Ginger...oh my!

I have never been a big fan of ginger.  I prefer fake ginger ales to the kinds that taste like the real deal.  Candied ginger? No thanks!!!  However, I do love a fine piece of gingerbread any day of the week.

So tonight, I was inspired to try adding ginger to a juice.  I chose a plain apple and carrot juice to start with, thinking it would pair nicely.  Afterwards, I added some cinnamon and some chia seeds.  The rest of the family agreed...SKIP the chia seeds next time!  But the spiciness of this juice was perfect.

The first two slivers of ginger I cut were too small, and zipped right into the waste container.  I cut a slightly larger piece and it was a perfect amount.  It yielded maybe 3-4 drops of juice into the container.  I would definitely make this juice again!

2 Granny Smith Apples
4 Carrots
1/8th" Ginger
Dash Cinnamon
(4 Tablespoons of Chia seeds to be omitted next time ;) )
Served over ice

This recipe was a combination of my own ideas with inspiration from "The Complete Book of Juicing" by Michael T. Murray.

20 Ounces of Apple-Carrot-Ginger-Cinnamon-Chia goodness!

A-B-C, 1-2-3

This was an A-B-C juice tonight.  I wanted something light and fruity, so chose a mixture of:

2 Granny Smith Apples
1/2 package of frozen Berries (raspberries, blackberries, blueberries)
3 large Carrots
Served over ice.

The juice ended up delicious, but had a very intense flavor.  It definitely needed something to lighten it up...maybe some lemon or lime?  Maybe more apple and less berries?  But seriously, the flavor was DELICIOUS, and I want to try experimenting a little bit.

For exercise today, we took the kids to a nearby park.  They have a small playground, and a walking loop that stays within eye-sight at all times.  So the kids played on the playground, and we alternated walking and running for 35 minutes (20 loops).  This is the first time ever that Mark and I have run together and it was super fun!  I'm loving getting my old groove back.

I went to Trader Joe's this afternoon...I know, I know two weeks in a row that I hit Joe's on the weekend.  And their fresh veggie supply was sadly extremely lacking. No fresh spinach or kale. I snatched the very last package of cucumbers.  And so forth.  But I did get quite a few things, including some fresh ginger. So I am excited to try that at some point this week.

I'm hoping to read this new library book I got, and maybe do some Pinterest hopping to find some new inspiration for this coming week.

Tomorrow's Monday....make it a good one! xoxo

This Tastes....ummm...Healthy!

Yes, that's the response I got at dinner tonight when serving up a veggie juice to my family.  Don't feel too bad for them, though...we served it up beside take-out pizza.  Lydia said hers was "okay" and finished it up.  Kate gave it a solid thumbs down, and only drank about 4 or 5 sips before saying she had ENOUGH.  That's okay though...nothing forced, just tried with a good attitude. That's all I ask.

Tonight, I did a 5K on the treadmill for exercise.  Ran 2 miles before knee pain, so the last mile was alternating walking and running.

Tonight's juice included what was left in the refrigerator:

8 pearl Tomatoes
6 Carrots
5 Celery
1 Cucumber
Handful Parsley
3/4 Lemon
Dash Worcestershire Sauce

I loved it, but that's no surprise. ;)

As for yesterday, I finally succumbed to the big yuck.  I was soo sick in bed, all day so no juicing or exercise got done.  It feels GREAT to be back in the land of the living and sunshine today!

There will be no juice tomorrow unless I hit the grocery store. ;)

Dessert Juice

We had scrambled eggs for dinner (thanks for making them, Markus!) tonight and I decided to make a dessert juice to go alongside of them.  Wow, it was sooo good.

4 Oranges
8 Carrots
1 cup frozen Strawberries, thawed
1/2 Banana

It was the perfect amount of banana to add a hint of flavor without it being overpowering.  The whole family LOVED this juice!

As far as my energy level goes, my nights are still crappy.  However, I still have not napped even once this week.  This is soo unusual...I still laid down and read a book for an hour; but I never get overcome with that must-sleep-right-now feeling.  I missed working out yesterday (was too sicky) but went right back to it today for 40 minutes.

I got another juicing book from the library today...Hopefully tonight I will have time to sit and peruse, and get inspired!

Could-a Had a V8!

Today's lunch inspiration comes from the popular V8 juice that you get in the grocery store.  I loooove an icy cold V8, but how cool would it be to re-create it?  I started by googling what ingredients were in the store-bought version, followed by several Pinterest recipes.  I found a bunch of great tips (from stewing the tomatoes first)....to adding lots of different things (green peppers, onions) etc.  In the end, I decided to combine a few different recipes, and come up with my own.

The girls and I took off for Harris Teeter for a couple of things including Watercress.  Many moons ago, I worked in a grocery store and had the PLU for watercress memorized, but that is the extent of my knowledge of this vegetable.  And apparently, that is even more than the guy who was stocking the produce shelves at HT!  He looked at me like I was looking for a green alien when I asked him about it, and told me he had never heard of it, and was fairly sure they didn't stock it there.  Okay, scratch the watercress.....for today.

