There are certain times of year when I feel more like a resident alien than others and Halloween is one of those times. Having lived in America for 11 years now, I can honestly say that I feel very at home here and enjoy embracing many of the traditions and celebrations that your nation holds dear. When October 31st comes around though, I find myself cringing at the thought of what’s to come.
Our first American Halloween was spent in San Francisco, and I will never forget going to Belvedere Street, Cole Valley and being totally blown away by the whole experience. I had never, ever seen anything like it! Whole houses bedecked in life size spiders, garages turned into cavernous vampire dens, the front doors left open revealing bloody, mangled body parts left halfway up staircases (I still hope they were fake!), axe murderers mingling with little mermaids, and yes, SO much candy!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was a far cry from the token pumpkin which would be carved and left outside my front door in London with a little tea light in it, to ward off any evil spirits. Extinguished at 8.30pm without a knock at my front door. From anyone. No little grim reapers, ghosts or ghouls ever came calling.
My children of course, like all children here, love Halloween, they’ve grown up with the parades, the costumes, the drama and trick or treating. I do try to enter into the spirit of it, but I think that because I didn’t grow up making a big deal of it, it’s hard to get as excited as they do.
This year however, I’m a little more excited than usual because I’ve decided to make a special Halloween Juice! As we decorate our house this coming weekend (always the last up on the block and first down!) and carve our pumpkins, we will be sipping this delicious Spooky Pumpkin Juice. My daughter, a die hard Harry Potter fan, will be delighted, as she will be drinking it out of her Hogwarts goblet and singing "Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts!" My son will be happy because it’s VERY yellow (his favorite color of juice). My husband will be happy because in the traditional Ayurvedic medicine of India – home of the fabled Kama Sutra – the pumpkin is believed to both preserve and increase male virility, (say no more!) and I will be happy because they’ll all be drinking juice instead of eating candy!
Happy Halloween!
Jx
Spooky Pumpkin Juice
½ sugar pumpkin (deseeded but not peeled)
2 apples
¼ lemon
½” piece of ginger
Handful of frozen mango chunks
Put the first four ingredients through the juicer. Blend the frozen mango chunks into the juice with a hand blender. I would have added garlic, just to keep those vampires at bay, but really, you just can’t get the taste out of your juicer!!!!!!! The other good thing about this juice is that you can save the seeds, roast them in the oven and snack on them, and use the pulp left over from making the juice to make pumpkin soup or add to pumpkin spice muffins!!
This juice is rich in beta-carotene, flavonoids, potassium, vitamin C and folic acid.
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Friday, October 21, 2011
Doing More of What You Like
I am reading an interesting book this week. One of the chapters is about doing more of what we like and less of what we don’t like. By doing this the hope is that we become happier and more satisfied people. It makes sense to me. If I spend all day sitting at my computer writing plans, paying bills, catching up on correspondence, then I end my day somewhat frustrated and fatigued. If, on the other hand, I am training with clients, inspiring potential juicers, working on juice recipes, giving juice workshops, I find that I end my day feeling satisfied, full of energy and eager to do the same thing tomorrow.
The same principle can be applied in the area of juicing and exercise. Whilst it is good to mix things up and try new things, sometimes doing more of what you like is a great way to move forward. If you like walking but hate running, then go for a long walk somewhere that you really love, perhaps adding a few more minutes to your walk. If you love lifting weights, but feel bad that you’re not doing cardio, add some extra sets to your free weight routine, or lift a little heavier weight. Perhaps you can include some circuit type activity to your weight lifting routine, incorporating jumping jacks, or jump rope between sets, thus achieving your cardio goal without slogging away doing something you don’t enjoy.
You are more likely to continue with an exercise program if you enjoy what you’re doing, than if you are simply pounding away because you feel you have to. There are a million ways to exercise, find one that works for you and do more of it!!
The same applies to juice. I was talking with someone the other day who was describing her morning routine of making a “green smoothie.” She said that she only did it because she knew it was good for her, but that she dreaded drinking it because it tasted gross, and she had to “hold her nose to get it down!” What a way to start your day!!!!!
