Thursday, September 27, 2012

Confessions of a Food Addict



Well I am sick today, but thanks to veggie juice I feel good. I just can't talk and it is very hard to teach preschool children without a voice ;) So my day has been very productive (or maybe not). I started my first sauerkraut! I will tell you how it turns out sometime next week.
I made some very garlicky hummus for my husband to enjoy as lunches (I always enjoy a little too). Finally I am now working on Spicy Peanut Kale Chips, I substituted the peanut butter for almond butter and tahini and they are coming out great!
 Well on to confessions :( I cheated. You know that juice feast I am suppose to be on, well I confess it, I cheated. I saw the fruit that I was suppose to be juicing and I just couldn't help it. I ate a pear one night, some watermelon another night and another pear the next night along with some raw coconut, almond balls I had made for my husband. Plus this morning while I was cooking I couldn't help trying the food I made, I have to eat when I cook. If you can cook without snacking on everything you make, more power to you. I get that from my mom, she always said she ate two dinners. So I am finishing Feasting on Juice a little early, but guess what! I lost all 10 lbs that had gained since school started. Tonight I am going to be making some raw soup, and will hopefully post the recipe later and a raw salad. YUM! I am soo excited!

Feasting on Juice this past week has been very eye opening for me. I not only lost the weight, but I learned something very important--when you eat healthy foods you are happier and less stressed. I have been so calm this week even though making four juices every night for dinner and then to take with me in the morning, takes a lot of time, I still felt more peace. My body really needs peace. I thrive on stress, which is why I am a teacher, but it is hard on my body. So I have decided that in addition to eating healthy foods more regularly and in a more detoxifying way. I am going to feast on juice about once a month or so, it will be my Peace Feast :) I will tell you a couple days before so you can do this with me if you want and I will try to post on my Facebook page what I ate that day.



Well I think I will end my post with two recipes I discovered this week. I have pictures for one but not the other. First a smoothie...
I was trying to make Vegan "Booster Juice" but I couldn't find half of the ingredients so I came up with my own 

Tropical Kombucha Smoothie

1 mango
1/2 pint strawberries
1 Frozen Banana
3 Kiwis
1/4 cup each Passion Fruit Kombucha and Guava Kombucha ( I like J.T.'s Kombucha best)

Pour everything in a blender and blend till smooth. Add ice if desired.

I am drinking this one right now :)

Carrot Papaya Pumpkin Pie Juice

It might not sound the best, but believe me, it tastes like pumpkin pie and I LOVE pumpkin pie!

4 carrots
1/2 papaya (Mine was on the firm side, otherwise I would have just eaten it.
1 bag Celestial Seasonings Sweet Harvest Pumpkin Black Tea
6 drops Vanilla Stevia
Pumpkin Pie Spice to taste (I put in quite a bit)

Juice carrots and papaya. Stir in tea bag, stevia and spice. I let mine sit in the fridge overnight, but you could probably drink it within half an hour or so.

Happy Juicing!


Saturday, September 22, 2012

New Recipe, Challenge and ... Fast or Feast?

Well there has been so much going on lately I have not had time to post anything. I have made two resolutions since my last post which I would like to share with you. But first, the moment you have been waiting for...! 

Strawberry Rhubarb Juice (Creamed)

Yes I finally did it, I figured out the recipe--it is smooth and sweet!

1 pint strawberries
1 1/2 long stalks rhubarb
1 medium beet with greens (add extra greens if desired)
2 sweet apples
2 limes or lemons

Juice all ingredients and top with a little cinnamon and nutmeg (you may also want to add a little vanilla stevia depending on your taste-buds). 

To cream--after juicing the ingredients pour into a blender and add a banana and an avocado (I think that is what I did, I will have to look at this recipe again when I get home so the creamed version might change a bit in a few days) and blend until smooth. Top with toasted almond and coconut meal leftover from making nut milks. And most importantly ENJOY!!!

On to my two resolutions and I am very sorry but I do not have pictures for this part. 

There has been one constant in my life for the last two months...STRESS! It has ruled my eating choices and also my purchasing choices so I decided I was going to spend less money on groceries (I happen to be addicted to food shopping. Can anyone relate?) Well to do this I decided I needed a plan and there are soooo many amazing blogs with recipes on them, I decided to try and go through them making the recipes found on these blogs. I will try to remember to tell you on my page on facebook what I am eating that day. Also I will try to post my husband's and my favorites for the week. I am hoping this will be fun and also save me money :)

So my next decision... I recently looked at my eating decisions and they have not been good. Basically I have been eating everything I can get my hands on in the last couple of months and it has gotten so bad I cannot stop eating, especially chocolate and sweets! So Friday morning I stepped on the scale and instantly decided I needed to go on a juice fast because what I was doing was not working...Hello my name is Alissa and I am addicted to food! So I started with what I had, a green juice, two smoothies, and another green juice to end the day. Today, Saturday, was my first full-blown juice fast and I had a very difficult time. We didn't do much today--just play with my two-year-old nephew and wait for my newborn nephew to wake-up (which I don't think ever happened). So I got very frustrated today and finally went for a walk to clear my head, but I am going to do this fast because I do not want my life run by food adding to the stress that is already piling on top of me. 

I don't like the word fasting...Courtney Pool from www.CourtneyPool.com and www.SpirulinaJunkie.com calls it juice feasting. I love the term feasting because it is something you want to do not have to do and when you juice you are feasting on an extreme amount of nutrients. So I am going to use the word feasting. 

This week I will be feasting on juice. I will add in a smoothie Friday afternoon and for dinner raw soup and salad. Would anyone like to join me? Post on my facebook page the best juice you ate that day and I will keep you up-to-date on what I am drinking and how I am doing through out the week!

Happy Juicing!!!




Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Raw Cardamom Soup

I know I promised the Strawberry Rhubarb Pie Juice, but you are just going to have to wait. I have perfected the recipe but as I was drinking it in the car the other day I thought, "Hey this would be good with crust and crunch!" So I want to try on more thing.

I am currently trying to be on a juicing fast, but I have cheated today (and it was my first day :( ) I just had to try the banana muffins my kids made and the raw carob cheesecake was in the specials isle at Natural Grocers and I must say, AMAZING!!!

So anyway on to the soup. It is sweet and has a nice Cardamom flavor--kinda makes me feel like I'm back in India. In fact, now that I think of it you could garnish this soup with raisins, pistachios, and cashews and make it really Indian! Huh, I'm going to have to try that! 

Raw Cardamom Soup

1 Zucchini or Sweet Potato
1 Avocado
1 tsp ground cardamom seeds (out of the pod)
Juice of 2 beets and a handful of greens (I like using beet greens)
1 dropperful Vanilla Stevia
Cinnamon and salt to taste

Blend everything in a blender and enjoy!