Day 6: Kale Limeade & Savory Green

Hullo folks!

Today's post will probably be short as I slept most of the day, and then found out around 4:30 that my parent's house caught on fire so we've been dealing with all of that.

Still having some chest pain from the detox, but other symptoms are pretty much gone. I still have a few bouts with feeling hungry as well and have been tempted on more than one occasion to go get an avocado and just eat it. But I'm still chugging along.

If I am needed to help my parents out at home, I may have to cut my fast short and restart it later. I'm not particularly looking forward to going through the detox phase again, but if they need me there, I'll go.

So I had leftover Kale Limeade this morning, which isn't my favorite but I couldn't waste it. I made a green juice for lunch and dinner as I was incredibly tired of citrus. It was just kind of a throw together, but I'll do my best to remember what it was. It tasted a bit like veggie broth and definitely hit the savory craving.

I also failed to take a picture so here is the recipe:

Recipe:

Savory Green

yields 24 oz

Ingredients:

3 carrots

5 stalks celery

3/4 large cucumber

3 leaves Kale

two handfuls broccoli florets

1 tablespoon fresh ginger

Directions:

Wash all ingredients, cut the carrots in half length-wise, and juice. I also added about a 1/2 cup of water to rinse the rest of the juice out of the juicer. I then poured it over ice and drank it. I liked it alot! Hope you do too. 

Days 4 and 5: Watermelon and Kale Limeade

Have I mentioned that I'm really tired of citrus? Seriously, I don't want anymore. But I have to use my groceries so I'm kinda stuck.

The end of Day 3 was horrible. My lower back hurt, my stomach hurt, my lungs hurt, my skin is all greasy. This detox thing is really tough. But every time I think of food now, I back it up with "That food is what you're detoxing from" and it helps me steer away. I fortunately didn't have the horrific bathroom experience so many people describe when starting off a juice fast. That was definitely a blessing!

Day 4 was also pretty difficult, especially with Anna and Garrett opening The Smokery and not being able to eat their delicious sandwiches or ribs. (if you haven't discovered them yet, follow them on facebook and/or twitter! Their food is soooooo delicious https://www.facebook.com/thesmokerytexas). I really enjoyed being there to help them out and advertising helped keep my mind off of food as well. Still had some pain in my ribs and such, and was very tired.

Today is Day 5, and it's been pretty good. I slept well last night, but my lower back still aches a lot and I get pain in my chest sometimes. Who would have thought my insides were so dirty? It's good to know they're getting nice and cleaned out.

I helped Anna and Garrett again today, and really wasn't too bothered by the smell of the food this time around. It was a lot of fun making the sandwiches and serving people. They were really busy!

So yesterday and today I had watermelon juice for breakfast (surprise) and Kale Limeade for lunch and dinner. This is another recipe from the my40dayjuicefast.blogspot.com and I'm guessing she really likes citrus. I'm sooooo done with it. I think I just like earthier tastes. It wasn't horrible, but it was very sour. I peeled all the citrus fruit this time and that definitely helped me stomach it better. The ingredients are all those I have used before so I'll just list them in the recipe for you.I doubled it so I'd have two servings and I wound up with about four 12 oz servings.

Also, something I'm SUPER excited about: the weight loss! I know it's probably a result of water weight and bloating going away, but I weighed myself AND took some measurements this morning. I am now at 158 lbs, and my waist went from 35 inches to 31. I measured like 3 more times to make sure it wasn't lying to me! My hips also went from 44.5 inches to 41, and my bust went down a half inch from 41.5 to 41. This is incredibly motivating and exciting for me as I have been having a lot of trouble losing weight with other methods.

I appreciate all of your support and love!!! Feel free to share any questions or suggestions!!!

Recipe:

Kale Limeade

 (makes about two 12 oz servings)

Ingredients:

1/2 bunch Kale

1 1/2 Cucumbers

4 celery stalks

1 green apple

1 navel orange, peeled

2 limes, peeled

1 lemon, peeled

Directions:  

Peel all citrus, slice and core the apple, wash all ingredients and juice!  

