Juice cleanse/fast 2013

I got to test out Sissie #1's GreenStar juicer!!! I have to say first and foremost that it masticated greens and hard vegetables like a pro! And had the driest pulp I have ever seen from the many juicers I have ever tried! But... it was an evil beast to clean. It like all juicers did not take kindly to soft veggie/fruits.  So right there we know it is crushing all the possible juice from the hard stuff :)

I currently have been using the centrifugal Omega Mega mouth, it is damn fast, and strong, make sure you are holding it when you first turn it on as it kicks with the power on the upstart, it also is very very loud... it also makes the whole process faster because you do not have to cut up your produce very small, but it makes frothy, pulpy juice and will spooge a mess from under the lovely stainless steel basket and screen if you do too much soft stuff and do not clean it out occasioanally as you go, and the screen is a pain to clean but aren't they all? But to its defense I also need to add that I make giant batches of juice, probably more than the normal person may make. You have to make sure the basket/screen is sparkling clean as if old pulp dries in there it will not work very efficiently. So after using this one for a few months we are going to go back to the Omega 8006 masticating style, it is obviously slower than a centrifuge but it has way less pulpy, frothy, juice. Also the Omega 8006 is really EASY to clean, it is a single auger style. It still doesn't like soft produce but I can live with this fact. I also love the sound of this machine, its almost meditative, as it slowly goes munch...crunch...munch.... i love it that it sounds very meditative, like a cow eating grass :) It is not a efficient as her Green Star, but it is slightly less expensive and very easy to clean. Here is my 2012 blog post about the Omega 8006 :)
 

Currently I am (and Mr. B are) on day 9 of a Spring juice cleansing. Mr. B is doing so great and I am so proud of him! The first 3 days were quite difficult with wanting to pop something with texture into my mouth was excrutiatingly hard, this was a test of my willpower at its fullest! I will be honest and say that if Mr. B was eating food I would not of been able to juice fast. The temptation would've been to great. But as time goes on and in the fall when it comes time to do this again, I imagine it will just get easier and easier and with practice and I'm sure it wont even be an issue in the future. Kind of like the what my doctor said to me about smoking once, "don't think of It as failing to quit, think of it as practice quitting!" I do not know how, but after I heard that long ago it made it so much easier not feeling like a failure and thought of it as practicing and feeling what it felt like to go through those cravings and habits.  And this corelation is true fro me with this cleanse, I am seeing what my comfort foods are and am noticing the times and triggers when I want to eat even though you I am not hungry, hmmm it’s very interesting seeing these patterns. 


Last night I actually dreamt I mistakenly had eaten a cookie, oopsy! It was kind of funny when I woke I had to giggle at my cookie eating antics.
 

My words that keep me on the cleanse are, "this is only a very teeny-tiny block of time in my life, it is an opportunity for me to find out if i have any food allergies to alleviate some physical ailments, it is also flushing out my system of toxins...its only a small block of time with alot of benefit. SO what if I cannot "eat", I am not going to die that's for sure!"

 

It is really just emotionally uncomfortable, (ok and don't forget you have to pee alot!) I have not really physically been hungry, but that emotional uncomfortableness is there and this gives me another opportunity to look at why and how I make the food choices I do, it is very interesting, so I feel I am gaining insight into some of my emotional food issues which is also a bonus! I am finding when I think of grabbing a snack, it isn't an apple or vegetable. It is something processed. Instant gratification, fast, easy, salty, fatty.... yes it is making sense now the intentionally made addictive qualities of processed foods. But generally in my household and (definitely my family) we eat consciously and mainly lots of fresh organic produce. It is just interesting that when I am fasting that my fantasy pop-up thoughts immediately go to eating crap!? I was aiming for 10 days but may go longer now as I am starting to get a bit itchy and I don't think I am done getting some yuckies out yet, but I am starting to plan and able to change those thought of grabbing a cookie into grabbing a juice, a fresh veggie or fruit (did i say fruit!?) I am also looking forward to starting to want to be creative with cooking food and maybe even some healthy treats. So I have noticed that this is making me able to change my thinking, I actually want to make an effort to have meal plans so I don't panic when I am hungry and make those bad instant gratification choices, to take the time to care about my body, family and life. This may be the key for us to eating alot better. Having a plan vs. last minuting something together because we are tired and it is late.... Its all becoming a little clearer and feels alot more do-able :)
 

