Day 71.....

Here I am sitting at my laptop enjoying the recipe I shared earlier called Freshness.  The romaine was a little on the tart side this go round so I added a couple of kiwi to perk it up. Yum!

While Kiwi Enjoyment is still my ultimate favorite, here is another recipe taken from Green For Life that I have fallen in love with that I think you will enjoy.

Minty Thrill

2 pears cored

2 kale leaves

1/4 bunch fresh mint

1 cup water

 I have been going to tons of different websites trying to decide what I want in a juicer. The questions in my head as well as the info given have taken on a mind of their own as Pandora's box grew in size.

Do I want a juicer or a mega blender? Do I want it to do basic fruits and veggies or get more techie with wheat grass features? Do I want a centrifugal motor or an auger? Single auger or double? How much money do I want to spend? (Ha! There is the clincher)
Everyone I know that "juices" has their own suggestions, styles, products and expectations. None are wrong but none have quite seemed to "fit" what I want...especially when I haven't quite known what I want.

I do know that I have wanted a bigger performance than the $30 model on the Walmart shelf but still haven't been sure if the $600 commitment of a power monger Vitamix was overkill for me. But I think I have now finally decided. I am going to be saving up my money for a UK brand Matstone Juicer.

It is a single auger style that can do top performance on all the regular produce while still giving special attention to leafy greens and wheat grass. Because it is a single auger it will be basically quiet instead of sounding like an airplane in my kitchen. That means slower juice time but I am willing to trade speed for performance. I watched a few youtube demonstration videos on it and can see the left over pulp fiber is very dry. And because it is a slow auger, it doesn't put any temperature heat to the produce which is a personal preference of mine.

I am excited. I wish I could purchase it right now. Sigh.....
But God knows and He will provide what is best and in the right time.

Daddy God thank You for the way you made our bodies and provided all we could possibly need to be a finely tuned machine.  It is because of Your thoughtful artistry that You were able to look at us and say, "It is very good."  Thank You for the variety of flavors and colors and smells and visual beauty just to bring us delight.

Have a blessed and wonderful destiny filled day!

Day 59....

 Oh my goodness I can't believe how much time has gone by! Yikes! I am either super consistent or I fail miserably. One of these days I am praying to find a balancing middle line where I am not one extreme or the other.

 So how has the last 20 days been for me? They have been good.....mostly good.....a little bad.....a little on the side of binging here and there but I am learning things about myself.So instead beating myself up I choose to say that learning and moving forward is my focal point.

Yes I did say that I binged and more than once to be honest. But my new version of binging is a couple spoons of humus and pita chips instead of a whole bag of cookies or giant bowl of ice cream.  And I found that for a few days in a row I ate several handfuls of gingersnaps......because ginger is natural food right? haa haa Actually I found them in my hand and mouth without the slightest thought of purposing for them to be there.

I have learned that having carbs is a very sensitive thing for me. I have to be so very careful of what I allow myself or I really notice the difference. If I choose to do something like a 6" veggie sandwich at Subway (loaded veggies are a good choice right?) but there is something in the bread (or too much of it) makes me so groggy and hard to think. I could go to bed and sleep the day away.

I have learned that if I allow myself a little carb each day (like pita chips or ginger snaps for example) it sabotages my desire for raw healthy produce in the blink of an eye. Pretty soon images of cookies and doritos with nacho sauce are floating through my head and I pace the kitchen in agitation.

Sometimes the past few weeks have felt like a mountain that is so steep I surely must need an anchor rope to take a single step. I wondered, "Good grief where did my motivation go? How do I get back the fun and joy I was experiencing?"

I made myself go back to the beginning of my journey.
Yeah! Thank you God for giving me the foresight to keep a journal.
It has been a tough week but I am starting to see the end of the tunnel now as I re-cleanse my body of fillers and replace it with good healthy foods.

It reminds me very much of a parallel with spending time with God. What I mean by that is when I have a couple of days where I take the "I am busy approach" and say I don't have time to sit with God in prayer....all of a sudden other things want to build up and take precedence. Then I have to really purpose to sit with God and at first it feels awkward because everything else is circling my thoughts wanting a piece of me. But the more time I spend with God then everything balances out and I feel better....peaceful and whole.

Salads are starting to be fun again and I am getting a kick out of experimenting with different smoothies that help get produce into my system in different ways.  Here are some different recipes that have caught my attention from a book called Green For Life and all these are to be put in a blender if you are interested in trying them yourself.

Freshness

6-8 Romaine leaves

1/2 Honeydew melon seeded and no rind

2 cups water

Summer Delight

6 peaches

2 handfuls Spinach Leaves

2 cups water

Kiwi Enjoyment

4 ripe kiwi skinned

1 banana

3 stalks celery

2 cups water

What am I loving about making smoothies?

• They are full of flavor and nutrients.
• The water in the produce as well as the smoothie help keep me hydrated.
• The variety helps stave away boredom.
• They are quick and oh so easy.
• The produce doesn't have to be in pristine condition since it is going to be blended anyway.
• All recipes are subject to easy change according to what is in my refrigerator.

 Do you have a healthy smoothie recipe to share? I'd love to hear it.

Take care and be blessed.

Day 40....

 Eating salads are way too much fun when we go out on the town. Many restaurants put together yummy combinations of fruits and vegetables that I haven't thought of on my own. And it is always nice to have someone else do the making instead of me.My husband and I have been going out on Friday nights lately to enjoy one another and try out different eateries in the area.

This particular salad was one I had last night from Panera Bread and Cafe'. It is called a Fuji Apple Chicken Salad. It is antibiotic free and I was thrilled to find that the chicken didn't taste "dead". I ate most of my chicken instead of shoving it to the side for a future hubby salad.
For my own personal preferences I omitted the onions and pecans. (Until my recent experience of liking soaked almonds I have never been a nut person and I am not brave enough to try pecans just yet.)  I think also next time I will omit the Gorgonzola as it reminded me a bit too much of blue cheese.

 This salad was my husband's choice. It was a Thai Chopped Chicken Salad. It was slightly on the spicy side for his personal taste but he enjoyed it all the same and felt happily full when he bowl was empty.

 This salad was one that I went nuts over while having dinner recently with a friend at the Roadhouse Grill. I was silently sceptical at the thought of being able to order a healthy type of dinner there but was tickled with delight at my salad and am already thinking on when I will soon be able to go back again.

This was a Veggie Style Harvester Special with lemon dill dressing. I omitted the feta cheese because that makes me think of blue cheese also. It was my first experience of having artichoke hearts (aside from spinach artichoke dip) and I loved it! I wonder how many other foods I am going to find that I love that I was never brave enough to try before?

As I type away this morning, I am enjoying my breakfast smoothie that has become a staple for both myself and my husband. Then I will be going grocery shopping to fill up our dwindling produce stock. I find getting groceries to be more fun now that I am buying all of these amazing fresh colors and flavors instead of processed salt and "empty" carbohydrate filled boxes.

Happy eating and God bless your day with encouragement as you discover the many blessings He put here just to make you smile.