Day Three: Watermelon and Broccoli Celery Citrus

Slept sooooooo well last night. I do have to say though that I'm not feeling so great today. A little nauseous, my lower back aches, my stomach hurts.....I'm hoping that after today, the detox will be over and I will feel good, upbeat and not have the crazy cravings for anything and everything fast food. I saw a picture of a hotdog on facebook and my mouth watered. Now I can't stop thinking about hot dogs. How sad is that? I'll just sit here, sip on my juice and pout. I have to keep reminding myself that I'm not hungry, I'm bored. That has been the hardest part of this whole thing. Not eating just because I have nothing better to do.

I had watermelon juice again this morning. Juiced only half of the rind for the section. It still tastes soooo good. And it's filling so that's definitely a plus. Today's lunch and dinner is another recipe from my40dayjuicefast.blogspot.com (link in previous post). This one is called Broccoli Celery Citrus. I think maybe citrus just isn't my thing. Or maybe I should have taken a hint from yesterday and not juiced the peels. This juice is alright, definitely more citrus than any other flavor. Here are the ingredients:

   1. Broccoli - Rich in Vitamin A, Vitamin C, folic acid, calcium, glucoraphanin which fights bacterium known to cause cancer, indole-3-carbinol which is a powerful antioxidant, potassium and magnesium. It can have blood-thinning qualities so if you're on a blood-thinner already, I would limit the intake of broccoli or consult your doctor about attempting to go off the pills. http://www.naturalnews.com/039187_broccoli_health_benefits_risk_factors.html

   2. Celery - Already talked about this in my 2nd post!

   3. Carrots - Talked about this in my 3rd post!

   4. Navel Oranges - In my 3rd post!

   5. Apples - in my 2nd post!

  6. Lemons - in my 2nd post!

I don't know what I'm going to talk about when I get to the point where I've detailed all the ingredients in my juices....oh well. Maybe I'll just blab for a while. 

I tried giving the pulp of yesterday's juice to the dogs. I don't think they like the heavy orange either. I did give them watermelon pulp and they really enjoyed that. Looks like I have a good way to use my pulp when I need to. I also saw a recipe for dog treats made from pulp on Pinterest once. Will have to give that a go. 

Anyone gotten into juicing? What are some of your favorite combos? I'm craving something savory  right now and these citrus-heavy juices just aren't doing it for me!

Anyway, thanks for reading and supporting my endeavor. It's going to be an interesting journey for sure! 

Recipe:

(sorry about the picture - I started drinking before I took it!)

Broccoli Celery Citrus

(makes about a 16 oz serving)

Ingredients:

1 bunch broccoli

1 celery stick

2 carrots

2 navel oranges

1 lemon  

Directions: 

wash all ingredients, peel the citrus if you want milder citrus taste, and juice it all!! 

Drink Up!

Day Two: Watermelon and Kickin Carrot

Didn't really want to get up this morning. I don't know if it's because of the rain or if I'm detoxing, but my bed was sooooooo comfortable. Anyway, got myself up and juiced way too much watermelon on accident. A whole 1/4 ends up making over 24 oz when you juice the rind with it. So I had about 16 oz this morning for breakfast. It's still really good with the rind. I only used about half of the rind though so that may have made a difference in the flavor being sweeter than in the past when I've juiced all of the rind from the section.

I'm not really feeling any hunger pains yet today. The watermelon juice left me feeling full this morning and I'm nursing my Kickin Carrot (courtesy of Teela Herman's blog my40dayjuicefast.blogspot.com ) now. I'm not really a huge fan of this juice. I like the idea, but the measurements provided for the ingredients were all wrong. I doubled the recipe because my intention was to have it for both lunch and dinner and the doubled recipe only yielded about 8 oz of juice...maybe my carrots and oranges were too small. I added 3 more carrots and it still didn't reach the 12 oz mark so I added 2 more. I finally just added some water to fill it to the 16 oz line. I probably also should have followed what she said when she put in the recipe that she peeled the lime because the citrus is strong in this juice. I may have used too much ginger as well. There are just so many variables. Needless to say....I'll need to make a lot of changes to this recipe to make it work for me.
Here's the ingredients and why they are so good for you!

