Articles with the organic Tag

Note: For my raw purist readers, this soup isn’t raw. As I’ve mentioned before (numerous times), I’m currently very high raw, but am not 100% raw at this time.

I live for fresh, raw juices and smoothies and veggies and fruit, nuts and seeds – but sometimes a gal just needs a bowl of yummy, herbalicious, flavorful (hot) soup on a cold winter’s day.

Enter: Rainbow Chard + Butter Bean Soup

This recipe was inspired by “The Clean Eating Mama” blog, from her recent post: White Bean and Kale Soup (Thank you, Tasha!)

Rainbow Chard + Butter Bean Soup

Ingredients:

• 6 cups water
• 1 can cream of celery soup
• 2 cans butter beans
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• bunch of frozen Rainbow Chard (that was from my garden)
• about 1  -  2 cups of certified organic whole wheat couscous
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil (I used Tropical Traditions Certified Organic Virgin Coconut Oil)
• 1 red onion, chopped
• 1 tablespoon oregano
• 1 tablespoon basil
• 1 tablespoon parsley
• sprinkle of paprika
• garlic salt to taste (I used Himala Salt Certified Organic brand.)
• freshly ground flax (for sprinkling on top)

Directions:

1. Add the beans, tomatoes, rainbow chard, frozen peas, and cream of celery soup to your pot.
2. Pour in 6 cups water (or broth – I didn’t have any).
3. Add herbs, onion, garlic (or garlic salt like me).
4. Add the coconut oil.
5. Turn heat to medium.
6. Once the frozen veggies are tender and the soup has really heated up, add the couscous.
7. Cover with a lid.
8. Simmer for half an hour or so.
9. Sprinkle with freshly ground flax and enjoy!

Ooooooohhh, yeah!

Kale is one of my all-time favorite veggies, so I’m definitely going to make this soup again when I have the ingredients Tasha used in her version.

OpenSky Alert!

I love freshly ground flax SO much, I’m selling whole flax seeds so you can grind your own. That’s right: You can buy organic flax seed in my OpenSky shop – for only $7.49 per pound!!!

Shipping info:

“We will ship orders anywhere within the United States and Canada. At this time, we do not ship to other locations. When your order ships, you will receive a shipment notification via email that will include your tracking number.” – OpenSky

Contest Alert

HiHoRosie’s Place is giving away an ice cream maker.

And don’t forget to enter my latest contest for a $30 gift certificate from Glass Dharma!

Your Turn

What about you? Are you a “soup person” or do you detest soup? Do you love making a big pot of soup and savoring it day after day, or do you just get a craving for it once in a while and either buy soup from a restaurant so you won’t have leftovers, or eat it out of a can or at someone else’s house?

Raw foodie (purists): Do you splurge on hot soup once in a while during the colder months, or do you stick to raw soups only?

All of you, chime in – I adore reading your thoughts!!

And… I’m planning on posting about raw soup in an upcoming – so stay tuned! Plus, the delivery man has been kind to me and I’m going to give you a sneak peek at what he brought!

If you’d like to be featured in Readers Recipes, just shoot me an e-mail and you might see your recipe featured here, at Healing with (Raw) Juices! (It doesn’t have to be 100% raw or require a dehydrator or blender, etc. There’s a wide range of folks who read this blog and we want to share a little something for everyone – so long as it’s on the healthier side and doesn’t involve meat.)

And don’t forget to enter my latest giveaway: Tropical Traditions Coconut Peanut Butter!

Happy weekend, y’all! Hope your weekend has been as fantabulous as mine! Nothing special going on here, but I’ve been safe, warm, happy, and hard at work trying to make this blog even better for y’all in 2010 – and beyond!!

On to the reader’s recipes…

Note: The readers featured today emailed me their recipes. I asked their permission to post them here and they gave their blessing.

From reader, Dyan

Dyan says:

“Just an avid reader of your posts, who like the rest of the world, am trying to eat healthy. A friend of mine gave me the juicer and I almost choked when I put in 1 grapefruit, 1 orange, and an apple and got one glass of juice. LOL No way could I just throw out that pulp. So I just kept freezing it until I could figure out what to do with it. I had this old dehydrator gathering dust in the basement that I had used for jerky, but that was all I had done with it. While shopping, my little girl wanted a box of fruit rollups that were 2.89 for 6 little rolls! That’s when it hit me….I had this whole arrangement of pulp at home that I would experiment with. They are what I call Frankenstein rolls. There is a little bit of everything in them. If you do a lot of juice I suppose you could keep all your pulp separate. But I throw it all in together…And you can put as much or as little sugar in it, to your liking.”

“Dyan’s Frankenstein rolls”

“My favorite thing to do is every time I juice fruit, I put the pulp in a bowl and put in the freezer.”

Instructions:

1. After I have several bowls, I defrost them all and puree it in a blender with a little bit of sugar and cinnamon.
2. Get it really smooth and then spread out in an even layer about 1/4 inch thick on the plastic tray.
3. Dehydrate for about 8-10 hrs and you have a fruit roll-up just like you get out of the stores, but made with real fruit!

Delicious as a little healthy snack, and a great way to recycle the pulp.

Enjoy!

From reader, Kim

Kim says:

“Its impressive  all the new healthy things I’m making with these tools that my picky-eater kids (ages 3 and 1) love to eat each day. I hope to make the crackers soon.

“Kim’s Fruit/Veggie Roll-Ups”

I have a new Excalibur Dehydrator and have a great fruit/veggie roll up combination my young kids LOVE! 

Ingredients:

• 3 medium pears
• 2 small organic carrots
• 1/4 cup grape  juice
• sliver of lemon

Instructions:

1. Blend in a high powered blender (I have a Vita-Mix )
2. Spread out thin on dehydrator sheets, dehydrate at 135 for 4-6 hours
3. Peel, and enjoy!

Thanks, ladies!

Have you tried any of these recipes? Or something similar? Do you have a dehydrator? Is it an Excalibur Dehydrator or some other kind? Do you own a Vita-Mix? Or just dream of one (like me)?

If you’d like to be featured in Readers Recipes, just shoot me an e-mail and you might see your recipe featured here, at Healing with (Raw) Juices!

Mind-boggling fact!

And… here’s  a mind-boggling fact of the week:

“The first-ever large-scale study of organic farming and livestock conducted by the USDA finds that organic food is a $3-billion-a-year industry.

A recent article on the coming touchscreen technology for vending machines notes that the junk food dispensers are a $30-billion-a-year industry.

Ten times as big as organic food.”

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/green/index#ixzz0esNbEh6F

And don’t forget to enter my latest giveaway: Tropical Traditions Coconut Peanut Butter!

Disclaimer:  This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase anything once you click on the links, I will receive a small commission. Thank you for your support!

Reference:

San Francisco Chronicle

Disclaimer: Tropical Traditions provided me with a free sample of this product to review, and I was under no obligation to review it if I so chose.  Nor was I under any obligation to write a positive review or sponsor a product giveaway in return for the free product.

Updated to add the winner

I’m excited to announce that we have a lucky winner who’ll receive a 16 ounce jar of Tropical Traditions Coconut Peanut Butter!!

The contest was fantabulous – there ended up being 367 entries! Thank you all so much!!

As always, I used random.org to select a winner, and “Mr. Random” chose #186.

Which means Melina won!!!

Winning comment:

I’ll email you soon, Melina!

Congratulations!!

*********************************************************************

*********************************************************************

Glad y’all enjoyed my review of Tropical Traditions Coconut Peanut Butter – I know y’all have been waiting for this one!

Recap

You might remember when I used coconut peanut butter as a fantabulous ingredient in my:

Coconut Peanut Butter Honey Overnight Oats

Or when I spruced up my banana soft serve with some coconut peanut butter and ended up with:

Coconut Peanut Butter Cream

You’ll notice that above in the overnight oats, the coconut peanut butter actually took on a creamy consistency, but in the coconut peanut butter cream (banana soft serve with cream of coconut added), when I drizzled the coconut peanut butter over it, it was “runny” (which is a good thing, in my opinion!) but then it hardened up. And boy, was it FUN to eat that way! LOVED it!

Here’s what Tropical Traditions has to say about the consistency situation:

Note: In warmer temperatures the oils will separate at the top of the jar. Simply mix them back in. If refrigerated, this product will become hard and difficult to spread. It is recommended to store this product out of the light in a cool place.

