NEW Juice recipes, Smoothie recipes…time to get back to it!

I am literally having a hard time typing on my laptop. It’s ridiculous. Is it possible to be away from your laptop for so long that you have to reacquaint yourself with the keyboard? I guess it is because that’s what I’m experiencing right now. I have missed my blog, missed eating healthy (mostly low fat raw vegan or 80/10/10) all the time and definitely sorely missed feeling healthy and vibrant. I guess being pregnant (not having an easy time with it) and taking care of a newborn can really throw you off your game. Well, y’all, I’ve gotten back on the saddle, I’m thoroughly enjoying the process of taking care of myself again and now I want to get back to talking, or rather, typing about it.

My sins. I have many of them this year. I literally shoved anything and everything down my throat while I was pregnant. I couldn’t eat and satisfy myself fast enough. I had an insatiable appetite 24/7. All the time. All the darn time. I woke up thinking about food (unhealthy food) and went to bed thinking about what (unhealthy) breakfast I would have the next morning. It was horrible and pleasurable all at the same time. I am incredibly hungry all the time now thanks to being a breastfeeding mommy but at least this time I’m shoving bananas down my throat and waking up excited to make a green juice. I thank the heavens above that I literally did not pay for my sins by gaining excessive weight while pregnant but my hormones are definitely waaaay out of whack which I can’t balance with any herbs till I’m done breastfeeding. I gained 19lbs and lost all of it by the time I was 10 days postpartum. THANK YOU GOD. All that being said, I look forward to a healthful postpartum journey and I want to take you with me whether you’re happy with your weight, want to lose weight, want to feel energized by your meals, lower your cholesterol, control your blood sugar or just love to prepare and enjoy delicious new healthy recipes. I can guarantee it’ll be an interesting ride!

Here are a few juice and smoothie recipes that I have made in the last few weeks that have really gotten me excited! I mean…really excited!! 🙂

Blueberry Delight Smoothie Recipe

• Blueberries, 1 cup
• 1 banana
• 1 orange
• Handful of spinach
• 1tbsp of flaxseed meal

Simple Strawberry-Mango-Orange Smoothie Recipe

• 1 cup of strawberries
• 1 orange
• 1/2-1 cup of mango

Great Green Juice Recipe

• 3-4 stalks of celery
• 1 cucumber
• 2 apples
• 1 kiwi
• Handful of cilantro
• Handful of parsley
• 1 lemon
• knob of turmeric 

So there you have it folks! Those are 3 pretty good recipes worth making….right now 🙂 If you can’t wait 500 months for my next post, do check me out on IG (Instagram). I’ve been posting great recipes there pretty often the past few weeks. Do scrub those veggies really well and choose organic ones if available/affordable. I made my smoothies with the all-too-amazing Vitamix and juiced with the Omega J8006.

~Happy Juicing Y’all!~

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Make a Green Juice and Feel Better NOW

Do you desire greater health? YES! YES! YES!

Are you constantly making excuses? YES (It’s too cold, I’m too tired etc)

Is there always something seemingly more important to do in the moment? YES (fold the laundry, pay bills, clean the kitchen, buy groceries etc)

I figured I’d just answer the questions for myself. I’ve somehow put so many other things ahead of the list in my life when all I really wanted to do was just make and enjoy a homemade organic green juice. So while I stare at the pile of laundry next to me I’m sipping my green juice, blogging and feeling happy. Making and drinking green juice as I usually do, in the quiet of my home, early in the morning, has an extremely cathartic effect on me. I feel calm, refreshed and approach all the tasks of my day in a more relaxed manner. All the noise that was going on in my head about all the things that need to get done today that was truly making me feel overwhelmed is gone! All I did to make it stop the ‘noise’ was to do something I love that took less than 15 minutes from start to finish. So while I think everyone should make a green juice especially because it sets the tone to make healthier choices the rest of the day, the moral of the story is to just hit the PAUSE button as soon as your day begins and perform a task that is calming. For me, this morning, it was prayer and a green juice, what will it be for you?

