juicing for smarties

before and after: home grown sprouts, ginger, turmeric, carrots, bok choy, beets, cabbage, kale.

juicing for smarties? yes! juicing is decidedly NOT for dummies, although it's the easiest thing in the world to do. even though i am a novice, and i am sure that there are many places online that can tell you a million things you ought to know about juicing, this is my blog, and this is how i roll:

1. go shopping just for veggies. don't pick up anything if it's not a fruit, veggie or some kind of root. just for today, be a purist!

2. buy a rainbow of colors. carrots, beets, cilantro, ginger, turmeric, bok choy. not only is it pretty, it's good for you.

3. don't be a sissy! go big or go home. buy a lot! see just how far 40 bucks can go when you are just buying greens. it's amazing!

4. have you ever heard of "shop & chop". this is how it's done: when you get home chop up all the leafy greens in a size that fits easily into your juicer and toss them in a dry plastic bag so they are ready to go when you are. (leave the carrots whole or cut the the long way so you can use them to help push things thru if needed)

5. gather together or buy various sized glass jars. i like mason jars... but also check out your local asian market place as they sometimes have cute glass jars with interesting lids at a good price! you're going to want to make more juice than just one serving at a time and the individual jars make it easy to store and to take with.

6. fire up the juicer and start feeding it the goods! it's best to rotate the leafy and meaty items with watery items to help flush the juice thru the machine and avoid clogging. make enough juice to last a day or two. go nuts.

7. pour the juice into the pretty jars all the way to the top, leaving as little air as possible. (you don't want the juice to oxidize). store in fridge.

8. clean the messy and then progress. that is, clean the juicer right away. it makes cleaning it so much faster and better.

9. top off a nice glass with the freshly made juice. take a big swig and enjoy the sensation of goodness, then take a pix to show-off to your juicing pals.

10. enjoy the rest of the day knowing that you have done something good for yourself. you have prepared several power meals the will nourish your body, mind and spirit! congratulate yourself!

juice "feast" / liver detox

liver detox tea

where have i been? detoxing my liver.

i am on day four of a liver detox program which includes, juicing a rainbow of veggies, drinking pure water and drinking detox tea day and night. cleansing your liver is one of the most important things you can do to improve your overall health as it means inducing the liver to purge fats, old cholesterol deposits, gallstones, poisons, drug residues, and other toxic waste. While you do this, you also clean out other vital organs including your blood and intestines. there are many benefits to regular liver detoxification. Following are just a few:

Weight loss and reduced cellulite – Improving liver function can help with weight loss as your body will start to release liquids and fat that has attached to excess toxins.

Better cardiovascular function – The structural position of the liver as a bridge between the returning blood from the digestive system and the lower part of the body to the heart makes the liver an important organ for the health of the heart. It is especially important to keep the liver clean if cardiovascular health is a risk factor because a weakened and swollen liver can obstruct the venous blood flow to the heart causing heart palpitations or even heart attack.

Improved Libido – Even a mildly sluggish liver can seriously affect your energy level as well as your libido. 

Improved immune function – Detoxing the liver strenthens your body‟s fight against harmful (i.e. cancer) cells and helps to generate healthy cells, resulting in less illness and disease.

Improved digestion, cleaner blood and clearer skin – detoxifying your liver helps to cleanse mucous, congestion, fermentation and inflammation in your digestive tract resulting in improved intestinal health, cleaner blood as well as clearer skin.

Improved lifestyle – any form of detoxification can help to reform you lifestyle addictions for substances such as sugar, salt, high glycemic carbohydrates, alcohol, junk foods, nicotine, etc.

Fewer aches and pains – by reducing the liver‟s toxic buildups, health problems such as fatigue, arthritis and joint pain, as well as other chronic diseases are minimized. The theory is that cleansing the liver with specific foods and beverages will clean these buildups from the liver, thus making you feel better.

If you look after your liver, here's the list of diseases you won't get include:

• Cirrhosis
• Cancer
• Heavy metal poisoning
• Gall stones
• Diabetes
• Obesity

Cleansing your liver also cleans out other vital organs including your blood and intestines, so it actually has multiple benefits for your overall health.

(here's some info on juicers)