   1. Carrots - a rich source of carotenes, vitamin-A, flavonoid compounds that help protect from skin, lung and oral cavity cancers, Beta-carotene (one of the powerful natural anti-oxidant helps protect body from harmful oxygen-free radical injury), poly-acetylene antioxidant falcarinol which may help fight against cancers by destroying pre-cancerous cells in the tumors, vitamin C, many B-complex groups of vitamins such as folic acid, vitamin B-6 (pyridoxine), thiamin, pantothenic acid, etc., that act as co-factors to enzymes during substrate metabolism in the body, and healthy levels of minerals like copper, calcium, potassium, manganese and phosphorus.http://www.nutrition-and-you.com/carrots.html

   2. Oranges - high in Vitamin C, Vitamin B6, beta-carotene, calcium, potassium and magnesium.http://www.citrus.com/health-benefits-the-fascinating-history-of-navel-oranges/ 

   3. Lime - high in Vitamin C, liminoids, limonin (a compound easy for the body to absorb and causes cancer cell death), and citric acid which acts as a fat burner. Lemons also share these traits with the lime.http://www.livestrong.com/article/292173-lime-juice-health-benefits/

   4. Ginger -  been there, done that. Look on my previous post if you want to know more about this awesome Superfood.

Despite not being hungry, I am craving a cheeseburger like no one's business. I think of it and my mouth starts watering. Then I take a sip of juice. Not the same. Oh well, I'm sure it will pass quickly. I'm really looking forward to Day 4 when the detox should be over and cravings should subside.

On a positive note, I weighed myself this morning and I'm at 163lbs, so down 2 pounds from yesterday. I'm sure it's water weight and what-not, but it's exciting and motivating none-the-less!

I'll be having my extra watermelon juice for dinner tonight. It worked out with the Kickin Carrot being a flop. Anyway, here's the modified recipe for the Kickin Carrot:

Recipes:

Kickin Carrot

(makes a 16 oz serving)

Ingredients:

6 carrots

1 navel orange (peel or no peel, your choice)

1/2 lime (peel or no peel, your choice)

1 tbsp ginger

Directions:

Peel the lime and orange if you choose, wash all ingredients and juice! 

        

Day One: Watermelon and Mean Green

So first of all....here are my before pictures and measurements:

Waist - 35 in

Hips - 44.5 in

Bust - 41.5 in

Thigh - 24.5 in

Bicep - 12 in

Weight - 165 lbs

Dress size - 12/14

So I woke up SUPER EXCITED this morning!!! I'm still excited and the hunger really isn't bad. It will come on in waves and then go away so it's totally bearable. 

To start off my day, I had a beautifully sweet, pink watermelon juice. I'm seriously in love with watermelon juice! It also has lots of good nutrients. Really, I should juice the rind with it, but it makes it less sweet and I really wanted sweet this morning. 

Watermelon is rich in lycopene which is a powerful antioxidant also found in tomatoes. It also contains Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin B6, potassium (an important intracellular electrolyte), and the amino acids citrulline and arginine which help with blood flow and over all cardiovascular health.

If this whole juicing thing is kind of scary and odd to you, try watermelon juice. The juice provides a more concentrated serving of the nutrients found in the watermelon that you wouldn't be able to properly absorb if you just ate it. No one wants to EAT the rind of a watermelon, but that's where the majority of nutrients are camping out. If you juice it, it just waters down the flavor a bit and makes it less vibrant in color. Watermelon is awesome for anyone with high blood pressure or cardiovascular issues. For more info read here: http://health.howstuffworks.com/wellness/food-nutrition/facts/surprising-health-benefits-of-watermelon.htm

For lunch and dinner, I decided to give Joe Cross's Mean Green a go. What better way to start off a juice fast than with the concoction of the creator of Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead? At first sip, I wasn't really impressed. But after drinking a full 12 oz for lunch, it grew on me. I really enjoyed the light lemon flavor. 

