Archive: November, 2010

Alive Smoothie

I make smoothies every day. But sometimes you have that one smoothie which exceeds all others. It is a combination of factors and you don’t have them always under control. Each smoothie tastes different, even with the exact same ingredients. Simply because all vegetables and fruit add their own personal flavor. One banana can be soothing sweet and another hardly have any taste. Same with juices; one pound of carrots can taste like heaven and another will be rather bitter and spoil your sweet soup. So a lot depends on that willing touch of your chosen fruit of that day.

Notice the oxygen bubbling up in this smoothie! Ready to shake you up and make you come alive!

Sometimes you think you are brewing the greatest smoothie ever and when you take your first highly expecting sip, it turns out you can hardly swallow it down. It happens to everybody. So what can you do then with that rich smoothie, full of nutrients and expensive superfoods and greens and fruit? Drink it up with two fingers shutting your nose? Because the last thing you want to do is throw it out!

I discovered how to save those “failures” and have a wonderful drink after all. Just pour that smoothie in your nut milk bag and sssquuueeeze out the juice. The pulp is a great fertilizer for your wheatgrass (mingle it under your soil, all those minerals will be soaked by the grass and provide you strong shots!) and the juice… the juice is just great! The taste changes and you can pour all the glorious nutrients down to your body.

But now more about my Alive Smoothie. I always use what I have laying around and was lucky with the combination and the great tastes of the greens and fruits. My mustard greens were soft, the banana sweet, the spinach soothing, and then… my secret weapon: rejuvelac! You know how much I am into this elixir of life. I always use it to make my smoothies the best, both taste and content.

When you use rejuvelac instead of water, you add an extra dimension; life. And that is what you will feel in your body; life. You can make a whole lot of rejuvelac and store it easily for two weeks in your refrigerator or in your basement so you don’t have anything else to do but grab and smooth away.

Alive Smoothie

TOOLS YOU NEED

A blender

INGREDIENTS

  • One sweet banana
  • A handful of mustard greens
  • Two leaves of kale
  • A grab of parsley
  • Fill up the rest with spinach
  • A handful of Goiji Berries
  • A TBS Maca
  • A TBS bee pollen
  • Fill up the blender until halfway with rejuvelac

THE MAKING OF…

  • Blend and taste. Not sweet enough to your taste? Add a juicy pear…

Drink, chew and be alive!

Mustard Green

Killer Carrots

Juicy Stuff

If you are still wondering where to get your proteins from when you go raw you can stop now and be reassured that you will get all you need with raw food. And with raw juices. This is one of the reasons why you have to eat a varied scale of vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds and sprouts. Also eat all the colors in the rainbow to receive all the antioxidants you want to look younger and feel better.

Carrots are sweeties. Not just because of their soothing taste but because of the treasure of nutrients they are offering us in one glass of juice. They provide vitamins A, B1, B6, C, D, E, G and K, minerals such as calcium, potassium, iron and phosphorus, traces of carbohydrates and proteins.

Color your life

If you dream of  a smooth skin; carrots make it look healthy! They have extreme properties for skin health.

  • Carrot juice contains carotenoids which reduce risk of a heart attack and regulate blood circulation
  • The phytonutrient ‘falcarinol’ helps in the protection against colon cancer
  • And yes, it is true that they are good for vision, especially for night sight because of the beta-carotene
  • Drink more carrot juice and notice how much better your hair, skin and nails will look
  • Carrot juice also contains essential oils. They help digestion and therefor are fighting acne.
  • Drinking carrot juice in summer will help you to protect against sunburn. It heals damages caused by the sun
  • The antioxidants slow down the aging process and protect you against free radicals
  • It lowers high blood pressure and cholesterol
  • A load of iron helps to reduce anemia

And again, this is a list that goes on and on. It is good to know what vegetables and fruits can mean for your body. Just juice what you need to jazz up your health and you will feel the difference soon!

TOOLS YOU NEED

A juicer, a sharp knife and a cutting board

INGREDIENTS

  • 8 to 10 fresh organic carrots
  • A big chunk of ginger

THE MAKING OFF…

  • Juice your stuff and feel juicy…

Carrot Ginger Juice

Orange With A Twist

It is the season of the oranges. They are juicier and sweeter than ever during this time of year. I almost forgot how nice a simple orange juice can be. Then I saw that last piece of lemongrass and thought; “What if I …?”

Juicy Stuff!

A very simple juice, but only one glass is covering five fruit servings. We are so used to squeezing oranges but what do we know about them? That they are rich in vitamin C, yes. But did you know that they also…

  • … have high levels of magnesium and potassium? So one glass a day will balance high blood pressure!
  • … have inflammatory  properties and help relieve joint pains?
  • … contain folate and increase growth of skin cells and blood cells?
  • … contain enough nutrients and minerals to boost your immune system?
  • … are very good for your bones and teeth because of their calcium?
  • … are very rich in antioxidants and the carotenoids fight free radicals to reduce damage to your cells?
  • … enable a good DNA in your body with their niacin content?
  • … are a rich source of phytonutrients who make the nutrients work optimal?