Updated to add

I recently made  Inside-Out (Coconut) Peanut Butter Cups (!!!)

What You’ll Win

Contest Rules

There are only TWO required entries for this contest – but if you REALLY want to win, there are several (fun) extra ways you can enter following these required options:

Required entry #1: Subscribe to the Tropical Traditions email Sales Newsletter here: http://www.tropicaltraditions.com/subscribe_for_special_sales.cfm and come back to this post and leave a comment, letting me know that you did.

Required entry #2: Visit www.tropicaltraditions.com and come back here and leave a comment, letting me know which product (or recipe) is something you’d love to try.

AND… If you want to put in a little extra effort….

(and receive a LOT of extra entries – aka chances to win) keep reading…

Numerous ways to get extra entries!

Note: The reason I ask you to leave a comment for EACH, SEPARATE entry is because I enter the total number of comments at random.org once the contest has ended – and each comment represents your entry number.

• Become a fan of Tropical Traditions on Facebook. Then, come back here and leave a comment to let me know you did that.

• Become a fan of Raw Juice Girl on Facebook. Leave a comment on this post saying you did.

• Follow Healing with (Raw) Juices on Facebook’s Networked Blogs. Leave a comment on this post saying that you did.

• Do you use Twitter? Follow @RawJuiceGirl on Twitter. Comment on this post, saying you did.

• Follow @TropTraditions on Twitter and tweet the following:

I’m following @TropTraditions because of @RawJuiceGirl’s awesome review of your products!

Leave a comment on this post that you did that.

• Tweet about this contest and then leave a comment with your Twitter name.

Use this tweet:

@RawJuiceGirl is giving away a 16 oz jar of coconut peanut butter from @TropTraditions. Enter now: http://tinyurl.com/yhqkzxn <— #contest

Then, leave a comment that you did – with your Twitter name or status link.

FOR EVEN MORE ENTRIES: Re-tweet this contest as many times as you like and come back and leave a different comment for each time you tweet – no limit on how many! Get those extra entries, folks!

UPDATED TO ADD: I’m amending the “tweet as many times as you’d like” rule due to trying to maintain overall fairness of everyone involved. I hope you all understand.

Amended tweet rule: For tweets, you may tweet about the contest up to 5 times a day, but each tweet must be 1-2 hours or so after the previous one. (Thanks so much for understanding my position of keeping things fair and square, y’all!)

• Subscribe to Healing with (Raw) Juices via e-mail (sign up here). Then comment and let me know you did.

• Subscribe to Healing with (Raw) Juices via RSS (sign up here). Then leave a comment telling me you did.

OR

• Subscribe to my brand-new newsletter (sign up here). Then comment here and let me know you did.

• Do you Plurk? Plurk about this contest and leave a comment with your Plurk URL.

• Share this contest on your blog, linking back to this post. (The pingback will be counted as an extra entry.) If you don’t see your pingback, just email me at healingwithjuices at gmail.com and let me know. It may have gone to spam for some reason.

• Add me as a friend on Wellsphere . Leave a comment saying that you did.

• Add me as a friend on RawFu. Leave a comment saying that you did.

• Add me as a friend on Give it to Me Raw. Leave a comment saying that you did.

• Subscribe to Raw Juice Girl’s YouTube channel. Leave a comment saying that you did.

• Are you a Stumbler? Stumble and review any post you want to–just leave the link to your SU review in (its own) comment.

• Do you have a Digg account? Digg one of my posts. Take your pick. Come back and leave a comment on this post with a link to your Digg post.

• Leave a comment on the review post:  Coconut Peanut Butter: Tropical Traditions Review. Come back here and leave a comment letting me know you did that.

• If you share this contest on Facebook or some other social media account, I’ll accept that as an extra entry. Just share the link to this contest on that site and leave the link here in the comments to let me know you did.

• Follow me or friend me on any of the social media sites for an extra entry. If you follow or friend Lisa (or me) on more than one social media site, simply add an extra comment sharing that you did.

NOTE: Please leave a comment for each entry (tweet, plurk, etc.) because each comment will be counted as a number when I enter the total number of comments at Random.org once the contest ends.

This contest is open to U.S. and Canada residents only

Sorry international readers!

Oh, and I’ll be using Random.org to choose the winner.

Contest ends Friday, February 19. I’ll accept comments until midnight. (Central Time). Winner will be posted the next morning.

That gives you TWO WEEKS to get your entries in. Hurry and spread the word. The more entries you have, the higher your chances of winning a one-pound bag of these beauties!!!

Can’t wait?

If you can’t wait for the contest to be over, you can nab a deal on this golden treat – it’s currently 50% off of its regular retail price of $14.99 – but hurry, the sale ends February 7th!

Referral Option

If you’d like to join the Tropical Traditions Healthy Buyer’s Club, visit www.healthybuyersclub.com/orderform.cfm

And enter Raw Juice Girl’s User ID number: 4845073

By following these steps, you will receive a complimentary copy of the book Virgin Coconut Oil: How it has changed people’s lives and how it can change yours! by Brian and Marianita Shilhavy.

Your sponsor (that’d be me! ) will receive a coupon for a complimentary gift to redeem on their next order.

You may view the current complimentary gift being offered here: http://www.tropicaltraditions.com//referral_program.htm

Further instructions can be found here.

Thanks again to www.tropicaltraditions.com!

Disclaimer: Tropical Traditions provided me with a free sample of this product to review, and I was under no obligation to review it if I so chose.  Nor was I under any obligation to write a positive review or sponsor a product giveaway in return for the free product.

Hi, y’all!

I hope you enjoyed my interview with Lisa Ann Turkel and my review of ShimmerOrganics Mandarin and Honey mask! The contest was fun, but it had to end sooner or later.

Mr. Random (random.org ) chose the winner. He says comment #11 won…

And… comment #11 says

Upcoming Posts

Yoga + Warm Lemon Water = a (Very) Happy Raw Juice Girl

Plus, more contests, reviews, and YouTube videos!

Just stopping by? Have you entered my latest contest (over a $200 value)? Or maybe you’d like to try your hand at my chocolate-covered raisin hemp balls or raw tuna fish-less salad. 

You might remember the Excalibur dehydrator I was sent to review. I’ve been experimenting with it – just hadn’t posted about my adventures. Why? I’ve had quite a few “Raw Flops" goin’ on around here. Yep.

Upon a reader’s request (thanks, Beth!) I’ll be sharing my (un)cooking disasters in the new category: Raw Flops. But don’t worry, I have some rawsome stuff comin’ up, too!

And… here’s a story written in third person. Why? I guess I just kinda felt like writing about myself that way as I reflected on this dehydrating disaster.

Raw Juice Girl’s Flax Flop

Once upon a time, in a raw fantasy world, lived a gal who dreamt of creating the bestest raw flax seed crackers ever. She put her flax seeds to soakin’ while thinking about all those health benefits: omegas, manganese, fiber, folate, copper, magnesium, phosphorus, and Vitamin B6.

Those beautiful little seeds gettin’ their soak on just screamed healthy heart, blood pressure, bones, hair, skin, nails, colon, and so much more—like fighting cancer, diabetes, dry eyes, and hot flashes.

Oh my!

<insert dreamy (healthy) eyes here>

The Raw Food Revolution Diet , by Cherie Soria (sent to her by The Book Publishing Company for review – aka as in free sample/Raw Juice Girl didn’t buy it) had a raw flax seed cracker recipe that sounded fantabulous!

It felt like DAYS waiting the 8 hours for those seeds to soak. *looks around* Where’d Raw Juice Girl’s patience go? Someone stole it!

Cherie’s recipe called for 4 cups of chopped bell pepper (or tomato). Raw Juice Girl had neither so she used raw broccoli slaw instead. Oh, joy!

Next up, raw zucchini. Nope, none of that either! Enter: diced, raw apple.

Blend it all up, Cherie says.

Um, it looks like puke. That’s what she said.

Gotta have some seasoning! Yay for HimalaSalt samples (again, free  – yummy – samples Raw Juice Girl was sent for review)…

Organic garlic salt

Pink Himalayan Sea Salt

Stir it all up!

Smear it on the dehydrator tray (with a liner).

Close-up

Score the mixture to make separated cracker lines.

