Would you drink this?

That was the impending question. Sitting in the glass was what looked like green slime that was harvested from an algae ridden pond. The brain can't help itself but to say, "No!" to that.

About a month ago, I watched the documentary, Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead. Actually, I watched it through from start to finish twice in one weekend. There was so much in there that sparked interest and concern in me, I couldn't let it go. What was it that seemed so right?

We knew we needed to eat better. We realized that fresh fruits and vegetables had to take rule over most of our plate. How much salad can one person tolerate? The western way of eating doesn't cater to this way of thinking.

When I would plan a meal and make a grocery list, I would think like this:

• How many days am I going to shop for? I think 6 would do it.
• What meals do I want to prepare for those 6 days?
• beef dish
• chicken dish
• pork chop dish
• some sort of fish, if I have to
• shrimp is good, we like shrimp
• what's left? Oh, a ham steak or a ring of sausage.
• Now I'm getting somewhere. What will I serve with the meals?
• potatoes and carrots will go with the beef. I'll probably make beef stew.
• mashed potatoes, corn for chicken dinner.
• peas and carrots for the pork chops.
• rice goes ok with fish, right? and maybe green beans.
• bacon wrapped shrimp. oh yeah!
• steak cut potatoes or sweet potato fries with the ham.
• I've got my list, now to the store!

Do you see my problems? Everything I make is centered around what meat will be served. And my veggie choices are really slim. This isn't anyone's fault, it is the way our society has been taught to think. When you go to a restaurant, you look at the list of entrees which are all meats and you get two sides to go with it. Same problem.

So the day I went to the store and got my first $30 juicer and started making the tasty green juice for my morning nutrient supply, I knew people wouldn't show much support. I held a clear bottle of the power packed juice in front of someone at work one morning and asked him if he would drink something like this. Squishing his nose in disgust he promptly stated, "No!", which didn't surprise me in the least. If you had asked me the same question a few months ago, I would have had the exact same response.

The sad thing is, a plant-based diet can do so much good for you. You really can heal damage done to your body from the pure nutrients found in the good foods that spring forth with life from the ground. If an elephant can get big and strong by being a vegetarian, why can't a person? Ok, I'm not interested in becoming a hard-core vegan, but I do want to eat myself well, not slowly poison myself to death by eating things that do not benefit my health. Let's just say I have a lot of rethinking to do on meal planning. And I don't care what it looks like, I will gladly drink the green juice, but I'll house it in a travel mug to keep the looks of disgust away.

Would you do it?

Juicing. I'm not talking about just making fruit juice. I'm talking about REAL juicing. Juicing that the most hard-core juicers drink. Yes, I'm talking about green juice!

My DH and I watched "Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead" on Netflix. Actually, we watched it twice and I was interested in the idea of trying to implement vegetable juicing into my routine. Thankfully, my DH is not opposed to eating healthy and trying to improve in that arena so I got a small, entry level juicer made by Black & Decker for $30.00 and a bagful of produce. Here's my record of the start of the journey.

The Dreaded First Few Days
1/22/12
b'fast: 1/2 pineapple, 1 carrot, 1 orange
lunch: 2 stems kale, 2 apples, 1 carrot, 5 cherry tomatos, 4 celery stalks, small bunch of parsley, squirt of lime juice, small piece of ginger root. Made 2 glasses of juice, I drank half and put the rest in the fridge.
Dinner: steamed cauliflower, roasted beets and greens with onion, chicken strips.
Snack: popcorn with butter and salt, bottled oj
Didn't feel sleepy after our regular, early afternoon Sunday dinner. No nap today. Tongue feels metallic. Didn't feel hungry but did feel a bit foggy.

1/23/12
coffee with creamer
b'fast: 1 stem kale, handful of spinach, 2 celery stalks, 6 tomato, 1 carrot, 1 apple
water
lunch: same juice as b'fast, bowl of 3 bean salad
water
snack: nut/raisin/m&m trail mix (kinda saltier than I wanted), handful of blackberries and 3 strawberries
glass of pino grigio with 4 crackers, swiss cheese slices, and blue cheese
dinner: beef stew meat, potato
still feeling pretty good. a bit bound. a little foggy.