Imagine instead, finding a juice combination that you LOVE, with your favorite fruits and vegetables, and knowing that you will enjoy a fresh glass of it every day! Feeling inspired to make something that you know your taste buds are going to relish and that your body is going to thank you for, will give you a much happier and fulfilling start to your day, than forcing something down because you think it’s good for you.
So, if my book is right and you’re doing something you love for exercise, and drinking something you love for health, you should be on cloud nine for the whole week, as well as being healthy, inside and out!!!!!
Try this happy combination which I start my day with many mornings of the week.
Happy Juicing,
Orange Eye Opener
3 carrots
1 grapefruit
½ inch ginger
As well as tasting delicious, this orange beauty will give you a good kick of vitamin C, boosting your immune system, and the ginger, as natures best “anti-everything” will help decongest, and fight any bugs which might be lurking within your system. Of course, I have this juice at any time of day, not just in the morning.
The same principle can be applied in the area of juicing and exercise. Whilst it is good to mix things up and try new things, sometimes doing more of what you like is a great way to move forward. If you like walking but hate running, then go for a long walk somewhere that you really love, perhaps adding a few more minutes to your walk. If you love lifting weights, but feel bad that you’re not doing cardio, add some extra sets to your free weight routine, or lift a little heavier weight. Perhaps you can include some circuit type activity to your weight lifting routine, incorporating jumping jacks, or jump rope between sets, thus achieving your cardio goal without slogging away doing something you don’t enjoy.
You are more likely to continue with an exercise program if you enjoy what you’re doing, than if you are simply pounding away because you feel you have to. There are a million ways to exercise, find one that works for you and do more of it!!
The same applies to juice. I was talking with someone the other day who was describing her morning routine of making a “green smoothie.” She said that she only did it because she knew it was good for her, but that she dreaded drinking it because it tasted gross, and she had to “hold her nose to get it down!” What a way to start your day!!!!!
Imagine instead, finding a juice combination that you LOVE, with your favorite fruits and vegetables, and knowing that you will enjoy a fresh glass of it every day! Feeling inspired to make something that you know your taste buds are going to relish and that your body is going to thank you for, will give you a much happier and fulfilling start to your day, than forcing something down because you think it’s good for you.
So, if my book is right and you’re doing something you love for exercise, and drinking something you love for health, you should be on cloud nine for the whole week, as well as being healthy, inside and out!!!!!
Try this happy combination which I start my day with many mornings of the week.
Happy Juicing,
Orange Eye Opener
3 carrots
1 grapefruit
½ inch ginger
As well as tasting delicious, this orange beauty will give you a good kick of vitamin C, boosting your immune system, and the ginger, as natures best “anti-everything” will help decongest, and fight any bugs which might be lurking within your system. Of course, I have this juice at any time of day, not just in the morning.
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Buying a Juicer
Be warned. This is not an amusing, nor witty blog post. There isn’t a funny story, or a great life lesson that can be applied to a juice recipe this week. There isn’t even a recipe. It’s not that I’m lacking in material. I could have written about the “great fix everything juice” that I’m hoping to create soon, or the “tidy up your house juice”, the recipe for which is proving somewhat illusive! Perhaps a blog about the benefits of wheatgrass juice for pets as well as people, or building on the recent article I read about the benefits of nitrates in beetroot juice. But no, this week, I’m going to keep it straight and informational. Read on…………………….
I’m aware that I write this blog every week, and I know that a large percentage of people who read it don’t have a juicer. My hope is that eventually, something I write will resonate with a reader which will inspire them to either rent a machine from me, or take the plunge and buy a juicer for themselves. If you are considering buying a juicer, I thought I would take some time this week to review the three main types of at home juicers available on the market today to make the purchasing decision easier for you.
Essentially there are three kinds of juicers available to the at home juicer; manual, centrifugal and masticating juicers. Below you will find an outline of each kind, what they do, and a brief summary of the pros and cons, in addition to my recommendation of the best brand within each of the three categories.
