The Power of Purple

This morning I made a beautiful, vibrant purple juice made from Kale, Apples, Orange, Beetroot, Carrot and Ginger!

After having this lovely morning juice I managed to plough through a whole heap of uni work. I felt concentrated, focused and energized. Not only was I mentally prepared for the day I felt light within myself. Often when I have a bowl of cereal I can feel heavy and a bit sluggish, but not today! Today I was delicate and felt like I could move easily.
For anyone that is interested here are the nutrients that were in my juice this morning

Nutrition Facts (Juiced)
Calories 326 Calories from Fat: 29.02
	% Daily Value *
Total Fat 3.22g	9.21%
Saturated Fat 0.384g	1.92%
Monounsaturated Fat 0.243g
Polyunsaturated Fat 1.116g
Cholesterol 0mg	0.00%
Sodium 222mg	14.83%
Potassium 2264mg	48.17%
Total Carbohydrate 84.17g	64.74%
Dietary Fiber 1.9g
Sugars 44.31g
Protein 14.91g
Vitamin A 1604µg	178.27%
Vitamin C 381.5mg	423.87%
Calcium 468mg	46.79%
Iron 5.19mg	64.87%
* The Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet, so your values may change depending on your calorie needs. The values here may not be 100% accurate because the recipes have not been professionally evaluated nor have they been evaluated by the U.S. FDA.
Vitamins
Choline 33.9mg	6.16%
Folate 264µg	66.08%
Niacin 3.958mg	24.74%
Riboflavin 0.504mg	38.75%
Thiamin 0.487mg	40.61%
Vitamin B-12 0.00µg	0.00%
Vitamin B-6 0.995mg	76.51%
Vitamin D 0IU
Vitamin E 0.98mg	6.55%
Vitamin K 1737.2µg	1447.71%
Minerals
Copper 3.936mg	437.32%
Magnesium 179mg	42.61%
Phosphorus 336mg	48.00%
Selenium 3.9µg	7.03%
Zinc 2.13mg	19.40%
Other
Caffeine 0mg
Theobromine 0mg
Water 654.35g
All nutrient values are calculat

So from the vitamin -6 I was able to feed my brain functioning as well as build up antibodies to fight any winter cold that might be going around! 

A vitamin that not many people know about is vitamin K - it is essential for building healthy bones and preventing heart disease. So I definitely got my fill today!

If you want to find out about whats in your juice go to this site 

http://juicerecipes.com/health/benefits/juicing-for-weight-loss/?page=2

and go to ingredients and enter yours into the builder. 

ENJOY YOUR JUICING ! 

Vegetables

Today I was greeted by a bag of free fresh veg at my front door on my way home from volunteering. It genuinely made my day! There was beetroots, swede, carrots, cabbage, potatoes and onions! I couldn't believe it.
On the subject of vegetables, I think that it is really important to know why they are so good for you. I have been very lucky in that my Dad is passionate about health and living well so I have to say I am well aware of their benefits.
But, I find that with many people that I encounter seem to have little knowledge about this at all. My personal opinion is that this is probably because there are no educational schemes available in schools really, which if I had my way would be the first thing to change!
Anyway, the point is that it is important, in my eyes at least, to have some knowledge and understanding about the food you are putting in your body and what it is, or isn't, going to do for you!
Take vegetables, they have no cholesterol, heaps of vitamins and minerals and practically no bad calories! Not to mention the fiber you get from them. Plus by eating vegetables, as part of a balanced diet of course, you actually feel fuller for longer (not quoting Marks and Spencer here!) because you aren't eating empty calories like crisps and other snacks!

Rant over, but seriously, if you want to look after your body and enjoy a better, healthier life then take time to educate yourself on food, we can't rely on anybody else!

Halloween Treats

In the Halloween spirit my flatmate bought a HUGE pumpkin! But she didn't use it and so now i am faced with a challenge !
So far I have roasted the seeds, made pumpkin curry and now a pumpkin smoothie !
The smoothie was gorgeous - almost like Christmas in a cup!
If you have a left over pumpkin why not try this morning smoothie recipe, it is sure to keep you fulled 'till lunch;

2 cups pumpkin
1 cup vanilla yogurt (or plain if you like ! )
dash of milk (adjust to your thickness liking)
1 teaspoon of nutmeg , or any other wintery spices like cinnamon.

