Oops I did it Again... I Ate!

Yep you read that right I ate something. When I first started my juice cleanse I set a goal for 10 days. After about 3 days I knew I would go 30. Half way into that 30 I set my goal for 60 and then I set it for 90. I ended up on a total juice cleanse for 98 days before I had my first piece of fruit.

Success!!  I lost a total of 47 pounds and 8 inches on my waist. I went from a size 24 to size 18. I started this journey unable to walk from my Tree House Apt to the mail box and now I am able to walk a mile and a half. I think one of the best side effects of the juice cleanse is it has helped my body heal and in healing it has allowed me to remove several of my many medicines.
1.No more depression meds... I am so happy and feel better than I have in more years than I can remember. 2.No more migraine medicine. Two weeks into my juice cleanse my 12+ year long, constant, NEVER ending migraine finally just disappeared. Went to bed with it one day and the next morning I woke up and it was not there. Poof !Gone!
3. When beginning this cleanse my cholesterol level was 285 now it is back in normal range. that was at 60 days. So no more cholesterol medicines needed.
4. Ulcer medicines are GONE! Yep I was taking a 1200.00 a month ulcer medicine called AciHex. It is the only medicine that I have ever taken that allowed me to sleep laying down.  By adding cabbage and other veggies in the cabbage family like bok choy to my juices once a day I am healing my stomach and intestines and it has allowed me to get off of that pill as well.

Amazing!!! I feel better than i can ever remember. YES I ate something but i was fruit or veggie and still very healthy. So as of now I am back on the Juice Cleanse so I am praying to be 100 pounds lighter this time next year. Well off to make some Juice and free some for sorbet later.
|~Til tomorrow
~Sandi

Tomato Basil Delights...

When I started writing this blog I knew I wanted to share my recipes for juice as well as other healthy creations. So as you know, I also started a Recipe Blog, Recipes 4 Shweet Living,  where you can find all the Recipes that we have come up with as well as some that I am sharing from my friends.
Tomato Juice has really helped me this past month. I have a great deal of pain from my Fibromyalgia, Rheumatoid Arthritis, pulling my back out, kidney and gallstones and tomato juice has helped me to control my pain level without having to take medicine. I just wanted to share a couple things that I created from Tomatoes on my Recipe Blog. Wanted to make sure you saw them so that maybe they will help you out too. (PS Tomatoes are great for fighting cancers too!)

Come by Recipes 4 Shweet Living and check out the Tomato Basil Juice Recipe.

While you are there come see what we did with the Pulp from the Juice. Don't want to throw away something so good, we want to use everything we can. YUMMO


Til Tomorrow
Stay Juicy
~Sandi

Hamilton Beach Personal Blender...One YOU Can't Live Without!

It's not often that I find a product out there that I simply can't live without...BUT we found one! As many of you know I am in the midst of my First Juice Cleanse. I started this journey on March 21 and here it is day 86 and I discovered that HEY, I really know some cool information and tid bits that others might enjoy. So, today I wanted to share with you one really COOL Devise that we simply can't live without.

Our Hamiltion Beach Personal Blender. This blender got wonderful reviews and for $15.96 we figured we could not go wrong at least trying it out. Picked up the blender on Sunday and we have used it every day since then...MOST of the Time we use it multiple times a day.

The blender will chop up everything from fruits and veggies and even ICE. It's wide mouth makes it so simple and easy to add produce to the container. Don't overfill this baby and you will love your outcome. So simple to clean and you are ready for your next Smoothie, Sauce or Slushy.

If you are *just juicing* or as I refer to it on a JUICE CLEANSE, this blender is perfect for you. Add your veggie and fruit juices to the container and some ice cubes and pulse. Soon you will have a delicious Slushie. Take some of the outcome and add it to few mini solo cups and pop into the freezer. If your juice is thick enough from the ice you can go ahead and place your popsicle stick in the middle before placing into the freezer. If not simple add the sticks once the mixture is at a slushy stage. Freeze and pop loose...ENJOY!

Now my huband is doing a Reboot. He is drinking juice as well as eating a healthy balanced diet.

