trinkets & obsessions

the SQUEEZE!

it's been a while, i know. life with a full-time job leaves little room for blogging, BUT i am officially back with one of my most exciting posts yet. unfortunately for some, this only applies to new yorkers, but if you're planning on a visit, you must, must, must visit: the SQUEEZE!

 

so here's it's deal: it's a food truck that hangs out regularly at the 14th and university corner of union square. everything is raw, organic, gluten-free, dairy-free, totally unprocessed and totally delicious. they have a creative selection of juices, waters (like coconut and aloe), nut milks and coffee (if you must) as well as real raw food and packaged snackables... and juices are $7.99, but if you return the glass bottle, you get a $1 back!

 

so far, i've tried:

*i have a heart on - swiss chard, kale, dandelion, pineapple, celery, apple + mint

*my plastic surgeon got laid off... by me - cucumber, aloe vera + e3 live

*strawberry milk - coconut water, coconut meat, strawberries, cashews, vanilla, dates + himalayan sea salt

...and it's all been amazing. in fact, i think the squeeze might be quickly beating out liquiteria for my favorite juice shop in NYC!

 

 

oh, and p.s. they deliver! check out: thesqueezejuice.com

 

juicing with a blender!

it's been quite the hiatus. i apologize.

the past two weeks, i've been transitioning gradually and seemingly unsuccessfully into a 10 to 6 desk job situation that has left me a little high and dry. it's been a chore to figure out when to run errands, work out and grocery shop, let alone blog. needless to say, T&O's numbers have dwindled and my health hasn't fared any better. so, brace yourself for another "denise-has-fallen-off-the-wagon" post.

 

 

 

the job is not all to blame. it really started four weeks ago when my parents came to town for my graduation. week 1 consisted of meals out every night: pasta, sushi, chinese, steak... at the most amazing restaurants in the city, making it so hard to turn down. week 2 came a friend-- a very dear one-- from london who wanted nothing to do with raw or vegan food... so, i threw it all in for ribs and crepes. week 3 was a personally difficult boy-related week, at which point just turned into one big "F"-it week full of indian and thai. and week 4... well, this week was week 4 and i am so deep into this rut, it's been a real tough one to climb out of.

for the first time since march, i've started feeling like my old pre-cleanse self again: mentally slow, constantly fatigued, out of breath at the gym and just generally super fuzzy... i also dropped kind of a big ball at work today in a seriously stupid way. SO, i decided that enough was enough and FINALLY got around to doing what i promised to do two weeks ago: i started JUICING again-- this time, with the vitamix, the best blender/food processor/juicer EVER. it is pricey, but it chops the hardest shit up like nothing else... if i were to only get one kitchen appliance in the whole wide world, it would be THIS because it can really do everything!

 

so, here's the idea. if you don't have a juicer, just take a high-speed blender and fill it up with all the goodies you would potentially juice with a juicer. blend it all up and run it through a nut milk bag to strain out all the juices.

more specifically with the vitamix, here's how i made the following juice:

 

GREENS N' BEETS (makes 2 - 3)

(1 serving = 16 oz.)

2 cups water

1 bunch chopped kale

1 bunch chopped collard greens

1/2 bunch chopped spinach

1/2 bunch celery

3 beets

1 small bunch carrots

2" ginger

so, just chop 'em all up and throw 'em in the blender. turn machine on and slowly increase speed from 1 to 10. flip the switch to 'high' and blend for 30 - 45 seconds using the tamper to press the goods into the blades. strain all pulp through a nut milk bag. you can store this up to 2 days-- just make sure you don't go for longer than the 45 seconds of blending time because the heat affects how long the juice will last!

 

afterthoughts: the process was definitely a bit tedious with all the straining-- it seemed like a very medieval way of doing it-- but it works and, for those of us without juicers, that's what matters!

 

omg, it's so good: almond milk berry panna cotta (gluten + dairy-free - duh)!

 

i've been meaning to post this recipe FOREVER. but, i want to give it one more try to make sure it's as good as i remember and... lo and behold... it totally is. it's also ridiculously easy to make!

i basically took a regular panna cotta recipe and substituted the cream for almond milk. so, to start, you have to first make almond milk.