The house smelled sooooooooooooooooo good while these crackers were (un)cooking!

105* for 12 hours, Cherie says

Raw Juice Girl leaped out of bed the next morning, with bright eyes and pep to her step. She ran into the kitchen like a child on Christmas morning expecting shiny, new flax seed crackers ready for flippin’.

Imagine her surprise when she opened the Dehydrator door and found this:

Flax Crackers Stuck to Wax Paper!!!

Raw Juice Girl wanted to just cry…

And the saddest part? Raw Juice Girl managed to break off a teeny piece of cracker (without waxed paper attached!) and it tasted REALLY good.

*sigh*

The moral of this story, folks, is that Raw Juice Girl shoulda used parchment paper or waited ‘till she got some Excalibur non-stick, reusable sheets.

She was so blasted mad at that wax paper, she thought about eatin’ it but didn’t have an appetite after finding her ruined crackers! Humph!

See, Raw Juice Girl is real. She makes mistakes. She doesn’t have all the raw food stuff figured out. She’ll be your guinea pig, though. You can learn from her mistakes and get a few laughs along the way…

Stay tuned for more Raw Flops. This is a new category featuring Raw Juice Girl’s bloopers. You won’t want to miss a single post!

Resources:
WH Foods: Flax Seeds

If you’re just tuning in, be sure to enter Healing With (Raw) Juices’ latest contest for TWO containers  of Amazing Grass – one is CHOCOLATE! (Thursday, October 22 is the last day to enter.)  You can also use the code hwj (small J as in JUICE) for a 15% discount on your order, if you can’t wait. And a BIG thank you to Amazing Grass for sponsoring!

Blog Action Day 2009

Today, Thursday, October 15th, 2009, is Blog Action Day. This year, the theme is Climate Change. The EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) has so many amazing resources you can research, read, and learn until your eyes cross and you won’t make it through all of the information. Do check it out!

EPA: Climate Change

Grow Your Own Veggies!

I thought it would be fun to blog about ways to specifically be more eco-friendly regarding the topic of this blog: raw food and juicing, and my life on an Amish farm.

Here are a few ideas for leaving less of a footprint on our beautiful planet:

• Recycle your juice pulp by using it in veggie burgers, muffins, crackers, or even by adding it to compost or feeding it to your chickens.
• Support local farmers and farmer’s markets to cut down on the transport of things you can buy locally and help reduce greenhouse gases.
• Or, better yet: grow your own (organic) garden!
• Use handcrafted soap made by local people.
• Also use that handcrafted soap as your shampoo–you’ll eliminate those plastic bottles shampoo comes in!
• Invest in a quality, reusable water canteen. The amount of plastic bottles you’ll be contributing to landfills will drop dramatically!
• Eat less meat.
• Walk or ride your bike as often as possible.
• Hang your clothes out to dry instead of using your dryer–especially on beautiful days!
• Buy good, used clothes instead of new.
• Purchase reusable bags and keep them in your car. It will cut down–or eliminate–your need for plastic grocery sacks.
• Reuse the plastic grocery sacks you do end up with as trash bags for small waste baskets.
• Apply raw ingredients from your own kitchen to your face and body–instead of beauty products containing harsh chemicals.

All of these ideas are things I actually apply to my own life, as I try to walk softly and cherish what beauty of Mother Earth we have left…

“Some greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide occur naturally and are emitted to the atmosphere through natural processes and human activities. Other greenhouse gases (e.g., fluorinated gases) are created and emitted solely through human activities.” — EPA

Are you worried about climate change? Do you try to live an eco-friendly lifestyle in order to help preserve our beautiful planet? Or do you go through each day without a thought to how your actions are effecting our environment? What juicy tips do you have to share? Do tell!

Oh, and check out my mom’s Blog Action Day post: Eco-Friendly Cooking + Blog Action Day!

Also, check out Mysti’s Climate Change post (from Dining Family)!

Want to keep up with Raw Juice Girl’s adventures + more?  Subscribe to Healing with Juices’ Feed for free updates. You can get free updates to your email as well (sign up here). You’ll also receive inspiration, juice and smoothie recipes, and juice fasting tips and encouragement to help keep you motivated toward your ultimate health–and more personal posts about stuff that’s going on in my life. I’ve also been working on a recipe page where you’ll be able to easily locate recipes for raw juices, smoothies, and now dehydrator creations!

References:

www.epa.gov

Comments are now closed as this contest is over. Thanks!

First, I’d love to thank the folks at Amazing Grass for sending me lovely samples. Not only did they generously share a variety of their Amazing Grass products with me, they are also sponsoring this contest so that one lucky winner will have the opportunity to try a “Green SuperFood Best of Both Combo” which provides you with a two month supply of  the Amazing Grass Green SuperFood and Chocolate Green SuperFood drink powders.

AND Amazing Grass has given Healing With (Raw) Juice readers a fantabulous discount: Just use the coupon code ‘hwj’ at check out — you’ll save 15% off your order!!!

Chocolate Green SuperFood

I’ve mentioned before that you can just call me Chocolate Girl. I’m a HUGE fan of chocolate, always have been! So, what is there NOT to like about a chocolate powder that’s also healthy for you, that you can add to smoothies, oats, or other recipes? Chocolate Green SuperFood is a fantabulous way to get your daily dose of chocolate – and consume a powerhouse of nutrition!

Now, this Chocolate Green SuperFood wasn’t included in the samples Amazing Grass sent me, but I have had the opportunity to sample their Chocolate Amazing Meal – it’s DELISH! I absolutely loved it and can totally see myself using it daily. (See my review HERE.)  So, I have absolutely no worries about recommending this Chocolate Green SuperFood powder. But, this Chocolate Green SuperFood powder has more to offer than a girl’s best friend – let’s talk nutrition!

Nutritional information (from the site):

Mix a tablespoon of Chocolate Green SuperFood with dairy, rice or soy milk or add it to a smoothie. One serving gives you the antioxidant equivalent of 7 servings of fruits and vegetables and helps you hit your daily quota.

Chocolate Green SuperFood: All natural and organic ingredients include organic wheat grass, organic barley grass, organic alfalfa, organic spirulina, organic spinach, organic chlorella (cracked cell-wall), organic broccoli, organic dutch cocoa, organic redwood cocoa, organic cacao, natural chocolate flavoring, organic acai from Sambazon, organic maca, organic carrot, organic beet, raspberry, organic rose hips, pineapple, green tea, acerola cherry, organic flax seed powder, organic oat fiber, apple pectin fiber, F.O.S. (from chicory root), L. acidophilus, alpha and beta amylase, protease, lipase, lactase, cellulase, siberian eleuthero root, peppermint and organic sea salt. 100% Vegan

Green SuperFood

I have enjoyed this All Natural Green SuperFood powder. I’ve used it in smoothies and juices and love, love, love the taste of health it provides! I also love my Amazing Grass shaker cup. I use it all the time!

Want to increase your daily intake of veggies and fruits, but aren’t loving the idea of gobbling ‘em up raw until your jaws are exhausted from chewing? Why not whip up a smoothie or juice and toss some Amazing Grass SuperFood powder in? You’ll be pretty amazed at how much nutrition you can squeeze into a glass with this stuff. Seriously!!

Nutritional information (from the site):

Mix a tablespoon of Green SuperFood with juice, milk, a smoothie or your favorite beverage. One serving gives you the antioxidant equivalent of 7 servings of fruits and vegetables and helps you hit your daily quota.

Green SuperFood: All natural and organic ingredients include organic wheat grass, organic barley grass, organic alfalfa, organic spirulina, organic spinach, organic chlorella (cracked cell-wall), organic broccoli, organic pure acai from Sambazon, organic maca, organic carrot, organic beet, raspberry, rose hips, pineapple, green tea, acerola cherry, organic flax seed powder, apple pectin fiber, F.O.S. (from chicory root), L. acidophilus, alpha and beta amylase, protease, lipase, lactase, cellulase, siberian eleuthero root and peppermint. 100% Vegan.

How AMAZING Is This Stuff???

It’s easy to see why this company is called AMAZING GRASS – it truly IS amazing!!

Verdict/Grade?

Raw Juice Girl gives Amazing Grass TWO thumbs up and an A+ for sure! Any time you can pack this much nutrition into a scoop that can be added to our favorite juices or smoothies, you’re a winner in my book! I had a scoop of the All Natural Amazing Grass SuperFood powder in my green smoothie this morning – I just LOVE how it makes me feel!!!