Every morning he takes some Mean Green or Fruit Juice from the fridge and adds it to the container. After that he adds 4-6 strawberries (washed and tops removed). Put on the top and pulcse until smooth. If you want you can add fresh red or black grapes (seedless) or a banana. After adding a new fruit or veggie be sure to pulse. Now you have your fruits and veggies all nice and smooth you can add a few ice cubes and again...Pulse away. Take off the top and pour into a large glass. This Smootie is nice and fruity tasting yet you are getting veggies from the Mean Green. (Remember the Smoothie would be amazing frozen like a popsicle too!)

I was so amazed at the strength of this small blender. It is nice and light so I you get one for you home remember to pick up one to have at the office or to take on trips. This Mightly little Blender gets  2 thumbs up from us. Well, time to whip up a mid morning snack while here in the office with Marty. So until tomorrow~

~Stacy Juicy~

Sandi

Day 83 The Journey Continues

No one said this juice journey would be smooth and easy but for a while there I thought I would be one of the unique travelers. When I started my cleanse it WAS easy and smooth. No hunger pains and I was not running to the bathroom every 5 minutes. The longer I traveled down the juicing highway, the better I felt and the less  my ailments bothered me.

Then after almost 60 days I hit the inevitable pothole in my juicing journey... I got SiCk. Yes, It was not the normal sickness like I am used too either, it was a new kind.  So after wondering "Is this detox?" and my eye getting worse and worse I decided to visit the Eye Drs. Well, it was a trip in itself. Everywhere I walked the nurses and techs stopped me and asked what happened in the past 6 weeks that I looked so much smaller. Nice feeling to know they noticed but alias sad I was there a month before I had to go for my regular 3 month eye check. Anyway I had a major eye infection due NOT to my juice cleanse but to the steroids I had to use in my eyes because of my Sjogren's Disease. So antibiotics were given to take care of my poor eyes and by now the infection is even showing up in my kidneys. So I had a decision to make Juice ON? or Juice and eat raw while taking the medicines? After much thought and prayer I decided to ...JUICE ON!

So my journey continues forward. I am happy to say that for the first time since I can remember I had no issues with a round of antibiotics. Must have been the juice! Not to long after my eyes improved, I decided go grocery shopping. Found some amazing steals and deals on produce and even carried it upstairs, All By Myself. Later that same day I realized I was feeling better BUT not quite to the point of lifting 15 pound bags. So out goes the back. So on goes my journey to healing and I learned something new too. Even though I feel amazing from juicing for 80+ days, I still have to remember my body is healing. Don't over do things.

So as my journey continues I reflect on the past 83 days. I started this journey at 259 pounds and a tight size 24. Here I am 212 pounds and a size 18. I feel so much better than I have in over 25 years. So far I have lowered my medicines by 2 and I am looking forward to seeing how well my stomach and esophagus have healed next week when I visit my GI Doctor. So a few little bumps in the road and some stones even (kidney) but what journey worth traveling doesn't have some obstacles to overcome.

I have no idea where this journey will lead me but I do know the detestation's goal is to reach Better Health and a New Life Change.
Til Tomorrow
Stay Juice
Sandi

Farmer's Market Find and a New Juice..Yummo

Went to the Farmer's Market today with the family. It was so much fun strolling through the booths, picking out the fruits and vegetables we wanted to bring home to juice and eat. Zoe is the perfect age to teach her new foods and let her sample. Those 2 pearly teeth she has can do a good job on watermelon, cantaloupe and strawberries. Today she tried fresh peaches and tomatoes. She seemed to love them both! Yeah! Score 1 for healthy living!

Since we arrived at the Market towards the end of the day and we found some great bargains from our favorite vendors. Omar gave us a grocery bag FULL of bananas for only $2.00! (Wish I was eating Smoothies now.) We shared those with Keelee and Zoe. We went to Wes's Tomatoes and hit pay dirt... 25 pounds of beautiful big red tomatoes for $12.00! (Took the picture above after we shared with Keelee and I made my new Tomato Basil Juice too.)

The lessons I learned today....

1.When you visit your local Farmer's Market, visit towards the end of the day. You will get good deals.

2.Ask for a Better Deal... don't be afraid to ask too. Many vendors don't want to throw away really ripe veggies and fruits and if they know what you are doing with them...aka making juice, they are more likely to give you a good deal. ASK all they can say is no.

3. Make friends with the vendors you purchase your produce from. Learn their names and when you show up at their booth, call them by name. It may take a couple visits but after that the vendor will know and recognize you and you most likely will get a better deal. It might be lower prices or in our case our favorite vendor Omar gives us extra produce each visit.