 

ALMOND MILK (makes approx. 4 cups)

3 cups water

1.5 cup soaked almonds (you want to have soaked them around 8 - 12 hours)

3 pitted medjool dates

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

put everything into a high-speed blender and blend until super smooth. using a nut milk bag, strain mixture until all you have is dry pulp!

*special tip: if you're bored of raw almond milk, try milking some dry roasted unsalted almonds. although cooked, they still retain many of the nutritional value of raw almonds and gives the milk a smokey toasty twist! so delicious.

 

ALMOND MILK PANNA COTTA (makes 3 - 4)

(1 serving = 1 cup)

1 envelope/2 tsps gelatin (to make vegan, all you have to do is use is agar-agar because gelatin is an animal by-product)

1/4 cold water

3 cups almond milk

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise (about 1.5" long)

 

BERRY SAUCE (makes approx. 1 cup)

1 bag frozen mixed berries (10 oz.)

1 small handful fresh basil leaves

2 tbsp caster/superfine sugar

dissolve the gelatin in the cold water. put the almond milk, powdered sugar and vanilla bean into a saucepan and cook on medium heat until simmering and leave for about 5 - 7 minutes stirring occasionally. remove from heat and mix in gelatin mixture until it dissolves. pick out vanilla bean pods. pour into lightly oiled creme brulee cups and refridgerate for at least 8 hours.

for berry sauce, just blend in a high-speed blender or food processor until super smooth and drizzle onto the panna cottas after the 8 hours. garnish with berries.

oh, and i think you're actually supposed to slide them out of the molds, but i just eat them out of the cups because it's just as good!

 

mother's day brunch: recipes!

 

 

yep, those are my folks-- they're the cutest. i was lucky enough to have them in town with me this mother's day, so i decided to go all out and make my mama (and papa) a healthy feast!

we're talking gluten-free, dairy-free and-- aside from the tilapia recipe-- vegan!

on the menu was: my all-time fave-- kris carr's make juice, not war green juice (recipe can be found in this post); baby kale + chickpea salad; basil + tomato quinoa; and lemon, zucchini + olive tilapia... here are the recipes:

 

 

BABY KALE + CHICKPEA SALAD (makes 2 - 3)

(1 serving = appetizer portion)

1 box baby kale (or any other salad green-- i got my baby kale from wholefoods, it's great bc it's much softer than regular kale)

3/4 cup cherry/grape tomatoes, halved

3/4 chickpeas (garbanzo beans)

3 stalks green onion, chopped

1/2 blood orange, squeezed

2 tbsp olive oil (or as desired)

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar (or as desired)

toss the greens, tomatoes, chickpeas and green onions together. add olive and balsamic (massage if necessary), and then squeeze in the blood orange last (make sure you don't overdo it, you just want to give it a little kick and not have the whole salad taste like a blood orange)!

 

BASIL + TOMATO QUINOA (makes 3 - 4)

(1 serving = side portion)

3/4 cup quinoa (i used red, but you can use any... red and black are nuttier in taste)

1 handful fresh basil, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1/4 tomatoes, chopped

2 stalks green onion, chopped

1 tbsp olive oil

throw the quinoa into 1 1/2 cups of water (it's always 1:2 quinoa to water) in a small pot, add olive oil and then bring to boil. let simmer for 5 mins, then add basil and garlic. let simmer for another 10 mins, then add tomatoes and green onion. stir quinoa for another few minutes until fluffy and serve.

 

LEMON, ZUCCHINI + OLIVE TILAPIA - courtesy of dr. alejandro junger's clean (makes 1)

(1 serving = entree portion)

1 filet tilapia (approx. 3 - 4 oz)

1 lemon, sliced into thin medallions

1/2 zucchini, sliced into thin medallions

1/2 cup black kalamata olives, pitted and halved

2 sprigs fresh thyme

1 tbsp olive oil

1 pinch salt

preheat oven to 425 degrees F. rub tilapia with olive oil and salt. set on a large piece of parchment paper. place lemon and zucchini slices along the top length of the fish in an alternating fashion. sprinkle olive halves on top and add sprigs of thyme. take sides of parchment paper and either fold or staple together to make a calzone or dumpling shape with the tilapia inside. bake for 15 mins.

enjoy!

 

reflections on my first cleanse...

