Simple Health and Wellness

Juicing Jam Fest - Day 6

2010-09-09T05:09:00.000-07:00

Current Weight: 157 lbs.

Juice intake: 3 green juices, 3 carrot based juices, and one master cleanse (total of about 7 quarts)

I am getting a good variety of vegetables in my juices. Today I consumed red leaf lettuce, green leaf lettuce, romaine lettuce, swiss chard, kale, Italian parsley, red and green cabbage, carrots, beets, broccoli, cauliflower, and green apples.

I had fairly good energy today and felt well overall, although I am still feeling some weakness in my legs.

Juicing During a Power Outage - Juice Feast Day 5

2010-09-07T11:38:00.000-07:00

Today was a good day on the juice feast/fast. My weight this morning was at 156 lbs and has remained stable since day 2; this is good. I consumed 7 1/2 quarts of juice today which I think should be enough for me to maintain my current weight. In addition I took a short walk this morning (19 min, burned 90 calories).

The biggest challenge today was a power outage in the middle of the afternoon that left me without a means to make a juice. After waiting for a couple hours for it to come back on my wife came up with the idea that I could use our car with an adapter that turns the cigarette lighter into a power outlet. This was very inconvenient, but I really wanted (and needed) a juice by that time so with her help I got set up to try this "workaround". After getting everything fully set up I turned on the power switch to the juicer and got.... NOTHING. It would not come on. Apparently the juicer requires a higher voltage than the car was able to generate!! BUMMER!!! I went inside to tell my wife that her brilliant solution was not going to pan out after all and guess what happened?? The power came back on!!! JUST IN TIME for me to avoid getting blown away with the wind and get some juice made. I was very hungry for the juice by that time so the liquid nourishment never tasted so good!!

Here is a list of the juices that I consumed today:

Green Juice: Red and green leaf lettuce, kale, green cabbage, green apple, swiss chard

Carrot, broccoli, cauliflower, green apple Juice

Carrot/Ginger juice

Master Cleanse Juice: Lemon juice, cayenne pepper, pure maple syrup, distilled water

Carrot, Beet, Green apple

Green Juice: Romaine and green leaf lettuce, kale, red cabbage, green apple, swiss chard

Carrot, broccoli, cauliflower, green apple Juice

Master Cleanse Juice: Lemon juice, cayenne pepper, pure maple syrup, distilled water

I have also been taking some additional green "superfood" supplements including spirulina and Vitamineral Green to get some extra protein etc. The spirulina looks and tastes horrible, but gulping a tablespoon of it with 4 oz of distilled water is over soon enough. In order to get needed fats I am alternating between flax seed oil, hemp seed oil and coconut oil in order to get various fat profiles that are good for the body; I generally take these oils at the same time as I take a teaspoon of bee pollen which makes a rich and delicious combination. I usually save one of my tablespoons of oil to take before bedtime as it really helps me to avoid hunger in the evening and throughout the nights rest.

Juice vs. BBQ Labor Day Juice Feast (Day 4)

2010-09-07T02:48:00.000-07:00

I completed the fourth day of the juice fast on Labor day. Overall I felt well today and did not have any strong desires for food. Unfortunately I got a debilitating migraine late in the day. We were on our way to Jim 'N Nicks so that my family could enjoy some Labor Day BBQ when the headache reaching a tipping point and I needed to go home and go to bed. Thankfully for my girls we were able to get some BBQ "To-Go" before heading back to the house; the headache may have helped me with the Juice Feast though as it brought on some nausea that caused even Jim 'N Nicks food to not smell good (unbelievable I know!)

Drank 6.5 quarts of juice today. I would have drank more except for the nausea caused by the migraine. (2 quarts green juice, 2 quarts carrot/beet/apple, 1/2 quart of carrot/ginger, 2 quarts of the Master Cleanse: lemon, pure maple syrup, cayenne pepper, distilled water). Weight: 155.5lbs (net weight loss of 4.5 lbs)

I've gotten occasional migraines for many years so I am not currently ready to attribute the headache to the lack of solid food (it is of course possible though).

