job! She loves to roll it out and cook it, and it's so nice because it takes about an hour to roll and lightly cook all the dough.

Using a large griddle or frying pan, roll out your individual pieces of dough as seen below. I'm not going to give you a precise measurement for these because how big you make them is up to you!

Mix about 1 cup of softened coconut oil with about 1 teaspoon of basil, onion powder, garlic powder, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. (this part is optional!) If you choose not to put any spices on your Naan (remember, I like mine plain), then just spray this side with nonstick spray before flipping.

Spray your frying pan or griddle with nonstick spray and put your Naan pieces in the pan. They will begin to bubble a little. While they are cooking on one side, brush on your coconut oil or spray with nonstick spray if you want them plain.

After about a minute or two, flip your Naan. Watch them closely! Our pan doesn't cook these very fast, so we don't worry about them burning.

This is how they look when flipped. These make 24-36. It really depends on how big you make them. They keep well for about a week at room temp. We keep our in the fridge and they should be good for about a month. Ours are usually gone in a few days!

*Lately I have been making these with spelt. Spelt is an ancient grain and in reading the book The pH Miracle, Robert Young, the author talks about using grains that are less acidic and how that influences the pH balance in your body. Basically cancer and sickness can't thrive in a body that is more alkaline. Most all vegetables are alkaline. Very few grains and beans are alkaline. Soy is alkaline. I have tried to make a few changes to help with this. Spelt is actually a +.05 on this ALKALINE FOOD CHART. There are many food charts that will tell you which foods are alkaline and which are acidic. Some are conflicting. There is a chart in the pH Miracle book but I also like this chart by the Alkaline Sisters. This is a great blog with some fantastic recipes! I will write more about this in upcoming posts and will label this so it is easy for you to find for future reference.