Recipe > Juice: Tangy Veg

This is one of the few juices that does not have apple.

Ingredients:

• 1 romaine heart
• 1/2 bunch cilantro
• 1/2 head red leaf lettuce
• handful of purple kale
• 4 carrots
• 1 lime
• 1 lemon
• 1 tangerine
• 3 pineapple spears

Directions:

Juice in your favorite juicer.

Recipe: Mocha Vanilla Chai Smoothie

This can be made thicker or thinner depending on how much almond butter and chia seeds you add. It works with neither of those if you want a more refreshing, liquid-y beverage.

Ingredients:

• 1.5 cups almond milk
• 1/8 cup almond butter
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 3 teaspoons of chia seeds
• 1-2 squares of dark 85% cocoa
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon powder
• 2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger

Directions:

Blend in high speed blender until velvety smooth. Add ice if you want it a bit colder and dessert-y-er.

Recipe > Juice: Bloody Best

This is my current favorite juice. I call it Bloody Best because it reminds me of a Bloody Mary, but for no good reason.

Ingredients:

• stalks and leaves of 3 medium beets
• 4 large carrots
• 2 limes (green skin removed - try to keep the nutritious pith)
• 1 lemon (yellow skin removed - try to keep the pith)
• 1 full bunch of spinach
• 3 large leaves of red leaf lettuce
• 1 green apple (include seeds for B-17)
• 2 fingers of ginger (no need to peel)
• 2 stalks celery

Directions:

Juice in your favorite juicer. Alternate leafies with fleshy. Always finish off with an apple to clean out your juicer.

How to eat more veggies

Some suggestions taken from http://www.21st-apothecary.com/november2011/nutrition-veggies-miracle-food.html

Americans are 4 times more likely to pick a processed snack, than a fruit or vegetable. In addition, Americans are 10 times as likely to select a carbonated soft drink than 100 percent juice. So how do we get more fruits and veggies into our diets? One answer is to select fruits and vegetables for a snack full of vitamins, nutrients, and good taste. Lose those empty calories! Strategies to reach the goal of 5 or more servings of fruits and vegetables a day also include having fruits and vegetables at every meal.

Another way to make sure we get all the healthy fruits and veggies we need is to find new recipes that we might enjoy.

Some helpful tips to get the health benefits of veggies:

• Eat 5 or more servings of fruits and vegetables a day.
• Eat at least one high-fiber selection a day.
• Eat cruciferous (cabbage family) vegetables several times a week.
• Enjoy the most colorful fruits and vegetables often.
• Eat at least one dark green vegetable daily.

Get the Most Out of Your Veggies
"As soon as a fruit or vegetable is harvested or sliced, a process called oxidation begins," says Holly Brewer, R.D., a dietitian at Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center in Las Vegas. "To fight the damage, the plant's cells use up their antioxidant stores, leaving less for you to eventually consume." The fix is to eat fresh produce within a day of purchase, or buy frozen instead. According to a University of Illinois study, fresh green beans retain only 36% of their vitamin C after six days, while frozen green beans keep 77%.

Steam your veggies (or eat them raw) instead of boiling them. When boiled, or microwaved in water, veggies release their nutrients into the cooking water. Steaming them will prevent much of this nutrient loss. Another alternative is to make soups, stews and other dishes in which the cooking liquid is consumed.

Always choose fresh, whole fruits and veggies over canned or frozen - EXCEPT do not "stock up" on fresh fruits and vegetables because they lose their nutrients so quickly.

When it's not possible or convenient to 'eat fresh', go with frozen instead of canned veggies.

Always choose whole fruits & veggies over processed or juiced. For example, a whole apple is much healthier than a glass of apple juice. Too many juices add sugar, and almost all juices eliminate the fiber.

What do you want to juice?

Here is a list of items you will want to include in your juice. I found these descriptions at http://www.liquidvitaminsleader.com/juice-cleanse/

Mainly the very best detox agents in food are located in veggies. The sugar in fruit suppresses the detox process. You will find, however, a couple of exceptions to that particular rule. For instance, despite being sweet, apples and lemons are great detox aids.

Here then is really a fundamental listing of a few of the more efficient detox produce from which you’ll create juicing quality recipes that will assist get rid of dangerous harmful toxins:

Cucumbers- (British cucumbers are the most useful) Cucumbers assist the body to get rid of waste, dissolve kidney gemstones, and actually cleanse your skin.

Celery- Celery aid digestion, cleanse the liver, plus they are high in beta-carotene which fortifies the defense mechanisms.

Cabbage- Thought to become useful with weight reduction, cabbage can also be advantageous in reducing constipation and stimulating your skin.

Green Beans – Green beans are another component that’s great for your skin.

Celery- Celery benefits weight reduction and works like a natural diuretic. Make sure to make use of the whole stalk, leaves and all sorts of.

Lettuce- Within this situation you would like just the dark eco-friendly types. Lettuce is really a natural body facial cleanser.

Beetroot- Beetroot is really a super energy cleansing agent. It helps in cleansing the renal system and also the bloodstream stream.

Green spinach- Green spinach helps rebuild this enzymatic track, encourages the liver and gallbladder, and helps bloodstream and lymph circulation.

Tomato- Reduces acidity in your body, encourages bloodstream circulation, detoxifies the liver, and purifies bloodstream.

Asparagus- Asparagus assists in easing acidity within the bloodstream and detoxifies body tissue.

Apple- Our forefathers first got it right. An apple each day does indeed keep your physician away. Apples promote healthy colon flora, reduce colonic bacilli, and eliminate the body of harmful toxins, assistance to control bloodstream pressure and balance bloodstream sugar levels.

How do you want to juice?

After watching the movies, decide for yourself how you want to incorporate juice into your life. I personally drink one or two a day, usually first thing in the morning and as a mid-morning pick-me-up. There are a few key issues to consider when juicing:

• what kind of juicer to use (more on that later)
• logistics of how frequently will you juice (needs to be consumed as quickly as possible to maximize nutrients and minimize oxidization)
• what balance of greens/veggies/fruits will you aim for to make sure your juice is nutritious AND delicious (2 veggies to 1 fruit is good balance... beets and carrots count as a fruit, lemons & limes count as a veggie, the more green the better as it is liquid sunshine - hot!)
• do you want to do an all out cleanse or just supplement your diet?
• how can you set yourself up for success when you have to travel or spend time going out to eat with friends?

The one-two punch that can save your life

Two movies you must watch as soon as possible:
Fat Sick and Nearly Dead + Forks Over Knives

Netflix, Hulu, Redbox, AppleTV, buy the DVD on the website, I don't care how you watch them, just watch them now. Fat, Sick, ... should be watched first. It is fun and easy to watch and gives you enough emotional inspiration and willpower to last for weeks. Then watch Forks... as it is the scientific background you need to kick your logical side in the ass. It is a bit long and dry, but you should work your way through all of it, even if in two sessions. The combination of these two movies is the perfect concoction to make you really change your eating and lifestyle once and for all. You then need to follow up the movies with some good books that include healthy, plant-based recipes and exercise routines that you can actually follow. I recommend The Engine 2 Diet to get started.