I have decided to juice fast because of many reasons. First and foremost is that I honestly physically and mentally feel like crap most of the time. I have juice fasted before and had very uplifting positive results, its just very hard to “start” one, but like quitting smoking, “practice, practice, practice!“ Another being my persistent eczema problems (possible food allergy). I have been playing with having a plant based diet for over a year now (after seeing Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead and many other movies and research) but have now just decided to commit which I am very excited about! I am having new found determination and motivation to change my lifestyle, I am very excited to dive in and have new exciting food adventures. I also have current dental work happening and a lot more in my near future to come (heavy metal detoxing a must!), and lastly to lose a few unnecessary pounds to relieve pressure on my worsening aching joints. I am hoping that this will be a catalyst for cleaning up the toxins in my body and things in my life and will help me to have more mental clarity to focus on what is really important for my health, mental well-being and my family. I am feeling my mortality. One door opens the next door and so on….

“other happenings”

 

*During this time, sweet ebi had to go to the vet as her anal gland/sac had ruptured (just like Winty's rupture a few years back)
this just confirms I have to take them in minimum every 3 months, sigh. my fault for slacking off, lesson learned :( I am so sorry Ebbs...

*I have slacked off making my Brooches for the BAD 2013 project, I am 9 days behind. I am not sure why I hadn’t made the time to make them, it must be the fast, but yesterday finally I was able to start again and got 4 made. I have a sneaking feeling all my energy was going into making juice and keeping my sanity this week. But I am feeling grounded now and will be all caught up probably by tomorrow.

You can see all the brooches made so far here.

to see all the participants brooches here.

*This year I have started volunteering for a non-profit organization that helps families in need. It has been amazingly rewarding and am so grateful for the opportunity to be involved. Thank you Sissie #3 for introducing me to the program!

Ok over and out for now, thanks for visiting and have a wonderful day!

"B" is for Brussel sprouts!



 

"B" is for Brussel sprouts!

 

ok my new favorite way to make them is extra crispy!

I cut the bottoms off and take all the loose leaves I can off and toss in a bowl, and then I slice some more off of the bottom and take more loose leaves off, keep doing this until it gets to the size of a marble, and then toss it in the bowl with the leaves. It's alot of work, but well worth it if you like the crispy bits :)

 

I tossed in EVOO, sea salt, lots of black pepper, and garlic powder.
Baked for over an hour+ @350+, just keep checking and tossing them around every 15 minutes to try and get them to cook kinda evenly.

 Easy-peasy!

Happy Crisping!

the Beautiful Bounty

Kiyo's Kurly Kale patch

Don't you just want to dive in there and roll around in there naked with a fork in hand!? Ok well maybe I don't either thinking about all the little critters hiding in the shadows, but it would be a funny image at the very least!

#3's clan also shares their beautiful fresh chicken eggs with us, they're definitely more fresh & tasty than any store bought egg ever! And in every carton little A packs in at least 2 pretty green-blue gems!

Their Americana's lay the green-blue eggs! 
(3rd one back from the front)

We have enjoyed much of their labors this summer and feel so lucky they can spare enough to share with us. I just wanted to say thanks to my #3 !



My front garden boxes were thrown in the ground at the last possible minute this year, we shoved in some starts & seeds and crossed our fingers, the soil has turned out to be more sand than soil and not so good for the plants, they are small and kinda tough and dry. Ha, I really should've listened closer to #3 and mixed the compost in correctly instead of also not putting it where she told me to, oopsy! :)  But! If I didn't make mistakes then I wouldn't be learning such cool lessons, so we will get new organic compost, do it correctly and start fresh for next year! So above are what my tiny urban boxes looked like this year. I also would love a long big box for flowers, hmmm.... wonder what to try next year!?

my container gardening
(shiso & elephant garlic)

first 4 harvested and they're beautiful!
(#3, I will put some aside so you can plant or eat them)

 

 "Love you!"

#4

vegan fish sticks... FAIL :(

pretty but not so tasty :(

Ok so its all my own fault it didn't taste great as I did not follow Jolinda Hackett's  recipe very closely (to say the least) and I make a yucky-yuck. And really, it wasn't horrrrible, just not crispy or chewy savory or what I wanted. Maybe I could've baked it longer.....? or maybe it was the lemon pepper.... or (blush) maybe me using almond milk instead of soy milk, or, the fake lemon juice I wanted to use up instead of being to lazy to get one out and squeeze it, or maybe its the bagel chips I subbed for breadcrumbs!? or maybe its because I didn't follow the darn directions at all!? me so bad...