Manual Juicers
These tend to be manual juice presses, which you can buy very cheaply. They are good for the odd glass of orange juice, but are not very practical when it comes to making vegetable juices, or larger quantities of juice. They are relatively inexpensive at around $30-$50. You can also buy manual wheatgrass juicers in a similar price range, (in which case I would recommend Weston Wheatgrass Juicer) but then you have to source a good supply of wheatgrass, or grow your own and that will require a whole other blog post!
Centrifugal Juicers
This type of juicer chops your fruit and veg into small pieces and then throws them against a spinning bowl that in turn separates the juice from the fibre. The benefit of this kind of machine is that it is quick and easy to use, and much less expensive than the next category of juicer. The quality of the juice you get is excellent and the yield is good too. The downside, is that because of the heat generated by the frictional nature of the process, you do lose some of the nutritional value of the juice. However, in tests done on good centrifugal juicers, 90% of the nutrients remained in the juice. The best one on the market is the Breville Juice Fountain Elite. It is widely available for around $280. It is easy to clean, easy to assemble and very easy to use.
Masticating juicers
Masticating juicers grind the produce into very small particles and then press them through a screen. This means that because the juice is extracted at much lower speeds than a centrifugal juicer, more of the live enzymes stay intact. The downside of these machines is that the feed chute for the produce is very small, so it requires a lot more prep time cutting up your fruit and veg. The machine also runs more slowly, so the actual juicing process takes longer. The best machine on the market, in my opinion is the Green Star Elite GSE 5000 Juice Extractor which is around $500.
My recommendation for a first time at home juicer would be to go with the Breville centrifugal juicer. This will allow you to make great tasting, nutritionally overflowing juices, quickly and easily with little prep or clean up. If you decide that you want to take juicing to another level, then the bigger investment in the Green Star masticating juicer would be something to consider.
I hope the information proves useful and that it will allow you take the leap and get a juicer on your counter top today! As for the recipe for that “tidy up your house” juice, I guess you’ll just have to wait a little longer.
Happy juicing,
Jx
I’m aware that I write this blog every week, and I know that a large percentage of people who read it don’t have a juicer. My hope is that eventually, something I write will resonate with a reader which will inspire them to either rent a machine from me, or take the plunge and buy a juicer for themselves. If you are considering buying a juicer, I thought I would take some time this week to review the three main types of at home juicers available on the market today to make the purchasing decision easier for you.
Essentially there are three kinds of juicers available to the at home juicer; manual, centrifugal and masticating juicers. Below you will find an outline of each kind, what they do, and a brief summary of the pros and cons, in addition to my recommendation of the best brand within each of the three categories.
Manual Juicers
These tend to be manual juice presses, which you can buy very cheaply. They are good for the odd glass of orange juice, but are not very practical when it comes to making vegetable juices, or larger quantities of juice. They are relatively inexpensive at around $30-$50. You can also buy manual wheatgrass juicers in a similar price range, (in which case I would recommend Weston Wheatgrass Juicer) but then you have to source a good supply of wheatgrass, or grow your own and that will require a whole other blog post!
Centrifugal Juicers
This type of juicer chops your fruit and veg into small pieces and then throws them against a spinning bowl that in turn separates the juice from the fibre. The benefit of this kind of machine is that it is quick and easy to use, and much less expensive than the next category of juicer. The quality of the juice you get is excellent and the yield is good too. The downside, is that because of the heat generated by the frictional nature of the process, you do lose some of the nutritional value of the juice. However, in tests done on good centrifugal juicers, 90% of the nutrients remained in the juice. The best one on the market is the Breville Juice Fountain Elite. It is widely available for around $280. It is easy to clean, easy to assemble and very easy to use.
Masticating juicers
Masticating juicers grind the produce into very small particles and then press them through a screen. This means that because the juice is extracted at much lower speeds than a centrifugal juicer, more of the live enzymes stay intact. The downside of these machines is that the feed chute for the produce is very small, so it requires a lot more prep time cutting up your fruit and veg. The machine also runs more slowly, so the actual juicing process takes longer. The best machine on the market, in my opinion is the Green Star Elite GSE 5000 Juice Extractor which is around $500.