 ...or rather: "...my first SUCCESSFUL cleanse" because, technically, my first cleanse would actually be that one time i attempted the master cleanse, had a searing stomach ache on day 2 and fell off it with a large fries from mickey d's.

 

to be honest, i can't even tell you what i was thinking when i hopped on that bandwagon-- lemon juice + maple syrup + cayenne pepper = makes no sense, right? i mean, i do get that it makes one hell of a detox drink, but that alone will most definitely put your body into starvation mode, which will only make you lose muscle and burn calories slower than than you ever did. you'll drop a bunch of weight but, with a slowed metabolism, you'll just gain it all back (and probably more) as soon you as you're off it. i think an important thing to note is: don't cleanse to lose weight-- cleanse for health. and the closer your body is to full working order, the more easily the weight will go.

with juicing and nut milk, you're still getting all the calories in. what's more is that you're also getting an abundance of nutrients that you probably overlook in your day-to-day diet and that's what's so key. it's obvious that your body can't sustain on nothing, but it also can barely sustain on the crap that the average person feeds it. when you're putting bad food in your body, you're toxifiying (a.k.a. poisoning) it whether it's pizza and beer or, for many, red meat and dairy. your body gets bogged down with crap and can no longer function like it used to... and, sorry to be morbid, but with continued abuse, it eventually just won't function at all. so, counteract it with the good stuff-- the ALKALINIZING stuff, the GREENS-- or do it the better and more lasting way by only putting in the good stuff and staying away from the bad...

at this point, if you haven't read my 1st and 4th post, you should. or, alternatively, you can just watch fat, sick & nearly dead (streaming on netflix) or pick up kris carr's crazy sexy life for more information on cleansing and holistic health.

but, ANYWAY, i digress! let's talk about this cleanse...

it was pretty life-changing-- and i don't say that lightly. when it comes to eating, i've been pretty darn unhealthy all my life. growing up, my favorite foods were sour cream n' onion chips and soy sauce on rice.

 

 

during my teenage years, i struggled with a myriad of eating disorders (from anorexia to binging and purging) that lasted a good 7 or 8 years. and, in my early 20s, i reaped what i sowed in the form of chronic constipation and a rock bottom digestive system (well, that was an inadvertent pun!). at 26, i had my first hemorrhoidectomy-- which is pretty unheard of at that age-- and, since then, i've been on strict doctor's orders to follow a diet incorporating lots of fruits and vegetables.

...

you know how when someone tells you to do something, but you don't really understand why? you try anyway, but it doesn't stick because you really don't know what the hell you're doing? that was me for a year and a half after my surgery. my body was so backed up and blocked, i couldn't feel the effects of anything. eating veggies was a chore that i couldn't understand the benefits of because i couldn't FEEL them. it just didn't seem worth it so, naturally, eating well was a huge struggle.

the cleanse changed everything.

before the cleanse, i was the most out-of-touch person with my body and the way food made me feel. i never even felt hungry because my digestive system was so shot. i never felt bogged down by meat, dairy or sugar because i felt pretty crappy most of the time anyway. alcohol was the only thing that i could really feel and, as i got older, hangovers were starting to stretch from 1 to 3 days. 

 

 

since the cleanse, i have started feeling EVERYTHING: the goodness of the good and the badness of the bad. now, one little macaron/one bite of steak/one itty-bitty piece of cheese sends me straight into a food coma. my body is so much better at communicating with me when it needs to shut down to try to process the crap that i'm putting in that i'm getting the signals loudly and clearly, and that is GREAT thing... because, while the shit makes me feel SHIT-TY, the gold makes me feel that much more on cloud 9.

my daily green juice is now my quick fix for everything: hangovers, colds, sluggishness and my ADHD. i try to shoot for 2-a-day when i want to feel extra super (which is almost every day).

it's kind of amazing that, after a lifetime battle with food, all it took for me to change my entire perspective was 2 weeks on this cleanse. now, i look at food as, not a mere weight-contributor, but a pure means of nourishing the body. i have finally acquired the ability to listen to its needs and to understand how it reacts to every piece of food i put into it that the term "mindful eating" actually begins to make sense. not to be super preachy, but if you're interested in changing the way you eat, i could not recommend this cleanse any more highly. there is no doctor in the world that can prescribe you a diet and expect you to stick to it blindly without falling off... because you can't force motivation. but, you can try something that might make you feel super inspired to change your life.

for about $30 a day (replacing your usual food costs), it's worth a shot.