Here are 2 green juice recipes that hopefully inspire you to take time for yourself each morning so you can feel better NOW 🙂

• Cucumber (1)
• Celery (2-3 stalks)
• Apple (2 apples)
• Lemon (1)
• Romaine Lettuce (1 head/heart)

Green juice recipes don’t get easier than this…

• Celery (3-4 stalks)
• Apple (2-3 apples)
• Lemon (1)
• Spinach (2 large handfuls)

 

~Make and enjoy a green juice for a better start to your day!~

Green Juice Recipe (#32) and 3 Easy Healthy Habits

I love healthy habits and I love them even more when they just happen naturally. It’s not fun to always have to work at creating them but when you’re finally there, at that effortless space where it just happens, it’s magic, it’s fun and you enjoy the benefits. I realized this past Saturday that anytime I’m off on a Saturday (I work some weekends), I make a huge batch of green juice, sit on the couch (or in bed) in complete silence preferably and savor every last drop of my juice while doing absolutely nothing else. It’s meditative and I enjoy every second of it. I juice several times a week but for some reason I really look forward to my next Saturday morning juice feast. I’ve worked annoyingly hard to create other healthy habits, many of which haven’t stuck, so it was fun to realize I had incidentally created this one. So since healthy habits don’t always happen effortlessly for me or many others I thought I’d come up with a list of 3 other healthy habits I’d like to practice. Feel free to join me.

1. Going to bed and waking up at the same time. I love sleep, who doesn’t? My problem, like many of you probably, is that on my days off I tend to stay up late, not being very productive, and wake up late. When I wake up later in the day, by the time I’m dressed and ready to conquer my day I’m annoyed with myself because I feel like half my day is gone. If I made an effort to sleep at the same time, wake up at the same time and physically get out of bed I’m sure I’d feel a million times better. Although, truth be told, there’s nothing like having a day once in a while spent in bed 🙂

2. Exercise at least 3 times per week. I know y’all saw this coming. I have serious working out issues. I go through phases where I live and breath my workouts and then it all comes to a screeching halt when I have a break in my schedule like a 3 day holiday out of town or heavens knows what! It’s sad, it’s pathetic and I want to be in the space where working out at least thrice a week just happens, like going to work, like juicing, like taking out the trash. Aaaaaarrrgghhh, can I just be there already?

3. Have (more of) an attitude of gratitude. I used to be a master at this. This used to be my constant state of being and then my job happened, more bills happened and more, more, more nonsense. They’re all excuses really. When you consistently practice having an attitude of gratitude no matter what happens in your day, you are happy, you are calm, you feel abundant, blessed and only more wonderful things/experiences come your way. It’s a fact. It’s really simple and I intend to practice it more. You can make a list every morning of what you’re grateful for, you can do it at the dinner table with your family or you can do it in the car while sitting in traffic. Anytime is the perfect time to have an attitude of gratitude for any or every thing in your life.

So here’s the juice I made this past Saturday morning. It was lightly sweet, it was a gorgeous green and I was grateful for every last drop of it.

Saturday Morning Green Juice

• 2 very large organic European cucumbers
• 4 organic apples
• 1 organic lemon, peeled
• 3 cups of organic baby spinach

I used my Omega J8006 to make this green juice and it juiced my spinach so well. All the pulp was bone dry! Unlike the Breville though, it works better if you peel the lemon which is fine because it only takes an extra 15 seconds. Check out Types of Juicers if you still haven’t decided what juicer you think would work best for you.

 

What healthy habits do you have that you appreciate? or would like to start? Kindly share…

~Juice & Start A New Healthy Habit Today!~

Here’s a Juice, Smoothie and Salad Recipe you’ll love!