My recommendation for a first time at home juicer would be to go with the Breville centrifugal juicer. This will allow you to make great tasting, nutritionally overflowing juices, quickly and easily with little prep or clean up. If you decide that you want to take juicing to another level, then the bigger investment in the Green Star masticating juicer would be something to consider.
I hope the information proves useful and that it will allow you take the leap and get a juicer on your counter top today! As for the recipe for that “tidy up your house” juice, I guess you’ll just have to wait a little longer.
Happy juicing,
Jx
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Wrinkle Busting
It has been a busy week. There's no doubt about it, things have moved up a gear in the Jones household - a new highschooler, a fourth grader, running a small business and a travelling husband have all combined to press my foot a little harder to the gas pedal of life. I thought I was handling it all pretty well. Thought I was keeping my stress levels fairly balanced. Even though I might have been frazzled on the inside, I felt that the picture I was portraying to the outside world was one of energy, youthfulness and inner calm.
It would seem I was wrong.
I was doing my grocery shopping this morning at a local store when the young gentleman on the checkout gave me a sharp dose of reality. When I say "young" gentleman, I'm guessing he was around 25 years old. As I cheerily began putting my produce away, he looked at me closely, and said "Hey, don't I know you from somewhere?" I didn't recognise him, and commented that I didn't think we had met before, but that I do have a common looking face, and people will quite often think they know me when they don't! "No, really" he said "you're very familiar to me, do you have kids that are my age, maybe I play soccer with them?"
After I resisted the urge to hit him over the head with my bag of kale, I pulled myself together, flashed him what I hoped was a withering smile and left.
I'll be honest with you. I was disappointed. I carry around an image of myself in my head, I think we all do. I believe there is a mismatch between the image of me in my head, and the real me on the outside! In my image, I really don't look like I might have kids who are 25 years old instead of 13 and 9.
Obviously, my new pace of life in the fast lane is having an outward impact after all, and it prompted me to look to my juice books and find a recipe for increasing skin glow and reducing wrinkles!!!!!!!!!
So here it is, the wrinkle busting juice -super-rich in vitamin C, and bursting with substances called anthocyanidins and proanthocyanidins which among other things, have powerful protective and regenerative properties directly linked to collagen. It's easy to make, fabulously good for you, and tasty as well. I will be drinking it by the quart!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I wonder if the checkout guy at Trader Joes will notice?
Happy Juicing
Jx
The Wrinkle Buster
2 apples
12oz pitted cherries
I make the apple juice using the juicer. Then buy a bag of frozen cherries (the aforementioned store do a good line in these!). Use a hand blender to whizz the cherries with the apple juice, making a delicious smoothie. You can make this using fresh cherries (which is better, but more expensive and harder to do at this time of year) but make sure to take the pits out first, before putting them through your juicer.
It would seem I was wrong.
I was doing my grocery shopping this morning at a local store when the young gentleman on the checkout gave me a sharp dose of reality. When I say "young" gentleman, I'm guessing he was around 25 years old. As I cheerily began putting my produce away, he looked at me closely, and said "Hey, don't I know you from somewhere?" I didn't recognise him, and commented that I didn't think we had met before, but that I do have a common looking face, and people will quite often think they know me when they don't! "No, really" he said "you're very familiar to me, do you have kids that are my age, maybe I play soccer with them?"
After I resisted the urge to hit him over the head with my bag of kale, I pulled myself together, flashed him what I hoped was a withering smile and left.
I'll be honest with you. I was disappointed. I carry around an image of myself in my head, I think we all do. I believe there is a mismatch between the image of me in my head, and the real me on the outside! In my image, I really don't look like I might have kids who are 25 years old instead of 13 and 9.
Obviously, my new pace of life in the fast lane is having an outward impact after all, and it prompted me to look to my juice books and find a recipe for increasing skin glow and reducing wrinkles!!!!!!!!!
