Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!  I hope everyone has had a wonderful start to 2016. Mine came in like a whirl wind!

Each year in January I do a cleanse. I do about 90% juice, reduced carbs, no sweets, no caffeine and no supplements. Trying to break the habit of relying on caffeine and chocolate to get me through the day and stress eating. Hard, but I'm going to get through these 31 days. My resolution this year is not to revert back to my bad eating habits. (Fingers crossed!)

But juicing for more than 10 days can get a little boring. Everything tends to literally blend together and this can make you lose motivation. I am an experimentive (not really a word, but an idea) soul who loves basically all fruits and vegetables. Basically, I'll juice anything. So, this weeks blog is about my favorite juice blends.

Behold the Power of Beets

1 medium sized beet cut up
2 celery sticks
5 baby carrots or 1 carrot cut up
1 navel orange
1/2 lemon
1 inch diameter piece of ginger
1/2 cup of water
Makes two 20 oz. cups

Remember to wash all vegetables well, especially your beet. Peel your orange and lemon well and remove the seeds. The juice comes out best if you add the ingredients as listed. I normally blend this juice in my Nutri-Ninja Bullet, but my mom has done it in her blender. Blend until the mixture is a deep red color with no other color specks. In the Nutri-Ninja Bullet, this takes about two minutes. With a blender, it will take about five minutes. If after a minute (Nutri-Ninja Bullet or similar) or 2 minutes (blender) you still see whole veggies or fruit, stop blending, and shake the mixture to loosen it up a little. Once you finish blending, the juice will be very thick. Add additional water to make it seem less "healthy". Don't exceed 10 oz. of water per 20 oz. Warning:  Don't be alarmed, but your urine will turn red for a little while (like half a day or so) after you drink this. It's just the beets cleaning your liver.

Ravishing Radishes
1/2 cup spinach
2 small radishes (about an inch in diameter)
1 medium apple
5 baby carrots or one carrot cut up
2 sticks of celery
1 inch diameter piece of ginger
1/2 cup of water
Makes two 16 oz cups

Always wash fruits and veggies well. Again, putting the ingredients in the order they're listed yields the best results. You don't have to cut up the radishes, but definitely cut and core your apple. It normally takes about a minute and a half to blend this juice in the Nutri-Ninja and about three minutes in a regular blender. This juice is a light green color, even with a red apple. Once you finish blending, the juice will be thick, add an additional cup of water to each 16 oz serving.

You can also use these recipes in a juicer. Double the amount of fruits, veggies, and water when using a juicer.

And side note:  I love ginger. I put ginger in my juices and tea. Haven't had a sinus infection in almost two years, because when I start feeling that sinus pressure, I eat a piece of ginger. I used to go straight to the medicine cabinet only to find a little relief and eventually ending up at the hospital getting a prescription. However, a lot of people don't like ginger, because it's so strong. I found adding fresh lemon or orange to a juice takes the bite out of the ginger.

Let me know how you enjoyed the juice recipes and share your own with me, Happy juicing!