I can’t believe it’s been 2 months already of eating a mostly raw vegan diet. I’m not a big fan of labels because I don’t want to deter anyone from my main message which is that fruits and vegetables ROCK!!! The more fruits and veggies you add to your diet the healthier you will be and feel… guaranteed! I do appreciate labels though for how important they are in having discussions of any kind. In my quest to attain greater health this year, those words (raw and vegan) are the IT words. My diet has sloooooowly evolved in the past 9 years (since I read Never Be Sick Again by Raymond Francis) and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I’ve never gone cold turkey on anything. Cold turkey does not work for me. I am much further along than most people I know who for years have quit this, that or the other, announced it to the world and sworn by everything, only to be smothered in grease on a Friday night and decide that eating healthy is too hard. Nice and slow works, no need for torture 🙂 I know my why and that keeps me going. I’ve had a few cooked non-vegan meals (one or two a week on average) since this journey began but I’m not sweating them! I am focusing on how easy and delicious it is to have simple and fast raw vegan meals! Here are 3 new recipes I made in one day. I actually wasn’t trying to create new recipes, it just happened! and then of course I thought to myself… better run and get that camera so you can share this with everyone. Enjoy folks. Every recipe was deeeeeelicous 🙂

Juice Recipe #32: Orange Glow

I love 3 ingredient juice recipes, they’re so easy! This juice was sweet and had a great zing thanks to the ginger. Remember… go for organic ingredients if possible. This recipe is very reminiscent of this ABC and ginger recipe but it tastes and looks very different. I used my Breville Juice Fountain Plus instead of the Omega J8006 for this recipe because they were all hard ingredients that the Breville just juices faster.

• 1 large golden beet (this was my first time using them and they are gorgeous)
• 5 carrots
• 1 inch of ginger

Smoothie Recipe #9: Hubby’s Fruit Medley

I have a confession. This was my husband’s creation, not mine. It is THE joy of my life that eating this way (and sharing it with others) inspires anyone, and most importantly the people I love so deeply. Hubby has become quite the smoothie maker so when he came up with this winner I knew I had to share it. If you want to do it hubby’s style just throw everything in your Vitamix (blender) in whatever proportions you like, add ‘some’ water and voila! If you’re like me, you’ll use…

• 1 mango, peeled and chopped
• 1 cup of strawberries
• 1 large banana, frozen
• 1 cup of pineapple, frozen
• 1 apple
• 1 cup of water

It doesn’t matter what fruits are fresh or frozen, I just indicated which ones I used that happened to be frozen. I particularly love using only frozen bananas for smoothies. It somehow tastes better to me.

Salad Recipe

This salad was filling and out of this world good!

• 3 large handfuls of baby kale, chopped
• 1/2 cucumber, chopped
• 1 large carrot, shredded
• 3/4 cup of broccoli florets
• 2 large handful of a variety of sprouts (garbanzo, alfalfa and bean sprouts)

Salad Dressing: 5 strawberries, 1 orange and 1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar.

Ok, so balsamic vinegar is obviously not raw but I loooooove the one I have and it is fantastic for making salad dressings. The recipe would actually be just fine with only strawberries and oranges so feel free to leave it out.

~Add more fruits and vegetables to your diet, juice and enjoy!~

Joyful Juice Recipes, #29 and #30

I’m so glad I’m back to juicing and blogging about it. I took a very long break from doing both most of this year to pursue other personal goals that suffice it to say left me feeling drained and hopeless. I am finally beginning to feel like my true happy self again and I owe much of that to my beloved 5 year old Breville juicer and my yummy hubby. While in the throes of my sadness I forced myself to think of (and act on) activities that bring me joy and juicing was pretty much at the top of the list. Ok, so maybe juicing tied with sleeping 9+ hours on my days off regardless of how many ‘important’ and  ‘timely’ errands I needed to run. So here are two recipes that I made on a day I literally slept in till 11am! These recipes are raw, fresh, mostly organic and quite delicious. Give them a try!I had one for breakfast, at 12pm 🙂 and one for lunch at 3pm 🙂 🙂 with lots of water in between.

