Return of Green Juice

I switched things up a little bit today after having a bit of smoothie overload to a green juice mixture to start off the morning on the right foot!

Ginger

3 small handfuls of spinach

2 granny smith apples

fresh pineapple

This is I think my fave mix of the greens (lots of spinach but you can't taste it) and it was the perfect way to start off my Wednesday.  Rene of course has to be the over achiever and head to the gym in the early morning while I grabbed an extra 30 minutes of sleep or at least rolling around trying to sleep.  Here's hoping today shapes up to be better than that last 2 days--I'm staying positive!

Happy Wednesday!  

Break in the Detox

Friday & Saturday morning I allowed myself to take a small break from my detox of veggies and changed things up breakfast.  I skipped the hot detox tea (though I will more than likly drink it midday today) and had a fruit smoothie instead.  

I still kept with the detox salad for lunch on Friday but splurged and got a buffalo chicken wrap and sweet potato fries at the little cafe last night before we went grocery shopping (everything in moderation).

This morning I whipped up a nice blueberry, raspberry and peach smoothie to start the day but plan on getting back to my green juice and some detox tea a little later in the day and of course a healthy dinner.

Rene and I both noticed that we don't feel hungry or full really throughout the day and also that my stomach -- which occasionally gets upset very easily (sometimes because of dairy sometimes just randomly throughout the day) hasn't been acting up at all this week with the swap in what I've been eating...which is somewhat leading me to wonder if what a couple of friends have said before is true and I may have a bit of an allergy to gluten (it hasn't been in my diet really since the pizza bites).....nothing life or death related but I'm feeling good and healthy and that's what I was going for!

Of course it doesn't hurt that I may have gained between 5-6 pounds of holiday goodness which has since disappeared thanks to us getting back into our "normal routine"...

Next week I'll be alternating juices and smoothies for breakfast and also some fresh hummus and crudites with miso soup for lunches to start getting a bit more protein into my diet since this week it was pretty minimal.

Benefits of the Green Juice From Yesterday

I almost forgot to break down the benefits of yesterday's green juice mix!

Pretty much anything leafy and green = good for you so you can't really go wrong with any of the ingredents.

Aside from the applies which I mentioned in the red juice here's what was packed into yesterday's drink of choice!

Kale:

• Packed with Lutein which is said to be good for your skin, eyes, 
• May even help prevent damage caused by UV rays along with being packed with nutrients.
• Lots of Vitamin K, A and C

Spinach:

• Vitamin K and A
• Manganese = bone health which is always important especially for women
• Folate, Iron and Calcium in large quantities -- much more easily absorbed into your system this way than in a multivitamin

Cucumbers:

• Improves the look and feel of your skin
• Due to silicone and sulfur content it helps with hair growth - and who doesn't want nice long hair?
• High water level to help keep you hydrated

Celery:

• Another item which is packed with Vitamin C, A, and Calcium

Detox Day 2 Part II

Finished with day 2--not sure if I'm feeling "detoxified" but I am definatly not feeling stuffed after dinner or "blah" mid-way through the day (even without my 3 cups of coffee) so that's a start right?!

Lunch was a nice little mix of veggies (califlower, broccoli, shredded carrots) mixed with sunflower seeds, golden raisins, and currants topped off with just a squeeze of lemon juice--it's really good!

Whole Foods makes a salad similar to this called the Detox Salad and I've had it before and thought, why pay $7.99 a pound I'm sure someone has copied this and listed what all is in it....low and behold Google came through with my answer!

I found the "re-make" of this salad on Oh She Glows though I did take out the parsley (I'm not a huge fan) and also the kelp (because I couldn't find it) and added in some wheat germ and chia seeds for a little extra different texture. The salad is great and crunchy and a little sweet and perfect for mid-day!

And I followed it up with a second glass of my green juice from this morning -- you'd be surprised at the looks you get in the office drinking a green something.

For dinner we went with a simple little stirfry of veggies and quinoa instead of rice (added protein).  The only downfall today was that I know I didn't drink enough water, I only made it one large glass of the way into the cold detox tea (recipe here) and was just bogged down with work throughout the day and kept putting off drinking/refilling my glass.

And believe it or not I was actually able to go to the gym tonight and NOT have to wait in a huge line for a machine--this may be the first time ever that I've gone to the gym after the new year and not seen 500 people wanting to "start the year off right", but this made me think....what does that say for today's world?  Does the resolution of getting into better shape no longer top the list? And if not, what does that say about how our society has changed....something to ponder!

Detox Day 2

This morning I started off first thing with my hot detox tea (recipe found here).

I followed that up with a scrambled egg white and a nice green juice.

Green Juice Recipe:
1/2 cucumber
2 stalks of celery
small handful of spinach
small handful of kale
ginger
green apple
juice of 1 lemon

This juice is not as sweet as the red juice from yesterday but it has a nice fresh taste to it, and it was a rather refreshing way to start off the day.  The one downfall is that the kale does give a bit of a gritty feel to the juice, I may try just spinach in the future with this green mix.  

