Tag: juices

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Recipes

5 Smoothies and Juices That Will Kill Your Chocolate Craving

One of the reasons we crave chocolate is that when we eat it, serotonin, a neurotransmitter responsible for better sleep and moods, floods our brain. This helps reduce anxiety and increases our sense of well-being. But if you suspect your chocolate intake is a little too excessive, this same relaxing and rejuvenating brain bath can also be accomplished by drinking juices and smoothies.

By consuming smoothies and juices you will provide your body with an abundance of vitamins, minerals, and enzymes while at the same time satisfying your taste buds so, maybe then, you won’t need so much chocolate.

Juices and smoothies made with fresh, ripe fruits and vegetables are so satisfying and can be made in unlimited combinations. There is a smoothie or juice to please every member of the family. There is so much to learn and discover about this new way of life. Just get yourself a high-speed blender and a juicer and you’ll be ready to begin.

Juicing Is Easy

You don’t have to buy the most expensive juicer to make delicious and nutritious juices. Even the most basic model will work. And the clean-up is simple and fast. A lot easier than cleaning up after cooking! Here is one simple and spectacular juice that I love.

oranges make great juices

Mother Nature’S Orange Julius

Peel only the orange rind from navel oranges. Leave the pith (the white stuff around the orange) as it will make the juice delicious and frothy. Place the oranges in your juicer and within seconds you will have a glass of the most refreshing orange juice ever.

This next juice combination I learned from watching, “Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead” with Joe Cross. His website is a treasure trove of information about juicing and its benefits and contains hundreds of delicious recipes.

World Famous Green Juice

  • One bunch of Kale
  • One large stalk of celery (4-6 ribs)
  • One large cucumber (it’s okay to leave it unpeeled)
  • 3-4 apples cut into quarters
  • One lemon peeled but with the pith left on
  • One chunk of fresh ginger (about the size of your thumb)

Juice together and drink. It is somewhat of an acquired taste so try it a few more times until you can feel the energy of the veggies zipping through your body and brain.

A high-speed blender is another fantastic kitchen appliance and a wise investment in your family’s health. Blending together different combinations of fruits and vegetables is a never-ending adventure. For my family, when it’s really hot outside, sometimes a smoothie is all the meal we need. You know the exact ingredients that will please your family so keep experimenting and have fun. Here are two of my favorite smoothies:

Sunshine Smoothie

  • Frozen bananas broken into small chunks
  • Frozen or fresh pineapple pieces
  • Frozen or fresh mango chunks

Add orange juice, coconut water or plain water until you get a creamy consistency.

Blend for about 30 seconds on high and enjoy!

add pineapple to your blended juices

Purple Pineapple Smoothie

  • One cup frozen pineapple chunks
  • One cup frozen blueberries
  • Cover with apple juice

Blend on high speed for 30 seconds.

(If you like it a little sweeter you can add a tablespoon or two of agave and blend quickly again.) Yum!

And Now… Chocolate!

Chocolate is one of the most famous foods on the planet. All around the world it is loved and coveted by millions of people. Having a craving for chocolate is practically universal. So let’s make a Chocolate Banana Smoothie!

Chocolate Banana Smoothie

Place in your high-speed blender:

  • Two frozen bananas broken into pieces
  • One teaspoon vanilla extract or vanilla powder
  • Four pitted dates or 2 T. maple syrup or 2 T. agave
  • 3 T. unsweetened cocoa powder

Cover all ingredients with your favorite milk and blend until smooth.

Voila, a fabulous, satisfying, chocolate creation that your body will love. Whip it up and relax and read while drinking your smoothie. You deserve it! And in my opinion, life doesn’t get much better than this.

About the Author

KatrinaKatrina is on the content team at www.householdappliancejudge.com. She can be found around the web writing about health, nutrition, relationships, family and other lifestyle concerns. Katrina enjoys cooking, comedy and spending time with her adorable (but exhausting) young family.



Categories
Healthy Living

Juicing Is A Healthy Way Forward: Just Make Sure You Drink The Right Juices

green juice
It may not look delicious, but try eating this much broccoli in one go.

There is nothing more important in life than your health. Everything else, all of the things you hold most dear — they’re important, of course, but cannot be enjoyed and held in the same regard if you’re not healthy. And so, when we know there are things we can do to boost our health, we’re all ears. Am I right?

cheeseburger
Don’t get too excited, this is not all you need for a healthy diet.
Image Source

The problem is this: Headlines have a way of sticking in our minds when the full details of the main story do not (if we even read them). So, for example, we know that eating fresh salad is good for us. We then make sure there is plenty of fresh salad layered on the greasy burger we have for dinner. Nuts, of course, are packed with essential nutrients. So that candy bar we had last coffee break was healthy, right?

Okay, so those may be bad examples. But there are plenty of headlines that are imcomplete that people take into their minds and start working into their diets. Of course, we are aware that unhealthy food can’t be made healthy by cramming in something ostensibly good for you. But we still get hooked, pretty much every time there is a new health craze.

What Do You Mean, “Craze”?

Well, perhaps that exact word is a little unfair. Allow me to elaborate. When a new diet hits the headlines, the magazine and newspaper editors can be a little bit … selective in how they report it. So the news that bacon contains some beneficial nutrients becomes “BACON CURES CANCER.” Which is weird, because you could be sure you read a story a while back about how it causes cancer.

However, the crazes still hit, and people change their eating habits to improve their health. Often they do this without reading any deeper. So we read that juicing is good for us. We know that fruits and veggies are healthy. We buy a juicer and lots of fresh fruit and veggies – next stop, good health!

Are You Going To Tell Me Juices and Juicing Are Bad?

No, far from it. Sites like juicercruiser.com should certainly be in your browser history. Juicing is, very definitely, beneficial. But that sentence in itself is an oversimplification. You can’t just buy any fruit and vegetable, throw it in the juicer, and drink your way to good health. Getting the right foods in the right balance is essential.

We all know what we like, and what we don’t. So it’s easy to be tempted to buy strawberries, bananas and peaches and think we’ll be much healthier for drinking their juice. In balance, we can be.

green juices
It may not look delicious, but try eating this much broccoli in one go.
Image Source.

However, fruit contains sugar. Most foods do, but fruit usually contains a lot. Too much sugar is awful for your health. So pick one fruit – two, maximum, and juice them with cucumber, kale, and other green veggies. The whole advantage to juicing is that it allows you to consume a wide profile of nutrients quickly. Would you rather drink the juice of three carrots, or eat them raw?

None of this is to knock the health benefits of juicing. Nor is it to say people are gullible for believing it will help. It will, as long as you pick the right recipes. Veggies for nutrients, fruits for flavor. Getting your recommended allowance of fruits and veggies has never been easier – but it’s not going to happen by itself.




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