Remember my 30-day juice fast? The WheatGrass samples Amazing Grass had sent me were a LIFE SAVER one some of my weaker days – it felt like it shot right through my bloodstream and pepped me right up!!!

And… Amazing Grass gets EXTRA points for offering you this:

Don’t forget: Amazing Grass has given Healing With (Raw) Juice readers a fantabulous discount: Just use the coupon code ‘hwj’ at check out — you’ll save 15% off your order!!!

Let the Contest Begin!

Here’s what you’ll win:

You’ll receive one 8.5oz bottle of Green SuperFood drink powder and one 8.5oz bottle of Chocolate Green SuperFood drink powder.

This combo pack gives you a two month supply of our Amazing Grass Green SuperFood and Chocolate Green SuperFood drink powders. If you’re like many of our customers you will be hooked on both. Try one in the morning and the other in the afternoon, or mix them together for a delicious supercharged dose of greens!

You’re allowed FOUR FIVE SIX entries for this contest:

Note: Please leave a comment for each thing you do (tweet, plurk, etc.) because each comment will be counted as a number when I enter the total number of comments at Random.org once the contest ends. (DO NOT just say “thanks for the contest” or something like that–I do not publish those type of comments because they seem like spam and aren’t fair to the other contestants who leave a thoughtful, genuine answer.) Thanks!

1. Visit the Amazing Grass website (by clicking on the above photo) and take a look around. Leave a comment sharing  any of their other products you’d like to try–and why, if you’d like to add a reason.
   
2. Do you Twitter? Tweet about this contest and then leave a comment with your Twitter name. You can swipe this tweet: RT @RawJuiceGirl is hosting a contest for @AmazingGrass Chocolate & Green SuperFood powders! http://tinyurl.com/ykcpwh5 Hurry & enter!
3. Do you Plurk? Plurk about this contest and leave a comment with your Plurk URL.
4. Share this contest on your blog, linking back to this post. (The pingback will be counted as an extra entry.) If you don’t see your pingback, just email me at healingwithjuices@gmail.com and let me know. It may have gone to spam for some reason.
5. Add Healing with Juices to your favorites on Technoratori. Comment again to let me know, with a link to your technoratori profile to show you added us.
6. Are you a Stumbler? Stumble and review any post you want to–just leave the link to your SU review in (its own) comment.

NOTE: REMEMBER TO LEAVE A COMMENT FOR EACH ENTRY SO I’LL KNOW YOU DID THEM.

ANYONE can enter this contest. You DO NOT have to be in the United States. Oh, and I’ll be using Random.org to choose the winner….

Contest ends Thursday, October 22nd, at 9 p.m. (Central Time) so you have TWO WHOLE WEEKS to get all your entries in. Have fun trying to win!!

And a HUGE Thank You to Amazing Grass for sponsoring this contest!!!

What are you waiting for – get your entries in and start spreading the news about this AMAZING contest!! Eeeeek!!

Bring Eli Home for the Holidays!

In my previous post, I shared information about a boy, Eli, who is on his third heart. He wants to be able to spend the holidays at home – instead of in the hospital. Let’s help him do that!

More Contests

Mysti, at Dining Family,  is on a mission to help Eli be at home, with his family, for the holidays – and be healthier, too! She’s hosting an awesome contest, and there are SIX ways to enter! Get over there, quick!

Lots more contests are coming right up, so you’ll definitely want to stick around for upcoming, juicy details!

Want to keep up with Raw Juice Girl’s adventures + more?  Subscribe to Healing with Juices’ Feed for free updates. You can get free updates to your email as well (sign up here). You’ll also receive inspiration, juice and smoothie recipes, and juice fasting tips and encouragement to help keep you motivated toward your ultimate health–and more personal posts about stuff that’s going on in my life. I’ve also been working on a recipe page where you’ll be able to easily locate recipes for raw juices, smoothies, and now dehydrator creations!

If you’re just tuning in, be sure to check out Healing With (Raw) Juices’ latest contest for an 8 ounce bag of Raw Chia Seeds–thanks toNavitasNaturals.com for sponsoring!

Navitas Natural Delivery!

I was super excited when I received this package from NavitasNaturals.com . Today I’m focusing on the Organic Superfood Chocolate Kit–but take a look at that eco-friendly canteen!!! Eeeeek!!!

Craving Chocolate

Ever had a craving for chocolate but didn’t want to spend a lot of time–and make a big mess–in order to enjoy some? Okay, it’s true, you can just make a quick visit to the store and pick up whatever chocolate you want. And, with the Web’s convenience, you can shop ’till your heart’s content and order anything that appeals to your eyes–and tummy!

But if you’re wanting the fun (and healthy!) experience of whipping up some organic, raw, delicious chocolate candy in just a few minutes, without wrecking your whole kitchen, then Navitas Naturals Organic Superfood Kit is for you!

Organic Superfood Chocolate Kit

This is a super fun kit. It comes with 3 ingredients! Who can’t whip up 3 ingredients, eh?  And, besides, the directions are easy and precise–you get to take a class right off the box: Chocolate School 101. Does that mean I have a degree in Chocolate now? Oh, how very RAWsome!

Chocolate School 101

First, they told me to sit a smaller bowl into a larger bowl that had hot water (for melting the cacao butter via the raw method). You can also nuke it or use a double boiler but you’ll be zapping the nutrient value.

Melting Cacao Butter

Cacao Butter All Melted

It doesn’t take long and it’s all melted!

Add Organic Chocolate Powder

Then you add the organic chocolate powder and stir, stir, stir!

Stir

Stir

Stir Some More

All Stirred Up

Just take a look at that raw chocolate. Eeeek!

At this point, you can drizzle in a tablespoon of agave syrup or some other sweetener. I didn’t. So the chocolate had more of a dark chocolate taste in the end. I’m more of a milk chocolate gal so I think I’d add sweetener next  time but I still really enjoyed the taste of this chocolate–which surprised me, considering I’m not a huge fan of dark chocolate.

In to the Ice Tray

Close-Up

Pour your melted chocolate into an ice tray (Raw Juice Chocolate Girl got a little messy–I never said I wouldn’t!)

No More Chocolate!

Raw Juice Girl also CHEATED and licked some chocolate right off that spoon! YUM-O! It’d be good drizzled over Gena’s banana soft serve.

Frozen, Raw Chocolate

After I popped that ice tray in the freezer, I almost forgot about it (ahem, I was busy uploading photos and working on reviews and contests like a good blogger)! 

Chocolate Ice Cube!

See the Goji Berries?!

Nutritional Info

From the site:

Healthy Homemade Chocolates

Navitas Naturals Chocolate Kits contain everything you need for an authentic chocolate alchemy experience – including 100% Navitas Naturals superfood ingredients. Enjoy this chocolatey blend with goji berries: a synergistic combination of exciting power ingredients that’s packed with antioxidants, phytonutrients, vitamins, essential minerals, and is sugar and dairy free. Each synergistic combination of exciting power ingredients is packed with antioxidants, phytonutrients, vitamins, essential minerals, and is sugar and dairy free.

Source and Processing

We carefully source each ingredient from indigenous regions around the world, honoring the traditions of the ancient cultures, and using minimal processing techniques to ensure maximum nutritional benefits. Our products are of the highest quality, sourced directly from farmers, cultivated sustainably and in accordance with fair trade standards. Navitas Naturals Chocolate Kits are 100% organic, kosher, vegan, gluten-free, and raw.

Verdict/Grade?

This kit is simple, precise, and so fun to make. I felt like a kid again! The ingredients are organic, and you’re loading up on antioxidants, minerals, vitamins, phytonutrients–all the good stuff! Another bonus is that the only dishes you dirty up are 2 bowls, 1 spoon, and an ice tray and you end up with 12 pieces of quality chocolate. And I had leftover goji berries  that I can add to steel-cut oatmeal or a smoothie! So, this baby gets TWO thumbs up from Raw Juice Girl. That’s an A+ in my (RAW) book!

Oh, and it retails for $9.99 (USD) per kit. So you’re essentially paying $10 for 12 pieces of quality, organic, raw, superfood candy!