 

juice cleanse: days 13 - 14

 day 13:

i woke up feeling pretty awesome, as usual... my desire to eat actually began to subside (i think it just took a little bit of time to iron out my coping methods for life with cleanse + school). since i didn't have time to juice the night before, i survived the first half of the day on store-bought juice from a NYC gem called liqueteria-- if all you new yorkers out there don't know it, YOU SHOULD. it's my favorite juice n' smoothie shop in town and has plenty of healthy vegan soups, snacks and other food, too!

 

 

GO. corner of 11th st + 2nd ave-- everything in there is DELICIOUS and the PB&J sells out by noon.

on my way home, i dropped by the grocery store to plan my new batch. important tip: unless you really know what you're doing, always follow trusted recipes... because here's the real culprit that made me fall off my cleanse: i went in there, got "creative" and made a disgusting batch of juice. i thought, "hmm... asparagus has great diuretic qualities and rainbow chard is so colorful... oh, i've never done beets before..." i ended up throwing in kale, apples, carrots, cucumbers as well, which really weren't to blame-- i was. i mean, have you ever heard of asparagus juice? and you gotta watch the beets too-- they're so potent and full of iron... my juice tasted like salty blood mixed with fruits and vegetables... but, mostly blood. all the lemon in the world couldn't mask that nasty irony taste. being the trooper that i am though, i chugged a glass before bed and dreaded the next day.

needless to say, i will not be posting that recipe.

 

physical energy: 9

mental energy: 10

mood: 8

 

--

 

day 14:

i woke up feeling good. i really didn't want to drink that juice, so i didn't, and survived on water and a bit of cashew milk until 3pm when i finally caved. i chugged that baby so fast-- but, the aftertaste! ugh!! anyway, i won't bore you with the horrid details... but, i ended up reaching for the cashews again because i was so hungry. i don't know why i didn't just go get more groceries and re-juice... i guess i didn't want to waste. but, when 10pm rolled around, i just ordered thai food.

i know. i know, i know, i know.

honestly, i was seriously bored this week. but, if there is any way to fall off the cleanse, this is NOT the way. consider this a grave warning, folks: transition gradually back onto solids with light and healthy choices, not with greasy gross pad thai noodles-- it's the dumbest thing you could do to your stomach. i was in pain for hours.

 

juice cleanse: days 10 - 12

day 10:

i woke up this morning feeling right as rain. since those nasty little detox demons left town, waking up in the mornings has gotten EASY... i'm gonna go out on a limb and put that down as another one of those blessings that come with the cleanse. i think my favorite perk, though, has got to be how amazing my skin looks... i've never really had a problem with breakouts in the past, but i have been accustomed to waking up every morning these past 5 years with my-boyfriend-beats-me kind of dark circles. by day 10 though, my stubborn circles had vanished and i even skipped make-up my first day back to school-- CRAZY!!

so, my body felt great. but, my mood was notably lacking. i had a surprisingly difficult time resisting the urge to eat again... there really is a lot to be said for our emotional attachments to food. the beginning was easy because i started during spring break when i was able to just revolve my life completely around the cleanse. but, once the routine of school (a.k.a. my life pre-cleanse) came back into the picture, old eating habits began to rumble. i was finding myself craving the usual buttermilk scone from whole foods during break and spicy tuna roll from the restaurant around the corner after school. they were the little rewards i used to allow myself to keep me going throughout the day... and they all started clicking in again like clockwork. needless to say, my mood was... distracted.

 

physical energy: 9

mental energy: 10

mood: 7

 

so, let's talk about juice. for this batch, i decided to go with some good ol' wheatgrass-- for its hardcore detoxifying effects (beginners should transition slowly), pineapple-- for its digestive enzymes and tart ability to cut the potent taste of wheatgrass, and kale-- which is so nutrient-dense, it's a must in everything!

 

PINEAPPLE, WHEATGRASS + KALE (makes 1 - 2)

(1 serving = 16 oz.)

1/2 pineapple (approx. 1.5 cups)

1/8 cup wheatgrass, juiced

4 stalks kale

1/4 cup filtered water

*don't forget the water... the juice definitely needs some diluting!