I feel there is alot of potential here, but I am going to have to ask my Sissies for help on this one! Sissie #1 made this fantastic mock eel? the other day, wow. wow. WOW!...... I mean it was so fantastic that you just wanted to sit and eat the whole batch in one sitting. The texture was perfect almost like a fried clam but obviously not as chewy, and the flavor was slightly sweet and salty. One downside is I think she fried them in oil, hee hee, which of course made them sinfully good. I will check with her and see if she can share her recipe with us!

vegan coconut curry

 delish, fast & easy!

 

thursday 8.02.12

This was really easy, even I could manage this one! Instead of chicken, I subbed canned wheat glutens (mock abalone) and they do not whatsoever taste like abalone, just delicious little tender textures!? I also did not add any sugar as the glutens are a tiny bit sweetend already. oh, I also used fresh thai basil and shiso, the shiso was really good in it! The thai basil is from a tiny sprig of it I had taken home from a restaurant from fathers day, and stuck it in a glass of water, it rooted so I planted it outside and this was the first pickings from the plant :)
easy recipe found from here !

ingredients:
organic brown jasmine rice
glutens (chick sub)
stewed dice toms
cauliflower
red bell
onion
garlic
coconut milk
curry powder
fathers day thai basil
shiso
(I didn't use tomato paste, mushrooms or chicken)

Roasted Laver Popcorn

Roasted Laver Popcorn

We used organic(non-gmo) jeweled popping corn and a Whirley Pop popcorn maker, it is a stove top pan with a crank that turns the seeds inside so they do not burn, this is a great popcorn pan if you have a glass top stove, no shaking of the pan needed. So I have found a Stainless Steel version that will be our next purchase as our original one has been falling apart for awhile now, what a great reason to upgrade!

All-righty-o, now this was pretty yummy, a bit different but a nice change. I roasted some unsalted, no oil Laver in my oven. It comes in brick-like shapes in your Asian supermarkets. I take a bit and crumble it up on a baking sheet, add some oil, sea salt, toss and broil. Be careful it burns fast!  The idea is just to crisp it up.
I sprinkled the crispy Laver onto my popcorn used a product(see pic) that is dehydrated Shiso leaves-green packet and the purple packet is Umeboshi flavor. These are salty sprinkles, I used the Shiso flavored one, I then hit it with some Shichimi Togarashi. YUM!!! And of course you can add oil or any other flavorings to your taste!

Omega 8006 Juicer

Ok, so researching centrifugal vs. masticating style juicers was very informative. It really depends on your needs; time, health requirements, versatility, space, clean-up time, loudness etc.
I found that you can find good/bad opinions and reviews on EVERY product testing comparison video out there.
That  being said, I picked this one up from BedBath&Beyond last night, I wasn't intending to buy one but after I talked to an employee there, Tyler told me that there return policy was "off the hook!" (*note Tyler was adorable) He told me for any reason and any length of time that I could bring it back(he said I didn't even have to clean it for 10 yrs, hahaha too funny,  if I decided I didn't like it. Well, I was sold. And I was able to use one of there (never expiring) 20% coupons which took a lovely chunk off the retail price. So I feel like I can test this puppy out for awhile and see if we like it. Its a bit of an investment but another positive thing about the Omega brand is their Warranties! This one has a 15 year warranty, which makes me feel like they are very confident about believing in their own products.

"schluuurp!"

This unit is also pretty small compared to other masticators. This juicer was easy to clean to my standards, I like the sound of it crunching slowly away, it sounds like a happy cow munching away on its dinner. It was AMAZING with the dinosaur Kale, yayayay! Cukes, Carrots, Celery, Apple, were totally fine. But ok, honestly it mushed the crap outta the Tomato, you might as well just use a blender for the softer veggies/fruits into a smoothie, just take the juice you make and pop it into the blender with  your soft veggie/fruits and make a smoothie-juice concoction. Ive done it with avocado and almond milk and it was delicious, but alot to wash with the blender and juicer but it's well worth it!
Oh also you can make nut butters, sorbets and pasta with this thing!? This could get interesting...And now I am also envisioning someone designing one of these to look like a cow, I would definately buy one!

I loaded up a video below so you can hear it munching :)

Happy Juicing!!!

Comparison test #1

Sissies 1 & 3 ran 1/4lb. of russian red baby kale each in their juicers, one being a Greenstar dual auger masticating type, the other was a Juiceman centrifugal type and I now just ran it through my Omega... We used the same kale from the same garden and the same scale to weigh it. We just wanted to see if there would be a yield difference.

Results were.....THE SAME, no difference in yield!