I hope you had a great Labor Day weekend! I am pretty sure that you enjoyed any grilling out that was done quite a bit more than drinking buckets of green and oranges juices!! :-)

Juice Fast Day 3

2010-09-06T02:45:00.000-07:00

I did not feel the best on day three of my juice fast, but I attribute that more to a poor nights sleep the night before than ill effects from the juicing. In addition it was a busy day with attending worship services as well as stocking up on vegetables at the grocery store which further wore me down.

Here is a brief rundown of the day as it pertains to the juice fast:

Weight: 156.5 lbs (net weight loss of 3.5 lbs)

Drank approximately 7 1/2 quarts of juice (two green juices, two carrot/beet/apple, one carrot/ginger, one carrot and two master cleanses)

I did eat something today... I had a small pinch of unleavened bread at the morning worship service. Hopefully that doesn't count as breaking the fast!! :-)

More in the next post!

Juicing and Football: Juice Fast Day 2

2010-09-04T12:05:00.000-07:00

Today was the first full Saturday of college football for the 2010 season. Usually this would have been a great day for me to grab a large cup of boiled peanuts while watching the game. However, given my current juice fast, instead of popcorn and peanuts I was sipping on various themes on carrot juice etc.

When I weighed this morning I had dropped four pounds; I was 156 lbs. As I have mentioned weight is a big concern for me: I cannot afford to lose much weight right now. So today I increased my juice intake in an effort to maintain my weight. I anticipate that I will need to increase it again tomorrow. Today I consumed the following juices (each juice was approximately one quart):

Green Juice: Romaine and green leaf lettuce, kale, broccoli, cauliflower, red and green cabbage, green apple

Carrot, Beet, Green apple

Carrot/Ginger juice (this was a great combination!!)

Green Juice: Romaine and green leaf lettuce, kale, cauliflower, red cabbage, green apple, dandelion greens

Carrot, Beet, Green apple

Master Cleanse Juice: Lemon juice, cayenne pepper, pure maple syrup, distilled water

Carrot, broccoli, apple Juice

This totaled about 7 quarts of juice.

When I woke up this morning I was very hungry. To get some energy while making the first juice I consumed 1/2 teaspoon of royal jelly. After I finished the first juice I began to feel well and had good energy throughout the day. The primary symptom that I am experiencing each day is weakness and some discomfort in my legs (these feelings are difficult to explain); I did feel this throughout the day so no improvement on my primary symptom yet. However, despite having this weakness/discomfort in my thighs I was able to take care of my two girls and do all of my juicing without too much trouble; I just made sure to sit down (and watch plenty of football) throughout the day.

Labor Day Weekend Juice Festival - Juice Feast Day 1

2010-09-04T03:52:00.000-07:00

While most people are planning back yard barbecues for the Labor Day weekend, I have been planning to start a juice fast. Yesterday, Friday, September 3rd I began. I am calling it a juice fast simply because I will be consuming primarily fresh pressed vegetable juices and not eating any solid food (I will also be taking several supplements and drinking a cup or two of hot tea); however, it is also frequently called juice feasting because I will be allowed to drink absolutely as much fresh juice as I like (hopefully maintaining near normal caloric intake)

The goal of this juice fast is to test if heavy juicing can help me break through some health issues I've been experiencing over the last several months. The theory is that juicing nutrient dense vegetables will flood the body with much needed vitamins and minerals while drastically reducing the amount of energy expended on digestion.

I am not sure how long the juice fast (juice feast) will last. It will at least last three days (Fri-Sun) but I would like it to last much longer. The duration will depend on how my body is feeling and on my weight. I am already very thin from losing about 20 lbs. earlier in the year so my body does not have the normal amount of reserves that most people have. My current weight is 160 lbs; if I drop below 150 I will definitely need to break the fast.