The Mean Green contains these ingredients (I'll list their nutritional value here and I'll post recipes with pictures at the end of this post): 

   1. Kale - one cup of Kale contains 15% of the daily requirement of calcium and the vitamin B6. It is also high in Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin K and magnesium. It also contains the minerals copper, potassium, iron, manganese and phosphorous. Those are just the beginning, there's really just too much to list here! If you're interested in reading more about the health benefits of kale, look here: http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/features/the-truth-about-kale

   2. Cucumber - cucumbers are high in potassium, ß-carotene, a-carotene, Vitamin C, Vitamin A, Vitamin K, zea-xanthin, and lutein, which work together to fight against free radicals in the body. To read more: http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=42

   3. Celery - celery is an excellent source of Vitamin C, potassium, folic acid, Vitamin B6 and B1, calcium and Vitamin B2, and dietary sodium. You know the drill: http://www.foods-healing-power.com/celery-health-benefits.html

   4. Lemon - rich in Vitamin C, the phytonutrient tangeretin 22 anti-cancer compounds and flavanoids, lemons are wonderful for cleaning out the body. They help cleanse the liver, neutralize free radicals and combat numerous maladies. http://realfoodforlife.com/16-health-benefits-of-lemons-the-alkaline-powerfood/

   5. Green Apples - apples are full of flavonoids, vitamin C and powerful antioxidants. http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/health-benefits-granny-smith-apples-3334.html

   6. Ginger - what can I say about ginger?? It's just so darn good for you! There's so much to it that I can't post it all here so read this: http://www.greenmedinfo.com/node/83545 and be amazed!! Ginger is called a SUPERFOOD for a reason! (Ladies!! Did you know that ginger was found to be as effective a pain killer for menstrual cramps as Ponstel and Ibuprofen?!)

Recipes:

Watermelon Juice

(isn't it pretty?!)

yields about 16 oz

Ingredients:

1/4 Watermelon

(if juicing the rind as well, wash the watermelon well while it's still whole)

Directions:

slice the watermelon into chunks or slices that will fit in your juicer's shoot

Juice it and enjoy!!!

Mean Green

 yields about 16 oz

Ingredients:

  1 bunch Kale

1 Cucumber

4 Celery Sticks

2 Granny Smith Apples

1/2 Lemon

(Peel or no peel - your choice just wash it well if you keep the peel)

1 tbsp fresh ginger

Directions:

Wash all ingredients well and slice up the cucumber, celery, apples and lemons to make them fit in the shoot. Alternate the Kale and harder vegetables as you juice them to keep your juicer from getting caught up on the leafy greens. Enjoy!

Preparing

So I'm going to do a juice fast. I've convinced my roommate to do it with me, so we'll see how dedicated we can be. This blog will be used to document our progress and help keep me accountable and motivated. Just to ease the minds of those who are concerned I'm doing something drastic and unhealthy when you think I look perfectly fine, here are my reasons for doing this juice fast:

  1. I AM overweight. I may look fine, but I don't feel fine. I'm tired, I'm lazy, and I don't like the way I look. I don't like shopping for clothes and I dread any event that involves swimsuits. I don't want to be model thin, but I want to be at a healthy weight for myself that I find attractive. I have tried all sorts of crazy things to lose weight (working out over an hour everyday, counting calories, weight loss pills) and nothing has worked.
  2. I have frustrating health issues. I have gone through accutane to get rid of my acne and I still have perpetual break outs. Maybe they aren't noticeable to everyone else, but I notice them. My body is in need of a detox and that will help with the acne. I also feel tired all the time and lose way too much hair in the shower. I constantly struggle with eczema patches as well. A juice fast will help cleanse my body and reboot it.
  3. I have eaten wayyyy too much junk food in my time at college. I try in random spurts to eat healthy, but what ends up happening is that I don't have time or energy to cook for myself and settle with take-out or fast food or not eating at all. I would try and eat healthier things and wouldn't be satisfied so I'd snack on sugar or carbs. That isn't healthy. I'm hoping that this juice fast will help me reset my tastebuds, eating habits and cravings.
  4. I have a problem with gluttony. Most Americans do. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I have stretched my stomach out. This juice fast will give my stomach a chance to return to it's original size so when I come off of it I can eat healthy portions again.
   5. Juicing has so many health benefits. I will not be starving myself or depriving myself of nutrients. In fact, I'll practically be overdosing on vitamins and minerals. I'll be consuming enough calories to keep me going and stored fat will supply whatever else I need.