4. Bring your friends and family to the Market and introduce them to your vendor friends! Spread the word about the good service and produce you receive! Blog about them, write a note to the owner of the Farmer's Market thanking them for being there and if it is run by the city like our Dallas market is...write to the city letting them know you are happy to have the Market there and how wonderful the produce is.

WHY? We want to keep our local Farmer's Market there for us to visit and shoppe from and to do that we need the owners and Cities to know how important they are to us. Don't assume that they know...one day they might be gone when you show up and then it will be to late.

One last thing before I close...Can't leave without sharing where you can find the Tomato Basil Juice Recipe... You know the one I mentioned earlier, just visit Recipes 4 Shweet Living. There you will find our new recipe and lots of others as well. 

Til Tomorrow

~Stay Juicy

Sandi

Reboot Your Life Website Update!

Today's blog is all about the newly updated Reboot Your Life website. This is the website/Community hosted by Joe Cross and all about getting healthy. I was so pleased to visit it today and see how fast and main streamed the new site is. Now, if you have not seen Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead yet you can go to the Reboot Your Life site and watch the whole movie right there for FREE! ( If you are wondering Reboot Your Life IS the same as Join the Reboot...in fact the link is http://www.jointhereboot.com ).

Come by and register and look around. Recipes, Blogs and even Nutritionists are there. If you are looking for help on planning your reboot meal plans go by and check out the  Reboot PLANS. Download the PDF Files so you can have your plan right in front of you...They make it so easy to succeed!

Wanted to share one of the Juice recipes I saw on the site that I  LOVE! 
This is a great alternate to the MEAN GREEN Recipe that is of course from Joe Cross as well!


Citrus Inspired Green Juice
 6-8 leaves Kale
 6-8 leaves Swiss Chard
 1 Cucumber
 6 Clementines
Juice and enjoy over ice!
Here are a few ideas on how to customize this juice:
1. Substitute any greens, like spinanch, as desired.
2. Use 2-3 oranges in place of clementines.
3. Keep the stalks on the greens for more juice yield!

So take care and check out the new Reboot Your Life It WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE!
Til Tomorrow
Stay Juicy
(More Recipes at Recipes 4 Shweet Living )

Seven Steps to Reverse "Diabesity." from my Friend Wendy Cheek

Sorry I have not been around still recovering from that bad back pain, will fill you in on that in a later blog. BUT today's blog is a post that one of my Support Group Friends made in our group. It says so much to me and I feel like it needs to be repeated here for everyone to read and take note of. Thanks Wendy Cheek not only for this post but for all the Support and Advise you give me and the others in our groups. YOU are so appreciated and loved!

Seven steps to reverse "diabesity."
#1: Get tested. 
(You can do this with your doctor, or you can do the mirror test: stand in front of a mirror and take off your shirt. Jump up and down and if your belly jiggles, you're probably affected with "diabesity."
#2: You must learn how to EAT your medicine. You can HEAL with MEALS. The most powerful medicine is at the end of your fork. 
#3: Get a metabolic tune-up with supplements (We need Fish Oil, a good Multi and Vitamin D and PGX)
#4: Get moving and get relaxed. (You need to move....or you won't.) And you should relax every day...stress makes us fat. Relaxing makes us lean.
#5: Get clean and go green. (If you hit a plateau, you might be toxic) Drink tons of water. Empty your bowels every day. Sweat a lot. And do deep breathing. These are the ways your body gets rid of toxins. 
#6: Get personal. (Sorry...I missed the details on this one.)
#7: Get together. Find a buddy. Join a group or create a group. Support is a powerful strategy to create change in your life.




If you are looking for a good support group and you are FACEBOOK and juice...PLEASE JOIN OUR REBOOTER BUDDIES.

If you are interested in living VEGAN or ARE VEGAN please join the VEGAN VEGUCATION  Facebook Support Group.

Looking for a great healthy way for you and your family to live? I would suggest Dr Fuhrman's EAT TO LIVE Support Group on FACEBOOK.

Now Guys if you are juicing ONLY, that means no smoothies, no bites or nibbles of anything else, and would like to commit to 30 days of STRAIGHT ONLY JUICING... PLEASE Feel free to email and about the current Monthly Challenge. We hold monthly challenges with an AMAZING SUPPORT GROUP who is there to lend support, offer recipes and any advise you might need. I can send you the link to the current month where you go and join us in our private group.