I made mine with soya milk and yogurt which resulted in an extra creamy texture - but i'm sure you will get the same with regular milk and yogurt!

For those of you that are interested here are some of the health benefits of pumpkins ! :)

- it has very low calories but gives you loads of dietary fiber
- you will get lots of vitamin A, great antioxidant! Great for the healthy and glowing skin.

If you wanted to know how to roast the seeds; 

- wash off any membrane left from the pumpkin flesh

- dry thoroughly ! 

- toss in a little oil and spice or flavour of choice

- put in the oven at 180 degrees C for about 10 min or until golden and crispy ! 

Breakfast Date

This morning I was lucky enough to share a beautiful breakfast with my good friend Camie who made some lovely blueberry pancakes with fresh coffee and, of course,I brought the juice!
Our juice this morning was;

- 4 oranges
- 2 larger carrots
- thumb of ginger

I have to say we both enjoyed it very very much !
But, even better than the juice were the pancakes! To go with the bursting bubbles of blueberries, we had peanut butter, raspberries, cream cheese, honey, maple syrup and jam!!!! How delicious!
So here is a photo for all to see!!

Juice on the go!

So this morning I decided to snooze my alarm for 30 minutes!! BAD IDEA! This left me rushing to get out of the house for work, which was a crazy 12 hour shift !
No picture of my juice today but the ingredients were;

- 2 pears
- 1 small beetroot
- 1 medium carrot
- thumb of ginger

I found this one to be extra filling which was just what I needed for my long day! Plus it was pretty cold out there today and so the ginger put a warmth in my tummy !

Not my juice, but still a lovely picture anyway - one that should get you inspired to join the juicing bandwagon !!

Natural Nightcap

After doing my workout later than I had hoped today I felt a little too alert to be falling asleep. So after an hour or so of writing my uni notes I still wasn't feeling any sleepier !  Then it occurred to me, there must be a juice for this! I logged onto www.juicerecipies.com (great website by the way) to find the sweetly named 'Sleepy time Juice'. The original recipe was simply celery and honey, though from my past experience I am not too keen on celery on it's own and so I added a couple of a bit overly ripe pears.
Honestly, I didn't think it would be so delicious ! I'm sipping it now as I type and, my gosh is it relaxing. It has a creamy texture from the pears and a lovely sweetness from the honey.
If you, like myself, are struggling to sleep or aren't really that tired when you want to go to sleep then why not give this a try?
Here is the recipe;

4 celery stalks,
2 pears
1 teaspoon of honey

Juice the celery and pears, then stir in the honey :)

Going Green

Today I had a delicious green juice. To make this juice you will need:

- 1/4 cucumber
- 2 pears
- 1 orange
- 1 stick of celery
- 6 romaine lettuce leaves

Juice everything , give it a good stir and ENJOY!!

More on Raw

I would like to take this opportunity to say a little it about eating raw foods. Now, many of you, as I did, probably think that you eat a very balanced and healthy diet with enough fruit and vegetables to give you everything you need. However, it seems that we need to greatly increase the amount of RAW foods that we are eating, particularly the veggies.
It has been suggested that we should have an 80% raw diet with minimal meats and diary. I personally, don't include hardly any diary in my diet, not only because you can get calcium and all other dairy related benefits elsewhere, but because it has 'cured' my eczema! I would really recommend that if you are suffering from this problem or similar that you cut out as much dairy as you can. I don't miss it and actually find that coconut milk and other nut milks are more tasty and lighter than semi-skimmed or even skimmed milk. Plus you don't get that clammy after taste !

A good alternative to milk for first timers is Kara coconut milk, its really tasty and sweet enough to make you feel satisfied in the same way that cows milk would.

Admittedly it is a very tricky thing to get going, eating more raw, but a good way to start is to eat more raw nuts and seeds. These are great snacking food which really give you an energy boost and a whole bunch of vitamins and other nutritional essentials.

