Green Smoothie Goodness

This bright green smoothie is a pleasant pick-me up.  Use after your morning workout or in replacement of afternoon caffeine.

Yum! Green Smoothie

• 1/2 or 1 banana (fresh or frozen)
• ¼ – ½ cup of pineapple (fresh or frozen). Here are some nutritional benefits of pineapple
• 3-5 strawberries (fresh or frozen)
• ¼ tsp (or one serving) of dehydrated wheatgrass juice or 1 oz fresh wheatgrass juice.  Here are some nutritional benefits of wheatgrass juice
• 21 drops of Chlor-Oxygen¹
• Optional: 1 teaspoon of Almond Butter
• Optional:  1 tablespoon of Chia Seeds.  Here are some nutritional benefits of chia seeds
• Mix with purified water  (add purified ice if using fresh fruit  rather than frozen)

¹Chlor-Oxygen is a concentrated chlorophyll supplement. Click here for information on Chlor-Oxygen.  Any concentrated chlorophyll supplement can be used.

Banana Health Benefits

Fantastic Fiber:  the great thing about smoothies is that all the fiber is retained in the drink.  One medium-sized banana offers 16% of the daily value of dietary fiber.  Fiber  rich diets are great for overall health and lowers the risk of type 2 diabetes.

Marvelous Muscles:  Bananas have a high concentration of potassium (10% of our daily value) which keeps the heart and nervous system operating at peak performance. Potassium is a salt that is essential for muscle health. The contraction action of our muscles is regulated by potassium.  From our heart to our glutes to our deltoids to our digestive tract, the muscle contraction is part of potassium’s purview.  If you’re an athlete, a banana (or two) a day keeps muscle cramps away.

Cool Calcium:  the banana helps kidney and bone health, because the potassium suppresses calcium excretion through urine.  The potassium also helps reduce the risk of kidney stones.  Due to potassium’s ability to reduce calcium excretion, banana consumption is a great way to combat osteoporosis (the loss of bone density).

Trippy Tryptophan:  Bananas are a mild source of Tryptophan, an amino acid that acts as a stress-reliever.  Tryptophan is essential to the production of serotonin, which calms the brain and induces a more positive mood and mindset.  Tryptophan also acts as a mild sedative.  Eat a banana if you need to calm down after a work-out or need a nap.

Bodacious Blood: Bananas have a high concentration of Vitamin B6 at 20% of the daily value.  Vitamin B6 helps the body to produce hemoglobin which is an essential part of our blood.  Vitamin B6 also helps in the production of anti-bodies and our immune response.  This vitamin is well-rounded as it also converts carbohydrates to glucose to maintain healthy blood sugar level.  While bananas are higher on the glycemic index than say, an apple, the Vitamin B6 in the fruit acts as a balance for our blood sugar.

Oh, and last, but not least:

Centered C:  A medium sized banana contains 16% of the recommended daily value of Vitamin C.  Vitamin C is an essential element in good health and immune response.  Vitamin C is one of the most recommended supplements for the body and is a proven part of optimum health.

The Gaia Green Smoothie is optimized to re-energize and invigorate your mind and body so you can sail through your day.

Wheatgrass juice is gaining importance among juicers and healthy lifestylers for its abundant health benefits. Nicknamed “Liquid Sunshine,” wheatgrass juice carries the moniker because of its abundant chlorophyll content. Chlorophyll is the green pigment in plants that photosynthesizes the sun’s energy.

As indicated in its name, wheatgrass is an immature version of the wheat plant. Wheatgrass is best harvested early when it’s tender to make the best use of its nutrients and minerals.

Wheatgrass Nutrition

The liquid sunshine portion of wheatgrass is that 70% of its nutrient value is chlorophyll. The chlorophyll provides energy and alkalizing benefits.

Wheatgrass is now termed a ‘superfood’ and a great source of vitamins and minerals. Wheatgrass contains Vitamin B complex, C, E, and K and calcium, cobalt, iron, magnesium, prosperous, potassium, sulphur, and zinc. Wheatgrass also shines brightly with 17 complete amino acids and around 80 enzymes.