So here it is, the wrinkle busting juice -super-rich in vitamin C, and bursting with substances called anthocyanidins and proanthocyanidins which among other things, have powerful protective and regenerative properties directly linked to collagen. It's easy to make, fabulously good for you, and tasty as well. I will be drinking it by the quart!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I wonder if the checkout guy at Trader Joes will notice?
Happy Juicing
Jx
The Wrinkle Buster
2 apples
12oz pitted cherries
I make the apple juice using the juicer. Then buy a bag of frozen cherries (the aforementioned store do a good line in these!). Use a hand blender to whizz the cherries with the apple juice, making a delicious smoothie. You can make this using fresh cherries (which is better, but more expensive and harder to do at this time of year) but make sure to take the pits out first, before putting them through your juicer.
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Juicing for the Holiday
I like to embrace the high days and holidays of my own religion and those of other religions which have an impact on me and my family. Since moving to the east coast, we have come to learn more about the Jewish faith, and some of the traditions which surround important Jewish festivals. One of my favourites is Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year. Those of you who know me personally, know I love a good fresh start! The calendar new year is also a high point for me, all that reflecting on what's happened over the last few months, all that looking forward to upcoming adventures and challenges for the months ahead. I just love it!
So, every year, at Rosh Hashanah, I encourage myself (and my poor long suffering family!) to embrace the idea of thinking about how we have behaved over the last year, have we tried to live well, act well and be well? In the areas where we find ourselves lacking, (and there are many!!) we try to think about how we might do better in the coming months and what we might focus on, to help us become kinder, more accepting and brighter people.
Part of our tradition is to go apple picking at some point, when the children are off from school. We have had some really "golden days", where the sun has shone, and we have gathered apples by the boxful. (We have also had freezing cold days where it rained, and the family's enthusiasm for my endeavour was sorely tested!!) The great bi-product of this is that we end up with a whole bunch of apples to eat, cook with, and JUICE!
So, this weeks recipe is in honour of Rosh Hashanah, and I hope it gives you a healthy sweet delight for a sweet year ahead.
Happy Juicing,
Jx
Sweet Apple Delight
4 apples
1/2 lemon (not peeled)
Wash the produce, then whizz them through the juicer. Serve over ice.
So, every year, at Rosh Hashanah, I encourage myself (and my poor long suffering family!) to embrace the idea of thinking about how we have behaved over the last year, have we tried to live well, act well and be well? In the areas where we find ourselves lacking, (and there are many!!) we try to think about how we might do better in the coming months and what we might focus on, to help us become kinder, more accepting and brighter people.
Part of our tradition is to go apple picking at some point, when the children are off from school. We have had some really "golden days", where the sun has shone, and we have gathered apples by the boxful. (We have also had freezing cold days where it rained, and the family's enthusiasm for my endeavour was sorely tested!!) The great bi-product of this is that we end up with a whole bunch of apples to eat, cook with, and JUICE!
So, this weeks recipe is in honour of Rosh Hashanah, and I hope it gives you a healthy sweet delight for a sweet year ahead.
Happy Juicing,
Jx
Sweet Apple Delight
4 apples
1/2 lemon (not peeled)
Wash the produce, then whizz them through the juicer. Serve over ice.
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
You Can't Beat a Juicy Pear!!
When I was out grocery shopping at the weekend, I was delighted to see a glut of pears on display wherever I went. There are a number of different varieties available, and all of them make delicious juice. The other great news about pear juice is that you don’t have to wait until the pears are ripe before juicing them. This is particularly brilliant, as I don’t know about you, but I have great difficulty in choosing ripe pears in the store, so I buy slightly under ripe ones. I get them home and then I seem to wait and wait and wait and wait for them to get soft, and then all of a sudden, overnight they turn to mush!
Thankfully, you don’t need to worry about this when making pear juice, in fact slight under ripe pears work better through the juicer. Pears produce lots of thick, sweet and creamy juice. It can sometimes be too thick and sweet, which is why it’s best when combined with other fruits.