Detox Day 1 Part II

Finishing out the first day of my detox I sipped on a second (different) detox tea* mix of  60 Oz distilled water 1 TBS sugar free cranberry juice (not from concentrate)2 dandelion tea bag and 2 TBS lemon juice throughout the day.

 *it tastes like watered down ice tea

More or less it serves as a diuretic that helps detox the body and flush toxins out.  I plan to mix this each day and sip throughout the day.

 Lunch consisted of 2 stalks of celery and a handful of baby carrots and 2 Tablespoons of hummus.  I snacked on a small handful of nuts and raisins and then finished out the day with some steamed broccoli, left over sauerkraut and some banana soft serve from the YoNana.  My soft serve was actually the most satisfying thing I had today and it's only 1.5 bananas!

And of course no day is complete without a trip the the gym and quick 15 minutes worth of yoga to round out the day. 

All in all not a very exciting day of meals, but I know in the end it's worth it to be healthy--plus I for sure got in my full daily suggested servings of fruits and veggies!

Detox Day 1

Today starts the first day of my little detox into the New Year.  So here goes.  There was a lot of liquid to be consumed first thing this morning.  First up a spicy lemonade.

This gained attention a couple of years ago when you had starlets doing a lemonade detox where this is all they would drink to slim down for a big red carpet event.  But in all actuality it does have some good reasoning behind it and any of the juice detox/diets out there (Blueprint Diet and Fresh Juice Delivery) all have a lemonade in them as a piece of their detox.

The reasoning behind it according to The Washington Post is that lemons are rich in bioflavonoids (pigments that act as excellent detoxifying catalysts); cayenne pepper is an anti-inflammatory which work to help detox and purify your body.  Which is why each day I am starting off with a cup of this lemonade before anything else.

Spicy Lemonade
1 cup hot water
juice of one lemon
1/16 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons maple syrup (high grade orangic is best)

*I may have added a bit too much of the cayenne (didn't measure just threw some in) but it wasn't completely awful.

Next up my "breakfast" consisted of what I am calling Red Juice #1 (green apple, 2 carrots, beet, small piece of ginger)

Keep in mind the ginger is something you can add as much or as little as you like, a little goes a very long way!

Beets are one of the best things to put in your juicer!  And they add a bit of a sweet kick to the juice.  Here are just a few of the benefits of beet juice:

• Lower cholesterol
• Improved brain health
• Lowers blood pressure
• Helps eliminate toxins from the body (small side effect is that you may feed dizzy because of this)
• Increased endurance for exercise (always a plus!)
• Anticancer vegetable-as with any dark red vegetable/fruit it is packed with antioxidents!

Carrots also add some sweetness and their own benefits:

• High levels of beta-carotene and vitamin A in carrots promote eye health by lubricating the eyes and preserving visual acuity.
• Healthy urinary and digestive tracts are linked to carrot consumption.
• The high mineral content in carrots aids in nourishing the hair, nails and skin. 
• Carrot juice cleanses the liver by ridding it of bile and fat. 
• Potassium content in carrots regulates blood pressure levels.

Green Apple benefits:

• Protect against diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer
• Only 47 calories per serving
• Drinking 100% green apple juice from a juicer allows you to still get all of the benefits of eating the apple.

Ginger benefits:

• Reduces inflamation
• Boosts immune system

2012 Detox

As I mentioned previously starting in 2012 I am going to be doing a bit of a detox...don't get me wrong this is not the starve yourself and hope that it cleans our your system detox but I've taken bits and pieces of different things that I have read and "developed" (I'm not a nutritionist by ANY means) a detox/jump start of clean, healthy food into 2012....I plan on doing this for at least 2 weeks maybe longer and it could just become a daily lifestyle!

Here are the basics.

  

What to avoid:

Processed foods (we pretty much do this already-minus some "cheat days")

Sugar

Carbs

Red meat

Caffeine (I usually drink 2-3 cups I'm cutting down to just 1 or none each day)

 

What to enjoy:

Detox "tea" in morning-recipe to follow

Lots of fresh organic veggies

Fruits with low sugar (no oranges)

Green Leafy Veggies

Lots and lots of water!

Fish and Chicken*

*most detox plans have you completely stay away from fish/chicken/soy products the first week....With Rene not having any protein is a big problem so for the first week I'll be cooking protein but not eating it, but if you are like him and need some meat stick to chicken (skinless) and fish or tofu those are the best bets!

I'll be kicking this off on January 1st (after my delish pizza pull apart bread and freshmade pasta-what can I say I enjoy food!) I'll be posting the recipes and foods that I am eating along with how I'm feeling and if I notice any changes...beware I typically don't do well without my 2-3 cups of coffee so taking it to just one might be ugly!