Benefits of Wheatgrass

Wheatgrass is best consumed as juice. One to two ounces a day added to your favorite smoothie or juice will give you a power boost of energy and nutrition. A short list of benefits include:

• Alkalizing: wheatgrass contains alkalizing minerals that promote the cleansing of tissues and maintaining the blood’s alkaline pH
• Anti-Fungal: wheatgrass can relieve the itching and burning caused by athlete’s foot.  Soak your feet in distilled water and two ounces of wheat juice.
• Anti-Yeast: Wheatgrass is anti-bacterial and therefore creates an unpleasant environment for both bacteria and yeast.  Regular consumption prevents new growth of both.
• Blood Building: the high concentration of iron in wheatgrass helps to regenerate red blood cells while supplying oxygen to the body.
• Blood Sugar: Wheatgrass helps regulate blood sugar making its addition a benefit for those suffering from diabetes.
• Breath and Body: wheat juice moves the lymphatic and gastro-intestinal systems.  It supports the reduction or elimination of bad breath and body odor.
• Control Cravings: high in nutrition, wheatgrass reduces cravings.  The inclusion of wheatgrass in your diet may help you lose weight.
• Digestion: Wheatgrass cleans out the intestines and colon providing a healthier environment for digestion.
• Immunosupport: wheatgrasses high vitamin and mineral content gives an energetic injection to your immune system.

How to Prepare and Consume Wheatgrass

In its grass form, this superfood is indigestible for humans. Juicing is the most convenient ways to access this plant’s power. The juice tastes ‘green,’ but it’s also naturally sweet. Wheatgrass can only be juiced with a gear juicer or a wheatgrass juicer – check out the Lexen wheatgrass juicer, our featured machine. It comes with a 30-day risk-free trial!

Superfoods are just that - super. The super powers of wheatgrass can jumpstart the detoxification process.  It’s recommended to start with a .5 oz to 1 oz a day, and you can then increase the amount the wheatgrass juice in your diet as it feels right.

If you have a wheat allergy, you can still consume wheatgrass juice, but start slow. Take only one teaspoon per day to build up your tolerance. While wheatgrass juice does not contain gluten, it’s still best to be on the safe side.  If you feel an allergic reaction to the juice, discontinue use.

Hot summer days and nights mean lighter bites. Summer soups are an easy way to explore fresh, fun, and flavorful fare.

Why use raw food?

Cooking chemically alters foods.  In some cases, cooking food can destroy vital nutrients and enzymes that are better used by our bodies in their raw form. Cooking can also create the much dreaded free-radical and other toxins.

A raw food diet typically consists of 75-100% uncooked and unprocessed foods. The foods are nutritionally dense in their unaltered form and are best when organic. Choose organic, because pesticides are not food and can cause harm to your health. Raw food is naturally alkaline, which is great for the body. Cooked food reduces the alkalinity and creates acid. Also, certain types of food such as meat are naturally acidic.

Since our bodies are alkaline based, it’s  important to keep our bodies on the alkaline side of the pH balance to maintain homeostasis. The alkaline pH normal for our bodies is 7.35 – 7.45.  As you can see, there isn’t a lot of room for movement, so a .10 of a difference can have huge effects on our body’s health. Often this is indicated as an overly acidic blood level, poor digestion, or weight gain.

Biggest obstacles to raw food: time, money, and nutrition

Including more raw food into your diet or going totally raw is often thought to be time-consuming and very expensive. The truth is that raw food is actually fairly easy to prepare, has ‘grab and go’ convenience (prepare and store in the fridge), and is more economical than other diets.

Because raw foodists typically adhere to an organic diet, the food they consume can be 80 – 300% denser in nutrition than non-organic food. This means your body can better use the food for energy and power. It will burn clean, and the benefits for the consumer are less hunger and more energy. You will eat less therefore reducing your food costs. Not to mention what a raw food diet does for reducing healthcare costs over time.

