How do you know what to combine?

Just found this interesting chart on Facebook.

I have been asked a few times how to know what to combine with what, so this might be a smart starting point.

Clean Eating and Juicing

About a week ago I started replacing one meal a day with a vegetable/fruit juice mixture. About 4 days ago I began replacing two meals a day with the juice. I also have eliminated all processed foods from my diet, and meats other than fish. I have never felt better! I want to eventually make it to replacing all my meals each day with juice. Once I am on an all-juice diet I plan to remain on it for about 15-20 days, after which time I will reintroduce raw fruits and veggies into my diet and then slowly begin to add meat.

Here is a link to the juicer that I currently use, there are many others out there as well. I can say that I think it is a good investment, however you can use a blender for many of these recipes as well. The link  is to a the Jack LaLanne website with recipes and other tips and tricks for juicing!

If you haven't yet, I think everyone should watch the documentary "Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead". It's a great documentary that can really show you the importance of what you put into your body and what you can expect to get out of it.

Join The Reboot is the movement that the documentary has created. It's a great place to start with lots of FAQ's about fasting and recipes to get you started. The best feature is that there is an interactive forum where people can come together to share successes and failures they experience while juicing.



I've been taking 'before' pictures of the veggies and fruits that I've put in my juices to post and also I've been compiling some 'Juicing Tips' for those just getting started.

Ingredients (Makes 1 serving):

1 Beet*

1'' Ginger root

2 Large Carrots

1 Pink Lady Apple

1/2 Cucumber

8 Radishes

4 Celery Stalks

*Caution! The beet juice can stain your clothes/hands/etc. Be careful of where you wipe your hands!

Ingredients (Makes 2 servings):

4 Celery Stalks

1 1/2 cup Grapes

2 Cucumbers

3 Carrots

1 Handful of Kale

2 Apples

2 Plums

Don't forget to juice your kale first, followed by a high water content veggie (Cucumber, grapes, etc.). This will give you the maximum amount of juice from the kale! 

Ingredients (Makes 1 serving):

1/2 Cucumber

1 Pear

4 Celery Stalks

*This juice is very sweet and very refreshing, a great morning juice! 

Ingredients (Makes 1serving):

1 Pear

1 Apple

1 Mango*

1 Plum

1 cup Grapes

1/2 Cucumber

3 Celery stalks

*Juicing mango makes this juice much thicker than other juices (almost a smoothie-like feeling), it's very sweet and very delicious, but if texture is an issue for you leave out the mango.

Ingredients (Makes 1 serving):

2 Stalks Kale

3 Large Carrots

1 Apple

1 Plum

1/2 Cucumber

3 Stalks Celery

1'' Ginger root

This is by far my favorite juice! Put the kale in first, with the ginger and followed by 1 stalk of celery. This is the best way to maximize the juice yield from the kale and the ginger root! 

Juicing Tips:

-Juice the low water items first (Leafy greens, ginger, garlic, basil, etc)

-Immediately follow these items with a high water item (Cucumber, Celery, Apple, etc.)

-I usually save the cucumber to juice last, to wash out the remaining juice from the other vegetables. 

-As a general rule, if you don't normally eat the peel of the item, go ahead and remove it before juicing (Citrus fruits, kiwi, etc.)

-Juice can be stored in an air tight container for up to two days, but tastes best immediately after juicing. 

-Items that are good in basically every juice: Cucumbers, Celery, Apples, Carrots. I use these as a base for most juices because they yield lots of juice and have fairly neutral flavors that mesh well with most other flavors.

I'll continue to post more juice recipes and tips as things come up. Happy Juicing!

6 Ingredient Nutella Microwave Cake!!

In my pursuit for the perfectly fluffy and chocolate-y dessert I have made this little gem! (best of all it makes a whole coffee cup full.)

Ingredients:

1tsp baking powder

1/4 cup flour

1Tbsp egg whites

1Tbsp milk

1 1/2 Tbsp Nutella 

1tsp vanilla extract

Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients in a coffee cup, microwave for 2 minutes on high heat. 

Enjoy!!

Spicy California Roll

Kevin and I love sushi, but not the price. I recently got interested in making our own sushi. Turns out, it's not nearly as complicated as you think and it's super affordable!!