BEET JOY JUICE RECIPE (32 ounces)

• 6 large carrots
• 3 beets, thoroughly washed
• 2 granny smith apples
• 1/4 large fresh pineapple
• 1 inch piece of ginger
• 3-4 leaves of beet greens

GREEN JOY JUICE RECIPE (24 ounces)

• 4 stalks of celery
• 1 large green bell pepper
• 2 granny smith apples
• 1/2 lime
• 2 leaves of mustard greens

Juice and Be Joyful!

Creamy Dreamy Green Smoothie Recipe #9

I can’t believe I’m about to post a smoothie recipe with avocado in it. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE avocado, but the idea of it in a smoothie was crazy to me before now. I despised avocado as a child but I somehow fell in love with it as an adult and I ‘treat’ myself with them every once in a while because they tend to be pretty expensive. You can imagine my excitement then when my mother-in-law gifted me with a juicy and perfectly ripe avocado among very many other garden-fresh fruits and vegetables. I knew I wanted to create a recipe I had never made before with the avocado so when I woke up last Saturday morning with a craving for a delicious healthy green smoothie I knew I just had to use some of the avocado. I threw all my ingredients in my oh-so-powerful Vitamix and said a prayer! Well folks, it was delicious and the perfect breakfast smoothie. I couldn’t believe how amazing it was. I feel so silly now 🙂 .It was creamy, dreamy and delicious. Did I say it was delish? I will absolutely be making this recipe again and again and again. Ladies and gentlemen…dare to do something different with your smoothies, you just might create a winner!

CREAMY DREAMY GREEN SMOOTHIE

1/2 an avocado

1 frozen banana

1 date

Handful of organic spinach

1/2 cup of water

ENJOY 🙂

Here’s a picture of some of the peppers we got from her. Thanks mama! I will NOT be making a smoothie recipe with these hot as Hades habanero peppers. I’m not that crazy. Aren’t they gorgeous though?

Juicing date with my mother and Juice Recipe #28

I had an incredibly fun Saturday evening. I spent it juicing with my mother. I obviously looooooooove juicing, hence the blog, but it is an activity I do solo. My mother has had a juicer for a while now and why we haven’t had a juicing date before yesterday beats me! Turns out, juicing is so much more fun when you have an equally enthusiastic partner. We had so much fun, made three different juices, and I took no pictures because I was too busy chugging them. My beloved mother had two big AHA! moments while we juiced.

The first one was that she does way to much prep work. After thoroughly washing the veggies, she chops them up into smaller pieces!?! I couldn’t believe it. I basically told her she did not need to help her super powerful centrifugal juicer out and that she should just (gently)  shove her veggies whole down the chute, as long as they fit of course. She had the most surprised look on her face as I threw whole cucumbers down the chute, large and long carrots, celery stalks etc.

Lesson #1: Don’t help your juicer out by chopping up the veggies. Your juicer can take it! Just wash and juice. Slice/Chop only to make larger veggies fit.

The second AHA! moment she had was that I have a rhyme and reason to my juicing while she doesn’t. My mother just juices a little of all of the vegetables and fruits she has available in her fridge. She ALWAYS juices this way and of course sometimes they taste great and a lot of times they don’t. That must not have been very encouraging for her. I’ve been experimenting with different fruit and veggie combos for so long now that I know, for the most part, what works together and what doesn’t.

Lesson #2: Recipes are great for making your own juices. Feel free to make them exactly as you see them or use them as inspiration but be warned that throwing everything-but-the-kitchen-sink down your juicer’s chute may not always result in a tasty juice.

While these lessons may seem pretty basic to novice or expert juicers, I hope there’s a beginner out there who will see this post and benefit from them.

One of the juices we made was this creamy and delicious orange-colored juice, the second was your usual deep red colored ABC (plus ginger) juice and the third was a green juice that I don’t think I’ve made before. Check out the ingredients below. We made an incredibly large batch but I will modify the quantity to what should make approximately 16 ounces.