Two Summer Soups to Tempt Your Palate for Raw:

Carrot Ginger Soup

• 2 cups carrot juice (reserve pulp)*
• ½ cup plain yogurt
• 1 ½ – 2 Tablespoons ginger juice (according to taste)
• Freshly ground black pepper

Directions:  Juice carrots reserve the pulp.  Juice ginger.  Mix all ingredients together and chill.  Serves 4

Gazpacho

• 2/3 cup cucumber juice,  reserve pulp to add some back in for texture
• 2 ¼ cups tomato juice
• ¾ cup carrot juice, reserve pulp to add some back in for texture
• 2 cloves garlic, pressed
• 2 Tablespoons of finely chopped fresh herbs:  basil, oregano, thyme
• Freshly ground black pepper

Juice and reserve pulp as desired.  Mix all ingredients.  Chill before serving.  Serves 4

*For more ideas on what to do with juice pulp, check out this article from a few weeks back!

So whats your favorite raw foods meal or snack?

Share it in the comments below!

The best part of juicing is the double duty you get out of the fruits and vegetables. Not only do we receive the straight up nutrition and cleansing benefits, but we also get the added healthy oomph and flexibility from the pulp. Juicing, it seems, is more than just juice.

The power of fruit and vegetable pulp is concentrated dietary fiber packed with vitamins and minerals that are densely bio available. Using the pulp in recipes not only adds fiber, but also adds extra moisture to recipes or bulk to a recipe providing nutritious ‘filler.’ The moisture in your pulp will vary based on the power of your juicer. A high-powered juicer will produce a drier pulp as a low-powered juicer will create a wetter pulp. Pulp from both machines adds fiber and roughage to whatever recipe you use it in.

Pulp Time Line

Use the pulp immediately if you can, otherwise place it in a bag or container and freeze it. The enzymes in the fresh pulp will start to dissolve quickly, but freezing the pulp will stall that chemical reaction.  That’s because the fibrous property of the pulp is fairly stable and freezing it will extend it’s usability.

Things to do with juice pulp!

Re-Purposing the Pulp Possibilities

What to do with fruit pulp:

• Add some lemon juice and freeze to make a light and delightful sorbet.
• Mix with oil and vinegar to create a salad dressing.
• Turn into a marinade for poultry, pork, or tofu by adding olive oil and apple cider vinegar or lime juice.
• Berry pulp is a great topping for yogurt, ice cream, and muffins.
• Mix soft fruit pulp with a bit of water and put in ice cube trays and freeze for a fruity summer popsicle.
• Add berry pulp or pulp from peaches, pears, orange, apple, and apricots to muffin, bread, or pie recipes and in replacement of whole fruit.
• Feed it to the birds, but first test out a variety of pulps to see which our avian friends prefer.
• Add to the feed for livestock.

What to do with vegetable pulp:

• Mix with yogurt or cream cheese and spices for a cracker or veggie dip.
• Mix with buttermilk or yogurt to create a salad dressing.
• Mix with green onion, minced garlic, and salt for a tasty spread for atop a veggie or cold-cut sandwich.
• Mix in with your pet’s food to provide extra fiber and nutrition. The raw food in their diet will add sheen to their coat and an extra spring to their step. Give them a few days to get used to the idea.
• Add celery, carrot, or beet carrot pulp to burgers, meatballs, and meatloaf to add an extra zing.
• Thicken soups, stews, and gravies with the pulp rather than sing cornstarch.
• Use in ‘layered’ recipes such as lasagna, moussaka, and terrines.

Compost

If you’re an avid juicer like me, then you’ll most likely end up with more pulp than you’ll know what to do with.  If excess pulp is taking over your kitchen, consider composting the pulp to create a healthy fertilizer for your home garden or yard. The compost will create a rich, loamy soil, packed with nutrients your vegetable or flower garden will thank you for.

My biggest reason I never bought an avocado was because I would take it home intending to use it and when I cut it open, it would be bad inside.  And let’s face it, they are a little pricey.  But are they worth it?  Oh yeah, definitely.  Since I found the living food lifestyle, I found so much more to do with them AND how to keep them ripe and never throw away another one.

The avocado was discovered by Charles Avocad in 1762, and is botanically a fruit.   It is often treated as a vegetable and in some cuisines; this luscious green fruit/vegetable is used in desserts.  The cultivation of avocados began over 10,000 years ago.  These grew mainly in tropical areas.  Some believe even further back!  Maybe avocado trees fed the dinosaurs!  Now North and Central America lead the world in production, with California, Texas and Florida providing us with different varieties of avocado.  If you want to avoid the toxicity and cholesterol of meats, avocados are the substitute for you.  They are a great way to transition to a healthier vegetarian or raw food lifestyle.