 

--

 

day 11:

i woke up this morning dreaming of pad thai.

to be more specific, i dreamt that i was in thailand with a pad thai craving and it was nowhere to be found. so, i went on an adventurous mission full of dangerous obstacles looking for it... it sounds like it might have been a cool dream, but it was more frustrating than anything else.

 

 

i'm not sure what else to say about the day because i feel like that kind of says it all. i drank my juice like an obedient child, but turned to more-than-my-allotted cashew milk whenever i had cravings. at least, i was still on the right substances though. mentally, i was still feeling sharper than a samurai sword... but, physically, i was feeling pretty bloated and i'm pretty sure it was the sugar from the pineapple juice... lesson here is to watch the sugar intake. as delicious as this batch was, i think next time i'm going to stick to fruits with less sugar and lower glycemic indexes (like apples and pears) for my all-day green juice batch and use pineapples only in a fruit juice as a 1-a-day kind of thing.

tip: when making your green juice, your fruit to veggie ratio should always be about 1:3... you can throw in less or no fruit, but no more than that!

 

physical energy: 9

mental energy: 10

mood: 7

 

--

 

day 12:

today, i woke up feeling great again-- physically, mentally, mood-wise, too (that doesn't drop until i'm out and tempted by all of my favorite foods at my fingertips). now, just to be clear, i haven't felt hungry at all during this entire thing-- i've only felt peckish and had cravings... my desire to eat stemmed purely from boredom and maybe rebellion, which was starting to become a very real thing.

so, then, i snuck 5 cashews in. and immediately felt pretty guilty about them. it was only supposed to be 1, but then that turned into 2 and then 5. the lesson here is: don't even sneak 1... you should know that 1 cashew is not terrible for the cleanse, but it's that slippery slope that you then fall down that is.

determined to stay on this cleanse, i jumped back on the horse after 5 though and reached for the cashew milk instead.

 

physical energy: 9

mental energy: 9

mood: 7

 

juice cleanse: days 7 - 9

 

day 7:

today was the second day of my magical juice high and let's just say that it is most definitely everything it's cracked up to be-- i felt like i was walking on a cloud all day... my mind was like crystal and anything physical was a breeze. it was like i had some kind of super power because my alertness was so heightened-- i was like a cat. i was also getting these second winds in the middle of reps at the gym... just as i was beginning to think that the new weight i was lifting was too challenging, i would get these shots of energy taking me through the rest of the reps like little adrenaline injections going straight into my muscles. it took some getting used to... people would ask me how i was feeling and i'd be like: umm... really... really... fantastic?

 

physical energy: 10

mental energy: 10

mood: 8

 

here's the recipe for my new batch of juice. i decided to throw in some sprouts (because they always tend to give me the burst of energy that i need) and lay low on the kale just to give myself a break-- variety is the spice of life. enjoy!

CARROTS, CUKES + SPROUTS (makes 1 - 2)

(1 serving = 16 oz.)

2 carrots

3 cucumbers

1/2 bunch parsley

2 cups alfafa sprouts

1 lemon

1" ginger

 

--

 

day 8:

there is one thing worth noting about cleanses: they can definitely feel very socially isolating. you don't truly realize the extent to which social events revolve around eating and drinking until you're on some kind of strict dietary plan... all of a sudden, dinners and drinks don't seem so inviting, and nestling in bed all day and night with books and movies seem much more appealing. for the first 7 days of my cleanse, i was turning down social events in favor of either nursing detox symptoms or just not being around eaters and drinkers. but, by the time day 8 rolled around, i had started to get exceedingly antsy and socially deprived.

so, despite my mental and physical energy being just as great (if not better, if that's possible)-- my mood was a little lacking. so, i decided to hit a bar with my boyfriend that night to get social.

 

how did it go, you ask?

while many of you might think i fell off the cleanse in those few shady hours of being surrounded by drinks and drunks, i assure you that i did not. what i did do though was have an awesome time staying clean (i know, i belong in an afterschool special)... i wasn't on an alcoholic high, but i was on some kind of high. my senses were so sharp it felt like i was on some kind of stimulant and being surrounded by drunk people was actually really fun and entertaining. it was like having that stimulated high in the first couple hours of drinking, but the whole night.

the tip to steering clear of peer drinking pressure is the above: a vodka water with lime without the vodka. god, how much healthier could you get?

