Which Produce Do You Need to Eat or Juice Organic

As many of you know a little over a year ago I watched Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead by Joe Cross and started on my journey of a new physical life. I juice many of my meals and even at times go months on end with only juice and water as my daily food. I have often wondered if I can afford it should I be using all Organic produce in my meals. I set about doing some reading and studying on this subject and have come to the conclusion for myself, there are some items I must juice and eat organic....others I am fine non organic as long as I know they are not GMO ( food derived from genetically modified organisms.)

Dirty Dozen Plus (Produce you need to eat Organic)
Apples Celery, Sweet Bell Peppers, Peaches, Strawberries, Nectarines (imported), Grapes, Spinach, Lettuce, Cucumbers, Blueberries (domestic), Potatoes, Greens/ Kale, Green Beans

Clean 15 (lowest in pesticides)
Onions, Sweet Corn (note: Many corns are produced from GMO seeds and not marked at store so if you are worried about GMO buy Organic Sweet Corn),
Pineapples, avocado, cabbage, sweet pea, asparagus, mangoes, egg plants, kiwi, cantaloupes (domestic), sweet potatoes, grapefruits, watermelons and mushrooms.

I know last summer, a study was released that said there was little nutritional difference in Organic and non Organic but one has to remember that there are folks behind these studies. Also it is not simply the nutrition and vitamins that are driving us to eat organic but also no drugs, chemicals and pesticides. I personally find that I can tell the difference in Organic and No Organic produce (yes we did a blind taste several times).

To help cut down on the high cost of Organic try to shop at your local farmer's market or search online for an Organic Farmer in the area. Many of these farmers WILL SELL DIRECTLY to us little folks. It never hurts to ask...all they can say is No. Most will actually say YES as they want to get their produce into the hands of everyone.

Til Tomorrow
Stay Healthy and Juice On!

Herbs Can Do a Body Good!

I read this recent article written by Ema Salmon of Ema’s Herbs, located in Ventura, California,in an online magazine or ezine called OUR VOICES.

I would highly recommend going by and reading the free copy she offers. Many different authors from health, to family life, spiritual health and government. Many different authors and much fine reading! 

This is part of a recent article from Ema Salmon on herbs . While I am  juicing now and don't do smoothies, this is a smoothie I will add to my diet in April. I do juice basil and it tastes wonderful!

While we don’t usually think of herbs as being an ingredient in a smoothie, we are overlooking an easy way to get these type of healthy herbs in our diet…without cooking a lengthy meal. Blending herbs in your smoothie is a quick way to ingest them and receive any curative or preventive powers they may have and basil has plenty.

Some of the highlights of basil include: It provides anti-inflammatory relief which stems from eugenol, a volatile oil in basil that blocks enzymes in the body that cause swelling, making basil an ideal treatment for people with arthritis.

Basil is known to have antioxidants that protect the body from premature aging and age-related problems and even types of cancer. Basil contains the flavonoids orientin and vicenin, which are plant pigments that block your cell structures from oxygen and radiation damage. Basil can help with constipation, stomach cramps and indigestion. It can also be used to give relief from the common cold, flu, asthma, bronchitis and sinus infections.

So what are you waiting for? Try this smoothie and let us know what you think! Is basil a good smoothie an ingredient or should we just add more strawberries next time?

Smoothie Ingredients:
2 bananas
10 Basil leaves (fresh is better)
1 tablespoon honey
1/4 cup water

Instructions:
Place all smoothie ingredients in your blender and blend until the basil leaves are minced into tiny pieces and enjoy.

About Ema -Ema’s Herbs perspective embraces both modern and folk medicinal approaches; after all, herbs were the first medicine used by people to detoxify, cleanse, nourish, calm and ease their discomforts.

My Journey through Lent with Juice

I decided that for Lent this year I would do something different. I decided to juice my way from Ash Wed to Easter Sunday. I know you are thinking well she has been doing this for 11 months now why is this something special for Lent.

This past year has been a journey for me. One to better health, family life and most importantly Spiritual health. Last Feb I watched Fat Sick and Nearly Dead and started on my journey. March 21 was the first day of my first ever juice cleanse. I never thought I would last a day much less 96 days (which was the length of my first feast). During this time after much prayer I decided it was time to discover the Church I had been "auditing" for 25 years. So in August I began my journey to become a member of the Catholic Church.

After my first 96 days of juice cleanse or feast as I now call it, I visited my many doctors and they were shocked and surprised at the change in me. My weight was down, my medicines were not  needed as much. My brain fog and left over issues from 3 strokes in 2011 were much improved. Since my first Juice Feast I have followed with a 40 day cleanse and several 2 week cleanses. I have added juice to my daily diet by juicing 2 of my meals and also my snacks. The food I eat is all natural, no processed or meats.

For Lent I pledged to add the nutrients to my body as well as my spirit. Of my daily juices I do less sugars and more of the greens to help my body cleanse. My morning juices have to be less green because of medicines so below is one of my morning juices.