My first months raw, I ate one avocado a day.  I ate it alone, put it in a wrap with other raw veggies, made guacamole or added to my salad.  Those three months I lost over 10 pounds.   We know enough now that cooked foods, breads, pastas, refined sugars, meats, dairy and processed foods are what is causing a high rate of obesity, not to mention lack of exercise and holding on to old emotional habits and patterns.  Avocados and other fruit and plant foods are rich in vitamins, minerals, soluble fiber, active enzymes, proteins, and easily digested fats.  They contain 74% water and have no cholesterol.

Let’s first figure out how to pick an avocado.  Take some of the fear out of shopping for expensive fruit.  If it’s large, it will perish quicker.  Bruising inside?  Hard to tell, right?  Right.  Unfortunately.  I try to buy them when they are not ripe.  Then I refrigerate the whole avocado and take out only when I need them.  Allow to ripen on the counter for 1-3 days, depending.  In the refrigerator they will not ripen, so good to store there.  Depending on the state it comes from will depend on how to choose.  Florida avocados will yield to gentle squeezing when ripe.  California avocados need one day if they yield to pressure.  But, the big thing is….once you cut that luscious fruit/vegetable, the process of ripening ends.  At that time you are stuck with it.  To store your cut avocado, wrap tightly in saran wrap or in a tight container.  Lemon juice may stop the blackening also.  Basically, eat the whole thing in one sitting and play it safe.

There are a few ways to cut open an avocado.  I like to cut it lengthwise around, twist, open and spear the pit with a knife.  If I’m making guacamole, raw chocolate pudding or a smoothie, I just squeeze each half into a bowl.  If I’m making a pretty salad or sandwich, I will peel the skin and cut in strips or use one of those handy, dandy plastic avocado cutter outers. 

And then there are the benefits of avocados.  They are filled with healthy fats, vitamins like A, B-complex, C, H, K and E, beta-carotene and alpha-carotene, plus minerals like magnesium, copper, iron, calcium, potassium and other trace elements.  They contain more protein than cow’s milk and provide you with 18 amino acids and 7 fatty acids.  When you combine the fats from avocado with nutrients in your other foods like vitamin A, D, E, K, lutien, lycopene and calcium, these vitamins are better and more easily absorbed by your body.  You don’t need a lot of avocado for this process.  They are high in fat and also give you a good amount of magnesium and fiber. 

Just took a little break to eat an avocado.  I’m back.  How about some recipes?  Ok then……

Smoothies are easy.  Use half or whole pitted avocado in your blender with about two cups of coconut, rice or almond milk.  Add raw cacao for the chocolatey smooth richness.  You can sweeten with fruit or agave if needed.  These recipes are from Kelly Serbonich and Anna Maria Clement’s Healthful Cuisine Book.

Guacamole

3 cups mashed avocado, 1/2 cup finely diced red onion, 1/2 cup finely diced red bell pepper, 1/2 cup shredded carrot, 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro, 1-2 cloves pressed garlic, teaspoon ground cumin, 2 Tbl fresh lemon juice, cayenne and Bragg Liq Amino to taste.  You can also add kelp granules or sea salt.  I like to put something like this into a portobello mushroom soaked in Bragg’s.  Yum.

Avocado Pudding

1 avocado, 12 dates(pitted and soaked), 1 cup soak water from dates or coconut water, 1 tsp cinnamon.  Blend all the ingredients until smooth and sprinkle the cinnamon on top.  You can add banana, mango or carob powder or cacao.

Have fun and experiment.  Wishing you healthy eating!

Have you asked yourself this question at any time?  I have and I used to take them at different times.  Usually when I found one on sale at the health food store or if my Mom happened to bring me a bottle from Hippocrates where she worked.  But I never felt like I needed one until recently.  More and more of us are finding benefits from nutritional and herbal supplements.  Sure, diet alone should be able to provide all the essential nutrition necessary for optimal health, but not many of us are eating a diet that could make that possible.  And most one a day multi vitamins provide less than ideal amounts of most key nutrients, not to mention you end up urinating out what your body doesn’t need.