Raw almonds are really creamy and easy to just pop a bag into your lunch box ! Or even crush up a whole bunch of nuts and put them on a salad, in a soup or on top of your morning cereal (if you aren't juicing that is!!!!!)

So, after that piece of insight I shall leave you with a piece of wisdom once said by the famous philosopher Hippocrates

"Let food be your medicine, and let medicine be your food" 

Where has all the juice gone?

For the past 3 days I have not had my daily morning pint of juice and I have to say I have definitely tell!? My mood isn't as bouncy and my energy levels are somewhat diminished.   most of the research done on juicing which is all mainly based on self report, has shown that it increases energy levels immediately,  I can absolutely agree. I feel like I m missing that morning kick, that enviable buzz that gets me going in the early hours.
Though im pleased to say that my juice journey will be back on track this coming week as it is time for a much needed food shop. i have been reading about celery juice recently and its benifits which appear to be related to reducing inflammation and water retention. It also has lots of B vitamins which many of us are lacking in. These are great for getting your calcium without eating too much dairy.
If you want to find out more about the benefits of celery take a look on this page, it has some really great, easy to read info

  http://juicing-for-health.com/basic-nutrition/healing-vegetables/health-benefits-of-celery.html

More on Mental Health

Moving away from juice for the moment, mainly because I haven't been shopping yet so have nothing to juice! But now towards the mental health aspect.
I have recently started volunteering at an allotment project with people who use the services on offer from Mind (http://www.springfieldmind.org.uk/index-2.php) - mental health charity.
I can honestly say I had the best time! I woke early on Tuesday morning to torrential rain and automatically had doubts. But as we arrived at the space the clouds left and the sun came out.  Because of the time of year the jobs that needed to be done were the ones that no one really wants to do! But I paired up with a lovely lady who suffers with learning disabilities and she chatted away to me for the couple of hours about her family and the old library in Leamington. I have to say being out in the open air is not only good for their minds but mine too! As I walked back to the flat I felt a great sense of contentment something similar to what you would achieve through meditation I imagine.
So, if I have learnt anything so far its to get outside! Enjoy the British weather whether its rain or shine.

My Kit

I realized that it would probably be a good idea for me to share with you what kind of juicer I have and how it works. 
This is the one I have - its made by Heston Blumenthal's range of kitchen products and is really great!
It really does get ALL of the juice out of whatever you pop in. I think the best thing about this one is that the shoot is really wide so when your making it early in the morning you don't have to worry too much about chopping your veg up too much. It's also very fast taking only a few minutes to make about a pint of juice! 
There are lots of different types of juicers from the more basic citrus juicers to the centrifugal juicers which I think are the most technical though still simple to use.

The only thing with using the juicer is that it is really important to clean it straight away after use otherwise you end up with the pulp getting everywhere!

If anyone is interested in the types of juicers then there is some pretty good info at this page  >>> http://www.harvestessentials.com/whatjuicisri.html

If you do decide to buy a juicer it doesn't have to be the most expensive one but it is a good piece of kit to invest in if you are going to be using it on a regular basis.

Also, I found this article in the telegraph online which has some good info on why juicing is beneficial and a link to a documentary which I think everyone needs to watch !!  

>>>>> http://fashion.telegraph.co.uk/article/TMG10162603/The-real-benefits-of-juicing.html

The Journey Begins

I have recently got my hands on my very own juicer thanks to my lovely parents who gave this to me as a gift for my recent 22nd birthday! 
I was introduced to raw juicing by my Dad who seems to have had a nutritional revolution over the past year or so. He is very much into the vegetable juice, which i'm told is the best kind, particularly the green juices. I have been given this great opportunity to start my own juicing journey and hopefully find my way to a clearer more attentive mind, which, lets face it, everyone seems to want these days! 
So, I am inviting you to share this experience with me, through the nice and the nasty. Not only is this a discovery of health but also of food and the different ways that you can enjoy it and use it! Flavour combinations are sure to be outrageous and exciting! 
But lets start as we mean to go on with a picture of my very first juice I made with my very own juicer !