1/24/12
bfast: 1 stem kale, handful spinach, celery, tomato, carrot, apple, parsley
water and berries
lunch: veggie black bean soup, whole grain bread
snack: nut trail mix, 4 whole grain crackers with one baby bel garlic cheese wedge
dinner: chicken and steamed broccoli with al fredo sauce over rice, water
Bad day: very sleepy, headaches, eyes ache, neck ache, took an afternoon nap. still bound. irratable. Crass. Metallic taste on tongue but not as bad.

1/25/12
bfast: coffee with cream, kale, spinach, celery, tomato, carrot, apple, parsley
Bolthouse Farms green juice and water
lunch: banana, nut trail mix, crackers and baby bel garlic cheese
water, cup of tea, smoked cheddar cheese on crackers
dinner: pork chops, corn
carrot juice
Feeling MUCH better today. Slight headache, no longer bound, much better mood though still a bit crass. No more metallic taste in mouth. Feeling more energy at night.

Are you afraid to try juicing? It will not hurt you. It will not taste sweet or salty or oily or milky. I best describe it like this: you know that wonderful smell in the air right after someone mows grass? If you could bottle that smell and drink it, that is how green juice tastes. It's good and good for you!

Sweet -n- fruity tea

We had our first bar-b-q dinner tonite.  The sun was strong, the air was clean, and the grill was ready to go. How could I resist the allure of smoky burgers, sizzling bacon, hot dogs that had some extra time to get those cool looking char lines. Yes - to the whole experience!

Now for the side kicks of the meal. Potato salad - check. Mixed greens and dressing - check.  Soda - no check.  It just doesn't do it for us anymore. Not a thirst quencher. Way too sugary. Too un-natural. A better choice, in my humble opinion, is iced tea.

There is a way to make iced tea that is so easy and so delicious, you will not want to bother with the powdered or premade stuff again.   I really like flavored teas, and wanted something that would compliment the meat in the meal, so I made cranberry almond iced tea.

Sweet -N- Fruity Iced Tea

4 cups water
8 tea bags, flavored or plain
1/2 cup sugar (more if you like sweeter drinks)
1/4 tsp. almond extract
1 tray ice cubes
3 1/2 cups cold water

Bring 4 cups water to a boil. Turn off heat and steep tea for 5 minutes.  Get out your nicest pitcher and put the sugar in it. Pour the hot tea over the sugar and stir until dissolved. Stir in the extract. Add the ice cubes and the cold water. Serve!

Plain tea with orange extract would be really nice. Or black tea with licorice. How about getting crazy with a mint tea with some sort of cocao added? You ain't finding stuff like that on the store shelf. Oh the possibilities!

I am a fan of green tea. Nice and mild. Not bitter. Good for you, or so they say. The next batch I have in mind is going to be a peach iced tea. Maybe with a dash of cinnamon extract. Let me know what you make!

Start the day well

Having a shake from time to time is fun, but having one for breakfast is even funner!  You feel like you are getting away with something. Here is the breakfast-in-a-bottle I have been making for the last several weeks.

So-Good Shake
9 oz. frozen fruit: combo of strawberry, wild blueberry, cherry, peach, berry (two or more)
5 oz. juice: pomegranite, acai, blueberry (mixed or individually)
3 oz. yogurt or soy milk (omit if you have a milk or soy intolerance)
1 TBSP ground flaxseed

Take the 9 oz. of the fruits of choice and put in a blender. Pour in the juice and yogurt. Sprinkle the flaxseed on top. Turn blender on lowest setting for a minute. Turn up to next higher speed for another minute or until smooth.

I found that it helps to take the berries out of the freezer the night before and leave them in the fridge to be used in the morning. The shake will grind up much smoother when mostly thawed. Pour into a glass or portable bottle. For more fun, drink through a bendy straw! After it is gone, pour water in your container and shake to mix the remainder of the fruit with the water. You don't want to waste any of that delicious-ness!

With fruit, protein and oils in this mixture, you are giving yourself useful nutrients for breakfast. And switching up the fruits and juices gives so many different combinations!  Try it!!!

Refreshment

I was at work the other day and was offered a most refreshing drink. This was tasty and even more importantly, it is easy to make! Who doesn't cool down after a nice glass of iced tea? So, here is the beverage of choice for my summer time glasses.

Citrus Tea

Make (or buy) a batch of unsweetened iced tea
Make (or buy) a batch of lemonade, limeade or orange juice

Mix the tea with the citrus-ade at a 3 cup tea to 1 cup juice ratio.
Add more juice if you want more of a citrus flavor.

Try it - I bet you will like it!!!