MAMA’s green juice

• 4 organic celery stalks
• 1/2 large cucumber (1 whole small cucumber)
• small handful of cilantro
• 1 large head of organic romaine lettuce
• 1 organic apple
• 2-3 stalks of a dark leafy green, we used beet greens

~Happy Juicing y’all!~

Summer Reminiscing: Snack Time!

I think the best motto for trying to lead a healthy lifestyle especially with food is… Keep it Simple and Keep it Real! (and organic if possible :-)) Hubby and I had snack time one lazy afternoon this past summer that was just too pretty not to photograph! One of my absolute favorite things about summer is the abundance of fresh fruits. This was the most delicious snack time we’d had in a while. It had me thinking of how incredibly delicious real food is and how grateful I am we get to indulge. Here’s to keeping it simple and real with all our meals!

Ingredients: Pineapple, Strawberries, Bananas, Cherries, Grapefruit and Mango. Use your favorite fruits, especially what is in season since it tends to be the most affordable and have the most nutrients. This is a great breakfast recipe too!

~Munch&Enjoy!~

2 Green Juice Recipes #26 and #27

Here are 2 new green juice recipes. One is light and sweet and the other is tart and has a stronger ‘green’ flavor. Both are equally delicious and of course full of nutrients that are bound to leave you feeling clean & much healthier. Use organic ingredients if possible. Each recipe makes approximately 16 ounces of green juice.

Recipe # 1: Cleansing Green Juice

• 1 large cucumber
• 5 celery stalks
• 2-3 apples
• 1/2 lemon (you can juice with the peel on)

All the celery (a powerful diuretic) in this juice makes it a great cleansing juice recipe!

Recipe #2: Tart & Zing Green Juice

• 2-3 mustard green leaves (they are pretty bitter so use with caution)
  
• 1/2 inch of ginger, no need to peel!
• 2 apples
• 3 celery stalks
• A handful of cilantro

Adding ginger to a juice definitely boosts its anti-inflammatory power, strengthens the immune system & improves circulation. It also gives the juice that ‘zing’ flavor!

~Juice & Enjoy!~

Smoothie recipe #7 and #8: Milkshake anyone? Vegan of course!

So I was out having dinner the other day with my husband and I had an insane craving for a milkshake. The reason I call it insane is because I haven’t had a milkshake since I was maybe 10 years old! and plus… dairy and I don’t agree too well, and plus… milkshakes have zero nutrition in my opinion! I try to create delicious nutrient-rich recipes, so since I’ve had some extra time on my hands these past few days I decided to create milkshake-esque/smoothie recipes and they knocked the socks off my feet! They were very filling, quite delicious and great for the scorching hot weather we’ve been experiencing these past few days. Slurp away!

Chocolate-Banana Lovers Smoothie

• 1 frozen banana
• 1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 dates, pitted
• 8-10 oz almond milk (homemade almond milk is super easy to make)
• 1tbsp flaxeed meal
• 2 drops of vanilla essence

I purposely made a huge smoothie because I was headed out the door to run errands and wanted to make sure my belly was very full so I wouldn’t succumb to temptation! It can be extremely challenging to try and find something healthy when you’re out and about so don’t allow that to happen and make this delish smoothie instead and take it to-go. It’s the perfect breakfast recipe! and it’s vegan 🙂

Ingredients for Chocolate-Banana Lovers Smoothie Recipe

Chocolate-Banana Lovers Smoothie

Ready To-Go!

Strawberry Heaven Smoothie

• 5 frozen strawberries
• 6 oz almond milk (use homemade almond milk if possible)
• 1tbsp flaxseed meal
• 1tbsp hempseed meal
• 2 dates
• 2 drops of vanilla essence

*use organic ingredients if possible, especially the fruits

This strawberry recipe will satisfy any sweet tooth. It’s creamy, cool, sweet and refreshing on a hot summer’s day. You can check out this strawberry smoothie recipe that’s pretty similar to this one but has it’s own unique flavor.

Ingredients for Strawberry Heaven Smoothie Recipe

Strawberry Heaven Smoothie Recipe

~Enjoy!~