So, what do you think? Is this something you’d like to try? Have you already used this neat little chocolate kit? What did you think? What’s your favorite chocolate, and your favorite way to eat it? Do tell, I’m craving your answer!

Latest Navitas Natural Arrival–Reviews Coming Up!

If you’re just tuning in, be sure to check out Healing With (Raw) Juices’ latest contest for an 8 ounce bag of Raw Chia Seeds–thanks to NavitasNaturals.com for sponsoring!

Want to keep up with Raw Juice Girl’s adventures + more?  Subscribe to Healing with Juices’ Feed for free updates. You can get free updates to your email as well (sign up here). You’ll also receive inspiration, juice and smoothie recipes, and juice fasting tips and encouragement to help keep you motivated toward your ultimate health–and more personal posts about stuff that’s going on in my life. I’ll also be making a recipe page where you’ll be able to easily locate recipes for raw juices, smoothies, and now dehydrator creations!

The day before yesterday, I actually got out of the house and was gone pretty much all day–out and about getting things ready for upcoming festivals I’ll be helping my Mom set up at (for her herb business).

We left not long after I woke up and got dressed, so I just grabbed a spoon of cashew butter right from the jar and ate it off the spoon while I grabbed a banana, threw it in my purse, and filled up my water bottle.

I ate the banana once we got on the road (no pics, sorry) <– I was hungry and gobbled it up!

After registration was taken care of (and maybe a little shopping for a new bonnet for me ) we stopped at a health food store. I LOVE health food stores–they are cruel to my wallet, though!

I found all kinds of STUFF I would have loved to have bought: ProBars (which I’ve never tried), Garden of Life bars (never tried those either), and all sorts of other goodies. There was raw foods, drinks, and other health foods, herbs, teas, books… Health Heaven, huh?

Finally, I decided on a Synergy (organic, raw) Kombucha Tea. I was craving a cold drink and thought it’d be nice to try out this “Kombucha” that seems to be all over the Web, on blogs and in articles. There were a few different flavors and while I decided on the Passionberry Bliss, I’m now thinking I should have tried the one with Sassafras root in it. Hmmmm….. Guess I need to go back!

Organic, Raw Passionberry Bliss Kombucha

I was anxious to taste this stuff after all the hype about it, so I took a big gulp–Oops! I never expected it to be SO strong. Let me tell you, I couldn’t believe it. I’m not saying it’s bad. I just wasn’t prepared for how it would taste. In a way, it reminds me of soda. I was thinking “tea”, ya know? I’m used to drinking herbal tea every day so I guess I just assumed it would taste like tea–I was wrong. I closed the lid and wasn’t sure if I’d drink it or not. I actually ended up getting an unsweetened tea from another place and drank that. So when I got home, I put my Kombucha in the fridge and left it there ’till yesterday. I thought I’d give it another try–I drank it all up! It’s still weird to me, but I think it’s growing on me. I’ve decided it tastes sort of like a berry flavored soda. Strange. But good. And I love the benefits!

Synergy Passionberry Bliss is 95% G.T.’s Kombucha–the rest is blackberry juice +  passionfruit juice. And at the end of the ingredient list, they say: “and 100% pure love!” How awesome is that??!!

This jazzy drink also has probiotics, antioxidants, and Glucuronic, Lactic, and Acetic acids.

From the bottle:

Kombucha supports: digestion, metabolism, immune system, appetite control, weight control, liver function, body alkalinity, anti-aging, cell integrity, healthy skin and hair.

Now, while I’m not that familiar with Kombucha and its benefits yet, I will say I totally believe it’s possible. Why? Fermented foods are good for us (in my opinion) and it seems to me that Kombucha is a lot like apple cider vinegar with Mother in the sense that it contains living enzymes and nutrients, and it’s fermented. I’ve seen firstand the benefits of the vinegar with Mother, so I’m excited to experiment more with Kombucha and see what comes of it. Next time I try something new, though, I won’t take such a ginormous gulp! LOL What was I thinking???

GASP!

How much are these drinks where you are, if you’ve been buying them??

Snack Time

As I was getting ready to pay for my Synergy tea up there, I spotted these goodies on the way out. From what I could see on the ingredients list, they’re RAW! They’re like snack bars, cut in squares. The chocolate one is actually carob, with nuts, pumpkin seeds, SPIRULINA, and I think a little fruit. The other one is almond with fruit and I think both of these had sunflower seeds in ‘em, too.

Carob Creation

Almond Awesomeness

Verdict?

Of course, I loved the carob one best. It was crunchy, chewy, and good. I’m still amazed that I don’t taste the spirulina! How’d they do that??? I’m not sure if I’d buy the almond one again–it seemed like it was lacking something, but I can’t figure out what. It just seemed like it needed jazzing up. Then again, my tastebuds may have been “off” after being freaked out by a big gulp of Kombucha I wasn’t used to!

I’m gearing up for more festivals so I’m going to take these along as a snack.

Want to learn more about these “Chunks of Energy” snacks? Visit the “Chunks of Energy website (www.chunksofenergy.com) or their blog.

Have you tried anything new lately? Have any plans for the weekend? Jump right in to the comment section and share!

Coming Up

You’ll be happy to know I have reviews and contests lined up, starting next week!

Want to keep up with Raw Juice Girl’s adventures + more?  Subscribe to Healing with Juices’ Feed for free updates. You can get free updates to your email as well (sign up here). You’ll also receive inspiration, juice and smoothie recipes, and juice fasting tips and encouragement to help keep you motivated toward your ultimate health–and more personal posts about stuff that’s going on in my life.

First, I’d like to remind you about the current contest I have running: The Bolder Mat Company Yoga Mat + Stacy McCarthy’s Yoga DVD. (Contest ends Wednesday, August 19th. There are SEVEN ways to win!!)

My day started out with an hour of yoga, which was fantabulous! I almost fell asleep during Shavasana, I was SO relaxed! (Have I mentioned lately that I’m in LOVE with yoga??!!) After that, I gobbled up an organic Greek yogurt with frozen blueberries on top (this is by far my FAVORITE, non-raw meal)!

Then, I did some writing + blog work and some other stuff. Once it was time for lunch, I was STARVING.

Spinach Salad

a bunch of baby spinach leaves (this is a bigger bowl than it seems)

organic tomatoes (from my garden)

frozen peas +organic  bell pepper from my garden (lightly steamed with coconut oil + Italian herbs)

hemp seeds (from www.manitobaharvest.com)

macadamia nuts

THIS SALAD WAS DELICIOUS!!! YUM!!!

Once lunch was finished and cleaned up, it was time for me to stop procrastinating and make some chocolate pudding from avocados! Enter: Chocolate (Avocado) Pudding Heaven!

Cleanin’ Out the Fridge + Garden Overflow

There was a little of this, that, and the other in the fridge where veggies are concerned. I’ve been eating a LOT of salad but needed to clean out those odds and ends. Also, I needed to use up some freshly-picked garden veggies…

Organic, Heirloom Tomatoes

Organic Heirloom Bell + Banana Peppers

All from My Garden

First Up: Tomato Juice

(After I washed all that garden dirt off!)

Beautiful Tomato Juice Bubbles!

Made 3 Cups + a Little Leftover

Just for me!

Next Up: Juice Concoction

rest of the tomatoes

3 bell peppers

5 big banana peppers

whole bag of organic carrots (16 ounce) + a few other stray (organic) carrots

2 big cucumbers (from my garden)

teeny bit of spinach

Juice Concoction Bubbles

Juice Concoction Pulp

(The pulp went to the ducks, chickens, and turkeys.)

Organic, Heirloom Cucumbers

9 big cucumbers went into this juice!

Gorgeous Cucumber Juice Bubbles

Those 9 cucumbers made 3 cups of juice (shown above) + half of my oversized, favorite cup for drinking right away!

Cucumber Juice for Me!

It’s a Raw Juice Party!

In all, I ended up with:

1 – 3 cup container of tomato juice

1 – 3 cup container of cucumber juice

1 – 3 cup container which contained 3/4 cucumber juice + 1/4 juice concoction

2 – 3 cup containers of juice concoction

1 – 12 ounce Amazing Grass shaker cup of cucumber juice

1 – 12 ounce Amazing Grass shaker cup of cantaloupe juice

leftover 8 ounces or so of cucumber juice, which I drank in my polka-dotted cup (shown above)

Cantaloupe Juice

I forgot to take a photo of the cantaloupe but it was organic, heirloom (from my garden) as well.