Pears are a valuable source of vitamins B6 and C and of copper. They are also are high in soluble fiber, similar to apples, making them good for the bowels and digestive tract.
Why not nip out and get a bag of pears to try this juice, you’ll be glad you did!
Pear-fectly Delicious
2 pears
2 carrots
1 thick slice pineapple
½ inch ginger root
Put everything through the juicer and enjoy. This juice can be a little thick, so you can either blend it with some ice to thin it down, add an extra carrot, or add some water.
Happy Juicing
Jx
Thankfully, you don’t need to worry about this when making pear juice, in fact slight under ripe pears work better through the juicer. Pears produce lots of thick, sweet and creamy juice. It can sometimes be too thick and sweet, which is why it’s best when combined with other fruits.
Pears are a valuable source of vitamins B6 and C and of copper. They are also are high in soluble fiber, similar to apples, making them good for the bowels and digestive tract.
Why not nip out and get a bag of pears to try this juice, you’ll be glad you did!
Pear-fectly Delicious
2 pears
2 carrots
1 thick slice pineapple
½ inch ginger root
Put everything through the juicer and enjoy. This juice can be a little thick, so you can either blend it with some ice to thin it down, add an extra carrot, or add some water.
Happy Juicing
Jx
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Getting Back to Normal
What a crazy few weeks it has been. How circumstances can change so quickly.
Events which have happened both here and elsewhere in the world have reminded me of how precious life is, and how the balance of life can be upset in a heartbeat. My thoughts go out to those who were seriously impacted by hurricane Irene. We were out of the country at the time, and it was just awful seeing the reports of what was happening here to friends and neighbors. It didn't seem like the right time to write a cheery blog post about a tasty juice, so I thought I would wait a couple of weeks.
Now, we enter the phase of getting back to normal - getting houses repaired, getting children off to school, getting yards fixed up. It's a lot of work, and a lot of stress.
I thought it might by helpful to give you a recipe for a restorative juice, to use when you've had a hard day,or are expecting one, when things just feel too hectic and you need to help your system recover and repair, giving it the energy it needs to deal with all the "stuff" that needs dealing with.
Restorative Stress Buster
1 handful English (of course!) parsley
5 carrots
2 apples
2 big handfuls spinach
2 stalks celery
Pack the greens into the juicer chute before you turn it on, then top with an apple, turn on, and push through the juicer. Juice the other ingredients.
This should make enough for two big glasses of juice, so share it with a friend, or put it in a flask to have at lunchtime.
The combination of vegetables will restore the balance of magnesium and potassium which can be lost during stressful times, as well as providing beta-carotene, zinc and vitamin C.
Here's to a good week!
Happy Juicing,
Jx
Events which have happened both here and elsewhere in the world have reminded me of how precious life is, and how the balance of life can be upset in a heartbeat. My thoughts go out to those who were seriously impacted by hurricane Irene. We were out of the country at the time, and it was just awful seeing the reports of what was happening here to friends and neighbors. It didn't seem like the right time to write a cheery blog post about a tasty juice, so I thought I would wait a couple of weeks.
Now, we enter the phase of getting back to normal - getting houses repaired, getting children off to school, getting yards fixed up. It's a lot of work, and a lot of stress.
I thought it might by helpful to give you a recipe for a restorative juice, to use when you've had a hard day,or are expecting one, when things just feel too hectic and you need to help your system recover and repair, giving it the energy it needs to deal with all the "stuff" that needs dealing with.
Restorative Stress Buster
1 handful English (of course!) parsley
5 carrots
2 apples
2 big handfuls spinach
2 stalks celery
Pack the greens into the juicer chute before you turn it on, then top with an apple, turn on, and push through the juicer. Juice the other ingredients.
This should make enough for two big glasses of juice, so share it with a friend, or put it in a flask to have at lunchtime.
The combination of vegetables will restore the balance of magnesium and potassium which can be lost during stressful times, as well as providing beta-carotene, zinc and vitamin C.
Here's to a good week!
Happy Juicing,
Jx
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