On my first day I consumed ~5 1/2 quarts of juice (that is almost 1.5 gallons); this was split up into 6 different juices:

Green Juice (9 am, 32 oz): Romaine and green leaf lettuce, kale, broccoli, cauliflower, red and green cabbage, green apple

Carrot, Beet (root and tops), Green apple (11 am, 32 oz)

Carrot juice (1 pm, 16 oz)

Green Juice (3 pm 32 oz): Romaine and green leaf lettuce, kale, broccoli, cauliflower, green cabbage, green apple, celery, dandelion greens

Master Cleanse Juice (4 pm, 32 oz): Lemon juice, cayenne pepper, pure maple syrup, distilled water

Carrot, Beet (root and tops), Green apple (6 pm, 32 oz)

Current Weight: 160 lbs

I will discuss the supplements that I'm taking in a future post.

Enjoy your labor day grill out... While you are enjoying your burgers there is a good chance that I'll be drinking some kind of vegetable juice!

Lettuce Wraps

2010-08-30T03:14:00.000-07:00

PF Changs has a tasty appetizer called "Lettuce Wraps". It is essentially chicken, water chestnuts, and salt (soy-like sauce) wrapped up in a leaf of iceberg lettuce. They do taste good, but the net nutritional effect of this dish is neutral at best and negative at worst. I've come up with my own version of a raw lettuce wrap that I've grown to really love! Here it is:

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="480" caption="Raw Lettuce Wrap"][/caption]

90% Raw Food Diet January Results

2009-02-03T13:53:00.000-08:00

On January 1, 2009 I started a "Raw Food Diet". The goal was to eat 90% of my foods in a raw natural form. I weighed in at 186.5 the morning the diet started.

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="320" caption="Weight on 1/1/2009"][/caption]

I found over the course of the month that it was difficult to fully reach 90% raw; I believe I was probably closer to 70%. This was still a drastic step for me as before this diet I've never gone without meat or eaten nearly this much raw food. Over the course of the month my wife and me consumed over 50 lbs of carrots, 40 heads of romaine lettuce, and countless beets, red bell peppers, celery stalks, and apples in the form of fresh raw juice. We also ate lots of salads filled with more romaine lettuece (ultra high in potassium), red onion, tomatoes and avocados, using only simple healthy oil-based dressing. In addition to eating raw I completely cut out all dairy, eggs, red meat and poultry. I had fish 8 different times over the month to average about 1 serving of fish every 4 days (most of my protein came from hemp seed, beans, nuts, and whole grains).

In terms of cooked food we ate mostly whole grains including brown rice, wheat berries, quinoa, and whole-wheat pasta; we also made some excellent salad wraps with whole-grain tortilla wraps and several tomato/avocado sandwiches on whole wheat toast. We also had several different applications of beans in salads, dips, and in dishes like black bean chili (that was something my wife made that was fantastic!)

The goal of the diet was to become more healthy and to generally feel better. So far the diet is definitely working in this regard. I have more energy overall and just feel better. I still do not feel like I am in perfect health, but I am moving in the right direction.

One thing I will say about this diet, that is true of any diet that significantly restricts your normal habits, is there have been times where it has been very difficult. Several things helped me overcome these challenges: 1) my wife was on the diet with me and we were able to encourage each other to perservere. This was a HUGE help! 2) come up with healthy snacks to satisfy your urges... for me I had a banana with almond butter or a rice cake with almond butter and a little bit of raw honey several times in order to satisfy my desire for something sweet. I was forced to use my imagination on this diet, but I usually was able to find something to help me get over the hump. 3) go out to eat sometimes!!! We went to a couple different Italian places and had whole-wheat pasta dishes with tomato sauce and this helped us to feel a little bit "normal"

Another thing about this diet is that I did consume plenty of food each day. I wasn't starving myself, I was just consuming lots of food that had a very favorable nutrition to calorie ratio.

Although not the expressed purpose of this diet, I did lose some weight. On 2/1/2009 I weight in at 170.5 lbs for a total of 16 lbs lost.