It made 12 ounces–which fit perfectly into an Amazing Grass shaker cup! This one went into the freezer for later. Yum!

Juices in a Nice, Clean Fridge!

What’s in your fridge?

Be sure to subscribe to Healing with Juices’ Feed for free updates. You can get free updates to your email as well (sign up here). You’ll also receive inspiration, juice and smoothie recipes, and juice fasting tips and encouragement to help keep you motivated toward your ultimate health–and more personal posts about stuff that’s going on in my life PLUS get to enter all sorts of awesome contests!

Who doesn’t love the taste of sweetness? Whether  you’re a Southerner who thrives on sweet iced tea or from anywhere else in the world and enjoy the sweetness of desserts and/or smoothies, one thing is for certain: sweet doesn’t have to come in a white form. It doesn’t have to be something you’re accustomed to using. Try something new!

Navitas Naturals has outdone themselves with their new organic green stevia powder. I was honored when they sent an 8 ounce bag for me to try. For years I’ve tried different brands of stevia. I’ve bought green powders before and just wasn’t pleased at all. I’ve tried the liquid and the packets.

I always have a little heart tugging action going on when I use a stevia packet, because it is processed. The stevia leaf is green, so using white stevia powder makes me wonder sometimes if I really should be consuming it–although I still know in my heart it’s better than the other (unhealthy) options out there. Decisions, decisions.

Worried about how Navitas Naturals processes their stevia? Here’s what they say on their site:

Source and Processing

Navitas Naturals Stevia is made from the whole leaves of the stevia herb. Once the leaves are collected, they are dried and milled into a fine powder at low temperatures to protect the nutrients of the plant. Our Stevia is 100% organic, vegan, kosher, gluten-free and raw.

Anyway, I’ve really been using this Navitas Naturals organic green stevia powder a lot–and I LOVE it! Why? It’s sweet and delicious, but it doesn’t seem to have that aftertaste some stevia brands have. It may be my imagination, but I’m almost positive I actually FEEL better after I have some herbal tea sweetened with it!

When I started writing this post, I had only used it to sweeten my herbal tea. I don’t really sweeten my smoothies and I tend to put a little raw honey in my (steel-cut) oats, but I decided to try something new and so this morning I added some to my steel-cut oats. The result: YUM-O! Other ingredients included raw, unsweetened coconut, almonds, cinnamon, and hemp protein powder. My oats were already green and with the added organic green stevia powder, they were sweetened beautifully and made a delicious bowl of healthy goodness! I’ll definitely be adding Navitas Naturals organic green stevia powder to my steel-cut oats from now on!

Organic Green Stevia Powder

This 8 ounce bag is priced at $11.99 (USD) on the site. I totally believe (with all my heart!) that it’s a great investment. Keep in mind that you only use a SMALL amount to sweeten your drinks or foods, so it will last longer than you think. Besides, you wouldn’t think twice about dropping that amount of money on a couple of lattes, would you?

From the Navitas Naturals website:

“The Power of Stevia

Stevia’s leaves contain glycosides, which taste very sweet to the tongue, but contain no sugar, no calories, and no carbohydrates. Therefore, despite its sweetness, stevia does not have a GI (Glycemic Index) nor does it effect the body’s insulin levels. Stevia has also been shown to aid the pancreas and improve digestion. Excellent for those with diabetes, intolerances to sugar, seeking weight control, or simply avoiding cavities, the stevia herb can be an ideal natural sweetener.”

How can you use this sweet green powder?

• in smoothies
• in oats
• in place of other sweeteners in desserts
• in anything you’d sweeten

Thoughts

One thing you may not like about it is the fact that when you add it to your tea, it kind of floats around and isn’t very pretty to look at. This doesn’t bother me at all. I love its taste and I just stir as I drink. There are ways you can try to prevent this from happening. If you’re making a single serving of tea, add the stevia powder to your tea ball and then pour the water in your cup. Once it’s finished steeping, you can remove the tea ball (which has the loose tea leaves + green stevia powder inside) and then you’re left with just tea. You can drink it hot or cold. If you’re like me and you grab some pre-made herbal tea and then want to sweeten it, just overlook the green powder floating around and enjoy. It really is delicious!

Click here to buy your own organic green stevia powder!

Organic Green Stevia Powder

Stirred In

Upcoming Contests Sponsored by These Fabulous Companies

• 2 Food Matters DVDs (Haven’t had a chance to watch this one yet, but do check out their site–they have a RAWsome message to share!!)
• Detox 4 Women by Natalia Rose (I read this book last night and it’s awesome; it really helps you understand water retention, etc!)
• Oh Nuts! (raw macadamia nuts and pecans) <— These are seriously delicious nuts–and they’re JUMBO sized!
• E3Live (Green-tasting (which I don’t mind!), but I REALLY notice that it’s making me feel better. It was definitely put to the test through my recent stressful events!)
• 2 books (Coconut Water for Health and Healing and Oil Pulling Therapy: Detoxifying and Healing the Body Through Oral Cleansing by Dr. Bruce Fife
• and MORE!

You’ll definitely want to stay tuned!

So… be sure to subscribe to Healing with Juices’ Feed for free updates. You can get free updates to your email as well (sign up here). You’ll also receive inspiration, juice and smoothie recipes, and juice fasting tips and encouragement to help keep you motivated toward your ultimate health–and more personal posts about stuff that’s going on in my life.

No yoga for me today. I listened to my body and I knew I should take a rest day, so I did. I can’t wait for my date with Polly in the morning, though! I wasn’t hungry when I first woke up. I didn’t feel like my usual warm lemon water, so I skipped that. I had a tall glass of plain water instead. After that, I had some herbal tea. When I finally got hungry, I didn’t know what I wanted! And guess what? I went crazy and had an organic Greek yogurt with frozen blueberries on top. Yeah, it isn’t raw but this is what I’m talking about when I say I sometimes craves a non-raw food, yet what I’m craving isn’t really junk food just because it isn’t raw. I’m still really close to 100% raw, really, but once in a while (once a day, once a week, once a month–whenever the urge hits), I have decided to treat myself to a non-raw (yet still healthy) food.

Oikos (Organic) Greek Yogurt

After my yummy-to-the-tummy Oikos Greek yogurt, I had my daily shot of E3 Live.

Snack/Lunch

Since I had a late breakfast (around 11 a.m., or so) I didn’t eat lunch at noon. Instead, I ended up having a snack around maybe 1 p.m.? I was a little hungry but not much, so I had a big banana with a spoon of raw honey. Yum! (No pic, sorry!)

Mid-Afternoon Snack

By this afternoon, I still wasn’t really craving anything–except chocolate! I realized I’d been craving chocolate all day, so I had me some! LOL Double the chocolate, double the fun, eh? I started with the totally delicious Amazing Grass Chocolate SuperFood bar. Yum-O! It has a thin layer of chocolate coating on the outside and nutty, green, chewy goodness on the inside. It’s healthy, tasty, and chocolate. What’s not to like? Seriously, I could eat one of these every single day! And they’re very dense and filling–AMAZING!

Amazing Grass Chocolate Bar

I decided to double up on my chocolate fix and had my other sample packet of Amazing Grass chocolate superfood powder, mixed with almond milk. Yum!

Amazing Chocolate Shake

(Just click on the photo below to read all about this yummy chocolate superfood powder! )

Dinner

It was most definitely time for some raw veggies, so I fixed myself a salad. And here’s the sad news: all of my camera batteries are dead and I’m having to charge them–so no salad pics tonight! Sorry! Use your imagination, though, and picture this:

a base of baby spinach leaves

with chopped Napa cabbage

chopped heirloom organic banana peppers (from my garden)

diced heirloom organic bell peppers (from my garden)

sliced heirloom organic beets (from my garden)

Manitoba Harvest hemp seeds

scattered fresh blueberries

Yummy to the tummy!

Contest!!

Want to win a giant 2 pound container of healthy deliciousness? Special K wants to know what nourishes me. So, here it is: raw juices, smoothies, raw foods, and healthy thoughts nourish me. What nourishes you? Head on over there and tell her so you can be entered to win!

Coming next: various foods I’ve eaten when breaking other juice fasts I’ve been on, and also why I don’t incorporate vegetable broth into my juice fasting regimen like some juice fasters do. <—– I am working on this post!!