If you still aren't convinced, frankly, I don't care. I'm doing this thing and if you aren't going to be supportive I don't want to hear it. It will be hard enough to fight the little voice in my head telling me to eat sugar and carbs and fat without another person trying to get me to stop.
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That being said, I got my new juicer in yesterday and I couldn't be more excited!

It is a Bella Nutripro Cold Press Juicer - by "Cold Press" it means that it uses a mastication or chewing process to extract the juice rather than blades as used in the Centrifugal juicers. I made my first juice with it as a test run yesterday evening: a combination of carrots and ginger. This juicer is SOOOO QUIET! I loved it. And the pulp was so dry.

I chose a Cold Press juicer for several reasons:
 - The heat generated by the Centrifugal juicers with the fast spinning blades kills some of the enzymes of the fruits and vegetables being juiced.
 - The heat also oxidizes the juice making it less nutritious.(This isn't a bash on centrifugal juicers' ability to make nutritious juice - it is still nutritious!)
 - Centrifugal juicers are not as efficient with juicing leafy greens as they tend to get caught in the blades or just become sliced rather than juiced
 - The Cold Press juicers are much quieter - this is important to me because I am a musician. That may sound silly, but I plan on using this juicer A LOT and constant exposure to loud noise causes hearing loss and I'd like my hearing to stay sharp for a looooong time. The mechanism turns slowly and quietly, crushing rather than cutting and pressing through the sieve rather than forcing it through using centrifugal force.
 - I had already experienced using a Centrifugal juicer and often had problems with juicy pulp, jams from leafy greens and broccoli and pieces of fruit and vegetables making it through to the juice despite the sieve. It was an old juicer, but I was ready to try something different.
 - Cold Press juicers can make nut milks!!! I love this because I love almond milk. I never use dairy and it will be neat to try a homemade almond milk.Nuts would make a mess of Centrifugal juicers as they would just bounce around inside and get chipped and leave little pieces of nuts in the milk it could extract.
 - The Bella Nutripro Cold Press Juicer was available for a trial period. If I don't like it for the next 60 days, I send it back no questions asked and I only paid $16. Shipping was free. If I do like it, I will make 5 monthly payments of $50. (for anyone interested: http://nutriprojuicer.com)

Cold Press Juicers are more expensive than Centrifugal juicers, but with the payment plan, I found this to be the better option for me.

It also came with a recipe booklet, a to-go cup, and a juicing color wheel. I think one of my favorite things about this juicer so far is the little sieve that sits on top of the juice capturing container - it's really nice for anyone who doesn't want any type of pulp in their juice.
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Now that I'm done gushing about my Bella Nutripro.....I'll gush about an app I am using to plan out my fast! This is an app for iPad and iPhone called MealBoard  by Ray Bernardo (http://www.mealboard.com/). It is $2.99 and sooooo worth it. It's worth it if you aren't doing a juice fast. It has a calendar that you can use to plan your meals. It has some recipes already, but you can add your own. You simply add the recipe to a day and designate it as a breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack or "nothing". You can add pictures to the recipe if you so desire.The recipes have sections to tell you how many the recipe will serve, how long it takes to prep, how long it takes to cook, and the source of the recipe. You can also have the app change the amount of ingredients based on how many servings you want it to make. The best part about this app is that it will create a shopping list based on your recipes and keep track of what you have already. It also separates your grocery list into "aisles": produce, seafood, etc. You can even assign what store you want to get which items from. You can print off or email the weekly meal plan as well. This app simply ROCKS. It will definitely help with budgeting for this juice fast and I'm sure I'll continue to use it in the future as well. 
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Feel free to post questions or support!! I'll be documenting progress and recipes (and their sources) used here and pictures. I hope this blog inspires you to dabble in the world of juicing and helps you find some fun, flavorful combinations.

Until next time, "May the Lord bless you and keep you." - Numbers 6:24