You'll need:
Rolling mat
Sushi rice (Short grain rice)
Rice vinegar
Seaweed paper (Nori)
Avocado
Imitation Crab meat
Tilapia (or white fish of your choice, you can also omit this part)
Mayonnaise (I use Kew pie, it's an asian mayonnaise, but any kind you have will work)
Siracha (Spicy sauce, or any spicy toping you might like, such as tabasco sauce)
Cucumber/Bell Pepper/Jalepeno (Optional, I didn't use it in this recipe)

Cook your rice according to the packaged directions. I add Rice Vinegar when the rice is finished cooking (about 1/2Tbsp per cup of rice) for flavor.
Then while waiting for the rice to cool down to a little for easier handling...
Cook the white fish of your choice (if you're choosing to use one) in a pan, no need to keep it all in one piece as you will be putting it in a food processor or blender shortly.
When the fish is cooked, put it in the food processor with the imitation (or real) crabmeat and blend. (I usually put a little mayonnaise and siracha in with the fish mixture) This will be your "filling" for your roll.

Then, get a small bowl of water. (this will be really useful for keeping the rice from sticking to your hands!

With the rough side of the seaweed facing upwards on the mat, wet your hands and begin to put the rice down in a layer that is thin, but thick enough to cover the seaweed. You want to go a little over halfway up the seaweed paper with the rice.

Lay down the "filling" you made earlier, and next to it place your avocado slices and any other seasonings/fillings you  might want to put inside (Jalepenos, green bell pepper slices, cucumber, etc.)

Roll the mat up starting at the end you filled first, roll tightly and slowly to ensure you're accurate. Keep rolling all the way!

Using a wet knife, slice the sushi into as many pieces as you want, I'm usually able to do about 8 pieces successfully.

Serve and Enjoy!!!

Today's work out

30 minutes of cardio (Today I will use the elliptical machine, but I try to change it up each time.)

Lower Body: 

One legged Squats (4 sets of 10 each leg)

The slower the better on these and keep your core tight as you squat. 

Half Ball Squats (4 sets of 15)

The slower the better! (To up the difficulty hold weights in your hands when squatting) 

Be sure to keep your core tight when doing these! Adding the 1/2 ball to your leg work outs adds the balance element that tones and tightens more muscles and increases the difficulty. 

Step-Ups (2 minutes, twice-4 minutes total)

Be sure to rest at least 2 minutes between each set, keep moving and stretching but don't sit down! For the first 2 minutes, start with your right leg, for the second 2 minutes start with your left leg. 

Calf Raises (4 sets of 10 each leg)

For an easier method, stand on the floor, or keep both feet on the block.

3 Ingredient Spicy Fish and Rice

This is one of my favorite snacks, it's low calorie, low fat, and high in protein! The fish I use is Tilapia, because it has a very mild flavor and I found it on sale at the grocery store. I have also used Cod for this recipe and it turned out delicious as well. I'd be interested to see how other fish substitutions work with this dish.

For one serving:
1 Tilapia Filet (or white fish of your choice)
1/4 Cup of short grain rice
1 and 1/2 Tbsp Siracha

The preparation is very simple. Cook the rice as directed. In a skillet, cook tilapia until it flakes a part, then mix the rice and fish in a bowl with 1 and 1/2 Tbsp of Siracha. Serve warm and Enjoy!!

Chocolate Chip Crumble

I found this recipe in various blogs, however, after running out of a few ingredients I thought I'd experiment and see how things turned out after modifying the recipe. It turned out wonderful! The couscous adds the perfect crumbly texture. When looking at the ingredients I know it can be easy to be thrown off by the garbanzo beans in the recipe, but trust me, you won't even know they're there. :)

1 Can (Drained and rinsed) Garbanzo Beans
1/2 Cup Couscous (Cooked for 1 minute in the microwave with 1/2 cup of water.)
1/8 Cup Skim Milk
1/2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/4 Tsp Baking Powder
3/4 Cup Brown Sugar (I have yet to try it with a sugar substitute, but would love to know the results!)
*Chocolate Chips (Amount is up to you, I used about 15 or so in my whole batch.)
*Nut butter for a topping

* = Optional ingredients

In a food processor, finely blend the garbanzo beans and the cooked couscous until the texture is that of a dough. Add in the skim milk, and the extra virgin olive oil. Mix all of your dry ingredients in a medium sized bowl and then add to the "dough mixture" to the dry ingredients and mix evenly. Stir in the chocolate chips if desired.

Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes.

Serve warm with Nut butter topping, frozen yogurt, or plain.

Enjoy!