12 oz cranberries (fresh)

5 Sweet Potatoes Peeled and cubed

3 Granny Smith Apples

2 Oranges

1 lime

Juice all items in the order listed. Serve cold or slightly warm less than 110 degrees, 

so all the nutrients remain.

I invite you to follow along here on my blog. Share with me any of your experiences. If you have question please feel free to drop me a note at shweetpotatodolls@gmail.com. I am not an expert by any means but I would love to share what I have learned these past 11 months. 

Til tomorrow

Stay Juicy

Sandi

Juicing and Eating a Rainbow

Juice a Rainbow.... Eat a Rainbow. Whichever way you choose to do it everyday get your fruits and vegetables in as a rainbow.... What does it mean?  It means to make sure that you get a variety of produce in your diet. I am juicing for the month of January so I happen to be making up new recipes that are juicing rainbows.

My newest juice is Popeye's Blueberry Juice. You can find the Complete Recipe on my Sister Recipe Blog Recipes 4 Shweet Living or by clicking HERE.

Til tomorrow

Keep Healthy and Juice On

Shweet Sandi

Trip to the Farmer's Market

Yesterday my Shweetheart and I took a trip to the Farmer's Market here in Dallas. It was cold but we had a nice time. We started our day in the enclosed area looking through the shoppes that are mainly Jewelry, Handmade Soaps, Candles, Baked Goods, and Yes my favorites the Hand sewn and painted creations.
I found this shoppe where everything is from Mexico that we go into every time we visit the marketplace. I usually marvel at the Día de los Muertos art the shoppe has but this visit the prints were what grabbed my attention right away.

 This is the print we came home with.... YES, It is a print. Hard to believe it is not a painting...I thought it was I was. In fact I still keep walking over and softy run my handover the surface to check.
Then as we were walking to the stalls to shoppe for our produce what do I see but a beautiful mural that I would love to have in my home.

Yes we went on to purchase a trunk load of produce. I could not believe we actually picked up 15 pounds of shweet potatoes for $5.00 yes count them l $5.00.

Then we went on to pick up strawberries, oranges,lemons,limes and grapefruit from South Texas. 

Just seeing the second picture makes one want to grab a big cold glass of juice doesn't it.

Well, time to do some Santa sewing. (Yes, you read that right.)

So til tomorrow.
Stay Healthy

Shweet Santa

Added a few new recipes

I Added a couple new recipes to Recipes 4 Shweet Living tonight. Go by and take a peek. If you make them please let me know what you think and how they turned out for you. 

Stay Healthy

First Day January Juicing Went Great

Sorry I did not get in here yesterday to post my beginning "shot" and weight but I was kinda busy with Zoe Bug all day long and into the evening. Wanted to re-cap Day 1 of January Juicing and share with you my Riff of Joe Cross's Mean Green Recipe I had for dinner last night and made enough for breakfast and some juicing today.

So here is my beginning shot for January 1, 2013.... Of course I am with my Zoe Bug, she's 15 months 3 weeks. My beginning weight 232 pounds. Pant size 18. Shirt Size 14/16 (some 18 if the sleeves are tight).
Tomorrow I will tell you my illnesses and medicines that I have beginning this year so you know where I am beginning this New ERA. I'll let you know Doctors updates throughout the year and other ups and downs as they happen.

Last night I made up 2 litters of my favorite Juice just to get a head start on Tuesday. Also, I knew that I would be home "alone" today and wanted juice on hand so  I would not be tempted to grab a bite of fruit while making up juice if I got hungry.

This is one of my Zoe Bug's favorite juices and mine too. This is a riff of Joe Cross's Mean Green from "Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead" movie.

2 bundles of kale 

( clean kale, remove kale leaves from the thick ribs to keep juice from being bitter)

1/2 bundle of spinach or 2 cups baby spinach (cleaned)

4 granny smith apples (large)

2 Macintosh apples

1 bundle of celery

3 large cucumbers peeled

4 oranges peeled (large)

2 large lemons peeled

(you can add ginger if you like ginger about 1/4 inch would be good...add it before the cucumbers)

Juice all the produce in the order they are shown. 

~~Hints~~

Remove the thick ribs from kale, chard, spinach to take away bitterness from juice.

Wrap leaves around apple slices before adding to the slot to juice. This will get more juice from your leafy greens.

Peel cucumbers esp if they are not organic... most cucumbers are waxed, so you do not want that in your juices.

Lemon juice is wonderful and I like to juice the peel as well. It is an acquired taste, so add a small amount of peel at a time and work your way up to the whole lemon. Again organic lemons are best for juicing the rind.

The reason I juice in the order I do is so that the produce with the most liquid will "wash" out any sludge or reside. That way you are not loosing  any of your vitamins and nutrients.

Last but not least, the most important thing...

Taste as you go. Add if you need too. If you don't like it remember for the next time and adjust... if you do like it...write it down. I personally use my cell phone and snap pictures of the produce I am juicing. If I like the juice I keep the pictures. That way i know what was in the juice.

Remember try to keep it 80% Vegetable to 20% fruit and have fun!

Til Later 

I am off to send some recipes to folks

Shweet Sandi