My email is livingtheshweetlife@gmail.com

My Produce Haul from ALDI's...

Friday I decided it was time to stop in a store I have passed by but never been in before. So Kassy and I grabbed a cloth shopping bag and we drove to ALDI's to check it out. Walking outside the store we noticed the shopping carts were locked together...ODD. Okay, You pay a quarter to *rent* your cart. Good way to cut costs, you get your money back when you return your cart and hook it back up. Makes good sense to me. (I think I will apply the same method to Kassy cleaning her room.)

As we stepped into the store at first I thought, " Oh, No this is not a store for me. Looks like it is mainly all boxes and processed foods. THEN I discovered the small but wonderful fresh food section. WOW! We struck gold. We were trying to fill our one little bag with fresh food when the store manager came by and told us we can always ask the clerks for a quarter and they will *loan* us one for a cart anytime. HOW NICE!

Well let us show you our ALDI's Haul! Now, not all was for me and my Juice Cleanse. Yes you do see GREEN TEA...MY Morning Drink and also you see something that is not for me at all Rice Snacks. Those are for hubby. At least it is not fried chicken or M & Ms.
Let me give you a run down on the food cost for yesterday's shopping so you can see WHY I WILL BE RETURNING TO ALDI's.

Green Tea Bags 1.19

Granny Smith Apples 3 pounds 1.99 

Granny Smith Apples 3 pounds 1.99

Anjou Pears 3 pounds .98

Roma Tomatoes (8) 1 pound .99

Roma Tomatoes (8) 1 pound .99

Cantaloupe .99 

Jicama .89  for the whole thing!!!

Strawberries 16 oz .99

Pineapple .99

frozen peaches  1.99

Cucumbers- .59 each got 10 HUGE ones so 5.90

Huband's Rice Snacks 1.99

Large Mango Orange Naked Drink for Husband 3.99

Before leaving the store I made a point to speak to the manager and told him how excited I was to find the store and how beautiful the fresh produce looked. The prices were wonderful and why I was excited to find it (Juicing and what it exactly was.) I also asked him what my chances were of getting kale into any of the ALDI stores? He explained that the stores ordered all not for 1 but for all. So if folks were asking for it in other places then it would be ordered for all stores. So, IF you live near an ALDI and you shop there, PLEASE MAKE SURE TO ASK YOUR MANAGER TO ORDER KALE! EXPLAIN WHY. If you are eating RAW or semi-raw ask for it also. Don't feel comfortable asking in person...GO ONLINE and EMAIL THEM from their website. 

 FYI... You can do this for any and all of the stores you visit. Say your local Kroger's runs out of Kale on a regular bases (mine does)? go online and request that they order more. Explain that you are a regular client and come in for Kale and it is almost always out of stock. Kale is used in salads, cooked, it is used as a chip and you are using it to improve your life as a juice.  You will be so surprised how many people want to know all about what you are doing when you mention it. LOL

Well, This old lady got sure a haul yesterday of produce and I guess I have been feeling so good that i forgot that I do have a mess of underlying issues. ( fibro, arthritis,siccia  so much more). Someone left a big container of salt behind my juicer and I knocked it all over the kitchen floor. (One way to get rid of all the extra salt in my husband's diet). So out came the vacuum and when I reached over to make sure I got all the salt off the floor... I could not get up. I am sitting or rather bent over in the middle of my kitchen, tears rolling down my face... in pain but the tears are more from me laughing than the pain. I am talking to myself out loud cause I am the only one home...Self, GOOD THING YOU Have lost most of your spare tire around your middle or you would be laying on the cold hard kitchen floor for the next 4 hours til someone gets home from work. As it was I i did the "monkey walk" into the living room to the closet chair I could find and lowered myself into it. Then when the time came to get up I learned that I can not stand up. So one thing I have learned my friends....  Produce can be harmful to you health. LOL  Don't try to carry to much in one bag or two. Split it up into lot of bags and make several trips from the car to the apartment.

Well, Guess that is it for today. This old lady is feeling her age for the first time in the past 2 months so I guess I will grab my Mean Green and retire to the bedroom for a little much needed rest. I know it will take a while to recover so I better give myself plenty of good nutrients and vitamins to heal. 

Hope to post a new recipe or two tonight maybe tomorrow.

Til then...Stay Juicy

~SANDI