 

physical energy: 10

mental energy: 10

mood: 9

 

--

 

day 9:

today was the last day of spring break. i had a bunch of leftover homework to get done by the end of the day, so i worked solidly through the day. not so fun, but still feeling good.

i think it's worth mentioning here that i have ADHD-- not the "everyone-has-it" kind of ADHD, but the "my-brain-is-most-certainly-wired-differently" kind of ADHD... getting my graduate degree was a painstaking uphill battle, and i went through a long and involved diagnosis process with a learning disability specialist to figure out why i was so dysfunctional in school-- ADHD is a very real thing. (i only say this because i've been dismissed too many times before-- some people actually don't believe in it.) i'm prescribed a very low dose of adderall, but i try as hard as i can not to take it-- there are tips, tricks and ways of working that i have learned over the years that allow me to depend less on medication these days, which is a very good thing because those meds definitely have their hazardous side effects.

 

 

when i'm juicing, there is no need for speed. i'd been weaning off it anyway, but the focus that i was getting from juicing really did help my attention span leaps and bounds. today was the first time in a very long time i relied on zero meds when trying to drill through a mountain of work.

 

physical energy: 9

mental energy: 10

mood: 8

 

juice cleanse: days 4 - 6

 

day 4:

today was rock bottom with the detox symptoms. i woke up in the morning far more exhausted than the days before and, whenever i tried to stand up, i would get these incapacitating head rushes. all i wanted to do was sleep... so, once again, i confined myself to the four corners of my bed and moped. determined to stick it through though, i continued taking my supplements, chugged my green juice and sipped on my alkaline water like a good little girl.

before i scare you off though, i think this is particularly worth noting and might relieve you: my headaches and fatigue would vanish whenever i went a few hours without drinking alkaline water. i would pee a TON when i was drinking it (which, i guess, is a good thing because it's obviously very detoxifying), but whenever i stopped and passed it all out, i'd feel fine again. i think it's safe to say that it was the alkaline water that was responsible for a lot of my detox symptoms and i now know better than to ignore the warnings in my water ionizer's instruction manual that says to transition gradually through the levels... you're really supposed to give each level (1 - 4), at least, a few weeks and move up slowly-- i, of course, just skipped to level 4 like an idiot and reaped the consequences.

 

physical energy: 1

mental energy: 6

mood: 4

 

--

 

day 5:

i woke up today feeling pretty good. i adjusted my alkaline water intake back down to level 1 and most of my detox symptoms had disappeared. i still wasn't feeling amazing though (it may have something to do with being couped up for so many days), but i was extremely functional-- especially mentally... i read and wrote a lot today. interestingly, i really haven't been very hungry since i started the cleanse. once you get used to the taste of things, you'll find green juice to be quite addictive (they taste like health-- in a good way) and that nut milks are better than ice cream (seriously).

 

physical energy: 5

mental energy: 7

mood: 6

 

 

CASHEW MILK (makes 1)

(1 serving = 16 oz.)

1/2 cup raw organic cashews (soaked for at least 1 hour in 1 cup filtered water)

2 cups fresh filtered water

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp cinnamon

2 tsps raw agave

blend all ingredients in a high-speed blender. for an extra silky and thin consistency, you can strain it through cheese cloth or a nut milk bag, but cashews get pretty soft and can be blended very finely... so, if you've soaked it for long enough, straining won't be necessary. store in fridge for up to 5 days.

 

--

 

day 6:

without a doubt, today was my breakthrough day. who knew it would take 6 days to get over that hump?! of course, the alkaline water had a lot to do with things and, unfortunately, it kind of messed up my barometer reading of how things would've went if i just did a straight juice cleanse... but, either way, i felt GREAT today!

i got up in the morning at around 9am and breezily puttered around the house cleaning and organizing in true spring cleaning fashion. i chugged my green juice all day like it was some kind of magical elixir and even hit the gym. working out was EASY... as in, i was doing the same weights that used to be challenging and they were easy-- i was obviously stronger and had much more endurance in me. it was actually kind of weird. then, i spent the rest of the day power reading plays and acting books for school... it had really been a while since i'd been so productive.