You’ll definitely want to stay tuned!

So… be sure to subscribe to Healing with Juices’ Feed for free updates. You can get free updates to your email as well (sign up here). You’ll also receive inspiration, juice and smoothie recipes, and juice fasting tips and encouragement to help keep you motivated toward your ultimate health–and more personal posts about stuff that’s going on in my life.

I can’t believe this is day 3 of my yoga adventures and I’m still excited about it–I LOVE it!

This morning, I did the video called Yoga for Yummy Abs by Polly from Yoga is Yummy.

I did the cobra pose, too! Fantabulous, people!

I was hesitant to try a different video. I’m trying to be very careful with my (bad) back. But, while I could really feel the yoga poses and stretches burning and using my muscles, it was a good, warm burning and relaxing experience. I’m just madly in love with yoga!

After my date with yoga, I had breakfast:

Blueberry-Kiwi Salad

1 whole kiwi, peeled + sliced

handful frozen blueberries

Yum-O!

I also had some herbal tea and, of course, added a tablespoon of organic apple cider vinegar to one of my glasses of water.

About mid-morning, I had my daily shot….

E3 Live Brain On

I think the Brain On formula tastes just a little stronger (or a little different) than the original E3 Live I’ve tried but it’s definitely do-able for me. You could always disguise the taste (if it’s too strong–aka green–for you) in a smoothie or juice. I just take a tablespoon straight up. What? I love my greens–and I’m lovin’ how it makes me feel: clear-minded and mentally alert!

Juicy Ingredients!

4 small heirloom organic beets, with leaves (from my garden)

3 organic carrots

2 heirloom organic cucumbers (from my garden)

small apple

2 handfuls spinach

handful Alfalfa sprouts

1-inch piece of ginger

medium heirloom organic bell pepper (from my garden)

1 whole kiwi, peeled

Raw Beauty!

Juice Pulp

(Looks Like Confetti!)

Yummy Juices

Raw Lunch

1 celery stalk, cut up

1 carrot, cut up

shaker cup full of today’s juicy concoction

+ a scoop of berry flavored Amazing Grass SuperFood powder

(To learn more about this berry-licious superfood powder, click on the photo below! )

Snack

I had another carrot and another celery stalk (I was craving carrots and celery today! LOL)

And…. some of the juiciest, most delicious…

Organic Cherries

Dinner

I thought about having my other juice in the place of my dinner but then I had an overwhelming craving for the following spinach-based salad. I absolutely adore baby spinach leaves–they’re my favorite veggie! I love them raw, in juices, in smoothies, in salads… you get my point.

Oh-So-Good Salad

generous handful of baby spinach leaves

heirloom organic cucumber slices (from my garden)

generous handful of fresh blueberries

Manitoba Harvest hemp seeds (Yum!)

2 stalks heirloom organic okra, sliced

Have you ever eaten okra raw? It’s delicious! I’m serious! The above combo is absolutely YUM! What’s your favorite salad combo? Do share!

Coming next: various foods I’ve eaten when breaking other juice fasts I’ve been on, and also why I don’t incorporate vegetable broth into my juice fasting regimen like some juice fasters do.

You’ll definitely want to stay tuned!

So… be sure to subscribe to Healing with Juices’ Feed for free updates. You can get free updates to your email as well (sign up here). You’ll also receive inspiration, juice and smoothie recipes, and juice fasting tips and encouragement to help keep you motivated toward your ultimate health–and more personal posts about stuff that’s going on in my life.

Do the best you can and can the rest! (Words of wisdom from my grandma )

Someone asked me if I’d summarize what my goals were for the 30-day juice fast and reflect on my journey. So, here it is…

I’ve thought about it, and my goals for this 30-day juice fast were to:

• Cleanse and detox my body from when I fell off the 100% raw wagon.
• Enter a calmer, more peaceful state of being.
• Do some old-fashioned soul searching.
• Break my coffee habit.

And I accomplished all of those things–even though I had to break the fast a tad early due to being attacked by those nasty red wasps and getting sick from that.

While I was on this juicing journey, I also made a decision (well, I made several but this one is about my relationship with food): I’ve decided to stop being so hard on myself.

During my 100% raw “spurts”, here’s the foods I miss the most:

• organic Greek yogurt (Oikos is my favorite!)
• omelets (stuffed with veggies)
• steel cut oats (with cinnamon, raw honey, and nuts)
• steamed brussel sprouts (with coconut oil and herbs)
• steamed asparagus (drizzled with coconut oil)
• mock mashed potatoes (made from cauliflower)
• stir fry
• baked sweet potatoes

As I pondered the above foods, I realized something (an epiphany?)–all of the foods I’ve listed here are on the extreme end of what’s considered “healthy”.

I’m not craving greasy fast food here, people. I’m not wanting

donuts or cake every day. Ice cream isn’t my weakness.

Life is short, you know? So, if I wake up one morning and crave an omelet (made from free-range, farm fresh, organic eggs–from my own farm–and overflowing with yummy veggies, I’m going to eat it!

I have been high-raw for the past several years. The high-raw lifestyle has improved my health, helped me lose over 100 pounds, and is the foundation of my diet life.

Gena, over at Choosing Raw, recently answered a reader’s question about how “perfect” her eating habits are. Her post truly resonated with me.

The message I took away from her post is that while eating an omelet once in a while, or having some cooked steel cut oats is something I feel is healthy and make me feel good, it may make you cringe (whether you’re on the 100% raw side of the fence or the processed, cooked food side).

So, if what I eat seems totally unattainable to you, don’t try to eat just like me. If I can inspire you to clean up your diet (even a little!), that’s fantabulous!

Example:

Maybe, at least part of the time, you could have a big salad with fish on the side instead of your normal fish sandwich with greasy fries. So, if you feel like you can’t live without your fish sandwich and fries, just choose the healthier option I’ve listed (or one similar) at least part of the time. Sound good?

Oh, and I forgot to mention what I ate yesterday:

• small banana for breakfast
• I fasted through lunch
• For dinner, I had a yummy salad:

Yum-O!

(Note: All of the following ingredients are heirloom + organic from my own garden, except for the hemp seeds, spinach, and blueberries!!)

handful baby spinach leaves

handful heirloom lettuce

Manitoba Harvest hemp seeds

raw heirloom okra (it’s delicious, y’all!)

handful blueberries

few heirloom baby carrots

Enjoy the journey; make the better choice most of the time; and treat yourself for your dedication–you deserve it!

Don’t forget about the other contests I’ve mentioned recently! And catch up on the juicy details of my 30-day juice fast.

You’ll definitely want to stay tuned!

So… be sure to subscribe to Healing with Juices’ Feed for free updates. You can get free updates to your email as well (sign up here). You’ll also receive inspiration, juice and smoothie recipes, and juice fasting tips and encouragement to help keep you motivated toward your ultimate health–and more personal posts about stuff that’s going on in my life.

Day 4 of this 3o-day juice fast has been crazy! I definitely feel the detox–big time. I’ve had a major headache most of today, have felt very emotional, and have really felt tired. That’s all normal for me. Emotional days slip up here and there while juice fasting (for some people) because of the body detoxing.

There is good news, though, so keep reading!

Breakfast

I had my usual cup of hot lemon water.  About half an hour or so later, I decided to have a green juice–with a packet of Amazing Grass Wheat Grass powder.

Amazing/Wheat Grass Juice

In goes the packet

All shook up!

Lovin’ my shaker cup!

I’ll be honest, I totally expected the wheat grass powder to knock my socks off. In other words, I prepared to pucker! LOL But, that didn’t happen. It really didn’t taste bad!!! I was shocked–and happy! I waited to see how I felt and I totally could feel the difference. It was like a burst of energy–and I really needed that today. Kudos to Amazing Grass for making health taste great!

After this, I also had a tall glass of water with a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar. And then I had a glass of herbal tea.

Then something truly AMAZING happened! I had forgotten about a Jack LaLanne Juicer I had stored in the basement. (How on EARTH could I forget something like that??!!) Well, this is one of the juicers I thought had burnt out. If I remember correctly, it even smoked! Yes! So instead of throwing it away, I boxed it up and hoped it’d work again someday–then I moved to this Amish farm and forgot about it. It was like Christmas today–seriously! I washed this baby up and plugged her in–praying the whole time she’d crank–and she started humming a juicy tune!!! Yippeee!!!! Oh, this juice girl is ecstatic, let me tell ya!