More and more Americans are now regularly taking vitamin or mineral supplements.  Unfortunately, most people taking a multiple vitamin or mineral supplement are still not getting what they really need.  Rueters Health states that “more than 30 percent of multivitamins tested recently by ConsumerLab.com contained significantly more or less of an ingredient than claimed, or were contaminated with lead..”

Minerals are important.  The key function of vitamins and minerals in the body revolve around their serving the role as essential components in enzymes and coenzymes.  Enzymes are chemicals that speed up the rate of reactions between substances while being consumed themselves.  They are vital to bodily functions like digestion. Enzymes are a type of protein that sometime work in tandem with non-proteins called coenzymes.  If an enzyme is lacking an essential mineral or vitamin, it can’t properly function.  We have to provide the necessary minerals through our diet to help.  These minerals or nutritional formulas help the enzyme perform its vital function.  Here’s an example:  If there is no zinc in the enzyme, the vitamin A cannot be converted to the active form.  This type of deficiency can result in night-blindness.

How else to get enzymes in you?  A second category of enzymes is in raw foods that aid in the process of digesting those foods.  Such enzymes like proteases, implement the digestion of protein, lipases, help in digesting lipids or fats, and amylases, make it possible to digest carbs.  These enzymes set in motion the digestive process as the food is in the mouth.  They move with the food into your stomach and continue to aid in digestion.

Problems with the tolerable limits of certain multivitamins have been found in several multivitamin products.  Even one type of vitamin water, tested by ConsumerLab.com “had 15 times its stated amount of folic acid, so drinking one bottle would exceed the tolerable limit for adults…”

In my research for writing this blog, I’ve found a lot of information stating multivitamins to be more harmful than helpful.  What to do?  I agree with one doctor saying the safest way to get all the antioxidants and vitamins I need without exceeding doses, is to eat a balanced diet rich in plants, whole grains and legumes.  Fresh fruit and vegetables are far better for you than supplements.  Can you get enough into your diet?  I take a multivitamin a few times a week.  It actually makes me feel better.  In addition I eat a high raw diet and attempt to stay away from dairy and sugar.  Women and men have different nutritional needs.  For instance, men rearly need to supplement their diet with iron.  I am finding I need more iron with perimenopause.

There’s much to be informed of when it comes to the answer to this question.  As I always say…Do your research.  There is a wealth of knowledge out there.  Find it.  It may be different for you, your spouse or your children.  Take the time to read about what you need or consult your physician.

I bet there’s more in your kitchen than you think that you can stick in the dehydrator.  What can you do with that dehydrator that’s sitting on your counter or in the cabinet and not getting used?  How about pizza dough (read below!)?  A healthy alternative to the corner pizza place and you can add all the fresh veggies you have in the fridge.  It doesn’t have to be completely raw either.  Have potatoes, but no oil for frying?  Did you know you could dehydrate slices of potatoes and make your own healthier variety of potato chips?  Not only potatoes, but veggies and fruits too.  And how about pie crust that you can make and dehydrate and add your favorite fruit topping?

Dehydrating will dry food at temperatures high enough to remove the water, but low enough to keep enzymes intact.  In the raw food world, dehydrating temps are below 112 degrees.  This allows vitamins, minerals and enzymes to be preserved.  Fresh fruit can take longer than certain grains.  Teflex sheets are liners that will let you dry watery and thinner foods without them slipping through the mesh screen.  Experiment with the times.  Flip the cookie or fruit to make drying time faster.  Eating a raw diet?  You don’t have to sacrifice the warmth of the food when you use a dehydrator.

Save money?  Absolutely, with dehydrating.  Drying food is great for preserving food.  Dry apples, corn, tomatoes and meat to preserve and store.  Dried foods keep well because the moisture content is low.  The high cost of commercially dried foods has brought back the popularity of drying food at home.  Don’t forget nuts and seeds.  From almonds to pumpkin.  Top with your favorite spice before dehydrating.

Here are some simple recipes:

Sweet Potato Chips

Slice two sweet potatoes with a spiral slicer into thin slices and add 1/4 olive oil and 1/4 lemon juice and coat well.  Lay the chips flat on dehydrator screen and sprinkle with cayenne or pepper to your taste.  Dehydrate at 105 degrees for 8-10 hours or until crispy.