A lot of good reasons to make that fast juice in the morning when you are out of time!

TOOLS YOU NEED

  • A juicer
  • A sharp knife and cutting board

INGREDIENTS

  • Three oranges
  • One stalk of lemongrass

THE MAKING OF…

Juice and twist!

Orange Twist

Upbeet

Juice Up Your Health!

I never was really fond of beets until I started juicing them. They are now on my list of favorites. Not only because they make the loveliest juices, but also the best ones for your health. Drink one glass of beet juice every day and it will beat high blood pressure. Beets also increase the body’s production of glutathione, the most important antioxidant we have. Without glutathione, our most powerful detoxifier of cancer-causing poisons, you can’t absorb other antioxidants or can’t pull the environmental chemicals into the colon where they can be removed. So they will stay in our precious body, causing serious health problems.

High cholesterol? Too low cancer-destroying CD8 cells in the colon? Skin problems? Stress? Digestive disorders? Beet juice takes care of you and ‘upbeets’ your health with its rich content of antioxidants, vitamin A, C, B6, B1, B2, calcium, sulfur, sodium, iodine, bioflanonoids, potassium and natural sugars. Oh and don’t forget the source of dietary fiber, carbohydrates, folic acid, magnesium, biotin and niacin.

When you start drinking beet juice, you might experience some diarrhea in the beginning, red stool and urine. Don’t worry and remind that you have been drinking red beets before running off to the doctor. It will go away by itself and when you drink it more often and is purifying you, you will notice less or no coloring as time goes by.

Beet Before...

TOOLS YOU NEED

  • A juicer
  • A sharp knife and cutting board

INGREDIENTS

  • One beet, unpeeled if it is organic
  • Two apples, cored

THE MAKING OF…

Cut, juice and get your upbeet!

Beet After...

Good Mood Juices

Dark weather all day long, rain, cold wind, the birds stopped singing: winter can’t be far away. I feel like looking at colors… and drinking them to juice up my mood. I took what I could find in the refrigerator; beets, carrots en fennel. I grabbed apples and oranges and decided to make very simple, pure drinks. Oh, this beauty!

Color your mood!

I have to share these good mood juices. Even if you can almost predict by looking at them what they are. Some got a little twist.

Sweet Fennel Juice

Have you ever thought of drinking fennel just as it is? I mostly add it to salads or to mixed juices to sweeten and freshen it up. But eaten on its own it can be a quiet overwhelming after a while. As a juice though, you can’t get it enough. With its extraordinary anise flavor, it is like no other juice. A great choice if you are longing for a drink in the evening. You can leave that bottle of Ricard; juice a fennel and you have the same taste. With much more benefits! Fennel is very rich in phytoestrogens and therefor helping with a lot of issues such as…

  • colic, wind, irritable bowel
  • spleen
  • liver
  • lungs
  • kidneys
  • digestive system
  • menstruation
  • increased urine flow

Fennel Green

But fennel is also used to treat…

  • asthma
  • anxiety
  • depression
  • high blood pressure
  • decreased libido
  • coughs
  • heartburn

And the list goes on. But let’s juice now and “feel” instead of read about benefits.

TOOLS YOU NEED

  • A juicer
  • A sharp knife and cutting board

INGREDIENTS

  • One big fennel

THE MAKING OF…

Juice and enjoy heaven!

Sweet Fennel Juice

Electrolyte Shock

When I woke up I had no idea what time it was. It was too dark, too silent, too weary to get up. I notice that I am even more sensitive than ever to the changing hours in autumn. Only one hour, but my whole system still seems disturbed after a week. Even the metabolic clock of my pets is messed up; they start waiting for food one hour earlier than usual.

Electrolytes!

I was wondering what to do about it when it struck me. I would start my day with an electrolyte shock to awaken and coop with the dark weather. So I jumped out of the bed, showered, dressed and took one of my fresh Thai coconuts out of the refrigerator. I grabbed my impressive meat cleaver -with which I will never cleave meat!- and chopped off the coconuts head.  Hmm, have to make a picture of this, I thought. I have to write about all these electrolytes in only one glass! Have you never wondered how this energizing water gets into this heavenly nut? I did!

Electrolytes in a glass

I found the answer when I was reading David Wolfe’s book “Superfoods”. What is so beautiful about coconuts is that they carry and nurture their water as a human pregnancy. Almost nine months is how long it takes to filter each quart in that hard shell. Which must make you wonder how it got there in the first place. Let me quote the master himself here because I can’t think of other words: “The water rises through innumerable fibers which purify the water before it ends up in the sterile nut.”  This water is the most powerful water in nature because of the highest levels of electrolytes.