Now, I’m praying it holds up to the finish line of this 30-day juice fast!

Juicer Heaven

I didn’t waste any time at all. That juicer was eating an apple before you could blink!

Whole, organic apple

Washed and ready to go!

Organic Apple Juice Recipe

7 organic apples tossed into the juicer

I poured it into a container and ended up with 2/3 apple juice.

I added 1/3 water (to dilute)

Made 2 quarts…

and an extra glass for me (lunch)!

On a Roll

I didn’t want to stop! I decided to juice up some stuff I had in the fridge. Carrot-spinach juice is my all-time favorite. I decided to mix it up this time and add alfalfa sprouts.

Washed and Ready!

MMmmmmmm

Carrot-Spinach-Sprout Juice

7 big carrots

9 ounce bag spinach leaves

2 ounces sprouts

When I poured it into the freezer container, I had 2/3 juice.

I added 1/3 water to dilute.

Made 3 cups

Totally Forgot!

I discovered in my notes from day 1 when I juiced a bunch, that I had forgot to mention I had leftover veggies (I stored 2 zip lock bags full) because the juicer burnt out and I got tired of blending.

So… here’s what was left over:

• 2 ounces alfalfa sprouts
• 1 celery stalk
• 6 kale leaves
• some chopped cabbage

That went into the juicer

Along with…

2 more ounces alfalfa sprouts

1 big head cabbage

1 cucumber

Big bunch mustard greens

1 bundle celery

2 (beautiful) heirloom, organic beets (with leaves) (from my garden)

Look at all that raw goodness!

Before I started this batch, I decided to run out to the garden and grab some rainbow chard and lettuce leaves…

Organic Rainbow Chard

I’m so excited because this is the first time I’ve juice rainbow chard! Even Raw Juice Girl needs to try new things! I wasn’t sure about it, actually so I asked around on Twitter.

Here was my tweet:
[asks] who juices rainbow chard? Anyone? Do you eat it raw? Juice it raw? Add it to smoothies? RTs and replies are much appreciated.

@rawliving (aka Earth Mother) gave me permission to use her tweet response:

rawliving@RawJuiceGirl I do I do! (raises hand) I juice rainbow chard and use it in GREEN smoothies. Yum!

Thanks, @rawliving–you helped make my juices brighter and healthier!

Note: Be sure to stop by @rawliving’s raw food blog: In the Raw

(Isn’t it beautiful???!!!)

Organic lettuce

Ready for the juicer!

7 big and 9 smaller rainbow chard (leaves and stalk)

4 heaping cups organic lettuce

Green–er, brown–juice

This juice turned out brown. LOL It doesn’t taste bad, though. It’s just that the beets mixed with the other greens and made this mucky color–that’s okay to me! I’m just happy to be truly juicing again. Woo hoo!

Oh, and that tall glass of yummy juice on the left end of the photo was my dinner–delish!

Just tuning in? Catch up:

Day 1 of a 30-Day Juice Fast and Juicer Mishaps
Day 2 of a 30-Day Juice Fast–and AMAZING GRASS!!
Day 3–E3 Living!

Until tomorrow… happy juicing!

Upcoming Contests Featuring these Fabulous Companies

• 2 books by Nomi Shannon, The Raw Gourmet (These two books have GORGEOUS photos and the recipes are amazing!
• 2 Food Matters DVDs (Haven’t had a chance to watch this one yet, but do check out their site–they have a RAWsome message to share!!)
• Detox 4 Women by Natalia Rose (I read this book last night and it’s awesome; it really helps you understand water retention, etc!)
• Living Tree Community (Raw almond butter and organic coconut mango persimmon butter!)
• Oh Nuts! (raw macadamia nuts and pecans) <— These are seriously delicious nuts–and they’re JUMBO sized!
• E3Live (Green-tasting (which I don’t mind!), but I REALLY notice that it’s making me feel better. It was definitely put to the test through my recent stressful events!)
• and MORE!

You’ll definitely want to stay tuned!

So… be sure to subscribe to Healing with Juices’ Feed for free updates. You can get free updates to your email as well (sign up here). You’ll also receive inspiration, juice and smoothie recipes, and juice fasting tips and encouragement to help keep you motivated toward your ultimate health–and more personal posts about stuff that’s going on in my life.

By

Michele L. Tune

Making Up Your Mind to Juice Fast

Okay, so you’ve decided to go on a juice fast. Maybe it’s just because you want to get healthier, or perhaps you’re looking to get a jump-start on weight loss. Let’s hope you’ve decided to sacrifice your favorite foods and survive a few days on raw juices because you want to focus on cleaning your body and helping it get rid of years – maybe even decades – of all the bad stuff that’s caked up inside. Let’s also hope it’s because you’ve truly searched your heart and wholeheartedly decided to lead a lifestyle that promotes life instead of one that promotes sickness, premature death, and obesity.

If you’re only planning on juice fasting to lose weight, you may as well not do it. Yes, most people lose several pounds juice fasting – I have. But weight loss is about so much more than lost pounds. Weight loss is about changing your entire lifestyle – mind, body, and soul. Weight loss is about targeting why you gained weight in the first place and what you’re going to do to prevent yourself from gaining weight again once you’ve lost it. So, although you probably will lose weight during your juice fast, it’s best to think of those lost pounds as just part of the process and not your sole reason for juicing fasting. Trust me; I do know what I’m talking about. I’ve lost over 100 pounds – and kept it off.

Made up your mind yet? Fantabulous! Let’s get started!

A few ideas for that pre-juice fast menu:

Organic Greek yogurt with raw walnuts, and fresh or frozen blueberries

This is a yummy treat you can enjoy any time. I prefer Oikos organic Greek yogurt myself, but you may like another brand. (Nope, I didn’t get paid for saying I love Oikos – it’s delish, filling, and most importantly, healthy!) Besides the protein in the yogurt, you’re getting protein from the heart-healthy walnuts, and loading up on antioxidants in those juicy blueberries.

Chopped avocado, tomato, red onion, juice from a real lemon

This is yum-o!! Simply cut up a fresh tomato and avocado and toss in a bowl. You can add a homemade vinaigrette if you want to. I don’t. I do squeeze the juice of about a half of a lemon over the avocado. (I wouldn’t use the lemon juice that comes in a bottle.)

Salad: raw spinach, Napa cabbage, carrots, blueberries, raw walnuts, salmon

This is one of my favorite salads ever. You can throw in whatever your favorite veggies are. The blueberries are optional but they are divine on salad! If you’re a big meat eater, adding salmon or tuna to your salad is a wonderful way to still feed your body a protein that will satisfy you while staying away from red meat. I normally don’t eat salmon or tuna within a few days of a juice fast, simply because it’s a little bit difficult for our bodies to adjust to an all liquid diet after consuming a lot of protein each day.

Prepare, Prepare, Prepare

I’ve mentioned this before but it really is crucial to prepare your body and your mind before setting out on this amazing journey with raw juices.

I’m so used to juice fasting it’s pretty much become second nature for me. I listen to my body – and mind – and I know when both are craving a raw juice fast. You’ll learn to do this too as you become more experienced with juice fasting.

I never, ever recommend that you start a long juice fast right off the bat. Like anything else, you want to ease your body into juice fasting. Think about it. You wouldn’t wake up one day and decide you want to be a runner, hop out of bed, and run the longest marathon there is. No, you’d go buy yourself some running shoes, maybe pick out an area to start running, jump online and study the stretches you need to do to prepare your muscles for a run. You might start jogging and/or doing some other exercises.

The most important message I want to share is that juice fasting is a marvelous way to nourish your body and mind. It’s a beautiful journey between the person who is fasting and the raw food our bodies were made to consume. It’s a great way to slow yourself down and find the calm that lies within you, but is drowned out by all the world’s chaotic noises.

Have you ever juice fasted? Are you just venturing out to try it? What are your thoughts on juice fasting? I’d love to hear them!

Be sure to subscribe to Healing with Juices’ Feed for free updates. You can get  free updates to your email as well (sign up here). You’ll receive inspiration, juice and smoothie recipes, and juice fasting tips and encouragement to help keep you motivated toward your ultimate health.