Thursday, March 29, 2012

Eat More Kale

If you're active in the juicing/health food community you may have already heard about Bo Muller-Moore.  Living in Vermont, he works full-time as an independant t-shirt maker.  Ten years ago he was commissioned by a local farming couple to make a shirt saying, "Eat More Kale".

The shirt's popularity grew quickly and when he recently applied for a trademark he attracted the attention of a fast food chain with a similar slogan.
In an effort to preserve the punchiness of Chick-fil-A's intellectual property, they sent Bo Muller-Moore a cease and desist letter.  But Bo plans to neither cease nor desist and wants to represent the little guy by making a documentary exposing corporate bullying.

An interesting predicament.  On the one hand, this man is supporting his family with his business.  On the other hand, Chick-fil-A is only doing what any corporation would do if it seemed their trademark was being infringed upon.

Regardless, I will keep eating...er, drinking more kale, and probably on occasion, indulge in a chicken sandwich at the mall.

Much Ado About Kale:
2 branches kale
1/2 english cucumber
2 cups chopped salad
2 radishes
2 apples
1 mandarin orange

Monday, March 26, 2012

Super-Natural!

There's nothing paranormal about juicing.  What could be more normal than consuming nature's fruits and vegetables?  Although this juice is bright green and reminds me of ectoplasm from Ghostbusters movie.

Spirit Lifter:
2 branches kale
3 branches celery
1/2 english cucumber
1 orange
1 apple
This is from a juicer.

This is from a proton pack.

Saturday, March 24, 2012

Glowing Juice, Glowing Reviews

The color of this juice caused my watching children to inhale sharply; it was like pouring sunshine into a glass.  The flavor was no less impressive.  Sweet, fresh, invigorating.

Roots and Fruits:
4 carrots
2 radishes
5 stalks celery
1 large tomato
1 1/2 navel oranges
2 apples

Thursday, March 22, 2012

Dancing With Ginger

That ginger root has been staring at me from my produce drawer for the past 4 weeks.  A common ingredient in juicing recipes, but I haven't been brave enough to try it until juicing with my mom this week.  I only used a 1/4 inch sliver and although it smelled wonderful when I cut it, I really did not care for the overall flavor of the juice.

Drinking an Egg Roll:
1/4 inch sliver fresh ginger root
4 branches kale
1/2 beet
1/3 head iceberg lettuce
4 stalks celery
1/2 lemon
4 clementines
1/2 english cucumber
2 apples
1/2 c grapes
Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, dance on air.

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Eight Pounds, Three Ounces Lighter

 Life has been pretty good these past five days.  Baby Sasha is healthy, my mom is waiting on me hand and foot, and I am having an ideal recovery from childbirth.  Mom made a boffo-socko juice today and even used the rinds of the pineapple (something I hadn't tried previously).  It was a sweet juice with a brown foam to it, presumably from the pineapple rind.  The juice was so good, in fact that it rivaled the amazing baby gift of Shari's Berries we received from my husband's co-worker.

Grandma's Homestyle Cookin'

2 branches kale
2 carrots
1/2 lemon
1/4 pineapple
1 c. green grapes
1/2 beet
1/2 english cucumber
The box said, "Caution: Contents may disappear upon opening."

Sunday, March 18, 2012

Baby, Oh, Baby!

Announcing the arrival of the newest little sweet pea...Alexandra Catherine!  She's just a little pumpkin pie and you can't "turnip" your nose at her!
She's the apple of her grandma's eye!

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Why, Pi, and Quenching Our Thirst For Knowledge

Anyone who has ever spent some time around a four year old knows the hilarious antic of the never-ending game of, "Why?"  I once tried my best to answer each sequential question my daughter asked "why?" to until I literally couldn't go any further (I don't recall her original why, but my last answer was "Because the world was created.")

We humans are all thirsty for knowledge.  Accepting the status quo just isn't enough, something drives us to keep seeking.  On March 14th, some people celebrate "pi" (a greek symbol that represents 3.14 in math formulas).  It's interesting to think about Euclid and Archimedes being four year olds and exhausting their parents with the question of "why?"

A great first step in quenching our thirst for knowledge is great nutrition.  How can our minds be sharp if we feed our bodies with dull foods?