Moreover young coconut water is very similar to the structure of our blood plasma and therefor was even used in  the Pacific battles of World War II as blood transfusion for wounded soldiers. Coconut water in our veins?? Our blood exists of about 55% of plasma (about the same structure as coconut water) and 45% of hemoglobin (for the transportation of oxygen). This hemoglobin is “essentially transformed plant blood”, chlorophyll. So this means that when you make yourself a drink of fresh coconut water (55% plasma) mixed with fresh green leaf juice or the by Dr. Ann Wigmore recommended wheatgrass juice (45% hemoglobin), you will treat your body on a blood transfusion. Isn’t this amazingly easy?!

Blood Transfusion

If you can’t imagine that you will be able to drink a combination like this, let me give you these very simple yet lovely tips.

  • Use coconut water as the base of your smoothies. It is delicious and will sweeten it up.
  • Take a glass of coconut water and add one table spoon of “green superfood” which is packed with the chlorophyll of barley, wheatgrass, broccoli, spirulena, chlorella and many others. This is what I did here and it tastes… heavenly!
  • Drink this is the morning on an empty stomach if you want the full benefits of it and a quick absorption in the blood.
  • Oh, and give this magic drink to your children before they take off to school! They will be fit and concentrated and love the taste because it is very sweet.

My body is tingling now and my mind is clear. (I drank the green version while I was writing). The effect of this booster is almost immediately. It only takes five minutes to feel your blood pump. So get those young Thai coconuts, grow your grass, juice your greens and get in tune with your body!

Sources: David Wolfe “Superfoods” and my own experiences.

Amazing Grape

Another day, another juice! I am improvising and jazzing. That’s what a true musician does. So what did I come up with today?  A very simple pink grape juice. Later on I used this juice as a basis to add other fruits and that was a delicious surprise. Here they come.

AMAZING GRAPE

Amazing Grape

TOOLS YOU NEED

  • A juicer

INGREDIENTS

  • A bunch of pink grapes

THE MAKING OF…

Juice and Jazz!


JAZZY JUICE!

Jazzy Juice!

Leave some of the grapes so you can make fresh juice and improvise with that basis.

TOOLS YOU NEED

  • A juicer
  • A sharp knife and cutting board

INGREDIENTS

  • One or two cups of amazing grape juice
  • One or two apples
  • One kiwi
  • One orange
  • Half a lemon
  • One stalk of lemon grass (a most lovely add!)

THE MAKING OFF…

Juice, share and sing! Cheers!

Jazzy Juice!

Juicy Stuff!

After two days of wiggling from juices to smoothies to salads, I had a very juicy day! And guess what; I wasn’t hungry for one moment, or even craving. Once you flow with the clean feeling you get when you add more an more juices, it all goes by itself. I am now thriving and feeling so much better. It is amazing in how a short notice juices can calm down the body and uplift it to more energy and clarity!

Juicy Stuff!

I am starting my day very simple: with water. I even keep drinking water and herbal tea until noon before I make my first juice. It has a great effect on my body. It feels very clean and light when I give it a chance to get rid of all toxins of the day before. Because this is what happens in the body in the morning until noon; it is awakening and releasing all the toxins of previous meals. This is also the reason why it is best to start your day with a light meal.

But let me share this great juice with you, because it tasted so heavenly!

TOOLS YOU NEED

  • A Juicer
  • A sharp knife and a cutting board

INGREDIENTS

  • Two big apples, cored
  • One pear
  • One kiwi
  • About 6 to 8 carrots
  • A BIG chunk of ginger (I love ginger! so if you don’t, you can leave it out or add less)
  • One lime

THE MAKING OF…

Juice and slurp!

You will be amazed how filling this juice is. Leave one hour between several juices to give them a bit of time to digest. But that will no problem. It took me hours to feel the first hunger and make a  very green juice of cucumber, celery stalks, kelp granules, dandelion and spinach. Enjoy!

Orange Without "Orange" Juice

Jazz Up Your Health!

Ah juices, aren’t they heavenly. I started a soft and gentle cleanse yesterday with juices, smoothies and simple salads. My purpose is to start slowly and only drink juices for a few days. I abandoned nuts for a while because once autumn, I feel like eating them more and more. I was way passed my one handful a day, so had to say stop! and turn the wheel.

Juice Up Your Health!

The first two days are always the toughest ones, although you don’t have to feel hungry for a bit. Juices are so filling! No, it is your mind, fooling around with you, whispering that you fancy a piece of pie or a dense dish. So what can you do about it?