 

physical energy: 8

mental energy: 9

mood: 8

 

here's the recipe for my new batch of juice-- i loved it, but my boyfriend did NOT. just keep in mind you really gotta love grapefruit for this one-- it's packs a lot of ZING... so, the riper and sweeter, the better!

 

 

GRAPEFRUIT GREENS (makes 1)

(1 serving =  16 oz.)

1 graperfruit

1 green apple

1 bunch kale

4 celery stalks

1/2 cucumber

1 handful mint

 

juice, juice, juice!

 

juice cleanse: days 1 - 3

ok, so the next few are going to be long... as well as overdue but, details are everything, so enjoy!

day 1:

i felt pretty OK today... had no extreme reactions like during the first attempt (when my physical and mental energy were out of this world), but i think it may have had to do with the juice i was juicing. the more i juice, the more i come to understand the effect of different ingredients on my body. for example, sprouts always give me a boost of energy; lemons stimulate my system; beets get the toxins out (if you know what i mean), etc. basically, i felt like myself on a good day... never a 10, always a little lacking. there were no hunger pangs and no weakness-- just kind of blah, though i was performing pretty solidly at the gym. my mood was upbeat since i was pretty psyched about this cleanse!

 

physical energy: 7

mental energy: 7

mood: 8

 

today's juice was taken from joe cross' website-- reboot your life-- and is the classic green juice that is used in fat, sick & nearly dead.

 

MEAN GREEN (makes 1)

(1 serving = 16 oz.)

1 bunch kale

4 stalks celery

1 cucumber

2 granny smith apples

1/2 lemon

1" ginger root

since i use a twin gear juicer, this was my staple for the first 3 days. my advice on this juice: if the kale is too strong, add more apple, BUT that also means adding more sugar. try squeezing a tad more lemon in there first to cut the bitter taste. alternatively, give lacinato kale a shot as i personally find it a little milder than the mean green curly green (kale).

 

---

 

day 2:

i had pretty solid all-day plans today and was determined to get through the day like any other. i took my friend, david, shopping because he wanted a style makeover (so cute) and so we grabbed lunch at this organic restaurant called gustorganics. i can't speak for the food, but the "rose's garden" green juice was awesome: kale, swiss chard, spinach, broccoli, celery, green apples, lemon and ginger. hmm...

 

 

it was also the first day of lugging around a bottle of alkaline water with me as, clearly, i was looking for the full detox effect. for those of you who don't know about the pH diet-- its theory is based on the idea that your body functions optimally at a pH level of 7.46 and that we should strive to find that balance as much as possible through what we put in our bodies. basically, good foods like veggies tend to be more alkaline and bad foods like coffee, soda and sweets tend to be more acidic... some believe that drinking alkaline water can help push the pH levels of your blood into the ZONE. but, i digress... more on the pH diet later.

so, i have this nifty little machine that spouts out alkaline water-- you can set the levels from 1 (for beginners - psshh) to 4 (for the diehard fearless). and, what did i set mine to? 4, naturally! now, i don't know if it was the juices or the alkaline water but suddenly, in the middle of lunch, i started to feel uber ridiculously tired. i don't know if any of you have ever had mono (i had it last year)-- it's that respiratory illness that leaves you so fatigued you can barely breathe-- but, yeah, i was MONO tired.

so, to sum up day 2... did the detox symptoms arrive as warned? uhh... YES.

 

physical energy: 2

mental energy: 4

mood: 6

 

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day 3:

i was useless today. i never thought it would happen to me. i always thought detox symptoms were all in the mind-- that you could push them aside if your willpower was great enough. not so. today was better than yesterday, but thank GOD i was on spring break! i stayed home and rolled around in bed all day downing supplements, water and glasses of juice hoping they would zap away the fatigue and headaches. i did catch up on a lot of downtown abbey though, so there's the silver lining.

 

 

physical energy: 4

mental energy: 5

mood: 6

 

all in all, the detox symptoms hit like a tornado, although there was no puking or fever... which i hear can happen particularly for coffee-drinkers. anyway, i think i've made this note before but, timing is everything-- DO, at least, schedule the first few days of your cleanse around a weekend to avoid potential hazards at work!