Pi Day Juice:
3 branches kale
1 tomato
3 stalks celery
1 carrot
2 apples
6 strawberries

Surface area of this tomato= 28.27 cm of juicy yumminess.

Monday, March 12, 2012

Less is More

How did I run out of fruit?  Maybe it's these four children running around, eating and growing all the time.  But here I am today, juicing with lots of veggies and only mangos and strawberries for sweetness.

Even though the first sips were underwhelming, the mild flavor grew on me and after half a glass it actually did taste sweet to me!  Less sweetness is more, at least when it comes to this combination.

Sweetness is as Sweetness Does:
1/2 beet
1 c. spinach
1 cucumber
2 stalks of celery
2 radishes
1 1/2 tomatoes
1/2 mango
12 strawberries
Strawberries smell oh-so good when you're sipping this drink.

Friday, March 9, 2012

Lions, Lambs and Lettuce

True to the old adage, this changeable month has been all over the place with weather.  Heavy rainstorms, high winds one day and sunny and 68 degrees the next.  Even though the weather is unreliable, I can still count on veggie juice to get me through the day.

I've been craving kale juice lately, but I am forcing myself to use the produce I already have in the fridge.  So, lettuce it is!

Using Up the Produce:
1/2 head romaine lettuce
2 c. spinach
2 stalks celery
1 tomato
2 radishes
2 apples
3 mandarin oranges
1 plum
March to the beat of a different juice.

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

We Don't Need No Stinkin' Research

Dr. Glenn D. Braunstein published his thoughts on juicing yesterday.  He conceeds that adults should consume 9 servings of vegetables and fruits everyday, but that "few of us do."  He further admits that juicing helps people acheive this nutritional requirement.

But the rest of his article is slightly pretentious, using the line doctors love touting, "there is no evidence..." or, "there is no research to prove..."  I believe this readily: pharmaceutical corporations have no motivation to fund such studies, lest people stop taking their meds and just start eating many more fruits and vegetables.  Who would commission such a study, farmers?

Maybe Dr. Braunstein should try juicing for awhile and then rewrite a column.  I think I know how it would go: he would feel more energetic and healthy, sleep better, and lose a little weight.  But most importantly, he would begin singing the praise of juicing despite there being no research to prove what he has experienced.

Of course, this is coming from a lady who is currently drinking 9 servings of fruits and veggies and feeling so good because of it.

Raw and Un-Researched:
1 c. spinach
1 stalk celery
1/2 head romaine lettuce
3/4 c. broccoli
2 apples
1 peach
Treasure of Celery and Broccoli

Monday, March 5, 2012

Making the Most out of Monday

Still pregnant and waddling here.  Though I'm limited in my actions, I don't want to be inactive.  Today's juice helped me get through the afternoon with a cheery disposition, along with the help of my B-complex vitamin.

Grab the Bull by the Horns:
1 c. fresh pineapple
3 branches kale
2 stalks celery
1 c. spinach
1 cucumber
1 1/2 apples
2 peaches

Saturday, March 3, 2012

Kale Without Apple

Throwing in an apple is a no-brainer for sweetening vegetable juice.  Until today I have always paired kale with apple, a bit ingnorant of kale's power.  Apparently, the fragrance of apples have always masked the odor of kale as well.  My daughter came downstairs after I juiced this afternoon claiming she could smell the kale juice all the way upsatirs. 

All Kale, All The Time:
4 branches of kale
1/4 head of romaine lettuce
1 english cucumber
3 mandarin oranges
1 plum
1 pear
An apple a day keeps the kale flavor away.

Thursday, March 1, 2012

Bulking Up Juice

Do other juicers notice that some of the greenest, and seemingly most nutritionally dense vegetables make very little juice?  I guess it makes sense.  They're just not very watery.

I find this gets in my way of trying to make a vegetable-prominent juice.  After I juice all the greens, there's not enough juice for two servings.  But I want to avoid just adding more fruit (though they do add volume to the juice), the flavor really gets tooooo sweet.

This is when my trusty cucumber and celery take center stage.  Today I juiced my planned and prepped arrangement only to find that it made just 15 oz of juice.  I peeled a giant English cucumber and it bulked up the volume by 10 more ounces.  Voila!  Now we are talking.

Now, With More Volume!
1 c. broccoli
6 branches kale
2 stalks celery
2 apples
6 strawberrries
1 english cucumber