Articles archived for July 2008

Today’s post is just a summary but I’m working on a series about juice fasting – including delicious recipes! So, be sure to subscribe to my feed via RSS or E-mail, so you won’t miss even one of the updates.

I came across this video and wanted to share it with my readers. A healthy gut and colon are crucial for a long, healthy life. If you’ve eaten a lot of processed meat, a juice fast is a great idea. It will help to cleanse your organs, colon, and give your digestion a much-needed rest. It’s also a very “zen” experience.

In the upcoming juice fasting series I’ll talk about a few different topics including:

• how you’ll feel those first few days

• what to expect during the process

• recipes to target the different organs, for energy, and even to move the bowels

• how your body can heal itself during a juice fast

• and lots more!

Take a look at this video first, though, and be thinking about what’s really important in life. Would you rather continue eating unhealthy, processed meats and other foods (and feeling the brain fog, stiffness all over, and suffering from constipation or diarrhea), or would you like to take hold of the reins and steer yourself toward a vibrant, nutritious, and long life? It’s the question I asked myself when I began my journey. I’ve now lost over 100 pounds and that’s only a small piece of the big ole rewards I’m reaping.

I’m going to share everything about my own juice fasting journey, including how my bladder and colon were healed, in my upcoming ebook. Once it’s ready, I’ll have it for sale on this site. I’m taking suggestions for the content, so if you have any questions you’d love to have the answers to regarding juice fasting, juice or smoothie recipes, or anything related to the topic, drop me a line, and I’ll consider incorporating your ideas.

Here’s to life, health, and healing with juices!

Oh, and don’t forget to watch the video! And, if you really want to make a life change after watching it, be sure to check out Gillian McKeith. I have several of her books and find them very helpful and inspiring.

Powdered vitamins are a wonderful way to add even more nutrients to your smoothies or juices. I know I’ve written a lot about smoothies as I am building this site. (Really, you’re getting the juices from the veggies and fruits once you blend them up.) But there will be tons of information and recipes for raw juices (juiced in the juicing machine) soon. They’re a huge part of my life. I’m also pulling my thoughts together for an ebook with smoothie and juice recipes, tips, and health benefits. Feel free to comment and give feedback as to what you’d like to see included in the ebook.

I simply adore using my creativity to throw together tasty smoothies. This morning I was in the mood for blueberries and I didn’t want this one to be really thick. If you like your smoothies to have the consistency of a milkshake, you’ll want to add less liquid. For this one, I added a whole cup of herbal tea. You’d probably only want to add 1/2 to 3/4 cup or so. Just add a little at a time, stopping for taste tests, until you get it just right for you. In fact, the cup of tea made this smoothie a little too “runny” for me, so I added about 2 tablespoons of raw, unsweetened coconut and blended it just a little more. That thickened it up right away!

Blueberry-Banana Smoothie Recipe:

• 1 cup blueberries, frozen
• 1 banana, ripe
• 2 tablespoons ground flax seeds
• 2 tablespoons raw, unsweetened coconut
• 1 scoop All One powdered vitamin
• 1/2 to 1 cup herbal tea or almond milk for liquid
• Few ice cubes (I only used half of the ice shown in the photo)

This recipe is overflowing with health benefits! The ground flax seeds and raw, unsweetened coconut are loaded with fiber which help promote a healthy bowel. Having healthy bowel movements has been known to help prevent cancer and disease. Blueberries are small treasures bursting at the seams with antioxidants and they’ve been known to improve eyesight and fight cancer as well. You get tons of omegas from the ground flax seeds–a nutrient a lot of people are deficient in. Omegas help your hair, skin, and eyes. Have dry, itchy skin? Dry eyes? Unhealthy hair? Add the ground flax seeds to your smoothies! I try to get in as many as I can each day. That’s why I love incorporating the ground flax into my smoothies, steel cut oats, and any other ways I can think up.

It turned out to be a sweet beauty with just the right consistency I was going after and really filled me up. I love the “full feeling” I get from smoothies. It helps me not want to splurge on treats that are just empty calories and have no health benefits.

So, do you like your smoothies really thick or a sort of runny? Did you realize how many health benefits are in foods like raw, unsweetened coconut and ground flax seeds? Are you someone who has been living on donuts for breakfast but want to feel energized, healthy, and ready for the day–instead of bloated, groggy, constipated, and sleepy before you even start your day? Join in the comments!

And keep your eyes open. In the future I’ll be selling an ebook on this topic (at a fair price).

Here’s to life, health, and healing with (raw) juices!