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="320" caption="weight on 2/1/2009"][/caption]

I'll be continuing this diet for most of this week, after which I'll start to reintroduce some lean proteins back in to the diet. The goal, however, is to maintain many of the healthy habits I've developed, and to continue to try to consume a significant ratio (greater than 50%) of raw food.

Fresh Squeezed Orange Juice

2009-02-03T13:11:00.000-08:00

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="480" caption="Grapefruit and Tangelos"][/caption]

One of the great things about winter is that it's orange season!! That means fresh squeezed orange juice!! Not only does it taste better, but I've got to believe that it is better for you since it is closer to its natural state and hasn't been heated up via pasteurization.

It does take a bit longer to make than simply opening the refrigerator and pouring from the OJ carton, but I think it is worth it. I believe I'm averaging about 5 minutes each morning to make enough juice for the family and me. Also I've been mixing in some Grapefruit juice in order to lower the sugar content a bit.

My parents live in Florida and actually have several citrus trees in their yard!!! So they get as much citrus as they want for almost FREE!

The net/net of this post is simple... while it's in season (i.e. is fresher and costs less) DRINK MORE FRESH CITRUS!... it is good for you and tastes great!

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="480" caption="Fresh Squeezed Orange Juice"][/caption]

Eat This Not That or That

2009-01-30T13:13:00.000-08:00

MSN has an article up entitled, "America's Worst Supermarket Food". It basically selects 20 foods commonly found in grocery stores that are absolutely terrible for your body and suggests more healthy alternatives. While this is a step in the right direction, it still contains lots of processed foods that could easily be improved upon. Here are some simple alternatives that are even better.

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="480" caption="Fruits, Beans, Whole Grain Rice, Honey etc."][/caption]

Crunchy Snack: Eat some nuts and/or seeds. Roasted nuts, Raw nuts, the less sodium the better... Walnuts, almond and pistachios are great nuts; sunflower and pumpkin are great seeds. You will grow to love these and they are great for your heart (as long as they are not heavy on the salt).

Worst Cookie: Drop the cookies altogether and eat a rice cake with almond butter and a bit raw honey. It will soothe your sweet tooth and be good for you as well!

Worst yogurt and ice cream alternatives: Make a smoothie with frozen blueberries, almond milk and hemp seed or ground flax seed; if you need a little sweetener add some honey

Worst condiment: Don't eat either of the syrups listed. Use 100% pure Maple syrup and only in moderation; avoid sugar free stuff that is full of artificial (chemical) sweeteners.

Worst drinks: They have two "fruity" drinks here and one is definitely a lot worse. However to really be healthy you need to learn how to enjoy water! ( I like it with the juice from 1/2 of a lemon); your body was built to drink water.

Pantry Items: eat a piece of whole wheat toast with a little Smart Spread; it is a great snack... especially if you add some not pantry items like fresh tomato and avocado.

Frozen Entrees: Don't eat them at all... they are generally so far removed from their natural state that it is easy to do much better wo/ spending too much time. Replace the frozen dinner with the tomato/avocado toast above!

Pasta: make the switch to whole grain pasta... you'll grow to not even notice the difference.

There are several items on frozen foods... drop them all... eat frozen fruits and vegetables, but ignore all the junk that has been cooked then frozen. Significant nutrition has long since left those foods after being cooked, frozen, then microwaved! WHAAAAAT??!! This food is cruel and unusual food in terms of nutrition.

So... eat this (natural foods like fruits, vegetables, salads, nuts, whole grains, beans, & lean protein), not that (really bad stuff) or that (better stuff, but still not that great!)

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="480" caption="Honey, Maple Syrup, Almond Butter"][/caption]

Superbowl Food (that is actually healthy!)

2009-01-28T02:58:00.000-08:00

Superbowl XLIII is in 4 days and frankly superbowl parties are one of the best times to eat snacks!! With a little planning though you can eat some snacks that taste good, but also actually have some nutrition!