My homemade V8 concoction:

1/2 Small Beet (the flavor is so powerful, it really only takes a little)
2 Stalks of Celery
2 large Carrots
Handful fresh Parsley
Handful of Spinach
3 medium Tomatoes
1/2 Lemon
I added a dash of Worcestershire sauce and poured over ice.

It was delicious!!  Not quite the same as the store bought....not even really similar.  BUT, I loved it, and would definitely try this again.  I would just cut down the beet to 1/4 or less.

Just Say Mmmmmmm!

I was a little late coming in for lunch because the neighbor came over to talk to me for a little while.  Markus had already started lunch for the girls, and I had to make the decision whether to make a juice or skip until later.  I decided to go ahead and concoct something on the spot because I didn't have a recipe ready.  I opened the refrigerator and chose out:

1 Lime
2 Celery stalks
Handful of Cilantro
Handful of Spinach
4 Carrots
1 Cucumber
1 Apple
Poured over Ice

It was so.good. So, so, so GOOD.  I couldn't believe the refreshing flavors...sweet, tangy, zippy, and smooth.  Just so good.

I need to figuer out how to better peel a lime next time.  Lime juice on dry skin is so very uncomfortable. Just sayin'.

Yesterday, I got 30 minutes in on the treadmill.  I am hoping to get out on this gorgeous 60 degree day and take a brisk walk around the neighborhood.

I'm loving this juicing challenge!

Day Number ONE!

Well, hello there!  My name is Anna....I'm 38 years old.....wife to one, mother to two.  Last week, I was struck with sudden inspiration to order a juicer from Amazon....and the kind Fedex guy delivered it today.  I am starting this blog in the hopes that it will help hold me accountable to actually use this new toy and try lots of different recipes out.

My long term goal is to start feeling better.  The last few months, I have just been fighting constant fatigue and sleepiness.  I am not sleeping well at night, and it leaves me feeling dragged during the day time.  There seldom goes a day where I don't take a nap....which, I think, feeds into another poor night's sleep.  I am hopeful that by starting with nutrition, I will have a bit more energy to feel motivated to get some exercise in, and then start sleeping better at night.  That's my end goal.

For the short term goal, my hope is to start establishing a new habit.  I think they say it takes like 21 days to cement a new pattern, so I have a goal to juice every single day for 30 days, at least once per day.  Twice, if its a good day. ;)  For the rest of my nutrition, I want to keep with my usual habits of healthy, non-processed foods, with lots of fresh fruits and vegetables.  And for exercise, rain or shine, I want to do 30 minutes every.single.day.  Up until about a year ago, I was a runner....and then knee pain started to kick in, nagging me at every turn.  And then I had a horrible run....And I lost motivation.  So, I'm hoping to get into a habit of walking and slowly ease into running, a little at a time.

My starting weight this morning was 136.6.  I would be happy to eventually lose maybe 3-4 pounds, but mostly I am hoping to just get a bit more toned from starting to exercise.  I will be keeping track of my weight, just because I am interested in seeing if replacing a meal or two every day will make any kind of difference.

So, today was DAY #1!  At 4:00 this afternoon, I opened the big box that the kind Fedex guy dropped off at our front door, and slowly took out each piece.  The juicer that I ordered was the Breville JE98XL Bundle Juice Fountain Plus Juicer with DVD for around $140.  I liked the reviews on it.  There are a lot of pieces to clean, though, so hopefully I don't get weary of washing all the parts.  That's my biggest concern, actually. haha

From the library, today, I took out a book called, "Organic Avenue, Recipes for Life Made with Love" by Leda Scheintaub.  This book is geared towards turning people Vegan, but let me be clear from the start...going Vegan is SO NOT my intention.  I love milk.  And eggs.  And Chicken.  And I believe that there is wholesome goodness in all of those.  In limited quantity, and from a good source.  But a Vegan I am NOT.  Anyway, I was drawn to this book because it has bunches of good juicing recipes that seemed attainable, do-able and yummy.

I quickly scanned through the book, and jumped ahead to the recipes section.  Dinner was quickly approaching and I really wanted to try one right off the bat.  The recipe I chose was on page #129 called Perfect LOVE Green Juice.  I ran to the local grocery store and picked up some organic spinach, beets, celery, cilantro, etc.  A huge sack of organic vegetables, enough to make at least 4 juices was only $10!!  I was stoked!

Here is the recipe for Perfect LOVE Green Juice:

1/2 lemon, peeled
1/2 cup Cilantro, leaves and stems
1 handful Kale
Handful of baby Spinach
1 Carrot, scrubbed***
1/2 large Beet***
3 Celery stalks
1/2 unpeeled Cucumber
Served on Ice.

***We ALWAYS have carrots in the house. Like, always.  Except today.  I opened the fridge to find that it was carrotless.  So, I used one whole beet, and then at the last minute added in one Gala Apple.

It was super easy to prepare the veggies, and 10 minutes later, I had 15 ounces of the rubiest red, delightful juice.  And it was *delicious*.  The girls didn't care for it too much (no surprise there).  I would *definitely* make this again sometime.  I added a handful of wheat crackers with peanut butter to complete the meal.  Completely satisfied.

Stay tuned for Day #2 tomorrow!

xoxo