Alternatives for mixing with potatoes:  Try Bragg’s Amino, Apple cider vinegar, sea salt

A Basic Pizza Crust

2 1/2 cups buckwheat groats, soaked and sprouted. 1/3 cup olive oil and any herbs you have on hand to taste, like oregano, basil or pepper.  A little liquid amino and place all in the food processor until a dough is formed.  Dehydrate about 4 hours flipping half way through. You can even put these out in the sun to dry!  (Add other ingredients such as, ground flax, onion, parsley, garlic, red pepper)

Almond and Date Pie Crust

1 1/4 cup soaked almonds, 1 cup dates chopped, 1 tblspn water, 1/2 teaspn vanilla and some cinnamon.  Chop the nuts in your food processor and add dates until finely ground.  Add remaining ingredients.  The crust will be slightly damp.  Press the mixture and dehydrate for one hour or leave in the sun.  Top with everything from fresh fruit to pumpkin.  Yum!

And for the kids….Fruit Leathers

Puree any fruit until smooth and add lemon juice to keep fruit from darkening.  Add honey for sweetness if desired.  Spread fruit onto drying tray and dry for 6-8 hours.  Top it or fill it.  Let the kids decide!

These dishes will last in your fridge for days, and you can eat them for breakfast, lunch or dinner.  My personal favorite about raw food.  Experiment with what you have.

Be happy and be healthy!

I’d like to see the look on my grandfather’s face if I time traveled back to 1950’s America and told him I ate a diet consisting primarily of uncooked, raw food.  He’d probably spit hot borsht at me.  A man of true serenity and balance, he did live to be 99 so, in preface to this article, I restate my overarching belief in the moderation of all things, including diet.  Neuroticism around food is unhealthier than unhealthy food.  At least that’s my opinion.

That said, I eat healthy, I pay attention to what goes into my body and I am pretty aware of its effects.  The last several years have seen a rise in popularity of what is most usually called the Raw Food diet and there’s some real compelling evidence of its benefits.  The raw food diet is a diet where at least 75% of what’s eaten is unprocessed and uncooked plant foods, such as fresh fruit and vegetables, sprouts, seeds, nuts, grains, beans, nuts, dried fruit, and seaweed.   The theory is that heating food above 116 degrees F destroys enzymes in food that can assist in the digestion and absorption process. Cooking is also thought to diminish the nutritional value and life force of the food you ingest.

The stated benefits of this way of eating are compelling.  Increased energy, improved skin appearance, better digestion, weight loss, reduced risk of common illness such as flu to more serious problems such as heart disease and cancer are just a few of the plusses.  Raw foods contain enzymes which greatly aid in their own digestion, freeing the body’s own enzymes to do the work unimpeded of regulating all the body’s many metabolic processes. Heating food degrades or destroys these enzymes in food, putting the burden on the body’s own enzyme production.  Eating food without enzymes makes digestion more difficult, leads to toxicity in the body, to excess consumption of food, and therefore to obesity and to chronic disease.  Raw foods contain bacteria and other micro-organisms that stimulate the immune system and enhance digestion by populating the digestive tract with beneficial flora and raw foods have overall higher nutrient value than foods which have been cooked.  The diet is also low in sodium and high in potassium, magnesium, folate, fiber and phytochemicals.

So what can you eat?  Basically unprocessed, organic, whole foods like fresh fruits and vegetables, nuts, seeds, beans, grains, legumes, dried fruit, seaweed, freshly juiced fruit and vegetables, purified water and young coconut milk.  There are many books written about the diet but the one describing the easiest transition is the Complete Book of Raw Food.  Another great one is the Raw Nirvana DVD Set.

Now although at least 75% of what you eat should not be heated over 116 degrees F there are a few cooking techniques that can make foods more digestible and add variety to the diet, like sprouting seeds, grains, and beans; juicing fruit and vegetables; soaking nuts and dried fruit; blending and dehydrating food.

Skeptical?  Try it for a month.  If you don’t feel better you can write me a nasty email.

In the meantime…

Be well

JuicyJosh

www.877myjuicer.com