Here is what I am planning:

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

Jalapeno Lime Salsa

Fresh Guacamole

These are all fantastic dips and all of them have some great nutritional stats. I'll be serving these with lightly salted Triscuits and the Natural Yellow Corn Tostitos (these are not nutritious, but you could do A LOT worse, and it is the SUPER BOWL after all!). As with anything enjoy some of each, but don't gorge out!!! (Save some room for next year! :-) )

Given that the Superbowl is on Feburary 1st, that means I will have completed the entire month of January on my 90% Raw Food Diet. So I am also planning one major step out from my normal diet of raw foods/juices, fish, and whole grains. The splurge??? CHICKEN WINGS!! Fried in good ole fashioned oil!!! ... any probably dipped in Blue Cheese dressing!! Remember... it is okay to enjoy some non-healthy food sometimes... just try to remove these items from your normal lifestyle, and enjoy them on "Special Occasions"!!

So...

Enjoy the Superbowl!

Plan to eat some healthy snacks!

Plan at least one "step out" from your healthy diet (the super bowl is a special occasion... even if you hate football!)

Oh... and GO CARDINALS!!

Digg This Story

p.s. Here are a couple of interesting super bowl links:

Cardinals Quarterback, Kurt Warner is a really good guy.

The Superbowl is the BIGGEST pizza day of the year! (if you love pizza the Superbowl is a good time to enjoy this unhealthy pleasure!)

p.s.s. Here are a couple other cool links about Superbowl food:

Pittsburgh vs Arizona Food Off!

Onion Dip

90% Raw Food Diet

2009-01-27T16:27:00.000-08:00

About two years ago I was diagnosed with a heart condition; the term for the condition is Aortic Insufficiency (or Aortic Regurgitation) which effectively means that blood leaks back through the valve causing the heart to work harder than normal. The severity of this condition is quantified as "mild", "moderate", or "severe"; mine is currently moderate. My cardiologist put me on an ACE inhibitor and suggested that we monitor the condition bi-annually.

Some intermittent pain in my chest and stomach areas is what lead me to seek medical attention in the first place (again, this was two years ago). Over the past year I've continued to experience sporadic symptoms that included strange feeling head aches, tightness in my neck, light headedness, and continued pains in my chest and stomach areas. It isn't enough to stop me from working and living a fairly normal life, but it does slow me down some. In addition, since the cardiologist said that the heart valve problem would not cause these symptoms, I decided to search for a cause through a string of various doctor visits accompanied by a battery of tests. All the tests indicated that everything was fine, so despite not providing an answer, it did produce some value: it relieved my mind that at least I didn't have some other serious health issue.

I still had these persistent chronic symptoms though and was getting frustrated that I was functioning below what felt normal for me. So I decided to see a naturopathic health advisor. He said that the pH of my body fluid was too acidic and that my body was experiencing some inflammation. His recommendation was that go on a 90% raw diet that was very rich in nutrients and enzymes. I decided that since conventional medicine had not provided any answers that I would try this; if nothing else, just eating more healthy would be good for me even if it doesn't bring me back to what I think of as normal for me. This visit was in early December though, just before the holidays; I knew I'd be eating lots of meat & sweets over the holidays so I decided I'd start the diet on January 1!

So beginning on 1/1/09 I began a diet consisting mostly of raw vegetables, raw vegetable/fruit juice, raw nuts (almonds and brazil nuts) and sprouts. Whenever I eat cooked food it is a whole grain product (wheatberries, brown rice, quinoa etc.) or one of three types of fish (salmon, halibut, or cod). In addition I've been taking some supplements including hemp seed, krill oil, flax seed oil, and barley/wheat grass (i.e. green drink).

I plan to post updates about this diet over the next few weeks; I've already seen some tangible results as well as come up with some interesting recipes to support these changes. The goal will be to come up with several ways to make living healthier more simple!

All the BEST!

p.s. Here is an interesting link on eating raw food: 10 Reasons Eating Raw is Healthier...