  • Before you start cleansing, put your mindset together.
  • Schedule a colonic for after the cleanse.
  • When overwhelmed by hunger, ask yourself if you are really hungry. Is it hunger in your stomach or between your ears?
  • The moment you start looking for food in your cupboards, take a glass of water and drink it. Often when you feel hungry, it is just thirst. Big chance your ‘hunger’ will calm down after drinking water.
  • When you are really hungry, make another juice. You can drink fresh juices as much as you want or need to.
  • If you feel the juices aren’t satisfying and you can’t hold on, make a green smoothie. The fiber in them will help you.
  • You can start with  juices and some big smoothies a day and replace the smoothies by juices after a few days.

Drink more water than you are used to. How can you know how much water you need for your body? Take your body weight and divide it by two; drink that amount in ounces. During a cleansing, try to add some extra 8 ounce glasses.

Be gentle with yourself during a cleanse -well, always be gentle with yourself…- and don’t do heavy physical efforts. You will be detoxing and you might have a head ache at first, or feel a bit sick in the stomach. Those are good signs! The detox is working!

TOOLS YOU NEED

A juicer

A sharp knife and cutting board

INGREDIENTS

  • Two big apples, cored (apple seeds are poisoned)
  • One pear
  • A chunk of ginger
  • One kiwi
  • One lime

THE MAKING OF…

Just juice and drink! If you wish, you can add your Maca in your juice so you don’t have to miss your favorite superfood.

Health in a glass.

Sprouting

Day One - Soaking

Sprouting is fun! Isn’t it wonderful how the seeds burst open and reveal new life? I love watching and following the process and I can’t get enough of it.  The other thing about sprouting is that anyone can do it, you don’t need much space or special tools, it is easy and exciting. But most of all: sprouts are your alive food which make you come alive!

Added to smoothies, salads or pates, they upgrade each dish to soft crunchiness and increased health. Don’t overeat in sprouts though; one cup a day will provide you more than you can imagine. Because sprouts are beginning life they have to protect  themselves from being eaten before growing by toxins. But don’t let this take you off of them; their benefits are so much higher.

Why are they so nutritious? Because they contain all elements a plant needs to come alive and grow. They are packed with carbohydrates, proteins and oil. After germinating those become amino acids and natural sugars for the plant to develop. When you eat them, they will reveal their life force of enzymes to your body. It is essential to a raw food diet so let’s start sprouting those beauties.

Sunflower Pits after One Night of Soaking

Even if sprouting is easy, you have to know a basic rule to be successful. Seeds need darkness to sprout. If you are having trouble with growing those small tails, think of how a seed is developing in nature. They are mostly covered up with a light blanket of soil where they can gather all their power to reach out for the light.

So if you want to see those tails come out, you have to cover them up with a dark cloth or towel or place them in a dark place at room temperature. But let’s start from the beginning.

WHAT CAN YOU SPROUT?

All seeds such as alfalfa, sunflower seeds, red cabbage, broccoli, fenugreek, celery, oats, radish, leek, you name it.

Grains as wheat grass, barley, rye, millet, rice and buckwheat.

Legumes require a longer soaking time (about 15 hours) because they are much harder. But lentils, chick peas and mung beans are very worth wild waiting for.

WHAT DO YOU NEED?

  • Any glass jar will do. Take a few jars for different seeds or grains. Or you can buy a system as you are seeing here.
  • A cheese cloth and a rubber band to hold the cloth tight around the mouth of the jar.
  • Or you can use a sprout bag instead.
  • Organic seeds, grains and legumes.

DAY ONE

Day One - Sunflower, Wheat grass & Alfalfa

  • All you need to do is place one or two tablespoons of seeds or grains to your choice in the jars and cover them up with pure water. If you soak legumes, double the amount; they aren’t swelling as much as seeds.
  • Put them in a dark place at room temperature overnight.

DAY TWO

Alfalfa, Sunflower and Wheat grass Day Two

  • In the morning, rinse the seeds very well and turn the jars upside down so all the water can leak out and the seeds won’t get a chance to get mold.
  • Rinse 2 to 3 times a day. If the weather is warm, rinse more often.
  • Always turn the jars upside down and cover up or place dark.
  • Depending on the kind of seed, you will already notice some tails ready to come out

DAY THREE

Wheat grass Day Three

  • Continue rinsing and draining.
  • Some sprouts will be ready, others will need another day such as wheat grass.

DAY FOUR

Alfalfa Sprouts on Day Four

  • Are your sprouts having nice tails? Then they are ready to come into the light!
  • Place the jars upside down in bright light, preferably in the sun light.
  • You will see photosynthesis take place and watch your sprouts turn green in only a few hours.
  • Keep them in the light for a whole day until they are nice and green
  • Store them in a sealed container in the refrigerator. They keep well for about a week. But don’t wait that long; just eat them to benefit fully their life forces!

Isn’t it amazing how much alive and nutritious food you can grow of almost nothing?

Sunflower Sprouts