By

Michele L. Tune

I’ve been using the Jack LaLanne Juicer for a few years now. I can’t really say I have many complaints about it. I do wish it were easier to clean! But that’s the price you have to pay for health, I suppose. It’s a lot of work to prepare the veggies and fruits, but it’s a price I’m willing to pay. Considering I’ve lost over 100 pounds (without surgery or pills) and have improved my health dramatically I’d say it’s worth it, wouldn’t you?

This Jack LaLanne Juicer is a real beauty, isn’t it? I think so! I’ve tried a few other brands and have noticed with this one more of the juice is extracted, which results in less pulp. There’s still a lot of pulp but I save that for homemade veggie burgers and muffins so it doesn’t go to waste. (I really do try to stay away from all things processed as often as possible–including veggie burgers, etc.)

I’m a vegetarian so a lot of my meals have come from this beauty. She’s “done me proud!” I’ve enjoyed everything from morning juices that rejuvenate and waken my sleepy body and soothe and fill my tummy to long juice fasts which have been very healing to my body and mind. I’ve loved getting so much use out of this juicer.

One of my favorite morning juices is raw spinach and carrots. Peel and chop 2 – 4 big carrots and throw in a handful of fresh spinach leaves. You’ll have a tasty drink that will send vitamins rushing through your veins! The carrot juice really does make it sweet and very pleasurable to drink. I would choose this raw, juicy combo over soda or a latté any day!

Have you ever made a raw spinach/carrot juice? Did you enjoy it? Could you feel the nutrients charging through your body, energizing you and feeding your body and mind? Do you have a Jack LaLanne Juicer? Have you used it a lot or is it still in the box or cabinet collecting dust? Let us know in the comments. Speak up… you know you want to! Let’s talk about juice…

Here’s to life, health, and healing with (raw) juices!

I love this smoothie! It’s amazing. The flax really gives it a great flavor and by using the herbal tea in the place of milk, you’re really giving your body a healthy kick of antioxidants that will give you strength, flush your kidneys and bladder, and make you proud of yourself for incorporating healthful drinks into your daily regimen.

I felt like a smoothie today (like most every day) but this time I wanted something simple, filling, and not as thick as my normal smoothies are. So, I decided I’d just have banana and flax. I called it “Banana-Flax Filler Upper” because it really filled me up! I didn’t think it would be quite so volumous because I added more liquid than I usually do. I think the fiber from the flax had something to do with that.

Banana-Flax Filler Upper Fruit Smoothie Recipe:

• 2 bananas, broken into chunks and frozen
• 2 tablespoons ground flax seeds
• 1 cup herbal tea (I used a blend I made myself from nettle leaf, yerbe mate, dandelion root, burdock root, and milk thistle seed)

Tip:

If you really prefer a richer taste, you could use rice, soy, or almond milk. I’m thinking almond milk would give this one the best taste. Also, if you’d like it to be really thick you should only add 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup of the tea.

Have you tried the banana/flax combo? What did you use as your liquid? Do you ever add tea as your liquid in your smoothies? What’s your favorite smoothie? Would you rather have a fruit or veggie smoothie or a raw juice? Share with us in the comments. I can’t wait to read your answers!

Here’s to life, health, and healing with (raw) juices!

By

Michele L. Tune

Photo Credit: Me (I realize this one is hard to see. I’ll fix another blueberry bliss smoothie soon and update the photo.)

Who doesn’t love blueberries, right? They’re delicious, good for our eyesight, loaded with antioxidants, and so very healthy for us! I was in the mood for blueberries when I got up this morning, so I decided on a juicy blueberry bliss smoothie. That’s what I decided to call it. This one was all fruit – no spinach at all!.

The photo really doesn’t do it justice. Next time I make this one, I’ll sit the glass somewhere besides the counter so the color will really pop. It was beautiful– rich, smooth, and so delish!

I’m so glad I have a quality blender!

What did I put in this one?

• Blueberries, of course!
• Also, I added banana
• herbal tea (liver cleaner this time)
• ground flax seed
• and raw, unsweetened coconut

I can’t say enough good things about this one! It was a volumous, filling breakfast that carried me through to lunch with no problem. I know I’ll have it again soon.

Tip:
I like to break my bananas into chunks and freeze them in freezer bags. Then I just throw a few pieces into the blender and it takes the place of ice cubes.

Have you ever had a juicy blueberry smoothie? Do you add bananas to your blueberry smoothies? What’s your favorite raw juice or smoothie? Let us know in the comments!

Here’s to life, health, and healing with (raw) juices!